For The First Time Ever, SpongeBob SquarePants Speaks Te Reo Māori!
In Celebration of Māori Language Week
Nickelodeon New Zealand Commemorates SpongeBob’s 10th Anniversary
Auckland, 21st July 2009: The world’s most famous sea sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, is set to make his debut in te
reo Māori as part of Māori Language Week.
For the first time ever, Nickelodeon New Zealand fans will see SpongeBob and his sea-dwelling Bikini Bottom friends,
including Squidward, Mr Krabs and Patrick, speaking in te reo Māori for five days from Monday 27 – Friday 31 July 2009
as part of a collaboration with Te Māngai Pāho and Cinco Cine Film Productions.
Nickelodeon New Zealand (SKY Digital, Channel 041) will broadcast a premiere and 3-4 daily repeats of SpongeBob Tarau
Porowhā in te reo Māori weekdays during Māori Language Week in addition to multiple screenings of an English language
‘Behind the Scenes’ programme showing the making of SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā in te reo Māori (see times listed below).
The Nickelodeon New Zealand website (www.nicknz.co.nz) will also host downloads and a competition around the five te reo
Māori episodes of SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā streaming them online.
Award-winning local production company and specialists in Māori language children’s programming, Cinco Cine Film
Productions, recorded the te reo Māori voiceovers for the five landmark episodes of SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā. Casting
for the te reo Māori voices was critical to ensuring that the Māori SpongeBob voice conveyed the much-loved style
familiar to viewers. The result is exciting interpretations of the characters with Pukana host Tiare Tāwera voicing the
te reo Māori SpongeBob and Matutaera Ngaropo voicing the characters of Patrick and Squidward.
John Bishara, CEO of Te Māngai Pāho, the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency is delighted about children viewing one of
the world’s most popular animated characters speaking te reo Māori.
“Maori Language Week, Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, is intended to encourage New Zealanders to learn te reo Māori. We believe
the SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā shows will contribute to the education of New Zealand kids about te reo Māori – in a way
that is fun.”
Lauren Nola says the Nickelodeon NZ team and Nickelodeon International are excited about seeing te reo Māori episodes of
SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā going to air. “SpongeBob’s lovable humour and quirky wit resonates across all demographics from
kids right through to parents. By leveraging the global Nickelodeon brand, we are able to strengthen our local
connection with Kiwi kids and encourage the use of Māori language to a broader audience. It’s also a very fitting way to
celebrate SpongeBob’s 10th anniversary.”
SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā daily screening information:
Monday 27 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 6pm, 9pm and 10.30pm
Tuesday 28 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 4.30pm and 9pm
Wednesday 29 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 6pm and 9pm
Thursday 30 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 4.30pm, 6pm and 9pm
Friday 31 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 9pm and 10.30pm
Behind the Scenes screening times:
Monday 27 July 5.50pm
Tuesday 28 July 6.15pm
Wednesday 29 July 5.50pm
Thursday 30 July 5.50pm
Friday 31 July 6.15pm
Tihē Mauriora ki te wheiao, ki te ao mārama! Ka Kōrero Māori A SpongeBob
Tarau Porowhā Hei Whakanui I Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori
Ka Whakanui a Nickelodeon New Zealand i te Ngahurutanga o Ngā Tau o SpongeBob
Tāmaki-makau-rau, te 21 o Hōngongoi, 2009: Ka ruku te pōareare rongonui nei, a SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā i te moana o te
reo Māori hei whakanui i Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.
He tuatahitanga tēnei mō te hunga mātakitaki i te hōngere Nickelodeon New Zealand. Ka kite rātou i a SpongeBob me ana
hoa noho moana i Bikini Bottom, arā ko Squidward rātou ko Mr Krabs, ko Patrick, e kōrero Māori ana i ngā rā o Te Wiki o
Te Reo Māori, mai i te Rāhina, 27 ki te Rāmere 31 o Hōngongoi, 2009. He kaupapa tēnei e kōkiri ngātahihia ana e
Nickelodeon me Cinco Cine Film Productions i raro i te maru o Te Māngai Pāho.
