Ni Hao, Kai-Lan

Premise

Characters

Main

• Kai-Lan is a playful and adventurous 6-year-old Chinese-American girl and the host of the show with a big heart. During the show, she and her friends have to solve problems that come up during their daily lives. Kai-Lan speaks both English and Mandarin Chinese. She can also translate the languages. She loves dinosaurs, dogs, cats, rabbits, roosters, and hearts and she plays tambourine in her music group.
• Ye-Ye and Ben Wang is Kai-Lan's playful, thoughtful, and caring paternal grandfather legal guardian. He was born in Hong Kong and passed on his traditions to his granddaughter. He also provides Kai-Lan with gentle guidance, leading her to find her own answers, at her own pace. He can play the tuba with surprises coming out of it like bubbles and confetti. He also enjoys picking apples and making dumplings for Kai-Lan and all her animal friends. He's known to pop out of places unexpectedly, but his friends are always happy about it.
• Rintoo is a rambunctious and energetic yellow 5-year-old front lisp-accented Bengal tiger. Sometimes, Rintoo acts before he thinks and problems in the show happen to him more. Even if he's with Hoho most of the time like for favorites and problems, his actual best friend is Tolee besides Kai-Lan. He loves dragons, rabbits, horses, eagles and race cars and in Kai-Lan's music group, he plays xylophone.
• Tolee is a 5-year-old gray koala who loves pandas, pigs, butterfliess, ladybugs, and fruit. He is intelligent and always thinks before he acts and sometimes worries too much, but he never lets that stop him from having a great time with his friends. Kai-Lan and her friends can always rely on him for good ideas. Tolee also has a stuffed panda he affectionately named Pandy, and Tolee loves Pandy so much that he cannot imagine being without him. He is the vocalist in Kai-Lan's music group and if he plays a musical instrument, he'll play guitar.
• Hoho is an energetic 3-year-old white monkey and is the smallest and youngest of Kai-Lan's friends which makes him go first in activities. He is very hyperactive and bounces a lot, and whenever he does it, a spring sound can be heard, so he can often be found jumping on his friends' heads. He's full of boundless energy and nothing makes him happier than being the center of attention and sometimes because he's so young, he isn't a good listener that much. Hoho likes bananas, monkeys, and stars and he plays them as the resident DJ in Kai-Lan's music group. He can't always control his emotions and can sometimes have a fiery temper when he doesn't get his way, so he sometimes needs help with them. He is very cute, adorable, bouncy, and loves playing.
• Lulu is a sweet and intelligent 6-year-old light pink rhinoceros. She has a red balloon tied around her horn that helps her fly. Lulu is always seen as being there to help her friends. Her musical instrument is a piano or a keyboard. Her favorite fruit is lychee. She likes balloons, tea parties, dancing, playing house, dressing up like a fairy, and more. She is very nice, energetic, and sweet.
• Mr. Sun is one of the main characters in the series. In the beginning of every episode, he is found sleeping. Kai-Lan tickles him so she can start her day. After that, he sometimes bursts out sun fuzzies which are miniature versions of him and they tickle Kai-Lan. At night, he's called Mr. Moon and has moon fuzzies. He plays a French horn like at the beginning of "Tolee's Rhyme Time" as Kai-Lan plays her tambourine and some ladybugs play a pipa.
• In one corner of Kai-Lan's backyard is a teeming mini-metropolis of ants called Ant City who deliver mail and build things. San San is their leader along with his two right-hand ants, Bubu and Fufu.

Recurring

• Howard is an owl who delivers letters and only speaks in hoots.
• Mr. Fluffy is a hamster and baker. He has an assistant named Mei Mei. He is voiced by three actors. Note: In "Hoho's Big Flight" he is credited.
• Mei Mei, Chinese for "younger sister", is a shy blue polar bear and is often Mr. Fluffy's assistant and partner.
• Stompy is a big, playful blue elephant.
• Gu Nai Nai is Kai-Lan's grandaunt and Ye-Ye's sister.
• Xiao Xi Gua, meaning "little watermelon", is a baby panda who loves to eat watermelon.
• The Peeking Mice are little black mice who are often seen playing music. They are voiced by the same actors who voices Kai-Lan’s animal friends.
• Mr. Hoppy is a frog who starts as lime green with white eye with black pupils within and speaks in ribbits. Then, he's neon green with black eyes and talks.
• Tong is the leader of the Chinese acrobats.
• The Snails are found in one corner of Kai-Lan's backyard just like the ants.
• The Worms are found in one corner of Kai-Lan's backyard just like the ants.
• The Monkey King is a monkey superhero who lives in the sky.
• The Fox King is a fox in The Fox Kingdom.
• Xin Xin is a baby fox in The Fox Kingdom.
• The Foxes are red foxes that live in The Fox Kingdom.
• The Bear Queen is a bear in The Bear Kingdom.
• Tian Tian is a baby bear in The Bear Kingdom.
• The Bears are brown bears that live in The Bear Kingdom.

Video games

• Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: New Year's Celebration – released, November 3, 2009