Nickelodeon Puts the Funk in Preschool with Yo Gabba Gabba!

Nickelodeon Puts the Funk in Preschool with Yo Gabba Gabba!

Nick Jr.'s New Interactive Live-Action Music Series with a Beat-Driven Soundtrack, Diverse Music and Guest Appearances Set to Premiere Monday, August 20

Elijah Wood Guest-Stars In Premiere Episode; Star-Studded Lineup Of Season One Guests To Include: Tony Hawk, Laila Ali, Mya, Biz Markie, The Shins, Sugarland, Sean Kingston, Nikki Flores, Mark Mothersbaugh, Rahzel And More

Yo Gabba Gabba! Premiere To Simulcast On NOGGIN; 20-Episode Series To 'Sneak Peek' On Multiple Platforms Including, Video On Demand, Wireless Carriers And Nick Jr. Video

*(DVD's and artwork available upon request)

NEW YORK, July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon invites preschoolers and their families to rock out with Nick Jr.'s new live-action music series Yo Gabba Gabba! The interactive, half-hour 20-episode series, produced by The Magic Store and W!LDBRAIN, will debut with a simulcast of the premiere episode, "Eat" on both Nick Jr. and sister network NOGGIN on Monday, August 20 at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT*) with an encore on Nick Jr. at 1:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Nick Jr. will premiere a new episode of Yo Gabba Gabba! every day from Tuesday, August 21 - Thursday, August 23 at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT) and the series will air regularly weekdays at 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nick Jr. Through an original beat-driven soundtrack and innovative retro style, Yo Gabba Gabba! highlights simple life lessons in the lives of preschoolers, like sharing, healthy eating and making their bed. The series' unique magazine format features original animation, vibrant walk-around puppets, real kids, diverse music genres, and celebrity and musical guest appearances in every episode.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070731/NYTU100 )

The first season of Yo Gabba Gabba! will feature a recurring role by Hip Hop legend Biz Markie in a "Biz's Beat of the Day" segment where he teaches preschoolers how to beat-box, and a recurring role by singer, illustrator and composer Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) in a "Mark's Magic Pictures" drawing segment. Additional guest stars include, Elijah Wood in the premiere episode ("Eat"), Mya, The Shins, Sugarland, Rahzel, Tony Hawk, Laila Ali, Sean Kingston, Nikki Flores, Hector Jimenez, Smoosh, The Aquabats, The Aggrolites and Cornelius.

"Yo Gabba Gabba! is completely unique!" said Brown Johnson, Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool Television. "This fresh, inventive music series will captivate preschoolers and caregivers with a hip, diverse slate of original music and infectious lyrics. Kids will see how much fun it can be to eat healthy, clean up and brush their teeth as they sing and dance along with the engaging cast of colorful characters, real kids, talented guest stars and one-of-a-kind animation."

"The Magic Store and W!LDBRAIN are thrilled to work together with Nickelodeon to create such an original and ground-breaking series," said Charles Rivkin, Executive Producer of Yo Gabba Gabba! and President and CEO of W!LDBRAIN. "Yo Gabba Gabba! is a one-of-a-kind experience and will make preschool fun for the whole family."

Yo Gabba Gabba! stars host DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson) who brings to life four friendly monsters and a robot in a colorful land of music and laughter. The series highlights simple life lessons for preschoolers, through original song in short thematically linked segments, featuring animation, walk-around puppets and real kids. Yo Gabba Gabba! features an eclectic mix of unique music genres for preschoolers including, Pop, 80s, Electronic, New Wave, British Invasion, Hip Hop and more. Each episode culminates with an original music remix that summarizes the lessons learned. The characters, Muno the red cyclops, Foofa the pink flower bubble, Brobee the little green one, Toodee the blue cat-dragon and Plex the robot, are all ready to sing, play and dance along with the viewers as soon as they hear the magic words, "Yo Gabba Gabba!" They physically engage preschoolers with interactive play and encourage them to get up and dance to the music. Yo Gabba Gabba! also features pretend-along games that teach shapes and colors, ask questions and teach new dance steps while keeping preschoolers laughing throughout the episode.

