''Caillou's Holiday Movie'' is a 2003 Canadian

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

Christmas film, based on the Canadian TV series ''

Caillou ''Caillou'' ( ; , stylized in lowercase) is an animated educational children's television series that aired on Teletoon (both English and French versions) with the first episode airing on the former channel on September 15, 1997 until the fou ...

'', itself based on the book series of the same name by Hélène Desputeaux. The film was directed by Nick Rijgersberg, from a screenplay written by Peter Svatek (who also wrote the story); producers were Evelyn Anyosz, Andre Auger, Diane Dallaire, Natalie Dumoulin, Louis Fournier, Julie Lovelock, Lesley Taylor and Steven Valin. ''Caillou's Holiday Movie'' was released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

on VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in the United States on October 7, 2003 and in Canada on October 28, 2003; by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

and Sony Wonder, respectively.

Plot

It's a very special holiday for Caillou when he learns about Christmas traditions around the world and the importance of giving and sharing. When Caillou wonders just how many days there are left until Christmas, his father, Boris gives him a Christmas calendar featuring holiday traditions from countries around the world in every window. Caillou also goes tobogganing, learns how to ski and plays Hanukkah games with his friend Leo. Caillou also gives away some of his toys when he learns about children around the world that are in need of toys such as his old ones he no longer plays with. Caillou's little sister Rosie also gets in on the Christmas fun. When Doris offers to help Rosie with making gifts, Rosie decides to try it on her own.

Voice cast

Production

''Caillou's Holiday Movie'' was produced at Caillou Special 1 Productions Inc (A subsidiary of CINAR Corporation). The previous English voice actress for Caillou, Jaclyn Linetsky (who also played Lori Mackney in '' What's with Andy?'', Meg in '' Mega Babies'', and Megan O‘ Connor in '' 15/Love''), died in a traffic collision a month before release. Thus, the film was dedicated in Linetsky's memory. Annie Bovaird was cast to replace Linetsky as the voice of Caillou.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released in Canada on December 14, 2010, featuring 18 songs. Amongst the several songs performed by the cast of the film are "Where Christmas is Not the Same" and "Eight Days to Go". One of the film's songs, "Everyday", was performed by French-Canadian artist Marilou. The score was composed by Jeffrey Zahn, but it wasn't featured in the soundtrack. The soundtrack is available on the Canadian iTunes Store.

Reception

Mark Van Hook of

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose revie ...

concluded the film is "inoffensive but bland", adding: "recommending it only to young children".

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

said the film contained "positive messages" and that its "image quality" was "excellent".

Home media

released the film on VHS and

in the United States on October 7, 2003. The special features in the DVD include: an animated interview with

; more holiday songs; the read-along of ''

The Night Before Christmas "A Visit from St. Nicholas", routinely referred to as "The Night Before Christmas" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. A ...

''; and six Caillou challenges. The film was presented in full screen as well as in 2.0

Stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

audio; in either English, French or Spanish. The Canadian release from Sony Wonder, released on October 28, 2003, contains French, English and Spanish voicetracks as with the US release; its DVD bonus features are two games and two sing-alongs. The film was re-released by NCircle Entertainment and DHX Media (as part of the 27th anniversary of

) on November 11, 2014.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0760233 2003 direct-to-video films 2003 animated films Canadian direct-to-video films Canadian animated feature films Canadian children's animated films Canadian Christmas films English-language Canadian films Animated films based on animated series Animated films based on animated television series Direct-to-video animated films WildBrain films 2000s children's animated films 2000s English-language films Quebec films 2000s Canadian animated films Caillou