From Universal Studios Home Entertainment: Blast Off to Fun With the World's Best Loved Little Monkey, Curious George: Rocket Ride & Other Adventures

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's most inquisitive primate takes on out-of-this-world escapades in Curious George: Rocket Ride and Other Adventures, coming to DVD on May 15, 2007 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Based on the classic books by Margret and H.A. Rey published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Curious George: Rocket Ride and Other Adventures contains eight new shows from the Emmy(R)-nominated, top-rated PBS KIDS(R) TV series. With two hours of fun and delightful surprises, the entertaining DVD will have preschoolers laughing as they learn about math, science and engineering from their favorite monkey. The second DVD release from the acclaimed television series, Curious George: Rocket Ride and Other Adventures is loaded with interactive bonus features that kids will happily return to again and again. As always, George's best friend, The Man with the Yellow Hat is there to lend a hand along with Jumpy Squirrel, Hundley the Dachshund, Gnocchi the Cat and the rest of George's pals.

Narrated by Emmy Award(R) winner William H. Macy (Seabiscuit, Wild Hogs), Curious George: Rocket Ride and Other Adventures introduces viewers to new experiences as George's curiosity takes him down hills, up rivers and into outer space while demonstrating basic scientific and mathematical principles such as momentum, aerodynamics and sound. George inspires kids' own natural curiosity while helping them learn how things work in the world around him. A must-own for any family with preschoolers, Curious George: Rocket Ride and Other Adventures is priced at $16.98 SRP. Preorder close is April 10, 2007.

BONUS FEATURES THAT ENTERTAIN AS THEY EDUCATE

Children will love playing while learning with the engaging, interactive bonuses featured on Curious George: Rocket Ride and Other Adventures, including:

  *  Curious Constructions Game -- George turns to his fans for help
     building sailboats, kites, fire trucks and rockets from simple,
     colorful geometric shapes.
  *  Curious Shadows Game -- Curious George uses his flashlight to make a
     series of delightful shadow puppets on the walls of a dark and
     mysterious cave.  The object of the game is to match up the shadows
     with the actual items.
  *  Printable Coloring Pages from George's exciting experiences!

             PROMOTIONAL PARTNERS ON BOARD FOR THE ADVENTURE

KFC, the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain, is on board to support the Curious George TV series on DVD. KFC's Kids Laptop Meal program will be in approximately 4700 restaurants, generating over 254 million impressions with on-package, in-store and online promotional components. The promotional program includes a $3 off DVD coupon 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, has expanded its product line in 2007 to include more educational and activity toys to complement the PBS KIDS television series. New toys are now available at mass-market retailers across the country. Starting in January 2007, Marvel Toys began promoting 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.

SYNOPSES

From the Emmy(R)-nominated PBS KIDS(R) TV series, Curious George returns with eight new non-stop adventures, including:

Curious George's Rocket Ride: The International Space Station's food supply has run out, and George is the only one who has the unique skills needed to fly the rocket and deliver the supplies. But George can't help being curious about what's in those interesting-looking containers. Before you know it, George has quite a mess to clean up before the supplies can be launched. Luckily, George's experience with cleaning his room and his knowledge of how shapes fit together helps him put it away in time to get the astronauts their supplies. Educational Objective (Science): To introduce the idea that there are objects that orbit the earth: natural objects (the moon) and human-made objects (satellites).

Curious George and the Dam Builders: George gets acquainted with a family of beavers when he notices the impact their dam has on his favorite pond. Building a dam looks like so much fun that George decides to build his own. But when a sudden downpour sweeps both dams away, George and the beavers have to figure out how to repair the damage together or their beloved pond won't be a good place for beavers or monkeys! Educational Objectives (Science & Engineering): To model the idea that an organism's behavioral patterns are related to the nature of the organism's physical environment, heredity, and experience; to demonstrate that an important part of engineering is to brainstorm solutions and test the ones that seem most promising.

Curious George Flies a Kite: A gusty morning at the country house leads George to experiment with aerodynamics. In the wind, birds soar, ping-pong balls roll, and bricks don't move at all. But the best thing of all for a windy day is a kite. George, with the not-so-willing assistance of Jumpy Squirrel, discovers the wonders and the perils of kite flying. Educational Objective (Science): To explore how wind makes things move.

Curious George Finds His Way: Hundley and George get locked out of the building in the back alley. While trying to find their way back in, they get hopelessly lost. To make matters worse, it starts to get dark. But when they begin to hear some familiar sounds, they realize that with the combination of Hundley's sharp ears and George's good memory of what they'd heard along the way, they can find their way home. Educational Objective (Science): To explore the characteristics (properties) of sound.

