Nickelodeon News Round-Up - Issue 5

Below is a selection of articles from around the internet which feature news, commentary and information about Nickelodeon:
Happy Birthday, Nickelodeon Africa! - Nickelodeon Africa are celebrating their 5th Birthday this July (2013)! Remember to send them your special Birthday messages on Twitter and on Facebook using the custom hashtags #NickelodeonAfricaBirthday and #NickAfricaBirthday!

SpongeBob SquarePants gets fired?! UH-OH!! - Nickelodeon's roving reporters Noah Grossman and Gabrielle "Gabby" Senn, from Nickelodeon USA's brand new live programming block "Nick Studio 10", recently went behind-the-scenes at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, California, as part of their "Nickelodeon Animation Tour", and stumbled onto some extra top secret footage that might get SpongeBob fired! NOO, IT CAN'T BE!! Click here to watch the online streaming video now on SpongeBob.Nick.com now!

Nathan Kress on "Sam & Cat" - Nickelodeon TV show creator Dan Schneider has announced in a Tweet (post) on his official Twitter profile page (@DanWarp) that Jennette McCurdy's former co-star Nathan Kress, who played the character Fredward Benson (also known as Freddie Benson) on the popular Nickelodeon sitcom "iCarly", may guest star in the future episode of Jennette's new original Nickelodeon comedy series "Sam & Cat"! Dan said "I feel sure that WILL happen :) Nathan and I have already talked about it :)"! Nickelodeon Star Jennette McCurdy also talked about how she would like her "iCarly" co-stars, Miranda Cosgrove, Jerry Trainor and Nathan Kress to be on "Sam & Cat".

Nickelodeon star talks about fame - In a post on The Huffington Post's entertainment blog 'The Blog' about Rihanna being a role model, the TV Presenter and Blogger Carrie Armstrong has announced that she has recently interviewed a young Nickelodeon starlet about being famous. According to Carrie Armstrong, the Nickelodeon celebrity confessed to her that the biggest issue with being famous these days is camera phones. "From the second you leave your front door in the morning everything you do and say can be instantly captured and uploaded to the world via social networking," reports Carrie Armstrong. "That a person in the spotlight can never relax because essentially everyone is a papparazzi everyone has their own public platform to display you on."

TeenNick gets to the truth - truth, the largest US youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry, recently teamed up with TeenNick, Nickelodeon's 24-hour network for teens and tweens, to air a 30 second "ugly truth" vignette featuring characters from the popular teen drama, "Degrassi: The Next Generation". The spot was broadcast on TeenNick the week of Monday 17th June 2013, leading up to the Degrassi Prom Special which premiered on Friday 21st June 2013 at 9 p.m. ET. truth® is a campaign that exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth gives teens facts and information about the tobacco industry and its products, allowing them to make their own informed choices about tobacco use. Research-proven as an effective public health intervention, the campaign is credited with keeping hundreds of thousands of teens from starting to smoke. To learn more, visit www.thetruth.com. truth is directed and funded by Legacy, a national public health foundation located in Washington, D.C. Legacy was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more about Legacy's life-saving programs, visit www.LegacyForHealth.org. Click here to read the full truth press release on multivu.com.

When the fun stops - As part of a special article about abandoned theme parks, the UK's Daily Mail published a photograph from the sign for "SpongeBob SquarePants The Ride" at the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans amusement park in New Orleans, Louisiana. Six Flags New Orleans closed its doors to the public just before Hurricane Katrina tragically struck in 2005 and is currently owned by the city of New Orleans. Despite various announced plans to reopen or reuse the site, as of June 2013 it is still an abandoned amusement park in a semi-ruined state. On August 18, 2009, it was announced that the land would be redeveloped into a Nickelodeon-branded theme/water park. Unfortunately, however, plans for Nickelodeon to turn the area into a Nick branded theme park fell through after bonds failed to come through. SpongeBob SquarePants The Ride used a SimEx-Iwerks Motion Simulator and was based in Cajun Country themed area of the theme park. You can read the full article and see the photograph here on the Mail Online.

