Nick Jr. and Noggin will simulcast two back-to-back episodes of the new THE WONDER PETS! TVs first mini-operetta for preschoolers. The 20-episode, photoreal animated series from creator/exec producer Josh Selig, of Little Airplane Prods. Inc., debuts March 3on Noggin from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. The premiere episode will repeat on Nick Jr. on March 5 at 8:00 am. THE WONDER PETS! will air regularly on Nick Jr. weekdays at 11:30 am.
Beginning March 6, Video On Demand windowing will commence on Comcast, Cox, Cablevision and Charter, featuring behind-the-scenes clips and the first two episodes of the series.
This original series, starring three courageous classroom pets who sing opera and travel the world, has had a multi-platform launch. For the past few weeks, Nick Jr. Video, Nickjr.coms broadband video service, has been streaming an exclusive 12-minute sneak peek from the second episode entitled Save the Penguin! as well as character and adventure clips. Character and adventure clips from THE WONDER PETS! are also available on Verizon Wireless V CAST wireless broadband multimedia services.
THE WONDER PETS! chronicles the adventures of three funny, singing classroom pets: Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming Duckling and Turtle Tuck, who use teamwork to save baby animals in distress they find in their travels around the world. At the end of each school day when the teachers and students have all gone home, the fearless trio become The Wonder Pets! In every story, The Wonder Pets! receive a call on a tin-can phone in their classroom from a baby animal who needs their help. The trio quickly assembles their Flyboat, made from a collection of classroom toys and travel together across oceans, into space, and even back in time to save animals in distress. While they dont have any actual super powers, but they work together as a team to overcome adversity.
Every episode of THE WONDER PETS! is an original mini-operetta filled with world music influences suited to the locale of the days adventure. The music is written and developed by top Tony and Grammy Award-winning talent, including Jeffrey Lesser, a producer and recording engineer for artists including Barbra Streisand, Sting and Linda Ronstadt. Award-winning composers and orchestrators from Broadways AVENUE Q, MONTY PYTHONS SPAMALOT and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF have also worked on the series. The music on THE WONDER PETS! is recorded with a live orchestra; and much of the dialogue is sung in operetta style.
THE WONDER PETS! is done in a new, original style of animation, called photo-puppetry animation, in which the animators manipulate photographs of real animals, creating a comical, realistic look that is unique to Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.s award-winning website (www.nickjr.com) features convergent interactive games to complement the premiere of THE WONDER PETS! In THE WONDER PETS! PHONE GAME, kids can call the superheroes to the rescue. THE WONDER PETS! SAVE THE DAY musical game invites preschoolers to join the Wonder Pets team and go on a personalized rescue adventure. Additionally, for parents, Nick Jr. Parents TV streams a three-minute behind-the-scenes special and The Wonder Pets! For Parents site has interviews with the series creator, printables, crafts, ecards and more.
The shows curricular goals are based on developing appreciation and orientation towards teamwork, vocabulary building and problem solving.
A singing guinea pig, turtle and duck, tales of teamwork and far away places, combined with a fresh photoreal animated style make THE WONDER PETS! practically irresistible for kids and parents, said Brown Johnson, exec creative director, Nickelodeon Preschool Television.
The first two episodes of THE WONDER PETS! feature the following stories:(Premiere Episode): Save the Dolphin! (Part one) The Wonder Pets travel to Hawaii to rescue a young dolphin caught in a fishermans net. The fearless trio finds the dolphin in an underwater world, along with a variety of sea creatures. With the help of a swordfish, the Wonder Pets free the dolphin, return her to her grateful parents and then enjoy a Hawaiian luau.Save The Chimp! (Part two) The Wonder Pets get a call from a baby chimp lost in space! Working together, they adapt their flyboat for space travel and head for the stars to find the baby chimps rocket ship. When a meteor approaches, the Wonder Pets must use teamwork to pull the Chimps rocket out of the meteors path and return the baby chimp home safely to his family.
(Episode 2): Save The Unicorn! (Part one) The Wonder Pets take a mythical journey into a storybook to save a baby unicorn whose horn is stuck in a magical tree trunk. Save The Penguin! (Part two) The Wonder Pets are called to the South Pole to save a baby penguin who is stranded on a floating iceberg.
Little Airplane Productions (www.littleairplane.com) specializes in quality film & TV programming for young children. Founded by Selig in 1999, Little Airplane Productions created and produced PIPER O'POSSUM for Nick Jr. and OOBI for NOGGIN (winner of a 2001 Gold Parents Choice Award). Little Airplane also created and produced GO, BABY! for Playhouse Disney. Additionally, Selig was the head writer for LITTLE BILL on Nick Jr. and has received 11 Emmy Awards for his writing on SESAME STREET.
Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and weekends on CBS (check local listings). Completely dedicated to preschoolers, 2-5, Nick Jr.s Emmy, Peabody and Parents Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial free. At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.
Nickelodeon (www.nick.com), in its 26th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the U.S. and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in 89 million households and has been the top-rated basic cable network for more than 10 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
