[Download Caillou Episodes Free
Virginie Fayad
Based on the books by Hlne Desputeaux,[1][2] it focuses on a four-year-old boy named Caillou who is fascinated by the world around him. The series was produced in Canada by the CINAR Corporation (later Cookie Jar Entertainment), while the fifth and final season was produced in association with the South African studio Clockwork Zoo.[3]
In 2023, it was announced that the show would be rebooted. It was originally set to premiere on Peacock with 52 11-minute episodes some time in 2023, but ultimately began streaming on February 15, 2024, with a batch of seven episodes.[4]
Each episode in seasons 1 through 3 has a theme and is divided into several short sections that mix animation, puppet skits, and video of live-action children in real-life situations. In seasons 4 and 5, the episodes are divided into three short sections; the puppet segment was dropped, alongside the "Real Kids" version of the segment.
During the first season, many of the stories in the animated version began with a grandmother (who is also the show's narrator) introducing the story to her grandchildren, then reading the story from a book. Starting in the second season, the narrator and grandmother is an unseen character.
Caillou (meaning pebble or stone in French), nicknamed by himself The Prince of Imagination,[5] is the title character of the show. Caillou was first voiced by Bryn McAuley from 1997 to 2000, then Jaclyn Linetsky in 2000 until 2003, and then, due to Linetsky's death, Annie Bovaird from 2003 to 2010. Caillou was first shown in the episode "Caillou Makes Cookies", which aired in 1997.
The puppet segments were used only on the PBS broadcasts of Caillou from 2000 to 2003 as continuity to fill time usually taken up by commercial breaks during the original Teletoon broadcasts; later episodes on PBS did not include the puppet segment continuity.
The series was originally broadcast in French in Canada, and the episodes were later translated into English. The original books were also in French. Caillou was designed primarily for toddlers. It was created by child developmental psychologists. In 1997, 65 five-minute episodes of Caillou were aired in Canada and in selected markets worldwide, including the US. In 2000 there were 40 30-minute episodes of the show, containing a mixture of the five-minute episodes plus new stories, songs, real kids segment and puppets. This was followed by another 16 30-minute episodes containing all-new stories in 2003. The film Caillou's Holiday Movie was released on October 7, 2003. On April 3, 2006, a new set of 20 episodes finally premiered after a three-year hiatus. Caillou started attending preschool and there were new themes and a new opening. The show was renewed for a second and third season in 2003,[19] and later a fourth season. The fifth season was animated by South Africa-based studio Clockwork Zoo.[20]
Caillou initially received generally positive reviews from television critics and parents of young children. The staff of Entertainment Weekly wrote that its protagonist "embellish[es] everything he sees with his rich imagination."[22] The New York Times wrote "Caillou looks at the world through the eyes of its 4-year-old namesake [and] takes life's not-always-so-simple lessons and presents them in a way preschoolers can understand."[23] while Lynne Heffley of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "each animated episode is an unusually realistic reflection of a preschooler's daily fun, family interaction, challenges, disappointments and misunderstandings as Caillou grows and learns to make sense of his world", also describing it as "a virtual guidebook for parents and caregivers".[24]
As the years progressed, however, the show drew criticism for the perceived incorrectness of the lessons gleaned through numerous events, mostly from the first season, as well as some episodes from the second season and third season. In a National Post column, writer Tristin Hopper identified Caillou to be "quite possibly the world's most universally reviled children's program." A common criticism towards the series is that the titular character behaves like a spoiled child and suffers no consequences from his parents for his behavior.[25] One example of Caillou's bad behavior is in the episode Caillou Joins the Circus, in which he throws a tantrum after his father informs the circus wasn't until tomorrow. Another episode, Big Brother Caillou, features Caillou being jealous of the level of attention received by his baby sister Rosie to the point where he pinches her; most considered this to be a minor improvement over the original book the episode was based on, in which Caillou bit Rosie. When the show started airing on Cartoonito in 2021, the pinching scene was cut out.
