Little Airplane Productions is an American television production company co-founded by Josh Selig and Lori Shaer (née Sherman)[1] in 1999. The company produced Oobi for Noggin, Wonder Pets! for Nickelodeon, and 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.[2][3]
The company's main studio is located in New York City's South Street Seaport.[4] Filming, 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.
Lori Shaer left Little Airplane in 2002, but she continued to be given a "Special Thanks" credit on the second and third seasons of Oobi. Josh Selig left the company in 2020.[5]
After being laid off from Sesame Workshop, Josh Selig partnered with Lori Shaer (named Lori Sherman until her marriage) to start up 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."[6]
The name "Little Airplane" was derived from a 1994 short film that Selig had produced for Sesame Street called "I'm a Little Airplane."[7] At first, Little Airplane only produced similar live-action content, including Oobi and a film called The Time-Out Chair. The studio did not create its own animation until creative director Jennifer Oxley joined the staff. She developed a style of animation called "photo-puppetry" that was used in many of the studio's later works, like Wonder Pets! and 3rd & Bird.[8]
Productions
Television
Oobi was the company's first television venture. It starred a cast of bare-hand puppets, led by a boy named Oobi. It premiered on Noggin in 2000.[9] The first season was made up of two-minute interstitials, while the second and third seasons were made up of longer episodes spanning 10-13 minutes each.[10]
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.
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.[13]
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.
Little Airplane provided English voices and scripts for the first three seasons of Super Wings, a Korean series about airplanes.
The Olive Branch is a series of one-minute stories about two characters who achieve conflict resolution, told without words.[14]
P. King Duckling is a co-production with Chinese company Uyoung Animation. The series premiered on Disney Junior on November 7, 2016.[15]
The Dog & Pony Show is an animated series created by Josh Selig and co-produced with RedKnot (a joint venture between Nelvana and Discovery).[16]
Doctor Space is an upcoming animated comedy series, created and written by Selig and Billy Lopez. It is being co-developed by Little Airplane, Studio 100, and Fantawild.[3]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.
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.[18]
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.[21]
In 2008, Sesame Workshop hired Little Airplane to "produce a bible for a series in development," but the project did not materialize.[21]
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.[22]
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.[23] Guests have included Jon Scieszka, Milkshake, 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.
