It’s a new year and you know what that means – out with the old and in with the new! Even PBS Kids is getting in on the whole new year, new you movement, and is cleaning house. The first show to go? Cryllou. I mean, Caillou, oops.
PBS Kids made the farewell announcement to Caillou via social media on Tuesday and that sound you hear? Is the collective rejoicing of parents everywhere.
Mostly.
Beloved by toddlers and preschoolers, Caillou, the imaginative 4-year-old, his parents, younger sister Rosie, cat Gilbert and his ragtag set of friends and neighbors will, sadly, be no more.
Upon hearing the news, Caillou is quoted as saying, “Whhhhyyyyy Mommmmmyyyyy? Bring it baaaaack, it’s miiiiiiiine.”
I’m totally kidding….but if he were to comment I feel like this is accurate.
PBS Kids’ announcement reads:
We’re saying farewell to @cailloUdhx, but remember, when we say goodbye to something…it just means we get to say hello to something new!
The network also provided a link to a resource for parents on how to help children deal with the loss of their favorite media.
…It just means we get to say hello to something new!
Here are tips for what to do when your child's favorite media goes away: https://t.co/FM8bLI2gbS pic.twitter.com/n0PokaNIbb— PBS KIDS (@PBSKIDS) January 5, 2021
It truly is the end of an era. Caillou has been around since its inception in 1997.
Developed by child developmental psychologists, it first debuted in Canada and later aired in selected markets worldwide, including the United States.
It first premiered on PBS on September 4, 2000 and ran for five seasons and 144 episodes until 2010, when it went into syndication on PBS.
I’ll admit that I let my first-born watch a few episodes of the animated series. She loved it. I grew to hate it.
Every time I heard him whine “AWWWW!” I just wanted to rip out my eardrums so I wouldn’t have to subject myself to the torture anymore. It wasn’t long before it was banned completely and forevermore in my house.
My subsequent children? Have no idea who Caillou is. And I am going to keep it that way.
In my house, He Who Must Not Be Named isn’t Voldemort.
It’s Caillou.
— James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@XplodingUnicorn) January 11, 2017
The show begins innocently enough. The theme song is admittedly catchy with lyrics like,
So many things to do,
Each day is something new,
I’ll share them with you,
I’m Caillou.
(As long as you can ignore the agonizingly annoying high-pitched voice wailing, “I’m Caillouuuu. Caillouuuuu. That’s me!”)
The sun is always shining, the sky is blue, and the voiceover of sweet Grandma narrating the scene fills the airwaves.
But then, just like a good horror movie it turns. One second everyone is happy and laughing, the next there is screaming and wails of terror. From the parents.
Because OMG how is this kid so damn whiny? I caaaaannnn’ttttt.
Look, I get it. He’s 4. There is a reason veteran parents lovingly refer to this stage in their child’s life as the f*cking fours. Think two-year-olds are terrible? They have NOTHING on 4-year-olds. Nothing.
Caillou is an accurate representation of a 4-year-old at his absolute worse. Bless. From tormenting poor Gilbert the cat, to his endless tantrums and incessant complaining, pouting, and backtalk, he is for all intents and purposes, acting like a typical 4-year-old on any given day (albeit a heightened version of one.)
And maybe this is why parents loathe him so much. And why they are gleefully cheering the news of his demise. Take a look at some of the comments parents have posted on social media:
Hallelujah, Caillou has finally been cancelled pic.twitter.com/n41g8AmZkE
— Torin (@torininabox) January 6, 2021
I have lots of words too, Aimee. Words like “Stooooooppppp, I don’t waaaaaaaannnnnntt it!”
This seems to be a common complaint among parents when it comes to Caillou. The show has received an audience star rating of 2.2 and 2.7 on commonsensemedia.org and IMDB.
Want your kids to whine for days and refuse to share? Plunk them down in front of a television and load them up on Caillou episodes. According to a number of reviewers, they’ll be mimicking his bad behavior in no time.
Don’t get me wrong. There are positives to Caillou. I’m sure of it.
Give me a minute, I’m thinking…
Still thinking…
Thankfully the good netizens of Facebook and Twitter have my back. Because some of them actually LOVE Caillou apparently. I know, it’s weird.
There are a number of comments from people who are going to MISS him and who are SAD to see him go.
In all honesty, she’s not wrong. The show was often a realistic depiction of how little kids struggle with dealing with big and intense emotions.
Many of the lessons Caillou learned along the way were common and relatable to the age group it was geared for.
And then there’s also this person’s take on why we should be applauding Caillou:
People dunk on the show Caillou but as a child it was really important for me to see a character that i knew i was better than in every way
— [abap] Xenolalia@SawCon (@keep_indoors) November 28, 2018
As for where Caillou goes from here? I’m sure he’ll be living it up in perpetual reruns from now until the end of time, terrorizing generations to come.
And now that PBS is done with the series they could easily sell it off to a black-ops government agency to be used as a new form of torture.
Forget waterboarding and sleep deprivation; just play Caillou on repeat and the victims will be begging for mercy.
As for all you self-masochists? Good news, you can still catch full episodes of Caillou on YouTube here.