Nickelodeon at Licensing Expo 2013 - Kidscreen has posted a photograph of part of Nickelodeon's booth at Licensing Expo 2013 on their official Instagram profile page, which was recently held in June 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. At this years annual Licensing Expo trade show, Nick had a nearly 5,000-square-foot dedicated Nickelodeon booth where the network showcased their world-renowned sensational properties "SpongeBob SquarePants", "Dora the Explorer" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", preschool hit "Bubble Guppies", the recently launched and re-imagined CG-animated series "Peter Rabbit", as well as upcoming shows including "Dora and Friends" and "Paw Patrol."! Kidscreen's photo is of Nickelodeon's "Dora the Explorer" green slime door. Click here to view the pic!

Random Nickelodeon Fact - The Guardian reports that the popular Disney cartoon "Disney Channel", created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, who worked together on the Nicktoon series "Rocko's Modern Life", was very nearly commissioned by Nickelodeon to become a Nickelodeon show.

Happiness to a tee - Nickelodeon star and singer Victoria Justice, who played Tori Vega on the popular Nickelodeon original comedy series "Victorious", and is currently touring with Nickelodeon band "Big Time Rush" on their "Summer Break Tour", shared the happiness her t-shirt brought her on her official Instagram profile page.

Better late than never! - Click here to download your very own 4th of July Activity Pack full of free printables featuring your Nick Jr. friends, including "Dora the Explorer", "Go, Diego, Go!", "Team Umizoomi", and "Bubble Guppies" from NickJr.com now!

Nickelodeon UK Wishes British Tennis Player Andy Murray Good Luck In The Men's Singles Final At Wimbledon 2013 With Special SpongeBob SquarePants Picture

To support Andy Murray, the number one British tennis player and reigning US Open and Olympic Singles Champion, playing in the Wimbledon 2013 Men's Singles Final against Novak Djokovic, the current world number one tennis player from Serbia, in Centre Court at the All England Club today (Sunday 7th July 2013), Nickelodeon UK has unveiled a very special SpongeBob SquarePants good luck charm on their official Twitter profile page (‏@NickelodeonUK) to help cheer Andy on to victory and win the Men's Singles Final trophy at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships!:

Come on Murray!Good luck 2 @andy_murray @ #wimbledon !We even made u a special SpongeBob pic as a good luck charm... http://ow.ly/i/2xqc2

Good luck Andy!!

A Review Of The First Episode Of Nickelodeon UK's Brand New Nicktoon, "The Legend of Korra", Called "Welcome to Republic City"

Remember to watch the very first episode of the brand new Nicktoon "The Legend of Korra" TODAY at 9am (repeated at 10am on Nickelodeon+1) and at 4.30pm (replayed at 5.30pm on Nick+1), only on Nickelodeon UK and Ireland!

To celebrate and promote Nickelodeon UK and Ireland and Nickelodeon HD UK starting to premiere and show Nickelodeon's brand new original animated series "The Legend of Korra" from Sunday, 7th July 2013 at 9:00am (repeated at 10:00am on Nick UK's plus-one timeshift channel, Nick+1), the animation news website Toonzone has written a special article about what Nick UK fans and viewers can expect from the first episode of "Legend of Korra", titled "Welcome to Republic City", which you can read below!:

Review: “The Legend of Korra – Welcome to Republic City” UK Premiere

The prospect of making a sequel for a creator must be equal parts ecstatic and terrifying. People love that first story you told so much that both they and your sponsors have allowed you to have a chance to expand on it, to revisit the world you envisioned and extend it with new ideas. At the same time you’re at risk of soiling your reputation and the audience's memories if you make a mistake such as taking the story in a direction that’s so different it gets rejected. Worse, play it too safe and you'll be accused of making a rehash.

With all this potential stress, it’s all the more impressive that Avatar the Last Airbender creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have produced such a fitting sequel in the form of The Legend of Korra.

A generation has passed since the adventures seen in Avatar the Last Airbender, with the trials of Aang and his friends now legends as much as they are history. Working together, Aang and Zuko managed to found Republic City as the centrepiece of a common vision to unite the nations. After Aang's passing, a new Avatar was born into the world in the form of Korra, a girl from the Southern Water Tribe.

From the opening moments, it's clear that this isn't the status quo the previous series ended with, though it certainly feels like a logical advancement for the Avatar world freed from war and steered by the pioneering of Aang and his allies. Although Korra’s Water Tribe village would feel at home in the previous series, the enormity hits home when the location switches to Republic City, with a feel of a steampunk driven 1930′s New York. It’s a bold change, but one that feels consistent both with the technology seen in the previous show and real world advancement (just look at how far things advanced in the last 100 years).

