The company's main studio was located inNew York City'sSouth Street Seaport.[4] Filming, animation, design, andstoryboarding work were completed in a 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) building. The studio also had a recording facility forvoice-over and music. In mid-2007, the company opened new studios inLondon andAbu Dhabi, following the announcement of3rd & Bird.
Lori Shaer left Little Airplane in 2002, but she continued to be given a "special thanks" credit on the second and third seasons ofOobi. Josh Selig left the company in 2020.[5]
In June 2023, Studio 100 announced that Little Airplane would be "closing shop" and that its studio space would be replaced by a new company called Terribly Terrific Productions (founded by former Art Directors from Little Airplane).[6]
Both Josh Selig and Lori Shaer (named Lori Sherman until her marriage) worked forSesame Workshop in the mid-1990s.[7] After being laid off, Selig partnered with Shaer to open a studio in New York City. For the first year, they both worked out of a "one-room office in Tribeca" and did not make much money.
Selig explained that they called their payment formula "a third, a third and a third, meaning every time we finished a small production job, we would split whatever profit was left in the budget three ways. Lori got a third. I got a third. And Little Airplane got a third. That first year we both earned less than the guy washing our windows."[8]
The name "Little Airplane" was derived from a 1994 short film that Selig had produced forSesame Street called "I'm a Little Airplane."[9] At first, Little Airplane only produced similarlive-action content, includingOobi and a film calledThe Time-Out Chair. The studio did not create its own animation until creative directorJennifer Oxley joined the staff. She developed a style of animation called "photo-puppetry" that was used in many of the studio's later works, includingWonder Pets! and3rd & Bird.[10]
In October 2016 one year before Studio 100 acquire Little Airplane Productions in late 2017, Little Airplane Productions had partnered with German media rights management company M4E (whom Studio 100 would also acquire it in 2017) to produce & develop an 11-minute animated series entitledRock! Taco! Balloon!, marking Little Airplane Productions' first German animated series.[11]
At the start of December 2017, Belgian production groupStudio 100 announced the acquisition of New York-based American preschool animation production studio Little Airplane Productions in order for the former to expand into the USA, the acqusition of Little Airplane Productions had gained Studio 100 its own North American animation studio as the former became Studio 100's American animation production subsidiary with them developing and producing their new projects with Studio 100's fellow in-house animation production studios such as Studio 100 Animation alongside its Munich-based global distribution division Studio 100 Media distributing them whilst Little Airplane Production founder Josh Selig continued leading the New York-based American animation studios within Studio 100.[12][13]
Oobi was the studio's first show. It starred a cast of bare-hand puppets, led by a boy named Oobi. It premiered onNoggin in 2000.[14] The first season was made up of two-minute shorts, while the second and third seasons were made up of longer episodes spanning 10-13 minutes each.[15]
Go, Baby!, a series of shorts which aired in between shows onPlayhouse Disney. It was originally pitched as a long-form television series using the same photo puppetry style as Wonder Pets![16]
Wonder Pets! was the studio's second series,[17] focusing on the adventures of three classroom pets as they help out animals in need.[18] It ran for three seasons. It started out onNickelodeon, but premieres moved to the separateNick Jr. Channel during the third season. The rights to the show are currently owned byParamount Skydance Corporation.
3rd & Bird is an animated series co-produced by Little Airplane Productions andCBeebies. The series premiered on CBeebies in July 2008 and aired in 18 territories abroad.
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.
Little Airplane provided English voices and scripts for the first three seasons ofSuper Wings, an animated series about airplanes co-produced with FunnyFlux Entertainment in South Korea andAlpha Group in China.
P. King Duckling is a co-production with Uyoung Animation, a Chinese company. The series premiered onDisney Junior on November 7, 2016.[20]
The Dog & Pony Show is an animated series created by Josh Selig and co-produced with RedKnot (a joint venture betweenNelvana andDiscovery).[21]
Doctor Space is an animated comedy pilot created and written by Selig and Billy Lopez. It was co-produced by Little Airplane, Studio 100, andFantawild Animation. The pilot was being developed into a full series,[3] but Little Airplane closed before the project could be completed.
Linny the Guinea Pig is a collection of two short films about aguinea pig who embarks on adventures. The shorts, which inspired theWonder Pets! show, were aired onNickelodeon in 2003.[23]
Tobi! is a series of four-minute visual poems that aired onTreehouse TV in Canada.[25]
The Olive Branch was a multimedia project (both a book and a series of one-minute animations) about two characters who achieveconflict resolution, told without words.[26]
A Laurie Berkner Christmas, an album byLaurie Berkner, was recorded and mixed by Little Airplane Productions in 2012.[27]
TheWonder Pets! episode "Kalamazoo!" was intended to be abackdoor 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 ofWonder Pets! wrapped, but Nickelodeon did not pick up the spin-off or any additional episodes of the series.[28]
In 2008,Sesame Workshop hired Little Airplane to "produce a bible for a series in development," but the project did not materialize.[28]
In 2009, Little Airplane Productions created a non-profit initiative called "The Little Light Foundation". The Foundation's first project wasThe Olive Branch, a multimedia project about conflict resolution, tolerance and mutual respect.[29]
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 onSiriusXM.[30] Guests includedJon Scieszka, Milkshake, andSuzi Shelton.
Little Airplane Academy offered a three-day workshop twice a year at the company's South Street Seaport studios. Participants learned 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.
^"Announcement..."www.littleairplane.com.Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. RetrievedJuly 24, 2023.
^"Lori Shaer biography".Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. RetrievedDecember 10, 2022.she moved into children's television working atSesame Street and then launched a children's production company, Little Airplane Productions.
^"A Laurie Berkner Christmas".Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2023.Recorded at Little Airplane Productions, New York City
