PorchLight Entertainment will produce a new season of JAY JAY THE JET PLANE episodes that will include an interactive mystery element and a new Latina airplane character friend for Jay Jay.
Were pleased to expand the JAY JAY storytelling tradition with these engaging new episodes, said PorchLights president/ceo Bruce Johnson. The new JAY JAY episodes will introduce Spanish language words and Hispanic cultural elements, all within a new mystery-solving interactive format. With its renewed television distribution commitment from PBS, the first 10x12 new episodes will be available on PBS Plus in October 2005, with another 10 episodes planned for 2006.
Each new half-hour JAY JAY episode on PBS KIDS will be comprised of a 12-minute Jay Jays Mysteries interactive episode, followed by a classically formatted 12-minute episode. Clues to the puzzle-mysteries such as What is gravity? and What makes a rainbow? will be woven into each story and the answer will be revealed at the end of each episode. Additionally, more Jay Jay games can be found at www.pbskids.org/jayjay. With the production of these 10 new episodes for fall 2005, plus 10 more for 2006, JAY JAY THE JET PLANE will soon celebrate its 100th episode.
The first 10 JAY JAY episodes will star the traditional cast along with some new characters, most notably Lina, a four-year-old bilingual bi-plane, and Montana, an adventurous story-spinning pontoon plane, and will feature new stories, new music and new locations, as well as a highly interactive production format. Right along with the airplanes at Tarrytown Airport, preschoolers at home will be prompted to engage their own problem-solving skills by responding to clues and finding answers to fun mysteries.
Were excited to offer our viewers more JAY JAY through new interactive episodes, said Linda Simensky, senior director PBS KIDS programming. Kids have enjoyed watching Jay Jay and his friends over the years and now theyll get to meet new characters in a new format.
JAY JAY THE JET PLANE, created by Deborah and David Michel, follows the adventures of a perky and curious six-year old jet plane named Jay Jay and his airplane friends who live and play at Tarrytown Airport, a place where imagination takes flight! The 3D animated television series is a successful part of PBS KIDS in the U.S., Nine Network in Australia and on other leading kids networks worldwide, reaching more than 50 countries. JAY JAY THE JET PLANE is produced by PorchLight Entertainment and Modern Cartoons, with PorchLight holding exclusive worldwide distribution rights.
These new episodes, along with our recently announced expanded marketing and promotional plans for JAY JAY, will assure a continued growth of the brand, added Johnson. We know that kids will love the challenge of helping their Tarrytown pals solve puzzles and mysteries, and our new format will guide them to do so.
The new JAY JAY episodes are being developed in association with educational consultants specializing in early childhood education.
"Lina, the new preschool-aged airplane character, introduces Spanish phrases and bits of Hispanic to JAY JAY and, as a result, we experience and celebrate these young friends of two distinct cultures, working together as unique parts of their community, said series consultant Viki Silva, a specialist in bilingual preschool education, diversity and cross-cultural communication. Silva is a demonstration teacher at Seeds University Elementary School, the laboratory school of the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies.
Laurine DiRocco, a childhood development specialist, has been working with the JAY JAY creative team since the series was first conceived in 1996. She provides guidance regarding the preschool science and nature components, along with the developmental aspects of the scriptwriting, ensuring that the content and language are age-appropriate. Formerly with UCLA, she served as a demonstration teacher and coordinator of the Early Childhood program at Seeds University Elementary School. She was also co- developer and co-author of its Early Childhood Curriculum. As part of her consultant practice, DiRocco currently trains Head Start teachers and is a consultant for the Music Center, Education Division.
PBS KIDS is committed to providing the highest quality commercial-free content and learning environment for children across the country. Providing age-appropriate, diverse programming for kids, PBS KIDS programs consistently earn more prestigious awards than any other broadcast or cable network. Only PBS KIDS has earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. With additional PBS resources to complement its programming, including PBS KIDS online (pbskids.org), PBS Parents (pbsparents.org), PBS TeacherSource, PBS Ready To Learn services and literacy events across the country, PBS KIDS is providing the tools necessary for positive child development. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nations 348 public television stations, serving nearly 90 million people each week and reaching 99% of American homes.
Los Angeles-based PorchLight Ent., (www.porchlight.com) is a multi-faceted company focused on the production and distribution of family entertainment. Since its formation in 1995 by veteran entertainment execs Johnson and William T. Baumann, PorchLight has produced the award-winning animated children's series, JAY JAY THE JET Plane (PBS), ADVENTURES FROM THE BOOK OF VIRTUES (PBS), and the animated longform movies THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS: A MOUSE TALE, THE HAUNTED PUMPKIN OF SLEEPY HOLLOW and THE CHRISTMAS DINOSAUR; as well as more than 20 live-action feature films. In addition to TUTENSTEIN, PorchLight is also producing the animated series FOUR EYES for France 3 and Nickelodeon Asia and a series of videos for Leapfrog, the leading electronic toy company. PorchLight also distributes its library of more than 100 movies and 500 half-hours of childrens programming to the global market.