Rather than simply throw viewers into this new standing, there are a few reassuring anchors from the previous show, the biggest of which is an extended cameo from Katara. Now Aang’s widow, she has a hand in Korra’s training that shows she’s not forgotten the trials she went through on her own adventure. It’s a welcome return and hearing her briefly discuss the fates of her friends is sure to get you choked up.

Korra herself is really one of the lynchpins of this project. Aang’s story was about how he rejected the call to be a destined hero, and needed to partially atone for the world that was created in his absence. Korra takes a different path, though one that carries over influence. Whereas Aang effectively had to use guerrilla tactics, Korra is kept under the watchful eye of a network designed to train and support the Avatar. The result is that she finds herself stifling under a group that expects her to embody their vision of the role rather than grant her the freedom to personally discover what it means to be the Avatar and her role in the wider world. As a character, she’s a lot of fun. Being 17 as opposed to Aang’s 12, it’d be easy to write her as a cliché moody teenage girl, but the script is better than that. There’s discontent and rebellion in her heart but it’s borne out of a genuine desire to help people. Not to say she’s perfect, since her first day in Republic City is a comedy of errors. Janet Varney provides Korra with the perfect voice, sounding fresh to the world but not a country hick.

A key inverse of the two characters is that whilst Aang was "The Last Airbender," Korra has managed to grasp the other three more physical elements of Water, Earth, and Fire, but the spiritual Airbending eludes her. This leads her to train with Tenzin, Aang and Katara’s son who has inherited his father’s role as master of the Air Temple. Tenzin is voiced by J.K. Simmons, who most will recognise as the bombastic J. Jonah Jameson in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. His performance as Tenzin is more reserved, helping to paint the character as a wise master who still has his own quirks and challenges. Part of this comes from being a family man with a wife and three children (with a fourth on the way). The actual theme of family is well communicated in the short run time of this premiere. There’s an amusing sequence where Tenzin's wife Pema wishes she could have one child who didn't practice airbending, and prior to that a short sequence with Korra's parents manages to sell them as rich individuals in their own right. It’s pretty impressive that this descendant of Avatar can sell a recognisable heart to a character in seconds, while some series can fail to imbue characterisation after episodes of screen time.

Although the episode is primarily focussed on introducing the cast and the character conflicts, we do get seeds of something bigger. Primarily it seems the utopian vision of benders and non-benders in harmony may have gone off the rails somewhat, with benders using their powers to bully those without. This in turn leads to scattered mentions of revolutionaries opposed to the current system: an angle sure to be explored as the season goes on.

The animation is as full of life as it always has been including a high volume of hilarious facial expressions. A lot of shows today have really stiff animation, but with Avatar you can tell the storyboarders and animators are having a ball. Several moments are beautiful to look at, especially the sweeps of Republic City.

Of course we can’t forget the action which is also well animated and choreographed. The worst thing a fight scene can do is be telegraphed, making the motions so obvious it becomes boring. The action in Korra is much better thought out with a clever and surprising rhythm that is a joy to watch. A bending battle pursuit across the city is the premiere episode’s action highlight.

As the premiere of a new chapter in the saga of Avatar the Last Airbender, 'Welcome to Republic City' does a good job of both welcoming back old fans and creating an easy jump on point for new ones. You’ll probably get a bit more out of this episode if you’re a returning fan but everything is communicated well enough for anyone to grasp, with the era of Aang being treated much like the history of Roku was in the previous show. Fans have been waiting patiently for the series to arrive in the UK and at last it’s here.

She’s the Avatar. You gotta deal with it!

The Legend of Korra premieres on Nickelodeon UK 9:00am Sunday 7th July 2013.

FILED UNDER: CHANNELS, FOR KIDS, FRONT PAGE, INDUSTRY, INTERNATIONAL, NEWS, SUPERHEROES, TELEVISION, TOONS TAGGED WITH: AANG, BENDING, KATARA, LEGEND OF KORRA, NICKELODEON UK, REPUBLIC CITY, TENZIN, THE LEGEND OF KORRA