Nickelodeon is celebrating Chinese New Year with a new half-hour, prime-time special installment of its hit animated series Ni Hao, Kai-lan, which teaches Mandarin to kids. Titled ‘Ladybug Festival,’ the installment will air at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on Monday, Feb. 2, the eighth day of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Ox).
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. When a frustrated Tolee refuses to continue hiking with his friends, Kai-lan and the viewer must help Rintoo and Hoho listen so they don’t miss the festivities.
The Nick Jr. website (www.nickjr.com) launched an interactive game titled Hoho’s Chinese New Year Coin Catch. 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 is created by Karen Chau and exec produced by Mary Harrington. The half-hour series that teaches kids Mandarin words and phrases is Nick Jr.’s first play-along, think-along series to feature an intergenerational family. The show explores the colorful aspects of life for five-year-old Chinese-American girl Kai-lan, and her relationships with her grandfather, Yeye, and her animal friends.
