Nickelodeon, DreamWorks Partner for New Animated Series

BURBANK, December 10: Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation
have joined forces on a new 26-episode, CG-animated comedy series, tentatively
titled The Penguins of Madagascar, which
is scheduled to premiere on Nickelodeon in early 2009.

The new series, based on DreamWorks Animation’s hit feature
film Madagascar and the upcoming sequel Madagascar,
the Crate Escape, will feature the
adventures of four penguins—Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private—who
rule the roost at their Central Park Zoo home. The brothers all live a happy
existence at the zoo, sometimes sneaking out onto the busy streets of New York
City, until a new neighbor, Julien, King of the Lemurs, moves in with an
entourage of party animals and disrupts everything.

The series will be produced at the Nickelodeon Animation
Studio in Burbank, California. Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley (Disney's Kim
Possible, Disney's Hercules, Sky High)
will serve as executive producers. Voicing the series are Tom McGrath as
Skipper, Jeff Bennett as Kowalski, James Patrick Stuart as Private and John
DiMaggio as Rico, with Danny Jacobs starring as Julien, King of the Lemurs.

"This is a partnership that brings together two
creative-driven companies who share a belief that great characters and stories
are the essential ingredients to success, whether it's on the big or small
screen," said Cyma Zarghami, the president of Nickelodeon & MTV
Networks Kids and Family Group. "The DreamWorks Animation team developed
richly creative characters that lend themselves to a series of their
own—they are just plain hysterical. We can't wait to treat our audience
to the same vibrant and vivid CG animation that audiences loved in the
film."

DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg commented,
"Our Madagascar penguins were
hugely popular on the big screen, so it seemed natural to give them their own
television show on the premier entertainment network for kids. This is likely
the first of many future projects aimed at establishing a meaningful presence
for DreamWorks Animation properties on Nickelodeon, and we are thrilled to get
this collaboration off the ground."

—By Kristin Brzoznowski