- Ni Hao, Kai-Lan
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Ni Hao, Kai-Lan 
Genre Animated series Format Children's television series Created by Karen Chau Developed by Mary Harrington
Karen Chau
Judy Rothman
Sascha PaladinoWritten by Sascha Paladino (Head Writer)
Bradley Zweig (Staff Writer)Starring Jade-Lianna Peters
Clem Cheung
Ben Wang
Jack Samson
Khamani Griffin
Angie Wu
Beverly Duan
Terence Hardy
Hsiang LoTheme music composer Matt Mahaffey Opening theme Theme Song composed by Matt Mahaffey Country of origin United States Language(s) English
Chinese (Teaches Chinese)No. of seasons 3 No. of episodes 43 (List of episodes) Production Running time 24 minutes Broadcast Original channel Nick Jr. Original run February 7, 2008 – present External links Website Ni Hao, Kai-Lan (Chinese: 你好, 凯兰; Hello, Kai-Lan) is a Canadian/American children's television show, which premiered on Nickelodeon on February 7, 2008, and on Noggin (now Nick Jr.) on February 2, 2009. It also premiered on the Canadian Television Channel Treehouse TV Since November 2009 the show has also premiered on Nickelodeon in Israel. This show is a former programming of Nick Jr. 2 on 2009.
Ni Hao, Kai-lan is based on the childhood memories of the show's creator, Karen Chau, growing up in a bicultural (Chinese-American) household. “Ni hao” means “Hi” in mandarin, and Kai-Lan is the Chinese name Ms. Chau was given at birth, later Anglicized to Karen.
Contents
Premise
The setting of the show appears in China throughout most episodes. It is revealed in Season 1 finale that they all live in California implied to be Chinatown. However it appears most characters aren't Chinese. The explanation is unknown. Ni Hao, Kai-lan introduces its viewers to the Mandarin Chinese language, along with elements of Chinese culture and values, multiculturalism (through the diverse backgrounds of Kai-lan's friends), and intergenerational families (e.g., Kai-lan and her relationship with Ye Ye).
Episodes generally feature breaking the fourth wall, 11 minutes of interactivity,[1] A target word that is repeated multiple times,[2] A few words of Mandarin Chinese vocabulary, One or more of Kai-lan's friends having a negative emotional response to some action or activity (problem), Kai-lan thinking out loud (observation), Cause-and-effect problem solving, and before saying good-bye (at the end of each episode), Kai-lan says, "You make my heart feel super happy!"
Main characters
Kai-Lan
Kai-Lan is the main character of a 8 year old playful, adventurous girl with a big heart. She speaks both English and Mandarin Chinese, and she is eager to share her language, her culture, her playtime with her animal friends and the viewers at home. Kai-Lan is a natural leader but she is also thoughtful and caring with a gift for helping her friends when they really need her. Her favorite animal is a dinosaur and in her music group, she plays her tambourine. In the (aptly titled) episode Kai-Lan's Big Surprise, she tries to put together a big surprise party for Ye-Ye, but all the decorations, the pineapple cake, and even her card fall victim to gusty winds.
Voiced by Jade-Lianna Peters (English)
Ye Ye
Ye Ye (Mandarin word for "paternal grandfather") is Kai-Lan's grandfather and legal guardian. He was born in Hong Kong and lovingly passes on his exciting traditions to his granddaughter. He provides Kai-Lan with gentle guidance, leading her to find her own answers, at her own pace. (Kai-Lan's parents and other grandparents are not known.) He can play the tuba. He also enjoys picking apples and making dumplings for Kai-Lan and all her animal friends. He's known to pop out of places unexpectedly, but the gang just gets used to it after awhile.
Voiced by Clem Cheung (English)
Rintoo
Rintoo is a rambunctious 5 year old tiger that often acts before he thinks. He likes to play rough but when it comes to his friends, he's willing to compromise. He loves dragons and racing race cars.
Voiced by Jack Samson (English)
Tolee
Tolee is a 5 year-old koala that loves pandas and fruit (especially apples, bananas, and pineapples). He is intelligent and always thinks before he acts and sometimes worries too much, but he never lets that stop him from having a great time with his friends. Kai-Lan and her friends can always rely on him for good ideas. Tolee also has a stuffed Panda he affectionately named Pandy, and Tolee loves Pandy so much he can't imagine being without him. The unimaginable, however, happens in Pandy's Puddle when he accidentally drops Pandy into a mud-filled puddle, the reason being he was trying to pull up a very large Chinese Turnip. He is the vocalist in Kai-Lan's music group. His love for pandas culminated in the two part episode "Kai-Lan's Great Trip to China" when the group traveled to China to meet a whole family of Pandas' including baby Xiao Xi Gua (Little Watermelon).
Voiced by Khamani Griffin (English)
Hoho
At age 3, Hoho the white monkey is the youngest of Kai-Lan's friends, so when he participates in activities, he often goes first. He's full of boundless energy and nothing makes him happier than being the center of attention. Whenever he jumps a spring sound can be heard. He can often be found jumping on his friends' heads or playing his turntables as the resident DJ in Kai-Lan's music group. The turntables are normally stored in a tree when not in use. Aside from his turntables and his friends, Hoho's favorite thing happens to be bananas.
