The Original Party Animals Join Nickelodeon's Slate of Hit Nicktoons with the Premiere of 'Back At The Barnyard' on September 29 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT)

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A F NICKELODEON BACK AT THE BARNYARD NICKELODEON BACK AT THE BARNYARD Otis and his gang of fun-loving farm animals will move from the big screen to Nickelodeon television this fall in an all-new animated comedy series Back At The Barnyard premiering ...

    BURBANK, Calif., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Otis and his gang
 of fun-loving farm animals will move from the big screen to Nickelodeon
 television this fall in an all-new animated comedy series "Back At The
 Barnyard" premiering Saturday, September 29 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) and on
 Nicktoons Network the following day, Sunday, September 30 at 9:00 p.m.
 (ET). Created by the Oscar-nominated writer/director Steve Oedekerk ("Jimmy
 Neutron: Boy Genius," "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective"), the series follows the
 adventures of a group of party animals who live colorful lives undetected
 by the humans living around them. "Back At The Barnyard" will air regularly
 on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070910/NYM127 )
     Picking up a few years after the feature film left off, "Back At The
 Barnyard" chronicles the animal shenanigans that take place in the barnyard
 when the farmer's back is turned. The series centers around a carefree
 party cow named Otis (voiced by Chris Hardwick, Singled Out), who has
 recently become the patriarch of the farm. He is driven by an endless need
 for fun and frivolity while avoiding close calls with humans and other
 threats to the animals' unconventional way of life. Raised on the farm but
 wild at heart, Otis has an insatiable zeal for laughter, happiness and the
 pursuit of a good time, though these schemes of having "human fun" often
 leave him and his friends in a jam. But his responsible side ultimately
 wins and Otis does the right thing, remaining a true leader to his barnyard
 friends. He and his band of malcontents, including his best friend Pip
 (voiced by Jeff Garcia, Barnyard), the sassy smart-mouthed cow, Bessy
 (voiced by Wanda Sykes, Barnyard) and the loyal to a fault Pig (voiced by
 Tino Insana, Barnyard), will stop at nothing to squeeze every last drop of
 fun out of their time in the barnyard.
     "'Back At The Barnyard' delivers the same lovable characters as the
 feature film, but packs in even more fun and laughs with rapid-fire gags
 and slapstick humor," said Marjorie Cohn, Executive Vice President of
 Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon Television. "Steve
 Oedekerk knows better then anyone how to create characters that push the
 envelope with absurd antics and the world he created in 'Barnyard' is no
 exception."
     "From the inception of the idea, Barnyard has always been too big and
 story rich for just one movie," said Steve Oedekerk. "We've finally been
 able to further explore the characters and the results have been hilarious.
 The show is designed too keep kids, as well as their parents, laughing and
 coming back for more."
     In the first half of the premiere episode, "Escape from the Barnyard,"
 the Farmer purchases what appears to be a barbeque grill and the animals
 think he's given up his vegan ways. Feeling betrayed, Otis fashions a plan
 to help some of the animals leave the barnyard forever. They end up in a
 grassy oasis, where everyone, except Otis, is happy. When he goes back for
 the others, he learns that the barbeque was really a tick-zapping machine
 and their whole escape was for naught.
     In the second half of the premiere episode, "The Good, The Bad and The
 Snotty," Otis and the animals put on a fake commercial to trick the Farmer
 into going to the made-up "TurnipCon." With the Farmer gone, Otis throws
 himself a giant birthday bash. But the plan backfires when Snotty Boy is
 hired to take care of the barn in the Farmer's absence and proceeds to make
 their lives miserable.
     Nickelodeon offers additional short form videos of 'Back At The
 Barnyard' , Otis-themed playlists, and instant replays of episodes on
 TurboNick, the network's broadband video service on www.nick.com. Short
 form videos of 'Back At The Barnyard' will also be available on Nick Mobile
 through its wireless partners. 'Back At The Barnyard' post-premiere
 episodes will stream on Video- on-Demand and will be available for paid
 download to own purchase on various Nickelodeon and partner video
 distribution platforms.
     www.nick.com/barnyard is the online destination for "Back At The
 Barnyard," featuring the antics and pranks of Otis and his friends with in-
 depth information on the series, downloads and screensavers. "Back At The
 Barnyard" will also be featured in its own Nicktropolis environment that
 will extend the prankster experience through communal gaming, and will be
 featured as a New Game of the Week, on NickMail and in e-Collectibles on
 Nick.com.
     About Omation Animation Studio
     Omation Animation Studio is a company under the umbrella of O
 Entertainment which was founded by Steve Oedekerk in 2000. Oedekerk has
 written and directed films grossing over $1.9 billion worldwide and
 received an Academy Award nomination in the best animated film category for
 Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Oedekerk also starred in and directed the
 retro-martial arts comedy Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, which grossed its
 entire budget on its opening weekend.
     Known for his ground-breaking work in animation technology, Oedekerk's
 has also written on some of the most successful feature films in recent
 history. While a writer on the Fox sketch comedy series "In Living Color,"
 Oedekerk collaborated with Jim Carrey on the surprise hit comedy Ace
 Ventura: Pet Detective. Following the film's breakout success, Oedekerk was
 asked to write and direct Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, which proved to
 be one of the rare sequels that surpassed the box-office gross of the
 original. His other film credits include "Bruce Almighty," "The Nutty
 Professor" and "Evan Almighty," starring Steve Carrell.
     About Nickelodeon
     Nickelodeon, in its 28th year, is the number-one entertainment brand
 for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in
 everything it does. The company includes television programming and
 production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer
 products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films.
 Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 94 million
 households and has been the number-one- rated basic cable network for 13
 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos
 are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:   VIA, VIA.B).
 
 

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