Disney has announced details of several guest stars slated to appear on Handy Manny, including Rosario Dawson, Giada De Laurentiis, Jim Belushi, and Lance Bass. The guest spots will start on December 7, 2009, on the Disney Channel.
The full press release follows, with details on which guest stars will be appearing on which dates:
ROSARIO DAWSON, GIADA DE LAURENTIIS, JIM BELUSHI AND
LANCE BASS GUEST STAR IN NEW EPISODES OF "HANDY MANNY,"
BEGINNING DECEMBER 7 ON DISNEY CHANNEL
Rosario Dawson, Giada De Laurentiis, Jim Belushi and Lance Bass will guest star in new episodes of Playhouse Disney's hit Emmy-nominated series "Handy Manny," beginning MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 (9:00 a.m. ET/PT) on Disney Channel. Dawson ("Sin City," "Rent") guest stars as a marine biologist, De Laurentiis ("Everyday Italian") plays the owner of a pizza parlor, Belushi ("According to Jim") joins in the fun as a drawbridge operator and Lance Bass ("Dancing with the Stars") returns in the recurring role of klutzy "surfer dude," Elliot.
(Editors please note: images, clips and screeners are available at
www.DisneyChannelmedianet.com)
The new episode schedule is as follows:
Monday, December 7
"A Whale of a Tale/Julieta's Loose Tooth" (9:00 a.m. ET/PT) – Manny and the tools are enjoying a day at the beach when a marine biologist (voiced by Dawson) approaches them with an emergency – an orca whale has washed up on the shore. Manny and the tools build a makeshift whale-sized stretcher to assist with getting the giant mammal back into the water. In the second story of the episode, when Julieta's loose tooth falls out and tumbles into the sink and down the drain, it is up to Manny and the tools to retrieve the lost tooth and return it to Julieta so she can put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy.
Tuesday, December 8
"Flicker Joins the Band/Paulette's Pizza Palace"(9:00 a.m. ET/PT) – When the tools form a band, Flicker has trouble finding his own sound. Manny assures him that he indeed has one; they just have to find out what it is. While cleaning, Flicker finds his unique sound when he blows on some dusty bottles. Then, when the automatic pizza rolling machine at Paulette's Pizza Palace breaks, Manny and the tools must repair the machine so that Paulette (voiced by De Laurentiis) is able to fulfill all the orders for her pizza special of the day.
Wednesday, December 9
"Which Way to the Barbeque/Back on Track" (9:00 a.m. ET/PT) – When Manny and the tools agree to meet Kelly and Elliot (voiced by Bass) for a picnic at Lake Nochanailin, they discover that the sign pointing to the lake shifted due to a gust of wind and that the arrow may have directed their friends to the wrong location. In the
second story of the episode, Manny and the tools get Mrs. Portillo's sliding glass doors back on track, in order to help keep some pesky flies out of her kitchen while she cooks her famous salsa.
Thursday, December 10
"Francisco Comes to Town/Broken Drawbridge" (9:00 a.m. ET/PT) – When Francisco's horse trailer gets a flat tire, Manny leaves the tools to watch the horse while he and Francisco get supplies. When the tools take their eyes off the horse for a minute, the clever pony walks away, leaving the tools in a panic. Then, when a drawbridge gets stuck in the up position and causes a traffic jam, Manny must help drawbridge operator, Sal (voiced by Belushi), fix it in order to get the cars moving
A Top 10 TV series with preschoolers age 2-5, "Handy Manny," which is set in a multicultural, multi-generational community and follows a curriculum that models problem solving is available in over 140 countries and in 23 languages. In addition to imparting life lessons about working together, communication and setting goals, the series also teaches viewers Spanish words and phrases and exposes them to aspects of Latin culture. (Source: NTI, 4Q09 to date (9/28/09-11/1/09, U.S. ratings, most current), ranked among preschool targeted series.)
Starring are: Wilmer Valderrama as Manny, Carlos Alazraqui as Felipe, Dee Bradley Baker as Turner, Grey Delisle as Flicker, Nika Futterman as Stretch and Squeeze, Tom Kenny as Mr. Lopart and Pat, Kath Soucie as Dusty, Fred Stoller as Rusty and Nancy Truman as Kelly.
"Handy Manny" airs weekdays at 9:00 a.m., ET/PT and weekends at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., ET/PT during Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney programming block for preschoolers. The series carries a TV-Y parental guideline.
Playhouse Disney, seen in a daily programming block on Disney Channel U.S. and on 21 Playhouse Disney channels around the world, encourages preschoolers to imagine and learn through original series, short-form and acquired programming that includes song, movement and entertainment. Guided by an established curriculum, Playhouse Disney supports multiple areas of child development: physical, emotional, social and cognitive; thinking and creative skills as well as moral and ethical development through carefully constructed themes, storylines and endearing characters.
