Toons Emerge as Strong Contenders in Daytime Emmy Race

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced today its nominees for the 32^nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards, and the categories for children’s programming are chock-full of stiff animated competition.

Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer, Disney Channel’s Kim Possible, PBS’ Arthur and TLC’s Peep and the Big Wide World and ToddWorld will be dueling it out in the race for Outstanding Children’s Animated Program.

Facing off for the honor of Outstanding Special Class Animated Program are Kids’ WB!’s The Batman, Cartoon Network’s Duck Dodgers, and The Disney Channel’s Rolie Polie Olie.

In the category of Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing-Live-Action and Animation, it will be a showdown between Cartoon Network’s Duck Dodgers, PBS’ Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, the Disney Channel’s Kim Possible and Xiaolin Showdown from the Kids’ WB!. In the Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing-Live-Action and Animation race, the nominees are Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer, the Disney Channel’s Kim Possible, CBS’ 115^th Rose Parade and PBS’ Zoom and Sesame Street.

Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer, PBS’ Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks and Sesame Street and the Disney Channel’s Kim Possible and Lilo and Stitch are all up for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition.

Nominations for Outstanding Writing in a Children’s Series are going to Nickelodeon’s Blues Clues, NBC’s Strange Days at Blake Holsey High and PBS shows Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street and the much-written about Postcards from Buster.

PBS’ Reading Rainbow, Zoom and Postcards from Buster, Discovery Kids’ Jeff Corwin Unleashed and NBC’s Endurance: Hawaii are all vying for Outstanding Children’s Series. As for the little ones, the contenders in the Outstanding Pre-School Children’s Series category include Nickelodeon’s Blues Clues, Sesame Street from PBS, and TLC’s PAZ and HI-5.

Nominees for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program are Kevin Michael Richardson for his role as the Joker in The Batman (Kids WB), Henry Winkler as Norville in Clifford’s Puppy Days (PBS), Mel Brooks as Wiley the Sheep in Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (PBS), Christy Romano as Kim in Kim Possible (Disney Channel) and Joan Cusack as the Narrator in Peep and the Big Wide World (TLC).

This year’s awards ceremony will be broadcast live Friday, May 20 on CBS from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall from 9:00-11:00 pm (ET).

To see the full list of nominations, visit www.emmyonline.tv