Savoy Label Group and Universal Studios Team Up for Curious George Soundtrack

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Savoy Label Group (SLG) has concluded a worldwide deal with Universal Studios for the release of the soundtrack to the new Curious George Christmas movie, "CURIOUS GEORGE: A VERY MONKEY CHRISTMAS" on their Denon Records imprint. "A VERY MONKEY CHRISTMAS" is the first ever holiday-themed movie to feature the beloved children's character Curious George and will air during PBS pledge drive programming beginning in November. The soundtrack to "A VERY MONKEY CHRISTMAS" will feature the television show's theme performed by SLG/429 Records' Grammy winning SLG/429 Records' recording artist Dr. John with songs and score composed by Nick Nolan. Extensive retail and online marketing campaigns are planned worldwide in support of the soundtrack which will be released worldwide on November 24.

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A VERY MONKEY CHRISTMAS, the charming new movie from PBS Kids featuring Curious George is making its broadcast premiere on public television stations nationwide on Wednesday, November 25. A VERY MONKEY CHRISTMAS will air on PBS Kids throughout the holiday season. Additional airings are scheduled for November 29, December 6, 18, 19, 20 and Christmas Day, December 25 (check local listings for exact air dates and times). You can also catch Curious George Monday through Friday on PBS Kids (check local listings).

In addition to the broadcast premiere, a new holiday-themed game will debut on www.pbskids.org/curiousgeorge in November. The game invites children to bring the special storyline to life as they figure out what gift George has drawn, then help him shop for the gift, wrap it and give it to a loved one. Other fun Curious George related activities can be found on www.curiousgeorge.com.

"A VERY MONKEY CHRISTMAS" features Curious George and his ever-trustworthy caretaker, the Man with the Yellow Hat, in their first ever holiday movie. The impatient George is counting the days until Christmas with one major question puzzling the both of them--deciding what to give the other for a present! The Man is having trouble reading George's wish list and George doesn't have a clue what to get The Man who has everything. Will they be able to find the answers before Christmas morning?? "A VERY MONKEY CHRISTMAS" deals brilliantly with the excitement, anticipation and frustration of the holidays as only these beloved characters can portray while also learning a few heartfelt lessons along the way.

    Track Listing of A VERY MONKEY CHRISTMAS:
         1)     Curious George Theme Song (featuring Dr. John)
         2)     Christmas With A Monkey
         3)     Curious George Christmas Medley (score)
         4)     Our Christmas Monkey (aka Betsy's Song)
         5)     Curious George Christmas Tree Shopping (score)
         6)     Something As Special As You (aka The Gift Song)
         7)     Curious George Christmas Main Title (score)
         8)     Jingle Bells
         9)     Curious George Perfect Gift/Tomato Man (score)
        10)     Deck The Halls
        11)     Twelve Days of Christmas
        12)     Curious George-This Is The One (score)
        13)     Christmas With A Monkey (reprise)

CURIOUS GEORGE is a production of Imagine Entertainment, WGBH Boston and Universal Studios Family Productions. Executive producers are Ron Howard (Imagine), Brian Grazer (Imagine), Carol Greenwald (WGBH), Dorothea Gillim (WGBH) and Ellen Cockrill (Universal). Curious George and related characters created by Margret and H.A. Rey are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and used under license. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLP. Television series: A92009. Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

ABOUT THE CURIOUS GEORGE TELEVISION SERIES
Curious George the television series is designed to inspire kids to explore science, math and engineering in the world around them in a fun and entertaining way. Based on the best-selling Curious George books by Margret and H.A. Rey, the daily series on PBS Kids expands George's world to include a host of colorful characters and original locales, while maintaining the charm of the beloved books. Each half-hour episode includes two animated stories followed by short live-action pieces showing real kids who are investigating the ideas that George introduces in his stories. The series encourages inquiry and curiosity, promotes hands-on exploration and shows parents and caregivers how to support children's science and math-related play.

Imagine Entertainment was founded in 1986 by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer to create movies, television and other original programming. Since its inception, Imagine Entertainment has been honored with more than 40 prestigious awards, including eight Academy Awards and 14 Emmys. Their past productions include the Academy Award-winning films "A Beautiful Mind," "8 Mile," "Apollo 13" in addition to The Da Vinci Code and Curious George and the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning television series "24" and "Arrested Development." Imagine Entertainment has a long standing production/distribution agreement with Universal Pictures.

WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting public broadcasting producer, the source of one-third of PBS's prime-time lineup along with some of public television's best-known lifestyle show, many public radio favorites and a roster of children's programs that empower kids with innovative, entertaining, curriculum-based content. Among the WGBH-produced children's titles: "Arthur," "Curious George," "Postcards From Buster," "Between the Lions," "Design Squad," "Martha Speaks" and "Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman." WGBH is the number-one producer of websites on PBS.org, one of the most trafficked dot-org websites in the world and a pioneer in educational multimedia and in technologies and services that make media accessible to the 36 million Americans who rely on captioning or video descriptions. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys Peabodys, DuPont-Columbia Awards and even two Oscars. In 2002, WGBH received a special institutional Peabody Award for 50 years of excellence. For more information, got to: www.wgbh.org.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.univeralstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi.

Boston based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company is a global education leader and the world's largest publisher of educational materials for pre-K-12 schools. The company publishes a comprehensive set of best-in-class educational solutions, ranging from research-based textbook programs to instructional technology to standards-based assessments for students and educators. The company also publishes an extensive line of reference works and award-winning literature for adults and young readers. With origins dating back to 1832, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt combines its tradition of excellence with a commitment to innovation. To learn more about Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, visit www.hmhpub.com.

Denon Records is a unit of the Savoy Label Group (SLG). SLG is the North American unit of CME (Columbia Music Entertainment, formerly Nippon Columbia), the oldest music company in Japan. The Savoy Label Group has evolved into a leading independent company consistently outperforming competitors in key music categories as monitored by Billboard Magazine. SLG is led by Steve Vining and CME is headed by Chairman Strauss Zelnick, founder of Zelnick Media which owns interests in and manages an array of media companies. www.429records.com .