Little Airplane Productions

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Little Airplane Productions
TypeTelevision production company
IndustryTelevision production
Animation
Founded1999
FoundersJosh Selig
HeadquartersNew York City, New York
Key people
Josh Selig (president)
Jennifer Oxley
Jeffrey Lesser
ProductsOobi
Wonder Pets!
3rd & Bird
OwnerStudio 100
Websiteweb.littleairplane.com

Little Airplane Productions is an American television production company. Founded by Josh Selig in 1999, the company produced Oobi and Wonder Pets! for Nickelodeon, as well as 3rd & Bird for the BBC. It has also released a variety of independent short films. Since 2017, the company has been owned by Studio 100, which entered a co-production agreement to create the comedy series Doctor Space with Little Airplane.[1][2]

The company's main studio is located in New York City's South Street Seaport.[3] Animation, design, voice-over, and storyboarding are completed in a 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) building. The studio also houses a recording facility where the music for its productions is recorded under the direction of Jeffrey Lesser. In mid-2007, the company opened new studios in London and Abu Dhabi, following the announcement of 3rd & Bird.

Productions[]

Television[]

  • Oobi was the company's first television venture. It began as a series of interstitials on Noggin and Nick Jr. in 2000. It was picked up as a long-form series in 2003.[4]
  • Wonder Pets! was the company's second production for Nickelodeon, focusing on the adventures of three classroom pets.[5] It ran for three seasons.
  • 3rd & Bird is an animated series co-produced by Little Airplane Productions and CBeebies. The series premiered on CBeebies in July 2008 and aired in 18 territories abroad.
  • Go, Baby! is a short-form animated series narrated by Richard Kind. It is shown on Disney Junior.[6]
  • Tobi! is a series of four-minute visual poems that aired on Treehouse TV in Canada. It was distributed by the Paris-based company AWOL Animation.[7]
  • Small Potatoes debuted at the 12th annual BAMKids International Film Festival. It is currently airing on CBeebies.
  • The Adventures of Napkin Man! is a series that combines live action and animation. It was created by Selig and Tone Thyne, and it premiered in 2013.
  • Super Wings, a CGI-animated series about airplanes, premiered on March 14, 2015. It was created by Gil Hoon Jung.
  • The Olive Branch is a series of one-minute stories about two characters who achieve conflict resolution, told without words.[8]
  • P. King Duckling is a co-production with Chinese company Uyoung Animation. The series premiered on Disney Junior on November 7, 2016.[9]
  • Doctor Space is an upcoming Chinese-German-American animated comedy series, created and written by Selig and Billy Lopez. It is being co-developed by Little Airplane, Studio 100, and Fantawild.[2] Doctor Space is currently in the development process along with other projects like Fun Town Wheels, Build it Dinos, Mike's Amazing Movers, Butterfly Fairy Friends, and Orion's Belt.

Short films[]

  • The Time-Out Chair is a short film written and directed by Selig in 2002. The short was filmed in East Village, Manhattan and shown at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival.[10]
  • Linny the Guinea Pig is a collection of two short films about a guinea pig who embarks on adventures. The shorts, which inspired the Wonder Pets! show, were aired on Nickelodeon in 2003.[11]
  • The Jo B. & G. Raff Show! was a television pilot for Amazon Studios that Selig wrote and directed in 2014.[12][13]

Other work[]

Cancelled projects[]

The Wonder Pets! episode "Kalamazoo!" was intended as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series, centering on the character Ming-Ming and her brother Marvin. Selig pitched the spin-off to Nickelodeon after the final season of Wonder Pets! wrapped, but Nickelodeon did not pick up the spin-off or any additional episodes of the series.[14]

In 2008, Sesame Workshop hired Little Airplane to "produce a bible for a series in development," but the project did not materialize.[14]

The Little Light Foundation[]

In 2009, Little Airplane Productions created a non-profit initiative called "The Little Light Foundation." The Foundation's first project was the animated series The Olive Branch for Nick Jr.[15]

The Little Airplane Café[]

In the summer of 2009 Little Airplane Productions launched the Little Airplane Café. Laurie Berkner opened the restaurant in July 2009. Her performance was broadcast live on SiriusXM.[16] Guests have included Jon Scieszka, , and Suzi Shelton.

The Little Airplane Academy[]

Little Airplane Academy offers a three-day workshop twice a year at the company's South Street Seaport studios. Participants learn the fundamentals of creating a preschool series including pitching, writing, character design, directing and producing live action and animated shows. In 2009, the Academy ran a one-day writing workshop with Susan Kim. Little Airplane has also hosted workshops in Qatar, England, and Norway.

References[]

  1. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (December 1, 2017). "Studio 100 Takes Over Emmy-Winning Little Airplane Productions".
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Milligan, Mercedes (October 2, 2019). "Little Airplane, Fantawild & Studio 100 Blast Off with 'Doctor Space'". Animation Magazine.
  3. ^ "Recently Opened: Little Airplane". Time Out. Time Out Group. April 15, 2008.
  4. ^ Dobbs, Aaron; Oei, Lily (January 4, 2006). "Josh Selig, Little Airplane Productions". Gothamist. Gothamist LLC. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016.
  5. ^ Clarke, Eileen (April 22, 2007). "Kids' Corner Q&A: The Wonder Pets's Josh Selig". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc.
  6. ^ "Little Airplane Productions and HIT Entertainment Join Forces in Partnership". HIT Entertainment (Press release). Mattel. October 1, 2009.
  7. ^ Goldman Getzler, Wendy (September 23, 2010). "Little Airplane's Tobi hits Scandinavia". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications.
  8. ^ DeMott, Rick (May 24, 2010). "Little Airplane's Olive Branch Debuts June 1 On Nick Jr". Animation World Network.
  9. ^ Mercedes Milligan (October 25, 2016). "'P. King Duckling' Gets Quacking on Disney Junior US". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  10. ^ Germano Celant (January 2004). Tribeca talks. Progetto Prada Arte. ISBN 978-88-87029-30-7.
  11. ^ "Linny the Guinea Pig: Space and Ocean". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016.
  12. ^ Edwards, C. (August 6, 2013). "Amazon Studios Announces Four Animated Kids' Pilots". Cartoon Brew.
  13. ^ "The Jo B. & G. Raff Show! – Amazon Studios". Amazon Inc. February 6, 2014.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Dade Hayes (May 6, 2008). Anytime Playdate: Inside the Preschool Entertainment Boom, or, How Television Became My Baby's Best Friend. Simon & Schuster. pp. 199–. ISBN 978-1-4165-6433-1.
  15. ^ McLean, Tom (May 26, 2010). "Little Airplane Offers Positive Olive Branch to World". Animation Magazine.
  16. ^ Neumaier, Joe (July 10, 2009). "Little Airplane Cafe draws big crowd for kid-friendly concerts". New York Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman.

External links[]

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