Nickelodeon Rings in the Chinese New Year With New Prime-Time Special Ni Hao, Kai-lan 'Ladybug Festival,' Monday, Feb. 2 at 8:00 PM ET/PT

Nickelodeon Rings in the Chinese New Year With New Prime-Time Special Ni Hao, Kai-lan 'Ladybug Festival,' Monday, Feb. 2 at 8:00 PM ET/PT

(*DVDs and art available upon request)

NEW YORK, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese New Year is almost here, so it's time to celebrate with Ni Hao, Kai-lan! Nickelodeon's groundbreaking animated series that teaches Mandarin to tots debuts a new half-hour, prime-time special, Ni Hao, Kai-lan "Ladybug Festival," Monday, Feb. 2, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT), the eighth day of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Ox). The special follows Kai-lan and her friends as they hike to the ladybug festival and learn the importance of listening to friends.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090113/NY58440 )

In "Ladybug Festival," Kai-lan and her friends are hiking through the woods to the big Ladybug Festival. Tolee knows the way, but Rintoo and Hoho talk so loudly that they can't hear Tolee tell them which path to take. A frustrated Tolee refuses to continue hiking with his friends. Kai-lan and the viewer must help Rintoo and Hoho listen to Tolee so they don't miss the festival filled with ladybug bumper cars, popsicles and a special ladybug fan dance.

The award-winning Nick Jr. website (www.nickjr.com) will feature an interactive game in the spirit of Chinese New Year. Beginning Wednesday, Jan. 14, NickJr.com will feature "Hoho's Chinese New Year Coin Catch," where kids can play as Hoho running and jumping over obstacles to collect coins to put in the red Chinese New Year envelopes.

Ni Hao, Kai-lan, created by Karen Chau and executive produced by Mary Harrington, is an original, half-hour series that teaches Mandarin words and phrases, for the first time on television. Ni Hao, Kai-lan is also Nick Jr.'s first play-along, think-along series to feature an intergenerational family. Through the eyes of a five-year-old Chinese-American girl named Kai-lan, the series explores the colorful aspects of her upbringing and background, her relationships with her family and friends and the world around her.

The series focuses on issues common to preschoolers such as taking turns, disappointment and jealousy, and supports an emotional intelligence curriculum highlighting cause and effect thinking in the social/emotional world. Ni Hao, Kai-lan provides simple coping strategies, set to song, that teach valuable lessons. Kai-lan strives to understand how things are linked together and she always wants to find out the reason why. Every episode follows the adventures of Kai-lan and her friends as they learn to identify their emotions and stop to consider the feelings of others.

Ni Hao, Kai-lan stars Kai-lan Chow, a playful, adventurous bi-lingual preschooler with a big heart, who speaks both English and Mandarin. Kai-lan's world is infused with Chinese culture, from the dumplings she eats and the lanterns that adorn her house, to the huge Chinese New Year celebration she has with her family and friends. The series centers on Kai-lan and her relationships with her grandfather, Yeye, and her animal friends. Yeye plays a major role in her life as he gently and playfully guides her to her own discoveries. Kai-lan's best friends are Rintoo, a rambunctious five-year-old tiger who loves to play; Tolee, a five-year-old koala who always puts his friends first; Hoho, a three-year-old monkey full of boundless energy; and Lulu, a happy six-year-old pink rhino.

Nickelodeon, now in its 30th 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 more than 98 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 14 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com/. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE: VIA.B) .

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Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090113/NY58440
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN16
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Maggie Wang, +1-212-846-6381, Maggie.wang@nick.com, or Heather
Brown, +1-212-846-6240, Heather.brown@nick.com, both of Nickelodeon

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Profile: International Entertainment