From Universal Studios Home Entertainment: First in a Series of Collections From the New PBS Kids(R) TV Series Which Launched as #1 Among Kids 2 to 5 Years Old*, 'Curious George: Zoo Night and Other Animal Stories'

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Kids all over the country will cheer when the "Curious George" series seen on PBS KIDS(R) -- which was #1 among kids ages 2 to 5 and moms* in its launch month, September 2006 -- swings on to DVD February 20, 2007. The first in a series of DVDs drawn from the new hit show which, at launch, was seen by nearly nine million people**, "Curious George: Zoo Night and Other Animal Stories" follows the incurably curious monkey as he meets new friends and takes on entertaining escapades that will help kids build their math, science and engineering skills in a fun and wholesome way. Narrated by Emmy Award(R) winner William H. Macy ("Seabiscuit," "Pleasantville"), the "Curious George" television series is a production of Imagine Entertainment, WGBH Boston and Universal Studios Family Productions.

Over two hours of fun and entertainment, the eight shows from the TV series' adorable first season feature Curious George and his best friend, The Man with the Yellow Hat, in rib-tickling stories. With visuals that remain faithful to the beloved books by Margret and H.A. Rey published by Houghton Mifflin Company, "Curious George: Zoo Night and Other Animal Stories" expands George's world to include a host of lovable new characters including Gnocchi the cat, Hundley the dachshund, Chef Pisghetti, and Compass the confused homing pigeon, as well as neighbor Bill and Professor Wiseman. The DVD is priced at $16.98.

                    CURIOUSLY FUN BONUS FEATURES SURE
                         TO DELIGHT ALL AUDIENCES

After enjoying Curious George's fun adventures, families will be entertained by the DVD's educational games and activities, including:

  *  MAGIC NUMBERS GAME: Kids will have fun identifying and exploring
     numbers with Curious George in the Magic Numbers Game.  Prompted by a
     narrator to find a number integrated into a setting from Curious
     George's life, such as his apartment, his street or out in the country,
     the number, when correctly selected, magically transforms into items
     from George's world.

  *  DAILY DONUTS GAME: Kids will love to help Curious George shop for one
     of his favorite treats: donuts.  With a shopping list from The Man with
     the Yellow Hat, players must match the number of donuts on the list to
     illustrations on the screen.

  *  DVD-ROM FEATURE: Printable coloring pages.

                 PROMOTIONAL PARTNERS JOIN THE ADVENTURE

KFC(R), the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain, welcomes all curious kids with a 12-week dedicated "Curious George" KFCs Kids Laptop Meal program in over 4700 restaurants that will generate over 254 million impressions with on-package, in-store and online promotional components. The promotional program and a $3 off DVD coupon will receive packaging exposure on over 4.5 million Kids Laptop Meal boxes. In-store merchandising consisting of door clings, counter streamer and drive-thru menu topper, as well as an online program on both KFC's home page (http://www.kfc.com/) and popular Kids Laptop website (kids.kfc.com) will provide maximum exposure for the program. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky.

Additionally, Marvel Toys, the master toy licensee for the "Curious George" movie and television show, expands its product line in 2007 to include more educational and activity toys to complement the PBS KIDS television series. New toys became available at mass-market retailers in January 2007. Also, starting January 2007, Marvel Toys will promote the TV series on DVD in over one million toy packages. Marvel Toys is a division of Marvel Entertainment, Inc., a global leader in character-based entertainment.

"CURIOUS GEORGE" TV SERIES KEEPS THE FUN COMING!

The "Curious George" TV series, which TV Guide declares "a top flight hit," can be seen daily as part of PBS KIDS(R) new hosted preschool block. The fun continues with more new episodes of "Curious George" kicking off the week of February 19-23.

DVD SYNOPSIS

"Curious George: Zoo Night and Other Animal Stories" will delight kids and their parents with eight entertaining adventures from the hit PBS KIDS television series. With the help of his friends, George gets in and out of scrapes that will keep kids laughing, while introducing them to key concepts in science, math and engineering. The first in a series, the DVD's animal-themed adventures include:

  Zoo Night: George is so entranced by the new, adorable baby panda at the
  zoo that he stays through closing time and is accidentally locked inside.
  While trying to find the way out, he mistakenly opens a few wrong doors
  and finds himself surrounded by gorillas, giraffes, meerkats, and
  penguins!  Now George has to use his map of the zoo to put all the animals
  back in the correct habitats before they wake up the baby panda!
  Educational Objective (Math): To demonstrate how maps can be used to
  locate objects.

  Curious George's Bunny Hunt: In the country, George falls in love with
  neighbor Bill's new pet bunnies.  They are so irresistible that when Bill
  leaves to do his paper route, George just has to pet one.  But as soon as
  he opens the bunny hutch, they all escape.  By following their footprints
  and counting carefully, George restores order and returns the missing
  bunnies to their home.  Educational Objectives (Math & Science): To
  encourage problem solving; to demonstrate counting; to show how different
  animals make different tracks.

  Bee Is for Bear: While exploring the country, George meets up with a baby
  bear and a stinging bee.  No one believes that George has seen a bear, but
  they do try to help George learn more about bees.  It takes a helping hand
  from the baby bear to save the bunnies from the bees and to prove to
  everyone that George knows a bear when he sees one.  Educational Objective
  (Science): To demonstrate that an organism's behavioral patterns are
  related to several things: the nature of the organism's environment, other
  organisms present, and the availability of food and resources.

