Passe-Partout
Encyclopedia
Passe-Partout was a Quebec French
language children's television program
produced by Radio-Québec (later Télé-Québec
) that was in production from 1977 to 1987. It aired on Radio-Québec, Radio-Canada
and TVOntario
, lasting on some networks until 1998. It incorporated both live actors and puppet
s although neither group interacted with the other.
was released in 1969, the possibility of translating it in Quebec French
for broadcasting in Québec was considered. However, the conclusion was that Québec children would not be able to identify with an American television show, and thus the Québec Minister of Education
began investigating the possibility of a Québec-made children's show. After two years (in 1973), the project was handed over to a producer, Laurent Lachance.
However, internal conflict between Lachance and Radio-Québec led to several delays, and ultimately, to Lachance stepping down as producer. The government then turned toward private enterprises, and, on February 14, 1977, contracted JPL Production to produce the show.
The commentary for the first season's DVD mentions that the Quebec Minister of Education was being pressured to take over the pre-school program as part of the regular program (prematernelle). It reveals that the government, experimentally, opted to invest in a show that could have a comparable outreach for the curriculum for a fraction of the cost of establishing and maintaining an actual educational program of similar content within its school system.
Other characters that sometime appeared were André (a young adult male played by André Cartier), Fardoche (a male farmer played by Pierre Dufresne) and Grand-mère (a neighbouring older woman that played grandmother for the actors). The latter would sometime narrate legends (the actress playing Grand-mère, Kim Yaroshevskaya, used to be the hostess of another children show called Fanfreluche
where she also acted as a storyteller).
Apart from the distinctive costumes of the main actors, the live action segments had a surrealistic
feel due to the absence of any visible walls: all doors, windows and portraits were seen to hang in mid-air. Whether this was due to budget constraints or artistic choices is unclear.
Segments in this category could either be educational (counting, language skils, memory work, etc.), musical (featuring original songs composed in a traditional folk
style), moralistic (personal responsibility), or storytelling.
) and Mélodie (Cannelle's friend who often acted as an object of pity). Another character which never interacted directly with the children (although they often conversed, largely perhaps in the children's imagination) was Alakazou, an anthropomorphic zebra who hosted Cannelle and Pruneau's favourite TV show.
More often than not, the puppet segments dealt with social and moral issues relating to children. In one notable instance, the children's father lost his job and went on extended unemployment benefits, making their future uncertain.
While most of these shorts did not involve any of the characters from the other segments, more orchestrated ones did (such as Passe-Carreau getting her car serviced, Passe-Montagne getting his shoe fixed, etc.
It was also announced early in 2006 that work was underway on putting together DVD releases of the first two seasons of the show, in reaction to the sales of pirate
versions of the series on ebay
(with bids reaching the hundred dollars by the time the auction was canceled). Initially Télé-Québec was not interested in re-broadcasting the series, nor in producing a DVD. Marie Eykel and Jacques L'Heureux obtained the broadcast rights to the first 125 episodes. The DVD is produced by both actors, Télé-Québec, and Alliance Atlantis
Vivafilm.
The DVD was released on November 21, 2006 - nearly selling out on first day sales. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003411784
On September 29 of 2009, a CD compilation "Génération Passe-Partout" was released with some of the songs recorded by current artists from Quebec.
Quebec French
Quebec French , or Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its formal and informal registers. Quebec French is used in everyday communication, as well as in education, the media, and government....
language children's television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
produced by Radio-Québec (later Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec is a French language public educational television network in the Canadian province of Quebec. Known legally as Société de télédiffusion du Québec , it is a provincial crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec...
) that was in production from 1977 to 1987. It aired on Radio-Québec, Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...
and TVOntario
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
, lasting on some networks until 1998. It incorporated both live actors and puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
s although neither group interacted with the other.
Show History
When Sesame StreetSesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
was released in 1969, the possibility of translating it in Quebec French
Quebec French
Quebec French , or Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its formal and informal registers. Quebec French is used in everyday communication, as well as in education, the media, and government....
for broadcasting in Québec was considered. However, the conclusion was that Québec children would not be able to identify with an American television show, and thus the Québec Minister of Education
Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports (Quebec)
The Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports is the individual who has the political responsibility for the regulation and oversight of educational services offered in the province of Quebec as well as for the Ministry of Education.The Quebec government abolished the Ministry of Public...
began investigating the possibility of a Québec-made children's show. After two years (in 1973), the project was handed over to a producer, Laurent Lachance.
However, internal conflict between Lachance and Radio-Québec led to several delays, and ultimately, to Lachance stepping down as producer. The government then turned toward private enterprises, and, on February 14, 1977, contracted JPL Production to produce the show.
