A place for parents to learn about their preschool children’s favorite television shows with news from Playhouse Disney, Noggin, Nick Jr., and PBS Kids.
Nick Jr.’s new show, Ni Hao, Kai-lan premieres today at 11 a.m. corresponding with the Chinese New Year.
The show aimed at 2 to 5 year olds focuses on a five year old girl named Kai-lan. The series explores the colorful aspects of her upbringing and background, and her relationships with family, friends, and the world around her.
The characters of the show include:
YeYe: YeYe is Kai-lan’s grandpa. He provides her with guidance, but let’s her find her own answers while he learns from her as well.
Rintoo: Rintoo is a five year old tiger who loves to play with his best friend Kai-lan. He is impulsive with much bravado but also sweet and caring.
Tolee: Tolee is a koala who always puts his friends first. He sometimes worries too much, but can’t wait to be part of games and activities.
Hoho: A three year old monkey is the youngest of Kai-lan’s friends. He loves to be the center of attention.
Lulu:Â The oldest of the group, Lulu is a six year old pink rhino who loves to dance and is eager to help out.
Preschoolers will learn many mandarin words and phrases, as well as how to deal with issues such as taking turns, disappointment and jealousy.
Being authentic is admirable, but whether “Ni Hao, Kai-lan” succeeds or not depends less on that or even the “emotional intelligence curriculum” than it does on whether the 2-t0-5 demo finds Kai-lan and friends entertaining. It may be visually pleasing and sweet at its heart – good and good for you, as they say – but if Kai-lan, Rintoo, Tolee, Hoho, Lulu and Gramps can’t set the hook in those kids from Kansas, this series will be forgotten faster than the French you learned in high school.
For anyone interested in China, “Ni Hao, Kai-lan” is a dramatic illustration of how much Chinese culture — like Irish, German, Italian and so many other immigrant cultures before it — is not only present in America but is part of us. That’s part of why Jade-Lianna Gao Peters, the 11-year-old Milwaukee girl who voices Kai-lan, is excited about what American kids unfamiliar with Chinese culture can glean from the show.
Noggin has acquired the U.S. broadcast rights to the first 52 episodes of Peppa Pig. Peppa Pig is a show from the United Kingdom that debuted four years ago.
It is currently airing on Nick Jr. UK and the shows website describes the show thusly:
Peppa is a loveable, cheeky little piggy who lives with her little brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig. Peppa’s favourite things include playing games, dressing up, days out and jumping in muddy puddles. Her adventures always end happily with loud snorts of laughter.
Playhouse Disney will have a morning full of new episodes in time for Valentines Day. The schedule is below:
Johnny and the Sprites (Saturday February 9, 7:30 a.m. ET/PT) – Lily gives Johnny a ”love bug” for Valentine’s Day, but it causes him to fall in love with Francesca the Frog! Then Root casts a spell that makes him grow twenty feet tall, but learns that his friends like him just the size he is.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Saturday February 9 9:00 a.m. ET/PT) - Minnie is planning a picnic to celebrate the new picnic grounds, and it takes help from all her friends to ensure the event’s success!
Bunnytown (Saturday February 9, 11:00 a.m. ET/PT) – It’s Carrot Giving Day in Bunnytown, and everyone, including Spacebunny, wants to show how much they care about their friends, by sharing their carrots.
Handy Manny (Thursday February 14, 9:30 a.m. ET/PT) – Manny and the tools help assemble a robot for their neighbor Mr. Bouffant (voiced by Fred Willard) to give to his wife for a Valentine’s Day present. But when the robot doesn’t do anything it’s supposed to, everyone comes to learn that it’s the thought that counts.
The Backyardigans franchise continues to expand. Tasha, Pablo, Uniqua, Tyrone, and Austin will have an hour long prime time movie on January 14th. The The Backyardigans: Born to Play CD will be released on January 22nd. And the stage show, yes the stage show, The Backyardigans Live! will open a 50 city tour on March 28th.
In the movie, “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). The musical theme for the movie is a rock opera.
With the move to full time programming, Noggin has announced two new seasons of shows.
First they greenlighted a second season of Pinky Dinky Doo. The new season will contain 26 episodes.
Also, they will premiere a full 26 episode season of Toot & Puddle starting in Fall 2008. The series is based on books by children’s author Holly Hobbie.
Starting with the last day of 2007, Noggin will move to a 24 hour format as it splits with The N!. For fans fo The N!, that will go to a 24 hour format as well on it’s own channel. The move puts Noggin head to head with PBS Sprout as they pursue kiddies-after-dark (that sounds bad now that I reread it).
To kickoff the move Noggin has some new programming planned for New Year’s Eve including a 90 minute Franklin movie.
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. (ET) “Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure†(*TV Premiere)
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. (ET) “Dora Saves the Mermaidsâ€
8:30 – 9:00 p.m. (ET) “Save the Wonder Pets!â€
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. (ET) “Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasureâ€
In “Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure,†Franklin is on a holiday break from school when he receives a surprise visit from his Aunt Lucy, an explorer whose specialty is finding archaeological treasures. This family reunion gives Franklin’s Granny the chance to relive her own childhood. When she mentions a box filled with treasures that she buried at Turtle Lake as a child, Franklin is intrigued. When Granny falls ill and Aunt Lucy remembers a talisman that was hidden in the famous box, a treasure hunt becomes extremely important. Franklin decides immediately to hunt for this remedy which could save his grandmother. His friends Beaver and Bear accompany him, with Aunt Lucy and her goddaughter Samantha, a headstrong little turtle with whom Franklin has a hard time contending with. It’s a difficult journey, but Franklin is ready to do anything to help Granny and it also gives him the chance to make new friends.
