Nick Jr.'s Top-Rated Preschool Series, The Wonder Pets! Kicks Off a Week of New Episodes, Beginning Monday, September 11 at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT)

NEW YORK, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- "What's gonna work? Teamwork!" Nick Jr.'s courageous classroom pets team up once again to save baby animals in distress during a week of brand-new episodes of the hit, animated series The Wonder Pets!, beginning Monday, September 11 at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT). Four new, half-hour episodes of TV's first mini-operetta for preschoolers will roll out Monday, September 11 - Thursday, September 14, at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nick Jr. The week of premiere episodes will culminate with a The Wonder Pets! marathon on Friday, September 15 from 10:30am - 12:30pm.

Since its Nick Jr. debut this past March, The Wonder Pets! has consistently ranked among the top three preschool shows on all of commercial TV. The Wonder Pets! airs regularly on Nick Jr. weekdays at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT).

The Wonder Pets! premiere week schedule is as follows (all times are ET/PT):

Monday, September 11, at 11:00 a.m. - "Save the Camel/Save the Ants"

The Wonder Pets fly to Egypt to help a thirsty baby camel get home to his oasis. The Wonder Pets also race to a picnic site to prevent a fight between two armies of ants who are preparing to battle over some fruit.

Tuesday, September 12, at 11:00 a.m. - "Save the Hedgehog/Save the Crocodile"

The Wonder Pets travel to England to rescue a baby hedgehog who is trapped inside the mouth of a large topiary lion. The Wonder Pets also visit a Nile crocodile with a toothache and introduce her to an Egyptian plover who is more than happy to become her personal dentist.

Wednesday, September 13, at 11:00 a.m. - "Save the Bullfrog/Save the Poodle"

The Wonder Pets head to the Louisiana Bayou to help an elderly bullfrog who's having trouble moving, by making him a set of wheels. The Wonder Pets also travel to Paris to help a french poodle who has gotten himself stuck at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Thursday, September 14, at 11:00 a.m. - "Save the Sheep/Save the Hermit Crab"

The Wonder Pets travel to Switzerland and save a herd of sheep who are about to wander off of a cliff. While on vacation in Cancun, the Wonder Pets take a break from their holiday to help a hermit crab who has outgrown his shell.

Friday, September 15, from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - The Wonder Pets! Marathon

Nick Jr. will present encore presentations of the following episodes: "Save the Camel/Save the Ants," "Save the Hedgehog/Save the Crocodile," "Save the Bullfrog/Save the Poodle" and "Save the Sheep/Save the Hermit Crab."

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. The music is written and developed by some of Broadway's top Tony(R) and Grammy(R) Award-winning talent, including Jeffrey Lesser, a Grammy Award-winning producer and recording engineer for artists including Barbra Streisand, Sting and Linda Ronstadt. Award-winning composers and orchestrators from Broadway's Avenue Q, Monty Python's Spamalot, and Fiddler on the Roof have also worked on 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.

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 in their classroom 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. - 12:30 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.

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