The commentary for the first season's DVD mentions that the Quebec Minister of Education was being pressured to take over the pre-school program as part of the regular program (prematernelle). It reveals that the government, experimentally, opted to invest in a show that could have a comparable outreach for the curriculum for a fraction of the cost of establishing and maintaining an actual educational program of similar content within its school system.
Live Action Segments
Live action segments usually featured the activities and relationships of several humorous and infantile characters: Passe-Partout (a woman dressed mainly in blue played by Marie Eykel), Passe-Carreau (a woman dressed mainly in yellow played by Claire Pimparé) and Passe-Montagne (a man dressed in brown sporting butterfly-shaped bowties played by Jacques L'Heureux).Other characters that sometime appeared were André (a young adult male played by André Cartier), Fardoche (a male farmer played by Pierre Dufresne) and Grand-mère (a neighbouring older woman that played grandmother for the actors). The latter would sometime narrate legends (the actress playing Grand-mère, Kim Yaroshevskaya, used to be the hostess of another children show called Fanfreluche
Fanfreluche
Fanfreluche was a French-language Canadian children's television show made in Quebec by Radio-Canada. The show made its debut in 1968 and ran for forty-six episodes until 1971. It starred Fanfreluche, a living doll who retold fairy tales and legends to the viewers...
where she also acted as a storyteller).
Apart from the distinctive costumes of the main actors, the live action segments had a surrealistic
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
feel due to the absence of any visible walls: all doors, windows and portraits were seen to hang in mid-air. Whether this was due to budget constraints or artistic choices is unclear.
Segments in this category could either be educational (counting, language skils, memory work, etc.), musical (featuring original songs composed in a traditional folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
style), moralistic (personal responsibility), or storytelling.
Puppet Segment
Unlike the live action segments, these were filmed in a realistic environment (although of course scaled down). The various sketches involved the twins Cannelle (girl) and Pruneau (boy). Their stories often featured Perlin and Perline (their parents), Grand-Papa Bi (their grandfather, father of Perline), Madame Coucou (a neighbour), Rigodon (their same-age male cousin), Ti-Brin (the slightly older bully/bad influence) as well as their classmates: Doualé (a girl from the fictional country of CantaloupeCantaloupe
"Rockmelon" redirects here, for the band see Rockmelons. See also Cantaloupe .Cantaloupe refers to a variety of Cucumis melo, a species in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes nearly all melons and squashes. Cantaloupes range in size from...
) and Mélodie (Cannelle's friend who often acted as an object of pity). Another character which never interacted directly with the children (although they often conversed, largely perhaps in the children's imagination) was Alakazou, an anthropomorphic zebra who hosted Cannelle and Pruneau's favourite TV show.
More often than not, the puppet segments dealt with social and moral issues relating to children. In one notable instance, the children's father lost his job and went on extended unemployment benefits, making their future uncertain.
Interlude
Many innovative short films were shown in between segments. These could be anything from animation (a face forming out of vegetable), art (a woman carving a puppet out of an apple) or children's testimonials. Many of these shorts depicted real-life activities that viewing children could either relate to (kids playing) or learn from if they happened to be from the opposite end of the spectrum (city life v. country life). Many also aimed to teach about daily happenings, from going to the dentist, getting x-rays, starting school, playing with friends (on alone), cleaning your bike, or simply going to bed.While most of these shorts did not involve any of the characters from the other segments, more orchestrated ones did (such as Passe-Carreau getting her car serviced, Passe-Montagne getting his shoe fixed, etc.
Passe-Partout today
Although it stopped airing in 1998, Passe-Partout retained an iconic place in Québec culture. People who grew up watching the program as children are termed the "Passe-Partout generation". In 2005, "Les Francs-Tireurs" dedicated one of their episodes to Passe-Partout (with Marie Eykel present), while in 2006, "Ici Louis-José Houde", a show tracing a humouristic history of Québec television, aired an episode tracing the history of children's show in Québec, with much of the show dedicated to Passe-Partout, and Eykel, Pimparé and L'Heureux all present.It was also announced early in 2006 that work was underway on putting together DVD releases of the first two seasons of the show, in reaction to the sales of pirate
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
versions of the series on ebay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
(with bids reaching the hundred dollars by the time the auction was canceled). Initially Télé-Québec was not interested in re-broadcasting the series, nor in producing a DVD. Marie Eykel and Jacques L'Heureux obtained the broadcast rights to the first 125 episodes. The DVD is produced by both actors, Télé-Québec, and Alliance Atlantis
Alliance Atlantis
Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. was a Toronto-based media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Shannon and Sydney.Alliance Atlantis was acquired by Canwest...
Vivafilm.
The DVD was released on November 21, 2006 - nearly selling out on first day sales. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003411784
On September 29 of 2009, a CD compilation "Génération Passe-Partout" was released with some of the songs recorded by current artists from Quebec.