Second seasons of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Johnny and the Sprites are set to debut in January. Johnny and the Sprites second season will debut on January 19th at 7:30 a.m.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will kick off one week later with 4 new episodes:
Saturday, January 26
9:00 a.m. “Fancy Dancin’ Goofy” – Mickey and the gang help Goofy prepare to attend the “Fancy Dance” with Clarabelle the Cow.
9:30 a.m. “Goofy the Homemaker” – Mickey and pals help Goofy build a bird house for Baby Red Bird and his family.
Sunday, January 27
9:00 a.m. “Mickey’s Handy Helpers” – When the Handy Helpers go limp, Mickey and his friends must fix the machine and get the Clubhouse working.
9:30 a.m. “Goofy Baby” – When Professor Von Drake’s time machine accidentally turns Goofy into a baby, the gang acts as babysitters while the Professor works on getting Goofy back to normal.
Nick Jr. will be filling Friday afternoons with new episodes and holiday themed episodes. The schedule is below:
December 14 (12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
12:00 p.m. The Wonder Pets! “Save the Reindeerâ€
12:30 p.m. Blue’s Clues “Blue’s First Holidayâ€
1:00 p.m. Go, Diego, Diego! “Diego Saves Christmas†1:30 p.m. Wow Wow Wubbzy! “O Figgity-Fig Tree/Snow Day†(PREMIERE)
The winter holidays are here, and the kids are building a winter festival, Madame Zabinga is rehearsing the Nutty-Nutcracker, and Walden is waiting for the arrival of blue snow. Best of all is the lighting of the Figgity-Fig Tree, and this year Wubbzy wants to make it the best tree ever! But as usual, he overdoes it by adding too many lights and blows out the generator. Without any lights, the Wuzzleburg townspeople must come up with novel ways of decorating the tree. In “Snow Day,†Wubbzy goes sledding and Widget brings out his snow-shoveling machine. Walden begins building a snow sculpture of a Woly-Polar Bear, but soon Wubbzy sleds right into it, knocks it down and buries Widget’s machine in the snow. Now Wubbzy and Widget scramble frantically to fix the sculpture before Walden finds out.
December 21 (12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
12:00 p.m. Dora the Explorer “A Present for Santaâ€
12:30 p.m. Blue’s Room “Holiday Wishesâ€
1:00 p.m. The Wonder Pets! “Save the Reindeer†1:30 p.m. Yo Gabba Gabba “Christmas†(PREMIERE)
So much of Christmas is about receiving, but in this episode the Gabba gang learns about giving through the songs “Making Presents†and “For Me For You.†They celebrate winter and the holiday season in the songs “I Love Winter†and “Decorate the Tree.†Featured Guest Star: Mark Mothersbaugh in a “Mark’s Magic Pictures†segment
December 28 (12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
12:00 p.m. Miss Spider’s SunnyPatch Friends “Hum-Bug/Dashing Through the Snowâ€
12:30 p.m. The Backyardigans “Secret of Snowâ€
1:00 p.m. Dora the Explorer “South Pole†1:30 p.m. Max & Ruby “Max’s Mix-Up/Max’s Snow Bunny†(PREMIERE)
Looking for a way to settle down the kids and keep them in bed on Christmas Eve? Check out PBS Kids Sprout where they’ll be serving up a Snooze-A-Thon. Starting at 7:00 p.m. and running straight through until 6:00 a.m. on Christmas morning, everything will be quite at Sprout. If you tune in you’ll see Good Night Show host Nina and her sidekick Star sleeping on the set.
Sprout will also air Bob the Builder: A Christmas to Remember featuring Elton John and Crocodile Rock on December 18th at 4:30 p.m.
Noggin will be rolling out a week of Yo Gabba Gabba premiers with 4 new episodes coming the week of November 26th. The episodes and guest stars are as follow:
Monday, November 26
It’s time for the Gabba gang to go for a ride in a car. In the song “Keep Trying†they learn the importance of using seat belts. The song “Car Ride†explores the thrill of traveling and during the song “Danger,†the characters learn to stay away from the road when playing.
Guest Stars: Sugarland in a “Dancey Dance†segment; Biz Markie in a “Biz’s Beat of the Day†segment
Tuesday, November 27 — “Shareâ€
The Gabba gang learns about sharing by singing “Mine and Yours,†“Don’t Take it Away,†“Share,†and “Catch and Throw.â€
Guest Stars: Cornelius performs; Biz Markie in a “Biz’s Beat of the Day†segment
Wednesday, November 28 — “Findâ€
Imagination leads to discovery as the Gabba gang uncover many things that may be different or frightening. The songs “I Like Fish†and “Woodpecker†encourage the characters to learn about different animals. The “Keep Trying†song helps Muno find his toy snake that was lost and the song “Peek-a-Boo†allows the gang to play with the viewers at home.
Guest Stars: Sean Kingston in a “Dancey Dance†segment; Mark Mothersbaugh in a “Mark’s Magic Pictures†segment
Thursday, November 29 – “Trainâ€
The song “Don’t Be Afraid†shows the Gabba gang how to overcome fears, while “Train Ride†and “Too Loud†teach them all about the joys of trains. In the “Share†song, the Gabba characters learn about the multiple parts of a train and how if they work together, they can make the train longer.
Guest Stars: Laila Ali in a “Dancey Dance†segment, Biz Markie in a “Biz’s Beat of the Day†segment