Little Airplane Productions
Type | Television production company |
---|---|
Industry | Television production Animation |
Founded | 1999 |
Founders | Josh Selig |
Headquarters | New York City, New York |
Key people | Josh Selig (president) Jennifer Oxley Jeffrey Lesser |
Products | Oobi Wonder Pets! 3rd & Bird |
Owner | Studio 100 |
Website | web |
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[]
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (December 1, 2017). "Studio 100 Takes Over Emmy-Winning Little Airplane Productions".
- ^ Jump up to: a b Milligan, Mercedes (October 2, 2019). "Little Airplane, Fantawild & Studio 100 Blast Off with 'Doctor Space'". Animation Magazine.
- ^ "Recently Opened: Little Airplane". Time Out. Time Out Group. April 15, 2008.
- ^ Dobbs, Aaron; Oei, Lily (January 4, 2006). "Josh Selig, Little Airplane Productions". Gothamist. Gothamist LLC. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016.
- ^ Clarke, Eileen (April 22, 2007). "Kids' Corner Q&A: The Wonder Pets's Josh Selig". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc.
- ^ "Little Airplane Productions and HIT Entertainment Join Forces in Partnership". HIT Entertainment (Press release). Mattel. October 1, 2009.
- ^ Goldman Getzler, Wendy (September 23, 2010). "Little Airplane's Tobi hits Scandinavia". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications.
- ^ DeMott, Rick (May 24, 2010). "Little Airplane's Olive Branch Debuts June 1 On Nick Jr". Animation World Network.
- ^ Mercedes Milligan (October 25, 2016). "'P. King Duckling' Gets Quacking on Disney Junior US". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ^ Germano Celant (January 2004). Tribeca talks. Progetto Prada Arte. ISBN 978-88-87029-30-7.
- ^ "Linny the Guinea Pig: Space and Ocean". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016.
- ^ Edwards, C. (August 6, 2013). "Amazon Studios Announces Four Animated Kids' Pilots". Cartoon Brew.
- ^ "The Jo B. & G. Raff Show! – Amazon Studios". Amazon Inc. February 6, 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ McLean, Tom (May 26, 2010). "Little Airplane Offers Positive Olive Branch to World". Animation Magazine.
- ^ Neumaier, Joe (July 10, 2009). "Little Airplane Cafe draws big crowd for kid-friendly concerts". New York Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman.
External links[]
- Mass media companies established in 1999
- American animation studios
- 1999 establishments in New York (state)