Nickelodeon celebrates and slimes kids' favorites

Forget the Oscars, the Emmys and the Grammys. The biggest award show of the year if you're part of the 14 and under set is Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards.

Photo: Nickelodeon celebrates and slimes kids' favorites

Saturday night's 19th annual party also was attracting its share of grown-ups, with Oscar winners Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams among a long line of celebrity presenters scheduled to hand out the distinctive orange, blimp-shaped trophies in 16 categories.

"I haven't done it for awhile but I love it," Goldberg told The Associated Press before the show. "It is, after all, the Oscars of kids' programming."

With the free-spirited awards show falling on April Fools Day this year, host Jack Black promised numerous pranks and practical jokes to go with the traditional surprise "sliming" of a celebrity.

One of this year's scheduled musical performers, Pink, was bathed in gooey pink slime as she opened the 2002 awards show with a song. Nickelodeon noted this year marks the first time she has been back since then.

Meanwhile, U.S. Olympic freestyle skier Ryan St. Onge was to perform what was vaguely described as a "breathtaking, never-before-attempted slime stunt" that was to end with him landing in a vat of green goo.

Leading the competition for awards was the film "Madagascar," with three nominations, including favorite animated movie. Its stars, Chris Rock and Ben Stiller, also received nominations for favorite voice from an animated film, and Rock was to receive this year's Wannabe Award, in the form of a silver blimp, for the celebrity kids most want to be like.

Other multiple nominees included actor-rapper Will Smith, up for awards as favorite movie actor and favorite male singer, and Mariah Carey, nominated for favorite female singer and favorite song for "We Belong Together."

Carey was competing against Green Day in the song category, with the rockers nominated for "Wake Me Up When September Begins," as well as for favorite music group.

The show was being broadcast live from UCLA's Pauley Pavilion over the Nickelodeon cable network and on Nickelodeon's Web site.

Winners were chosen by fans who voted online up until the day of the show, reports AP.

O.Ch.