Ni Hao, Kai-Lan
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan is a Canadian–American animated television series produced by Harringtoons Productions and Nickelodeon Productions. The show was based on the childhood memories of creator Karen Chau, growing up in a bicultural (Chinese-American) household. “Ni hao” means “Hello” in Mandarin, and Kai-Lan is the Chinese name Chau was given at birth, which was later anglicized to Karen. It was also based on the classic short series Downward Doghouse. The show had two different stories in each episode. The series premiered at 11AM ET/PT time on February 7, 2008 on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block in the United States.
| Ni Hao, Kai-Lan | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animated series |
| Created by | Karen Chau |
| Developed by | Mary Harrington Karen Chau Judy Rothman Sascha Paladino |
| Directed by | David Marshall |
| Country of origin |  United States.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada.svg.png.webp){kind=small} United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 42 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Sascha Paladino Supervising Producers: David Marshall Jeff DeGrandis |
| Production location(s) | California Toronto |
| Running time | 24 minutes (US) 12 minutes (UK) |
| Production company(s) | Harringtoons Productions Nickelodeon Productions |
| Release | |
| Picture format | HDTV 1080i (2008-2013) |
| Original release | February 7, 2008 – August 21, 2011 |
| Other websites | |
| Website | |
The first two seasons had 20 episodes each. The third season consisted of a two-part series finale. Sascha Paladino was the head writer and developer for the show.
Characters
Hoho is one of the main characters in the Nickelodeon animated series, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. He is voiced by Angie Wu.
Lulu is a cute and very pretty pink rhino who has a red balloon tied to her horn that helps her fly in the sky. Her best friend is Kai-Lan and other friends. When her friends are in trouble, Lulu is the one in the group who stays calm,, remains positive, and thinks of a solution to the problem. Lulu is always seen as being there to help her friends. Lulu's home is a castle in the sky. Lulu plays the piano in Kai-Lan's music group. Her favorite fruit is the lychee. She likes balloons, tea parties, dancing, playing house and dressing up like a fairy and more. She is very nice, energetic, and sweet.
Rintoo is one of the main characters in the Nickelodeon series, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. He is voiced by Jack Samson.
Tolee is one of the main characters in Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. He is voiced by Khamani Griffin.
Premise
The series follows the adventures of Kai-Lan and her group of talking anthropomorphic animal companions. Other aspects generally featured in episodes are breaking the fourth wall, 11 minutes of interactivity,[1] a target word that is repeated multiple times,[2] a few words of Mandarin Chinese vocabulary, and before saying goodbye (at the end of each episode), Kai-Lan says, "You make my heart feel super happy." Later installments added Kai-lan saying this phrase in Mandarin after she said it in English: "Ni rang wo hao kai xin." Ni Hao, Kai-Lan introduces its viewers to the Mandarin Chinese language, along with elements of Chinese culture and values, and intergenerational families (e.g., Kai-Lan and her relationship with Ye-Ye).
Episodes
Season 1 (2008-2009)
| # | Episode Name | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragonboat Festival | 7 February 2008 |
| 2 | Twirly Whirly Flyers | 8 February 2008 |
| 3 | Tolee's Rhyme Time | 11 February 2008 |
| 4 | The Ant Playground | 12 February 2008 |
| 5 | Wait, Hoho, Wait! | 13 February 2008 |
| 6 | Kai-Lan's Campout | 14 February 2008 |
| 7 | Happy Chinese New Year! | 15 February 2008 |
| 8 | Everybody's Hat Parade | 24 March 2008 |
| 9 | The Snowiest Ride | 25 March 2008 |
| 10 | Safari Pals | 26 March 2008 |
| 11 | Rain or Shine | 27 March 2008 |
| 12 | Beach Day | 11 July 2008 |
| 13 | Sports Day | 5 August 2008 |
| 14 | Kai-Lan's Carnival | 6 October 2008 |
| 15 | Roller Rintoo | 7 October 2008 |
| 16 | Lulu Day | 8 October 2008 |
| 17 | Hoho's Big Flight | 9 October 2008 |
| 18 | Ni Hao, Halloween! | 28 October 2008 |
| 19 | Kai-Lan's Trip to China | 14 August 2009 |
Season 2 (2009-2010)
| # | Episode Name | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Ladybug Festival | 2 February 2009 |
| 2 | The Dinosaur Balloon | 11 May 2009 |
| 3 | Kai-Lan’s Big Play | 12 May 2009 |
| 4 | Playtime at Tolee’s | 13 May 2009 |
| 5 | The Moon Festival | 14 May 2009 |
| 6 | Kai-Lan’s Big Surprise | 15 May 2009 |
| 7 | Kai-Lan's Great Trip to China | 8 June 2009 |
| 8 | Rintoo Makes a Splash | 9 June 2009 |
| 9 | The Ants Dance | 10 June 2009 |
| 10 | Stompy Rides Again | 11 June 2009 |
| 11 | Rintoo’s Big Flip | 19 February 2010 |
| 12 | Kai-Lan’s Snowcoaster | 25 February 2010 |
| 13 | Tolee’s Turn | 22 March 2010 |
| 14 | Lulu’s Cloud | 23 March 2010 |
| 15 | Kai-Lan’s Playhouse | 24 March 2010 |
| 16 | Pandy’s Puddle | 25 March 2010 |
| 17 | Tolee’s Promise | 28 March 2010 |
| 18 | The Place Where We All Live | 20 May 2010 |
| 19 | The Hula Duck Dance Party | 22 April 2010 |
| 20 | Princess Kai-Lan | 8 October 2010 |
References
- Strike, Joe (2007-12-04). "Ni Hao, Kai-lan: Tigers and Dragons and Mandarin Lessons". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 2009-06-27.
- Liu, Ed (2008-01-21). "Toon Zone Interviews Nick SVP Teri Weiss About "Ni Hao, Kai-lan"". Toon Zone. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20.
Notes
External links
- Ni Hao, Kai-Lan on IMDb
- Official Website on nickjr.com (archived on April 30, 2015)