Philadelphia, PA, Hollywood, CA and New York, NY -
October 6, 2008 /PRNewswire/ - PBS KIDS Sprout,
the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand
and online for kids ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers, will
debutPajanimals, the newest group of puppet characters
from The Jim Henson Company, Sunday, November 2, 2008 during
Sprout's signature nighttime block, The Good Night
Show. The exclusive, short-form, live-action musical series
produced by The Jim Henson Company and 4Kids Entertainment (the
property's licensing agent) and commissioned by Sprout, features
four soft, cuddly puppets created by LA-based artist Jeff Muncy
(Pet Alien) and designed and built by the world-famous Jim Henson's
Creature Shop™. Pajanimals entertains and
comforts preschool viewers with original, bedtime-themed songs that
focus on typical issues such as sleeping through the night and
being comfortable with the lights out.
Pajanimals features Sweetpea Sue, a shy, smart
pony who never forgets her bedtime routine of brushing her teeth,
washing her face and putting on her PJs; Squacky, an excitable duck
who sometimes has a hard time settling down at night; Cow Bella, a
creative, well-mannered cow with an Italian accent who encourages
the rest of the bunch to "do the right thing" around bedtime; and
Apollo, an upbeat, optimistic puppy who loves space adventures but
experiences separation anxiety.
The Jim Henson Company's co-CEOs Brian Henson and Lisa Henson,
as well as Halle Stanford, the Company's senior vice president of
children's entertainment, executive produced the project with Muncy
and Alex Rockwell (Bear in the Big Blue House). Music is
from Michael and Patty Silversher (Winnie the Pooh, Animal Jam)
with lyrics from Rockwell and Judy Rothman (Strawberry
Shortcake). Pediatric sleep specialists, family therapists and
coauthors of The Sleepeasy Solution, Jill Spivack,
LCSW and Jennifer Waldburger, LCSW are the content consultants on
the show, lending their expertise to the bedtime themes and song
lyrics which cover topics such as encouraging preschoolers to stay
in bed, dealing with nightmares, and missing your parents at
night.
"Every parent knows that bedtime battles are no fun for anyone
and it is our hope that Pajanimals will help our
young audience transition from daytime into a peaceful evening
routine," said Lisa Henson. "Sprout is an established destination
for preschoolers and their adult co-viewers and is an ideal home
for these new characters."
"Parents have told us that bedtime is one of the most
challenging times of the day," said Andrew Beecham, senior vice
president of programming at Sprout. "In response, we created our
signature nighttime block, The Good Night Show, which
helps parents wind down their kids after a busy day… and Pajanimals
is the perfect addition to that block. The sweet, loveable
characters and instantly contagious songs are sure to resonate with
both preschoolers and parents alike."
"We are delighted to mark our first production and licensing
partnership with The Jim Henson Company on such an engaging
property," said Alfred R. Kahn, chairman and CEO, 4Kids
Entertainment. "Pajanimals is poised to become a
compelling and vibrant brand for parents and preschoolers, as well
as retailers and promotional partners."
In addition to Pajanimals airing as a
short-form musical series on the Sprout linear channel, five
10-minute segments featuring professional, practical sleep advice
from Spivack and Waldburger will be available for parents and
caregivers of preschoolers on Sprout On Demand.
For additional information on Sprout programs or schedules,
visit SproutOnline.com. To find
out where Sprout is available in your area, call
1.866.9.SPROUT.
High-resolution images are available in the media gallery
at: http://www.fishwithfeet.com/mediagallery.htm
About Sprout®
PBS KIDS Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination
available on TV, on demand and online for kids ages 2-5 and their
parents and caregivers, was created as a partnership among Comcast
Corporation, HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop. Since
debuting its video on demand (VOD) service in April 2005, Sprout
has become the #1 On Demand service for younger children,
generating over 450 million orders. The 24-hour digital channel,
which launched in September 2005 along with the website (SproutOnline.com), is the
only channel that follows the day of child from breakfast to
bedtime with its distinctive programming. Currently, Sprout is
available in 44 million unique households.
The network's program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based
children's shows includes: Sesame Street®, Bob the
Builder™, Barney & Friends™, Thomas & Friends™, Angelina
Ballerina™, Caillou®, The Berenstain Bears™, Jay Jay the Jet
Plane®, Teletubbies™, Dragon Tales™, Pingu™, Make Way For Noddy™,
The Hoobs™, Fifi and the Flowertots™ and more.
About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in
family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide
as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and computer graphics.
Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets (the rights to
which are now owned by The Walt Disney Company), Henson is the
recipient of over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Credits
include the Saturn Award-winning "Farscape" and the features
"MirrorMask," "Five Children and It", "Good Boy!" and the recently
released direct to DVD feature "Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a
Baby". With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim
Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic
Charlie Chaplin lot complete with soundstage and post-production
facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult
children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim
Henson's Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and
visual effects group with international film, television and
advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of
the music industry's top recording facilities known for its
world-class blend of state of the art and vintage equipment. The
Company is currently in production on 40 episodes of "Sid the
Science Kid," a new science readiness animated series for
preschoolers scheduled to debut on PBS KIDS in September 2008, and
recently launched "Puppet Up! - Uncensored," a live puppet
improvisational show that has played to sold out crowds around the
world and premiered as a special on TBS. The Company has also
announced the creation of Jim Henson Designs, a merchandise
collection inspired by Jim Henson's earliest sketches. http://www.henson.com
About 4Kids Entertainment
With U.S. headquarters in New York City, regional offices for
its trading card business in San Diego, California and
international offices in London, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:
KDE) is a global organization devoted to the creation, development,
production, broadcasting, distribution, licensing and manufacturing
of children's entertainment products.
Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, 4Kids produces animated
television series and films, distributes 4Kids' produced or
licensed animated television series for the domestic and
international television and home video markets, licenses
merchandising rights worldwide to 4Kids' owned or represented
properties, and operates Web sites to support 4Kids' owned or
represented properties. Through its majority owned trading card
company and website company, 4Kids produces and markets collectible
trading card games. Additionally, the Company programs and sells
the national advertising time in a
four-hour4KidsTV block which airs on nearly 200
affiliated FOX television stations Saturday mornings as well as the
national advertising time
in TheCW4Kids five-hour Saturday morning block
on The CW Television Network.
Additional information is available on the www.4kidsentertainment.com corporate
web site and at the www.4kids.tv game station
site.
Press Contacts:
Jenni Glenn
PBS KIDS Sprout
215-286-2703
jenni_glenn@sproutonline.com
Nicole Goldman
The Jim Henson Company
323-802-1608
ngoldman@henson.com
Barry Stagg
4Kids Entertainment
646-822-4257
bstagg@4kidsent.com