Children’s show “Caillou” is officially dead. And parents dance on the “little brat” grave.
“We say goodbye to @cailloudhx,” PBS Kids announced in a tweet along with “What to Do When Your Child’s Favorite Media Disappears” tips.
But it seems the bald cartoon character was the least favorite animated star among moms and dads everywhere, partying online since the news of the show’s cancellation got out.
“Caillou’s reign of terror is over !!” wrote a relieved viewer on Twitter, while other Caillou skeptics claimed, among other things, that the toddler is a bootleg Charlie Brown, called him one “Little brat” and “bad.”
Another sober added, “You will not be missed.”
The show first aired in 1997 on Teletoon and new episodes were released until 2010, after which Caillou reruns ruled the popular children’s channel – until recently.
The perennial 4-year-old clearly did not win the hearts of the millennial parent. According to the show’s theme song, Caillou likes to explore his fictional world on Pine Street with his parents, friends, grandparents, pets and doll friends. The show included segments to teach young people how to brush their teeth, the days of the week, and how to work through tantrums and sibling arguments that the titular character apparently struggled with for the five seasons that the show became broadcast.
“Growing up isn’t that hard, unless I’m tired of it,” Caillou sings in the show’s series of theme songs, in which the toddler throws toys and bangs the bathroom floors with his fists. Videos circulate Caillou’s online show squeezes his sister Rosie, and whine at his mother. Some parents admit that Caillou’s bad on-screen behavior led them to ban the Canadian series from their home.
“This is the only show he wasn’t allowed to see,” one mother wrote. Another PBS-bred adult reminisced, “This show was banned from my house and many of my friends!”
Caillou was not without his professional critics either. An op-ed by the Canadian newspaper the National Post categorized Caillou as a ‘shameless whiner’, adding that the tone ‘turn[s] the young viewers of the show turn into shrill monsters. “
With the cancellation beginning in 2021, parents are relieved that Caillou will finally be sentenced they believe he deserved it all the time.
Caillou is passing the torch to a few more recent and more popular PBS cartoon characters, including Daniel the Tiger, a former “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” supporting character; Pinkalicious, the co-star of “Pinkalicious & Peterrific”; and Molly, a 10-year-old Alaskan-born lead actor of “Molly of Denali.”