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NOGGIN Commemorates 50th Anniversary of “Miffy” Franchise

[via press release]

NOGGIN COMMEMORATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORLDWIDE MIFFY FRANCHISE WITH A NEW HALF-HOUR SPECIAL, “MIFFY’S BIRTHDAY,” PREMIERING MONDAY, JUNE 20

New York, NY, May 16, 2005 – NOGGIN, the commercial-free, educational network for preschoolers, will commemorate the 50th birthday of the international Miffy and Friends franchise, with the premiere of the never-before-seen special, Miffy’s Birthday. NOGGIN will premiere the new half-hour special in celebration of the loveable bunny’s 50th birthday on Monday, June 20, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (ET), and repeating from 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (ET).

Miffy’s Birthday will premiere during a day-long marathon of birthday-themed episodes of NOGGIN favorites including, Oobi, 64 Zoo Lane, Blue’s Clues, Connie the Cow, Dora the Explorer, Franklin, Little Bear, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, Maisy, Max and Ruby, Oswald and Tiny Planets.

In Miffy’s Birthday, it’s almost summertime and soon it will be Miffy’s birthday. She is very excited and invites all of her friends to a birthday party. On her birthday, Miffy celebrates at school, receives a book about the moon and the stars and goes camping in the hills with her family and friends. As a surprise, Miffy’s Uncle arrives in his airplane and brings her a telescope. At the end of the day, Miffy can barely stay awake! But when she finally looks through the telescope, she sees a shooting star and wishes every day could be her birthday.

The animated series, Miffy and Friends airs regularly every morning on NOGGIN at 11:30 a.m. (ET). The half-hour preschool series is based on the award-winning book series by Dutch author-illustrator Dick Bruna. Miffy and Friends, is a stop-motion animated series about the small everyday explorations and discoveries of a preschooler. Miffy is a smart, little bunny who sees the world through the eyes of a four-year-old. The charm and simplicity of Miffy and Friends leaves space for children’s imaginations to roam. Miffy and Friends weaves together simple animated tales with new interactive games in which Miffy helps preschoolers learn early mathematics and appreciate the mathematical relationships in our everyday world.

Miffy is an adorable white rabbit whose simple stories offer tiny lessons for everyday adventures and experiences. Written and illustrated by Dutch artist, Dick Bruna, the Miffy and Friends books have been guiding and enchanting young children for 50 years. The books have been translated into more than 40 languages and have sold nearly 85 million copies worldwide.

Dutch artist, Dick Bruna created Miffy during a family vacation. Inspired by his son, Bruna sketched his first version of the adorable white bunny nearly fifty years ago. His minimalist style, inspired by Matisse, Picasso and Leger, is colorful, bright and visually appealing to young children. Bruna has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including The Golden Brush and The Silver Slate. His works have been the subject of exhibits throughout the world, including the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1991) and the Museum Boymans van Beuningen in Rotterdam (1997).

Headquartered in New York City, Big Tent Entertainment is a global provider of children’s entertainment and merchandise licensing. Big Tent provides domestic and international merchandise licensing, television production, product development, publishing and marketing for family entertainment brands. Big Tent Entertainment represents and is the licensing partner of Mercis bv, Miffy’s worldwide Licensor. For further information, please visit the Company’s Website at www.bigtent.tv.

NOGGIN is the commercial-free, educational network for preschoolers owned by Nickelodeon. NOGGIN currently reaches 43 million households via cable, digital cable and satellite tv. NOGGIN, which airs from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (ET), is like preschool on tv, with educational programming both on-air and online at www.noggin.com. NOGGIN and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.