Nick Jr.'s Top-Rated Preschool Superheroes Take on The Big Bad Wolf in a New President's Day Episode of The Wonder Pets!, Monday, February 19

Nick Jr.'s Top-Rated Preschool Superheroes Take on The Big Bad Wolf in a New President's Day Episode of The Wonder Pets!, Monday, February 19

The First Preschool Series to Feature Mini Operettas and Music by Award- Winning Broadway Composers Ranks as the Number One Preschool Show for 2006

*DVD's and art available upon request

NEW YORK, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Nick Jr. offers a contemporary twist on the classic tale of the three little pigs with a brand-new, half-hour episode of the top-rated animated preschool series The Wonder Pets! Courageous classroom pets Linny, Tuck and Ming-Ming, embark on a musical adventure through a fairytale puppet theatre in "Save the Three Little Pigs," premiering President's Day on Monday, February 19 at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT) and encoring at 1:00 p.m. (ET/PT) that day.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070207/NYW123 )

Additionally, kids and their parents can go to Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.'s broadband video service on Nickjr.com, for a two-minute sneak peek of "Save the Three Little Pigs" on Friday, February 16 at 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Nick Jr. Video will also offer an "instant replay" of the full episode at 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Monday, February 19.

The Wonder Pets!, television's first mini-operetta for preschoolers, was ranked as the number one-rated preschool series on all of commercial tv in 2006. The Wonder Pets! is also the first preschool series to feature Tony award-winning and nominated Broadway composers, including the series' lead composer Larry Hochman (Monty Python's Spamalot), Bobby Lopez (Avenue Q), and Jason Robert Brown (Parade). Grammy Award-winning producer and recording engineer Jeffrey Lesser serves as music producer/music supervisor for the series. All of the music on The Wonder Pets! is recorded with a live orchestra; and in operetta style much of the dialogue is sung.

In "Save the Three Little Pigs," the Wonder Pets get a call from the Three Little Pigs who are distressed because the Big Bad Wolf wants to eat them. Linny, Tuck and Ming-Ming fly into a puppet theatre and find the first pig building a straw house which he hopes will protect him. The Big Bad Wolf is denied by the hair of the pig's chinny-chin-chin, so he huffs, puffs and blows the house down. Just as the Wolf is about to have his lunch, the Wonder Pets swoop in and rescue the pig. The trio comes upon the second pig and questions his house of wooden sticks, just as the Wolf blows it down. But the Wonder Pets swoop in and save the pigs just in time. They have high hopes for the third pig, but he's building his house out of flowers! While Tuck suggests making the last house out of bricks, the Wolf decides he wants the pesky Wonder Pets instead. Linny, Tuck and Ming-Ming run into the brick house which triumphantly remains standing, after the Wolf's last attempt. The Wolf finally gives up on the Three Little Pigs and the Wonder Pets, and goes off to pursue Little Red Riding Hood.

The Wonder Pets! chronicles the adventures of three funny, singing classroom pets: Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming Duckling and Turtle Tuck, who travel the world and use teamwork to save baby animals in distress. Every episode of The Wonder Pets! is an original mini-operetta filled with world music influences suited to the locale of the day's adventure. 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 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. Like real preschoolers, The Wonder Pets! have no actual super powers, but they work together as a team to overcome adversity and achieve great success.

A new, original style of animation, called photo-puppetry animation was created exclusively for The Wonder Pets! The technique allows animators to manipulate photographs of real animals, creating a comical, realistic look that is unique to Nick Jr.

The show's curricular goals are based on developing appreciation and orientation towards teamwork, vocabulary building, and problem solving.

Little Airplane Productions, Inc. specializes in quality Film & Television programming for young children. Founded by Josh 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, Josh Selig was the Head Writer for Little Bill on Nick Jr. He has received eleven Emmy Awards for his writing on Sesame Street, and was the Resident Producer of the historic Israeli/Palestinian Sesame Street co-production (winner of the 1998 Japan Prize). For more information about Little Airplane Productions please visit http://www.littleairplane.com/.

Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely dedicated to preschoolers ages 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, in its 27th 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 United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 92 million households and has been the number-one- rated basic cable network for almost 12 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE: VIA.B).

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070207/NYW123
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN13
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Nick Jr.

CONTACT: Sharyn Traub, +1-212-846-6381, Sharyn.traub@nick.com, or
Heather Brown, +1-212-846-6240, Heather.brown@nick.com

Web site: http://www.nickjr.com/
http://www.nick.com/
http://www.littleairplane.com/

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