  Curious George's Home for Pigeons: Compass may be a homing pigeon, but
  sometimes he has trouble finding his way home.  George decides to make him
  a place to stay on their balcony.  After much experimentation, George
  creates a tree that The Man with the Yellow Hat might not recognize, but
  in Compass's eyes is the perfect pigeon perch.  Educational Objective
  (Engineering): To illustrate the engineering design process.

  From Scratch: Gnocchi the cat, is accused of scratching the booths in Chef
  Pisghetti's restaurant.  To prove Gnocchi's innocence (and eat cannoli),
  George decides to mount an investigation.  Using his scientific inquiry
  skills, he observes the differences between the scratches Gnocchi makes
  with her claws and the scratches left on the booth, and shows that his
  friend was wrongfully accused.  Educational Objective (Science): To aid in
  the development of problem-solving and inquiry skills.

  Curious George, Dog Counter: It's Dog Show Day!  George and Professor
  Wiseman spend the day with all kinds of different dogs: big, small,
  hairy...and hungry.  With the help of his sandwich, George tempts the
  winning dogs to follow him home to show The Man with the Yellow Hat.  Once
  there, George can't keep track of all the dogs, so he and Hundley the
  dachshund come up with creative ways to sort and count the dogs in the
  apartment.  Educational Objective (Math): To demonstrate sorting and
  classifying sets of objects (or animals) by size, number, and other
  characteristics (properties).

  Squirrel For a Day: When Bill shows George how Jumpy Squirrel stores his
  food in the ground, George decides this is a pretty good idea and tries to
  store all the food from the country house in the ground, too.  The Man
  with the Yellow Hat rescues their supplies and tries to explain that they
  should only put things in the ground if they want them to grow.  That
  sounds like another great plan.  George tries to see what else might grow.
  Will car keys grow into a car?  Will a rubber band grow into an inner
  tube?  Educational Objective (Science): To demonstrate how plants grow
  from seeds.

  Curious George Discovers the Poles: George is thrilled when Bill asks him
  to look after his tadpoles.  He conscientiously feeds them and even
  decides to give them a little vacation in the lagoon.  But the tadpoles
  disappear, and George worries that he's lost Bill's pets forever.  After
  weeks of searching, George is ready to give up hope, until he learns that
  the tadpoles haven't vanished; they've grown into frogs!  Educational
  Objective (Science): To help develop the understanding that all living
  organisms have a life cycle.

  *  Source: For PBS, NTI Pocketpieces for September 2006.  For broadcast,
     cable, and syndication, Nielsen Galaxy Explorer, September 1-30, 2006.
  **  Source:  NTI National Ratings Database for September 2006.

  TECHNICAL INFORMATION
  DVD
  Street Date: February 20, 2007
  Copyright: 2007 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
  Price:  $16.98 SRP
  Selection Number:  63020308
  Running Time: 1:52
  Layers: Single
  Aspect Ratio: Full frame 1.33:1
  Technical Info:
  *  English: Dolby Digital 2.0, SDH

CURIOUS GEORGE is a production of Imagine Entertainment, WGBH Boston, and Universal Studios Family Productions. Executive producers are Ron Howard (Imagine), Brian Grazer (Imagine), David Kirschner, Jon Shapiro, Carol Greenwald (WGBH) and Ellen Cockrill (Universal). Funding for CURIOUS GEORGE is provided by public television viewers. Corporate funding is provided by Shea Homes. The CURIOUS GEORGE Web site is pbskids.org/curiousgeorge. Curious George and related characters, created by Margret and H.A. Rey, are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Company and used under license. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLLP. Television series: (C) 2007. Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

About Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Company is one of the leading educational publishers in the United States, with more than $1.4 billion in sales. The Company publishes a comprehensive set of educational solutions, ranging from research-based textbook programs to instructional technology to standards-based assessments for elementary and secondary schools and colleges. The Company also publishes an extensive line of reference works and award-wining fiction and nonfiction for adults and young readers. In 2006, Houghton Mifflin merged with Riverdeep, bringing together one of the most respected print publishers with the leader in interactive courseware. With origins dating back to 1832, Houghton Mifflin combines its tradition of excellence with a commitment to innovation. To learn more about Houghton Mifflin, visit http://www.hmco.com/.

The Universal Studios Family Productions banner, which includes Universal Animation Studios, develops, produces, and acquires live-action and animated family productions directly for the home entertainment and television markets. Among the group's portfolio of prized properties is "The Land Before Time", the most successful feature-length children's home entertainment franchise of all time, having earned more than one billion dollars worldwide to date. Since its formation in 2005, the group has built an exceptional slate of family fare including the all new DVD Original release "Bring It On: All or Nothing", the latest winning installment in the hugely successful "Bring It On" film franchise, "Curious George" television series on PBS KIDS, a critical darling among critics; and "Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses" and "Polly World", based on the world-renowned Mattel-branded dolls. Making its debut in 2007 is "The Land Before Time" television show on Cartoon Network. Universal Studios Family Productions is part of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (http://www.universalstudios.com/). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi.

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