Voiced by Angie Wu (English)
Lulu
Lulu is a pink Rhinoceros rhino. She is the same age as Kai-Lan, 8 years old. She has been best friends with Kai-Lan the longest. They have celebrated every birthday party together. Lulu speaks fluently in both English and Mandarin Chinese. She has a red balloon around her nose that helps her fly in the sky. In fact, Lulu lives in a castle on a cloud. Whenever a friend is sad or needs help, Lulu is always there. She is a great friend because she helps her friends solve problems. Often, she has playdates with all her friends. Lulu loves to dance and play the piano. In fact, she plays the piano in Kai-Lan's music group. Some of her favorite games include: playing house, having tea parties, and dressing up like a fairy.
Voiced by Beverly Duan (English)
Mr. Sun
At the start of almost every episode, Kai-Lan wakes up Mr. Sun so she can start her day. With the help of the viewer, Mr. Sun rises and showers down smiling sun fuzzies to Kai-Lan and she gets tickled by them. He also knows how to play the French Horn, so Kai-Lan and the lady bugs (playing the pi-pa) join him as a little music group at the beginning of Tolee's Rhyme Time and later joins Kai-Lan and her friends in the music show.
The Ants
In one corner of Kai-Lan's backyard is a teeming mini-metropolis of ants called Ant City. The ants serve very important roles in the community: they deliver mail, they build things, and they love to play with Kai-Lan and her friends. San San is their leader along with his two right-hand ants, Bubu and Fufu.
San San is voiced by Zachary Gordon, Bubu is voiced by Luke Manriquez and Fufu is voiced by Kyla Rae Kowalewski.
Other, grown-up, and minor characters
- Howard is an owl who first appears in "The Dragonboat Festival." He delivers letters, and only speaks in hoots.
Voiced by Khamani Griffin
- Mr. Fluffy is a baker at his own bakery who first appears in "Everybody's Hat Parade." He makes the best cakes, and is assisted by a shy, innocent polar bear named Mei Mei.
Mr. Fluffy is currently voiced by Elan Garfias, and Mei Mei is voiced by Brittany Chen.
- Stompy the Elephant is a big, playful Elephant who first appears in "Safari Pals." Nothing makes Stompy happier than being able to play with his friends. He is also known by some as Spouty or Trunky because of his long trunk.
Voiced by Hsiang Lo (English)
- Hula ducks who don't speak but dance and quack in episodes. They're very conservative as shown when they made pumpkin pie out of a broken pumpkin.
- An unnamed bat makes a few appearances as an audience member or a background character. He is believed to live in a bathroom.
- GuNaiNai is Kai-Lan's Great Aunt and YeYe's sister. She appears in "Kai-Lan's Trip to China."
Voiced by Ming-Na.
- Xiao Xi Gua ("little watermelon") is a baby panda. He appears in "Kai-Lan's Trip to China."
- The Peeking Mice are little, black mice who are often seen playing music.
Voiced by assorted members of the cast. - The Monkey King is an incredible superhero who asked Kai-Lan and her friends for help in a magical kingdom where the foxes and the bears do not talk to each other. He appears in "Princess Kai-Lan." He then reappered in the 1 hour season 3 premiere in "Journey to Monkey King Castle."
Voiced by Jack Cygan.
- The Fox King is a red fox in The Fox Kingdom. He creates magic bamboo forests to keep the bears away. He usually gets mad, and couldn't get his sleep and talk to his friends, because of the dancing bears. Voiced by James Siang'a.
- The Foxes are red foxes that live in The Fox Kingdom. They sing to annoy the Bear Queen. The Fox King's Guards wear Chinese Men's Hats and wear green.
- The Bear Queen is a brown bear in The Bear Kingdom. She creates a moat to keep the foxes away. She is usually mad, and couldn't get her sleep and talk to her friends, because of the singing foxes. Voiced by Lucy Liu.
- The Bears are brown bears that live in The Bear Kingdom. They dance to make the ground shake, and make the Fox King mad. The Bear Queen's guards wear knights' helmets and wear purple suited armor.
International broadcasts
- Cula 4 free-to-air public broadcaster TG4's kids brand Cula4 airs the show in the Irish language and teaches Chinese to its audience.
- Télé-Québec airs a French language dub of the show.
- Nickelodeon in the Netherlands airs a Dutch dub.
- Nickelodeon in China's northern neighbour Russia airs a Russian dub.
- E-Junior in United Arab Emirates airs in English although other programs are available with an Arabic Second audio program
- ETTV Yoyo air a Chinese dub.
See also
References
- ^ Strike, Joe (2008-03-24). "Ni Hao, Kai-lan: Tigers and Dragons and Mandarin Lessons". Animation World Network. http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=3588.
- ^ Liu, Ed (2008-02-12). "Toon Zone Interviews Nick SVP Teri Weiss About "Ni Hao, Kai-lan"". Toon Zone. http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=21597.
External links
- Official website
- nihaokai-lan.net, all about Ni Hao, Kai-Lan and learning Chinese
- Ni Hao, Kai-Lan at TV.com
- Ni Hao, Kai-Lan at the Internet Movie Database
- nihao-kailan.com, unofficial page
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- Howard is an owl who first appears in "The Dragonboat Festival." He delivers letters, and only speaks in hoots.
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