Toot & Puddle to Splash on Noggin

Noggin, Nickelodeon’s commercial-free educational preschool network, acquired 52 11-minute episodes of Toot & Puddle, an animated series based on the books of children’s author and illustrator Holly Hobbie.

The show, which will begin on Noggin in the fall of 2008, was produced by National Geographic Kids Entertainment and Mercury Filmworks. The deal was announced in hindsight of Noggin’s broadcast of a Toot & Puddle holiday special last December.

Donna Friedman Meir, president of NGKE, who announced the deal Monday, saw an international opportunity for the show.

"The Toot & Puddle series captures the essence of National Geographic's brand and mission by encouraging exploration and adventure," she said. "The holiday special that aired on Noggin and was also licensed to a number of international broadcasters -- including YLE (Finland), DR1 (Denmark) and ATV (Hong Kong) -- was a big hit with children and their families, and we are thrilled to be working with Mercury Filmworks to bring them more adventures and entertainment from the best-selling book series."

National Geographic International presold the series to Treehouse in Canada; TV2 in Norway; and Nickelodeon in the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.