The children’s show “Caillou” has officially died. And the parents dance in the grave of the “little brat”.
“We say goodbye to @cailloudhx,” PBS Kids announced in a tweet along with tips “on what to do when your child’s favorite media disappears.”
But it seems that the bald cartoon character was the least favorite animated star among moms and dads everywhere, who have been celebrating online since the news of the show’s cancellation came out.
“Caillou’s reign of terror is over !!” wrote a relieved spectator on Twitter, while complaints from other Caillou skeptics have included that the whole thing is a bootleg Charlie Brown, called him a “Little Brat” i “Bad.”
Another addition left over, “You won’t miss it.”
The show first aired in 1997 on Teletoon and new episodes were released until 2010, after which Caillou re-ruled the popular-kids station (until recently).
Clearly, the 4-year-old perennial child didn’t win the heart of the millennial parent set. According to the show’s themed song, Caillou enjoys exploring his fictional world on Pine Street along with his parents, friends, grandparents, pets and puppet companions. The show included segments to teach the younger ones to brush their teeth, the days of the week and to work through the bursts and quarrels between siblings, with whom the titular character apparently struggled during the five seasons he went broadcast the show.
“Growing up isn’t that hard,” he feels when I’m tired, “Caillou sings in the show’s theme song sequence, which shows how he throws toys and punches fists in the bathroom line show Caillou pinching his little sister Rosie, i complaining about his mother. Some parents admit that Caillou’s misbehavior on screen led them to ban the Canadian series from their home.
“This is the only program you were not allowed to watch,” wrote a mother. Another adult raised by PBS recalled, “This show was banned in my house and many of my friends!”
Caillou was also not exempt from his professional criticism. A publication in the Canadian newspaper The National Post classified Caillou as “shameless,” adding that the toon “turned”[s] the young spectators of the show in shrill monsters ”.
With the cancellation starting in 2021, parents are relieved to see that Caillou finally receives punishment they believe he deserved it all the time.
Caillou passes the torch to some of the most recent and popular PBS cartoon characters, including Daniel the Tiger, a supporting character in “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”; Pinkalicious, the co-star of “Pinkalicious & Peterrific”; and Molly, a ten-year-old Alaska native from Molly of Denali.