LOS ANGELES - A big green ogre elbowed aside Miley Cyrus -- but just barely -- in the race to secure the most nominations for the Nickelodeon cable network's 21st annual Kids Choice Awards.
The film "Shrek The Third" received a leading four nominations, including one for favorite animated movie. The other three were for favorite voice from an animated movie. They went to Mike Meyers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Shrek's wife, Fiona, and Eddie Murphy as Shrek's loyal sidekick, Donkey.
Pop superstar Cyrus was a force all her own, being nominated for favorite female singer and favorite female actress while her television show "Hannah Montana" received a favorite TV show nomination. The 15-year-old star won the favorite TV actress award last year.
Jack Black, who hosted the Kids Choice Awards two years ago, is returning for this year's March 29 broadcast.
The show, at which awards presentations are almost secondary to raucous appearances by celebrities and the wait to see who among them gets doused in gooey green slime, will be broadcast live on the Nickelodeon cable channel. Viewers can go online beginning March 3 to cast their votes for nominees.
The following is a complete list of nominees:
Movie: "Alvin and the Chipmunks," "Are We Done Yet?," "The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "The Transformers."
Male Movie Star: Ice Cube, Johnny Depp, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Eddie Murphy.
Animated Movie: "Shrek The Third," "Bee Movie," "Ratatouille," "The Simpsons Movie."
Female Movie Star: Jessica Alba, Drew Barrymore, Kirsten Dunst, Keira Knightley.
Voice From an Animated Movie: Cameron Diaz, Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Jerry Seinfeld.
Song: "Beautiful Girls" (Sean Kingston), "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Fergie), "Don't Matter," (Akon), "Girlfriend" (Avril Lavigne.)
Male Singer: Bow Wow, Chris Brown, Soulja Boy, Justin Timberlake.
Music Group: Boys Like Girls, Fall Out Boy, Jonas Brothers, Linkin Park.
Female Singer: Beyonce, Fergie, Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys.
TV Show: "Drake & Josh," "Hannah Montana," "iCarly," "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody."
Reality Show: "America's Next Top Model," "American Idol," "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?," "Deal or no Deal."
Television Actress: Miley Cyrus ("Hannah Montana"), Emma Roberts ("Unfabulous"), Jamie Lynn Spears ("Zoey 101"), Raven-Symone ("That's So Raven").
Television Actor: Drake Bell ("Drake & Josh"), Josh Peck ("Drake & Josh"), Dylan Sprouse ("The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"), Cole Sprouse ("The Suite Life of Zack and Cody").
Cartoon: "Avatar: The Last Airbender," "Ed, Edd and Eddy," "The Simpsons," "SpongeBob SquarePants."
Male Athlete: Tony Hawk, Shaquille O'Neal, Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods.
Female Athlete: Cheryl Ford, Danica Patrick, Serena Williams, Venus Williams.
Video Game: "Dance Dance Revolution," "Guitar Hero," "High School Musical: Sing It!", "Madden NFL '08."
Book: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume One: The Long Way Home," "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," "Harry Potter series," "How to Eat Fried Worms."
