Caillou's Holiday Movie


Caillou's Holiday Movie is a 2003 Canadian animated Christmas film. It stars Annie Bovaird as Caillou, Pat Fry as Daddy, Jason Szwimmer as Elf, and Terry Simpson as Mailman.
The film is based on the Canadian TV series Caillou. It was released direct-to-video on VHS and DVD on October 7, 2003 by Sony Wonder in Canada and Warner Home Video in the United States. It was re-released by NCircle Entertainment as part of Caillou's 25th Anniversary on November 11, 2014.
This is the first time that Caillou is voiced by Annie Bovaird, who would later voice him in the rest of the TV series' run. Bovaird replaced previous voice actress Jaclyn Linetsky, who died a month before the film's release. It is the only film based on the TV series. It also serves as the season finale to the third season of the series.

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 Daddy 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 Mom offers to help Rosie with making gifts, Rosie decides to try it on her own. The film features several songs performed by the cast of the film including Where Christmas is Not The Same and Eight Days to Go and Everyday performed by French-Canadian artist Marilou.

Production

Caillou's Holiday Movie was produced at Special 1 Productions Inc. Annie Bovaird takes over as the English voice of Caillou because the previous English voice of Caillou, Jaclyn Linetsky, who played Megan in the TV show15/Love, died in 2003, not long before the film was released. The film was directed by Nick Rijgersberg, written by Peter Svatek and produced by Evelyn Anyosz, Andre Auger, Diane Dallaire, Natalie Dumoulin, Louis Fournier, Julie Lovelock, Lesley Taylor and Steven Valin.

Cast

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released seven years later and features 18 songs. The score was composed by Jeffrey Zahn, but was not featured in the soundtrack. It was released in Canada on December 14, 2010, and is available on the Canadian iTunes Store.

Reception

Mark Van Hook of DVD Verdict concluded that the film is inoffensive but bland, recommending it only to young children.

DVD

On October 7, 2003, a DVD for the movie was released. The DVD contains a few special features, including:
The film is presented in full screen and is in 2.0 Dolby Surround audio.
NCircle Entertainment and DHX Media re-released it as part of Caillou's 25th Anniversary on November 11, 2014.