The Kratt Brothers are saving the planet with creature power in Wild Kratts™, a new animated wildlife adventure comedy series for children ages 6-9 for PBS KIDS GO!. The series, produced and distributed by The Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story Entertainment, was jointly announced today by 9 Story Entertainment CEO Vince Commisso and Chris Kratt of the Kratt Brothers Company.
Wild Kratts (40 × 22 minutes) was created and developed by real life brothers and zoologists, Martin and Chris, who star in the show as animated versions of themselves. The series, which will be showcased at this year’s Kidscreen Summit, premieres in January 2011 on PBS KIDS GO! in the U.S. Canadian broadcasters for Wild Kratts are TVOntario, Knowledge Network and Tele-Quebec.
“Wild Kratts engages kids through adventure, fun, cool inventions and the amazing super powers that animals naturally have,” said Chris Kratt. “We’re so pleased to be producing another major series for PBS and partnering with 9 Story, both names synonymous with the very best in children’s television programming.”
“As PBS continues to build content centered around strong science curriculum for children, we are confident the Kratt brothers will be trusted guides for early elementary school kids as they learn about wild animals and the habitats they live in,” said Linda Simensky, VP, Children’s Programming, PBS.
9 Story, an Emmy Award-winning, leading Canadian producer of successful kids programming and the Kratt Brothers join forces to extend a successful brand to animation. The Kratts are the creators and producers of two major PBS children’s series, the Parents’ Choice Gold Award-winning Kratts’ Creatures and the Emmy Award-winning Zoboomafoo with the Kratt Brothers. Their third show, Kratt Brothers: Be The Creature for National Geographic Channel, is a primetime family wildlife adventure series which has been broadcast in more than 150 countries around the world.
“Chris and Martin Kratt are brilliant entertainers who have parlayed their enthusiasm for animals and ever-growing popularity with family audiences into a renowned family entertainment brand,” said Commisso. “We are thrilled to be working with this incredible franchise and look forward to a long and successful partnership.”
Wild Kratts follows animated Chris and Martin Kratt on incredible expeditions with wild creatures that would be virtually impossible to film in live action. The animation brings viewers into the heart of animal worlds and explores behaviours that have never been seen on television. By combining cutting edge technology with animal knowledge, the Kratt Brothers dive into the habitats of unusual creatures that have never been animated before. Every episode also features top quality, live animal action.
The Kratt Brothers’ adventures are often sparked by a creature crisis, sometimes precipitated by nemesis Zach Varmitech, who will stop at nothing in his quest to collect endangered animals. He drains oceans, forests, and savannas of their wild animals for his own evil purposes — until it’s Wild Krattsto the rescue!
Aided by the brilliant hi-tech inventor Aviva Corcovado and her team, the adventuring brothers can now do things they could previously only imagine, like diving into the sea on “Remora Rocket Sleds” and scaling a cliff with “Gecko Boots,” all to help creatures.
Each episode of Wild Kratts tells an engaging story of adventure, comedy, mystery and rescue – always with edge-of-your-seat suspense and infused with a strong science curriculum. Wild Kratts will be co-produced by 9 Story Entertainment and Kratt Brothers. 9 Story Entertainment will distribute the series outside of North America.