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Little Airplane Productions, Inc. is a production company that specializes in making quality preschool television shows. Founded by Josh Selig in 1999, Little Airplane Productions created and produced The Wonder Pets! and Oobi! for Nick Jr. (TV channel), Go, Baby! for Playhouse Disney, and 3rd & Bird for BBC’s CBeebies And Disney Junior. Additionally, Selig was the Head Writer for Little Bill on Nick Jr. He has received ten Emmy Awards for his writing on Sesame Street and was the Resident Producer of the historic Israeli/Palestinian Sesame Street co-production (winner of the 1998 Japan Prize).
The production's studios are located in New York City’s historic South Street Seaport in a 200-year-old former grain mill and armory. With 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) of space, the company’s production facilities are consolidated under one roof, including animation, design, voice-over, storyboard and post-production. The studio houses a recording facility where all the music for its productions is recorded under the direction of Little Airplane’s Musical Director, Jeffrey Lesser.
In 2007, Little Airplane opened the doors to a new studio in London, marking the company's first permanent international presence. Little Airplane UK was opened following the announcement of “3rd & Bird.”
This company also does business under the name Hootenanny Productions.[1]
"The Wonder Pets!" is our series currently in production for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming Duckling and Turtle Tuck. At the end of every school day, when the students have gone home, these classroom pets become the Wonder Pets, three courageous, singing superheroes who travel the world using teamwork to save young animals in distress. The series has won a Japan Prize for the episode “Save the Bengal Tiger!” and three Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
"3rd & Bird" is our animated series co-produced by Little Airplane Productions and CBeebies. Each episode is filled with music and songs and features Muffin and Samuel Lovebird, young birds who learn all about family, neighbors and friends. The series premiered on CBeebies in July 2008 and is currently airing in 18 territories around the world.
After a successful run as a short-form series on Noggin and Nick Jr., "Oobi!" premiered as a long-form series on Noggin in April 2003. Winner of a 2001 Gold Parents' Choice Award, "Oobi!" combines a truly unique set of characters - Oobi, Uma, Kako and Grampu - with great storytelling and interactive gaming elements. "Oobi!" is currently airing on Nick Jr.
"Go, Baby!" is a short-form animated series currently airing on Playhouse Disney. Each interstitial encourages viewer interaction as Baby completes a series of simple tasks with the help of the child-viewer. The narrator is voiced by actor Richard Kind.
“Tobi!” is a series of 4:00 visual poems that premiered on Treehouse TV/Canada and Nickelodeon Australia on March 7 to coincide with UNICEF’s International Children's Day of Broadcasting. Tobi is a little boy who wants to make his world a better place to live. Each episode helps preschoolers understand one pressing global issue as Tobi takes care of his world, which is represented in a visually striking and poetic way.
We are currently in production on “Small Potatoes”, a new short form animated series about four adorable potatoes who sing to celebrate their imagination! Each episode features a new song written in an entirely different musical style. No genre is safe from these spuds! The Potatoes made their big screen debut at the 12th annual BAMKids International Film Festival where “Imagination (Give it a Try)” won a BAMmie for Best Short Film for ages 2-5. The "Small Potatoes" is currently airing on Cbeebies in the UK and the potatoes will make their US broadcast debut in September on Disney Junior!
The Time Out Chair is a short film written and directed by Josh Selig. It is the story of a young girl who leaves her preschool classroom dragging her time out chair with her. The short was filmed in New York’s East Village and was shown at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. Since then, it has been acquired by the Museum of Modern Art.
Linny is a short film about a guinea pig who goes on many adventures. This short was aired on Nickelodeon in 2004, and also inspired a later show called The Wonder Pets!
In 2009, Little Airplane Productions created a non-profit initiative called “The Little Light Foundation.” It is endorsed by The Desmond Tutu Foundation, UNICEF and the Simon Weisenthal Center. The Foundation’s first creative endeavor is a new animated series called “The Olive Branch.” on Nick Jr. Each one-minute episode is a story about two characters who achieve conflict resolution told without words. The Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation is a consultant on the series’ content.
In the summer of 2009 Little Airplane Productions launched the Little Airplane Café. Every summer families have the opportunity to see some of their favorite children’s artists performing live in an intimate café setting. Kids music sensation Laurie Berkner opened the Little Airplane Café in July 2009. Her performance was broadcast live on SiriusXM’s “Kids’ Place Live!” Host Mindy Thomas of “The Absolutely Mindy Show” was at the Little Airplane Café and hosted the performance and talked to the kids in the audience on live radio! Other café guests have included Jon Scieszka – Bestselling author of “The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales” who read from his works, Milkshake – Seen on Noggin and PBS Kids and Suzi Shelton.
Little Airplane Academy offers an intensive three-day workshop twice a year at their 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 international academies in Qatar, England and Norway.
In July 2008 the Associated Musicians of Greater New York, Local 802 AFM filed an unfair labor charge against Little Airplane Productions, alleging the production company illegally replaced musicians working on the preschool series “The Wonder Pets!” Both parties reached a mutually satisfactory agreement on July 30, 2008.[2][3]
"At Little Airplane, a Manhattan children’s film company, an N.Y.U. student who hoped to work in animation during her unpaid internship said she was instead assigned to the facilities department and ordered to wipe the door handles each day to minimize the spread of swine flu."[4]
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