Nickelodeon's THE BACKYARDIGANS will take multiple medieval musical journeys through a new hour-long primetime TV movie, a new CD release, and the launch of a new 50-city live theatrical tour. The movie, TALE OF THE MIGHTY KNIGHTS, will premiere Monday, Jan. 14 at 7:00 pm ET/PT; the CD, BORN TO PLAY, from Nickelodeon/Sony BMG, will be available Jan. 22; and "The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights" in partnership with Live Nation, will begin on March 28.
In TALE OF THE MIGHTY KNIGHTS, royal knights Uniqua and Tyrone are ready to do mighty deeds in service to their king (Pablo). It seems like a pretty simple task until the king asks them to babysit an egg, which grows legs and runs away! A rock opera soundtrack moves the action along as the knights pursue their egg in Goblin Land and encounter a grabbing goblin (Austin), through Fairyland where they meet a tiny and mischievous fairy (Tasha), and finally to Dragon Mountain where they face a mighty baby dragon (Adam Pascal). Special guest Adam Pascal, Tony-nominated star of the original Broadway cast of RENT and AIDA, narrates the movie and performs the original rock opera power ballad "Not An Egg."
Content from TALE OF THE MIGHTY KNIGHTS will roll out across several Nickelodeon Preschool platforms, including music videos and additional episodes on Time Warner's Video On Demand service (Dec. 31); streaming clips and music videos, an interview with Adam Pascal and behind-the-scenes clips from the TV movie on Nick Jr. Video (Jan. 4); clips on wireless carriers (Jan. 4); and an interactive game and activities on Nickjr.com (Jan. 4).
BORN TO PLAY, the third CD from the series, features 22 new tracks, including six songs from TALE OF THE MIGHTY KNIGHTS. Guest artists Alicia Keys, Cyndi Lauper and Adam Pascal join the backyard gang. The CD is packaged at retail with a special "Backyard Match-Up Game" and is being distributed in an earth-friendly recycled sleeve. The CD will also be available digitally on iTunes, with a special deluxe edition that includes four bonus exclusive tracks and a digital folder.
Based on the primetime special, "The Backyardigans Live!" will follow the success of previous Nickelodeon touring shows "Go, Diego, Go Live!" and "Dora The Explorer Live!" The 50-city tour will kick off in York, Pennsylvania on March 28, 2008. Other scheduled tour stops include: New York, NY; Boston, Massachusetts; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Atlanta, Georgia; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Tampa, Florida, San Antonio, Texas; and Houston, Texas. For schedule information visit www.nickjr.com.
Since its debut on Nickelodeon's preschool weekday lineup, THE BACKYARDIGANS has become the number-two-rated preschool show on all of commercial TV among the target audience of kids 2-5. Each half-hour episode features a unique music/dance genre with four original songs, along with real choreographed movements recreated in animation. The animated dance steps are choreographed by Beth Bogush, a former director of the Alvin Ailey Dance School's children's program. The show's rich animation style features lush, fantasy backgrounds created with CGI and 3D techniques.