Hopper once said: "Unlike most children's programming, Caillou makes almost no attempt to educate its young audience. There are no veiled math problems, spelling lessons or morality tales; it's just calm, non-threatening, bright-coloured people navigating everyday tasks." These criticisms of the show's titular character have been echoed on online platforms.[26] Last Week Tonight host John Oliver referenced Caillou in a comparison of boring things against net neutrality, going on to insult Caillou for its themes.[27]
As Caillou appeared as a much younger child in the original line of children's books, he originally had no hair.[28] When illustrators found that adding hair made him look unrecognizable, it was decided that Caillou would never have hair.[29][30] This decision led to an internet meme asserting that the protagonist has cancer or pediatric alopecia.[31]
Caillou first aired on Canada's French-language Tltoon channel on September 15, 1997, and was the first show aired on the English-language Teletoon when it launched on October 17 of that year.[32] The series was moved to Treehouse TV in 2010. Caillou made its US debut on PBS Kids on September 4, 2000, and ran on that network until December 27, 2020. Reruns started airing on PBS Kids Sprout (later known as simply Sprout) on its launch on September 26, 2005. While Sprout rebranded into Universal Kids on September 9, 2017, the show remained on the channel until it was taken off the line-up at the beginning of April 2019.
On January 5, 2021, PBS Kids announced on Twitter that they would no longer broadcast reruns of Caillou.[33] Deadline Hollywood reported that many parents and viewers celebrated the news of the cancellation, as they have complained that Caillou had taught their kids bad lessons and encouraged them to be bratty and whiny.[34] On August 16, 2021, it was announced that Cartoon Network had acquired the US-broadcast rights to the show after PBS' rights expired, with reruns of the series airing on Cartoonito from September 13, 2021 to May 4, 2022 in its HD remastered form.[35][36] PBS ultimately sold the rights for US$6.4 million.[37] In Canada, Family Jr. continues to broadcast reruns since February 5, 2018. PBS Kids currently retains the physical media and streaming rights for the original series. Comcast/NBCUniversal acquired global streaming rights for the reboot series (via Peacock) as of 2022.
In the United States, Caillou videocassettes and DVDs have been released by PBS Distribution (Originally distributed through Warner Home Video until 2004, and then Paramount Home Entertainment from 2006 to 2010, and now self-distributed). From 2003 to 2006, the DVDs with puppets and Jaclyn Linetsky were compilations from 2003 through 2006, and one of them is in memory of Linetsky herself.
For the franchise's 25th anniversary, a DVD/book combo pack reissue of Caillou's Family Favorites was released on October 14, 2014, by PBS Distribution,[38] while a DVD reissue of Caillou's Holiday Movie was released on November 11, 2014 by NCircle Entertainment.[39]
In Canada, Sony Wonder originally released Caillou on VHS and DVD, and after the closure of the division by Sony, were moved to Vivendi Entertainment Canada. Since 2012, Caillou DVDs are distributed by Entertainment One and after their purchase of Phase 4 Films in 2015, are released through the KaBoom Entertainment label.
Beginning in late 2016, a new Caillou web series for YouTube premiered on the official Caillou channel and was later released onto Amazon Prime.[41] These shorts are mainly remakes of older episodes and are produced by WildBrain Spark Studios, a subsidiary of WildBrain that produces original content for their WildBrain Spark network. However, the videos were not made available to YouTube users in the United States until 2021.[42]
In September 2021, WildBrain announced the production of five new 45-minute specials based on the franchise for Family Jr.[44] These specials are the first Caillou related media to be produced in CGI animation, and will[needs update] focus on Christmas, Halloween, Family Day, Summer Vacation and National Anti-Bullying Day. The specials will be produced by WildBrain Studios, with animation provided by IoM Media Ventures.[45]
In June 2022, WildBrain announced they teamed with Comcast's streaming platform, Peacock, to produce a new series of the show, consisting of 52 11-minute episodes to go along with those specials.[46] It was set to premiere in 2023, with IoM also providing animation production as the specials are. Despite the specials being released on Peacock, it is now confirmed to stream on February 15, 2024.[47]
The first special: Rosie the Giant, which focuses on the effects of bullying, simultaneously premiered in Canada and the United States on Family Jr. and Peacock respectively on July 10, 2022.[48]
Hi there, my name is Oliver. You see, my 4 year old cousin (his name is Daniel) is a HUGE fan of Caillou. Everytime it comes on, his eyes are glued to the TV. When I heard that he was visiting with me over Christmas holiday, I was pretty excited. I felt like giving him a Caillou DVD as a special gift.
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