On the premiere episode, "Eat," Elijah Wood guest stars in a "Dancey Dance" segment teaching viewers a "puppet master" dance, and Mark Mothersbaugh shows viewers how to draw a potato bug in his "Mark's Magic Pictures" segment. Musical character segments on the premiere episode feature songs "Party In My Tummy," "Snacky Snack Snack" and "Try it, You'll Like It" which teach viewers that it is fun to eat healthy foods, and "Clean It Up" which shows preschoolers how to have fun while cleaning up a mess.

Yo Gabba Gabba! teaches critical components in early childhood development such as developing speech, respecting nature and acquiring good manners. Additional teaching moments set to song include, "Excuse Me," "It's OK, Try Again" and "I'm So Sorry."

Nick Jr. will also kick off the launch of Yo Gabba Gabba! across the following Nickelodeon Preschool platforms:

   -- Beginning Thursday, July 26, Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.'s broadband video      service available on Nickjr.com, will stream music videos, clips and a      behind-the-scenes of Yo Gabba Gabba!   -- Beginning Thursday, July 26, music videos from Yo Gabba Gabba! will be      available on various wireless carriers.   -- Beginning Friday, July 27 through Friday, August 17, Nick Jr. will      premiere four new music videos from Yo Gabba Gabba! every Friday,      during the network's music-themed "Nick Jr.'s Dance Party" lineup.   -- Beginning Monday, July 30, Video On Demand windowing of Yo Gabba Gabba!      episodes and music videos will commence on Comcast and Time Warner.   -- On Monday, August 20, Yo Gabba Gabba! will simulcast on both Nick Jr.      and sister network NOGGIN at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT*).   

Nick Jr.'s award-winning website (www.nickjr.com) will feature three, brand-new convergent online games to complement the launch of Yo Gabba Gabba! Beginning Friday, July 27, preschoolers can go online and play "Brobee's Dance Game" where they use their mouse to move Brobee's arms and legs to make him dance. On Friday, August 3, Nick Jr.com will launch the "Foofa Flower Watering Game" where players control Foofa's arms to water flowers. Beginning Friday, August 10, the site will feature the "Muno vs. Plex Volcano Volleyball" game where users play as Muno and hit lava balls across a volcano net. Additionally, Nick Jr.com will feature an interview with the series creators, in addition to iron-ons, printables, crafts, e-cards and more.

The Magic Store was founded in 2005 by "Gen X" dads Christian Jacobs, Justin Lyon and Scott Schultz. The studio's first project, Yo Gabba Gabba!, was produced independently in two half-hour episodes. After creating an online viral frenzy with the trailer, the show ultimately found a home on Nick Jr. The Magic Store's mission is to produce ground-breaking, fresh, wholesome and fun entertainment properties that parents can enjoy along with their kids.

Founded in 1994, W!LDBRAIN (www.wildbrain.com) is an award-winning entertainment company that develops and produces unique and compelling content across the media spectrum. Powered by its distinctive pool of talented animators and directors and renowned for blending traditional animation methods with state-of-the-art computer graphics, the studio and its artists have consistently won top industry awards. In film, W!LDBRAIN has garnered numerous awards including an Annie for its computer graphics short film Hubert's Brain and currently has a number of film projects in development. In television, the studio has produced an exceptional slate of original work, including the top-rated and critically acclaimed animated series Higglytown Heroes and the upcoming Nick Jr. series Yo Gabba Gabba! One of the nation's foremost producers of animated commercials, W!LDBRAIN has won Clios, Addys, the BDA Awards and Annies for their commercial spots - reinvigorating classic brands and developing cutting-edge spots for such leading companies as The Coca-Cola Company, Honda, Kraft and Nike. W!LDBRAIN additionally creates and distributes collectible merchandise through its subsidiary Kidrobot, a premiere retailer of limited-edition art toys and apparel, with stores located in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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 28th 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 94 million households and has been the number-one- rated basic cable network for 13 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA.B) .

*Broadcast times for the NOGGIN premiere are (ET) only.

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Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070731/NYTU100
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN8
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Nick Jr.

CONTACT: Sharyn Traub, +1-212-846-6381, or Sharyn.traub@nick.com, or
Heather Brown, +1-212-846-6240, or Heather.brown@nick.com, both of
Nickelodeon; or Lisa Rose of The Magic Store - W!LDBRAIN, +1-415-216-2048, or
lrose@wildbrain.com

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

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Profile: International Entertainment