Curious George, Station Master: George and The Man with the Yellow Hat offer to pick up Bill when his train comes in, and when he gets there, Flint Quint, the station master, shows George how he keeps the trains running smoothly and arriving on time. While Flint is eating lunch, George decides he wants to try his hand at being station master, and while everything starts off smoothly, pretty soon trains are off schedule, out of order, and very confused. Mr. Quint comes to the rescue, and they put the trains back in the correct number order before they reach the station. Educational Objective (Math): To help develop an understanding of the relative position and sequence of whole numbers.

Curious George Goes Up the River: George is supposed to be feeding the ducks while The Man with the Yellow Hat helps Mrs. Renkins look for her lost baby chicks. But somehow, "feeding the ducks" turns into a trip down the river for George and Jumpy. At first it's fun, but soon George and Jumpy realize they're getting pretty far from home. With the help of some familiar landmarks, they make their way back safely -- and the baby chicks find them! Educational Objectives (Math & Science): To aid in the recognition of objects from different perspectives; to illustrate how objects can be carried by flowing water; to use objects and a pictorial map of those objects within a landscape to navigate.

Curious George in the Dark: Most of the time, George isn't afraid of the dark, but when he explores a mysterious cave, he decides that sometimes the dark can be a little scary. It doesn't get any better when a thunderstorm knocks the power out, and the country house is in the dark. But with the help of his trusty flashlight, George conquers his fears and even shows Jumpy how to have some fun with shadows. Educational Objective (Science): To explore how the size and shape of an object's shadow changes depending on the relationship between the location of the object and the location of the light source.

Roller Monkey: A monkey on roller skates seems unlikely until Mr. and Mrs. Dulson ask George to wear a pair in front of their toy store to attract customers. George's skating rolls out of control, so Hundley steps in to help. Soon George, Hundley, and even Gnocchi find themselves learning about momentum and inertia at a rapid downhill pace. Educational Objectives (Science): To demonstrate objects in motion; to help develop an understanding of the power of momentum.

  TECHNICAL INFORMATION
  DVD
  Street Date: May 15, 2007
  Pre-Order Close:  April 10, 2007
  Copyright: 2007 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
  Price:  $16.98 SRP
  Selection Number:  63100360
  Running Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
  Layers: DVD-5 (Single Sided)
  Aspect Ratio: Full Frame (1.33:1)
  Rating: NR
  Technical Info: English Dolby Digital 2.0, English 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), Ellen Cockrill (Universal), Carol Greenwald (WGBH), David Kirschner and Jon Shapiro. 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.

WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting station, producing one-third of PBS's prime-time lineup-more than any other single production house. WGBH is the creator of the award-winning PBS children's series Arthur, Between the Lions, Postcards from Buster, and ZOOM, as well as the critically acclaimed new favorites CURIOUS GEORGE and FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman. WGBH also produces the award-winning Peep and the Big Wide World (seen on TLC's Ready Set Learn! and the Discovery Kids Channel), and Time Warp Trio (seen on the Discovery Kids Channel). Under the leadership of Vice President Brigid Sullivan, the WGBH children's lineup leads the field in educational multimedia (including the Web, broadband, and interactive television) and in technologies and services that make media accessible to people with disabilities. WGBH's current children's series have been recognized with some of the world's most prestigious awards, including 14 Emmys, the George Foster Peabody award, three Prix Jeunesse awards, a BAFTA, and more than a dozen Parents' Choice Awards. For more information, visit http://www.wgbh.org/.

Imagine Entertainment was founded in 1986 by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer to create movies, television and other original programming. Since its inception, Imagine Entertainment has been honored with more than 40 prestigious awards, including eight Academy Awards and 14 Emmys. Their past productions include the Academy Award-winning films "A Beautiful Mind," "8 Mile," "Apollo 13" in addition to "The Da Vinci Code," and "Curious George," and the Emmy and Golden-Globe-winning television series 24 and Arrested Development. Currently Imagine is in post production on American Gangster, which is slated for release by Universal Pictures this fall. Imagine Entertainment has a long standing production/distribution agreement with Universal Pictures.

PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school kids, are committed to providing the highest quality non-commercial content and learning environment for children across the country. Providing age-appropriate, diverse programming for kids, PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! programs consistently earn more prestigious awards than any other broadcast or cable network. Only PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. With additional PBS resources to complement its programming, including PBS KIDS online (http://www.pbskids.org/), PBS KIDS GO! online (http://www.pbskidsgo.org/), PBS Parents (http://www.pbsparents.org/), PBS TeacherSource (http://www.pbsteachersource.org/), PBS Ready To Learn services and literacy events across the country, PBS is providing the tools necessary for positive child development. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 354 public television stations, serving nearly 90 million people each week and reaching 99% of American homes.

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.

  * Source:  NTI National Ratings Database for September 2006

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  Manager, Broadcast Publicity
  (818) 777-0549
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  Stacey Leinson
  Print Publicity, on behalf of USHE
  (818) 777-0523
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