Little Airplane Productions is an American television production company, most well known for producing preschool television programs. Founded by Josh Seligin 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. The company's main studio is located in New York City's South Street Seaport. Animation, design, voice-over, and storyboarding are completed in a 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 Nickelodeon in 2000. It was picked up as a long-form series in 2003.
Wonder Pets! was the company's second production for Nickelodeon, focusing on the adventures of three classroom pets. 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.
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.
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.
P. King Duckling is a co-production with Chinese company Uyoung Animation. The series premiered on Disney Junior on November 7, 2016.
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.
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.
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. In 2008, Sesame Workshop hired Little Airplane to "produce a bible for a series in development," but the project did not materialize.
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.
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.
