Oscar Junior

Newsweek ^ | 5 April, 2004 | Marc Peyser

[Servant of the 9]

If you've never watched the Kids' Choice Awards (the 17th annual show airs this Saturday), you're missing one of TV's most effervescent programs. We're not just talking about the burps. As silly as the show can be—did we mention the Favorite Fart From a Movie Award?—Kids' Choice has become a major destination for A-list Hollywood. Brad Pitt, Michelle Pfeiffer, Madonna, Mel Gibson and Robert De Niro have all walked Nickelodeon's orange carpet. A few years ago, Tom Cruise received the ultimate KCA tribute—he was "slimed" onstage with gallons of green goo. Clearly, many celebrities show up because it's hard to resist when 20 million kids vote you Favorite Movie Actor, or even Best Dresser. But the success of the KCAs is also a testament to the financial muscle of preteens. Kids ages 4 to 12 spent an estimated $40 billion in 2002. You want them to come to your next movie, you'd better be willing to get slimed. "Nickelodeon is a way of life," says Paul Kurnit, president of KidShop, a youth marketing firm. "When they put out a call in terms of what's cool, kids respond."

[Servant of the 9]

This is bound to be more entertaining than the real Oscars.

Excerpted as per posting software.

So9