Ka pāhotia te whakaaturanga tuatahi reo Māori o SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā me ngā toaitanga e toru, e whā rānei ia rā e
Nickelodeon New Zealand (i te hōngere o SKY Digital 041) i ngā rā o Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. I tua atu i ērā, ka toai
anō te whakaaturia o tētahi hōtaka reo Pākehā e pā ana ki ngā mahi whakariterite o muri a te hunga whakaputa i tēnei
kaupapa (kei raro iho nei ngā wā ka pāhotia). Ka raua anō hoki ngā whakaaturanga, ētahi āhuatanga ka taea te tiki
ā-rorohiko me tētahi whakataetae e pā ana ki aua whakaaturanga reo Māori o SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā ki runga i te
whārangi ipurangi a Nickelodeon New Zealand (www.nicknz.co.nz).
Nā tētahi pakihi i Tāmaki-makaru-rau kua whakawhiwhia ki ngā tohu whakaputa hōtaka, kua roa hoki e whakaputa ana i ngā
hōtaka reo Māori mō ngā tamariki – arā, nā Cinco Cine Film Productions i hautū te hopunga o ngā reo Māori mō ngā
whakaaturanga e rima o SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā. He mea āta whiriwhiri ngā reo Māori kia hāngai ki ērā e aroha nuitia
ana, e mōhio whānuitia ana e te hunga mātakitaki. Inā rā kua riro mā Tiare Tāwera, kaiwhakataki o Pūkana hei kawe te
reo Māori o SpongeBob, ā, mā Matutaera Ngaropo e kawe ngā reo o Patrick rāua ko Squidward.
E harikoa ana a John Bishara, te Tumu Whakarae o Te Māngai Pāho, te Pokapū Tuku Pūtea ki ngā Whakahaere Pāpāho Māori, i
te mea ka mātakihia e ngā tamariki tētahi o ngā kiripuaki pakiwaituhi rongonui o te ao, e kōrero Māori ana.
“Ko te whāinga o Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori he whakahau i ngā iwi o Aotearoa ki te ako i te reo Māori. E whakapono ana
mātou mā ēnei whakaaturanga SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā e whakawhānui te mōhiotanga o ngā tamariki i Aotearoa ki te reo
Māori – mā roto mai i tēnei huarahi manawareka.”
Hei tā Lauren Nola, e hiamo ana te whānau o Nickelodeon NZ me Nickelodeon International kia kite i ngā whakaaturanga reo
Māori o SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā e pāhotia ana. “Ka toro atu te ngākau manawareka me te atamai motuhake o SpongeBob ki
ngā hunga katoa, tamariki mai, pakeke mai. Mā te rongonui o Nickelodeon i te ao pāpāho e taea ai e mātou te whakapakari
te hononga ki ngā tamariki o Aotearoa, e taea ai hoki te whakahau te marea mātakitaki nui tonu kia kōrero i te reo
Māori. He huarahi pai hoki tēnei hei whakanui i te ngahurutanga o ngā tau o SpongeBob.”
Te Rātaka Pāpāho o SpongeBob Tarau Porowhā
Monday 27 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 6pm, 9pm and 10.30pm
Tuesday 28 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 4.30pm and 9pm
Wednesday 29 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 6pm and 9pm
Thursday 30 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 4.30pm, 6pm and 9pm
Friday 31 July 7.30am, 3.25pm, 9pm and 10.30pm
Ka pāhotia te whakaaturanga ‘Behind the Scenes’ i ēnei wā:
Monday 27 July 5.50pm
Tuesday 28 July 6.15pm
Wednesday 29 July 5.50pm
Thursday 30 July 5.50pm
Friday 31 July 6.15pm
Mō ētahi pārongo, whakaahua hoki, mō ngā tono uiui anō hoki, whakapā mai ki a:
ends