Little Einsteins
Genre
Developed byDouglas Wood[lower-alpha 1]
Written byJeff Borkin (head writer)[lower-alpha 1]
Directed byAndy Thom (supervising, season 2)[lower-alpha 1]
Creative directorOlexa Hewryk (season 1)
Voices of
  • Jesse Schwartz
  • Natalia Wójcik
  • Aiden Pompey
  • Erica Huang
  • Harrison Chad
Theme music composerBilly Straus
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2 (excluding 2 specials)
No. of episodes67 (including the aforementioned two specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerKris Greengrove[lower-alpha 1]
Running time24 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkPlayhouse Disney
ReleaseOctober 9, 2005 (2005-10-09) –
December 22, 2009 (2009-12-22)

Little Einsteins is an American animated children's television series based on the Baby Einstein line of videos. Produced by The Baby Einstein Company (which, at the time, was owned by Disney) and animated by Curious Pictures, it marked the Baby Einstein Company's first (and only) project for preschoolers.[1] The series follows the adventures of a group of four young children, Leo, June, Quincy, and Annie, who travel around the world in their friend Rocket and go on missions. The group must work together to achieve their goal by solving a problem, helping someone, or finding something.

Little Einsteins was announced in November 2001, when Disney purchased The Baby Einstein Company. Press releases said "there are already plans to extend the Baby Einstein brand into a Little Einstein product line aimed at preschoolers."[2] The show's concept and characters were developed by Douglas Wood. Further development was led by Emmy Award-winning director Olexa Hewryk and Dora the Explorer co-creator Eric Weiner. Like the original Baby Einstein series, Little Einsteins makes heavy use of classical music. According to Common Sense Media, both series share the same "philosophy of artistic visuals and stimulating classical music to enhance brain development and learning."[3]

Little Einsteins started out with a direct-to-video film, Our Huge Adventure, that was released on August 23, 2005. The full series premiered on Playhouse Disney on October 9, 2005, and ended on December 22, 2009, after two seasons and 67 episodes.

Overview

Little Einsteins was designed to teach the target demographic art and music appreciation by integrating famous or culturally significant art works (usually, but not exclusively, paintings) and classical music (most typically from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras) into the scenery, plot and soundtrack of each episode.

The show is also designed to encourage viewer interaction (such as encouraging the audience to pat their knees, gesture or sing along to help the characters succeed on their "mission").

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
1291August 23, 2005Direct-to-video
28October 9, 2005November 20, 2006Playhouse Disney
24039January 13, 2007December 22, 2009Playhouse Disney
1August 21, 2007Direct-to-video

Characters

Main

  • Leo (speaking voice by Jesse Schwartz in the US, singing voice provided by Harrison Chad and voiced by Piers Stubbs in the UK) is a 6-year-old[4] boy who is Annie's older brother and the oldest member of the team. He is the leader of the Little Einsteins and pilots Rocket. His main talent is conducting, and his most prized possession is his conductor's baton.
  • June (voiced by Erica Huang in the US and Poppy Friar in the UK) is a 6-year-old[4] Chinese-American girl who loves to dance (making her a ballerina).
  • Quincy (voiced by Aiden Pompey in the US and Mitchell Zhangazgha in the UK) is a 5-year-old[4] African-American boy who plays a variety of instruments, including the drum, violin, flute, and trumpet (making him a musician). At some point in most episodes, Quincy exclaims, "I cannot believe it!" when surprised or amazed.
  • Annie (voiced by Natalia Wójcik in the US and Kirsty Hickey in the UK) is a 4-year-old[4] girl who is Leo's younger sister and the youngest member of the team. She is a young singer who loves to sing and the only character who has piloted Rocket alone. She likes singing and animals, including dolphins and horses, but has arachnophobia. In the first season, Annie's singing posture is with one hand up in the air and the other hand on her chest, then she comes to own a silver microphone with a purple speaker and orange musical notes after winning it in a singing contest in the second season episode "Annie, Get Your Microphone!" When she wishes to urgently point something out to the team or when she is surprised or amazed, her usual catchphrase is "Look, look, look!"
  • Rocket is the Little Einsteins' main mode of transportation, as well as their friend. He has an array of tools and accessories that help the team complete their missions. He also has the ability to transform into any other form of transportation, like a submarine or a train. He communicates by making marimba noises. He is capable of going to outer space.

Recurring

  • Big Jet is a blue fighter plane which appears to resemble a Soviet MiG-29. Big Jet has been known to ruin parties and steal things to keep for himself. Big Jet hates springtime, owing to his being allergic to flowers, as seen in the episode "O Yes, O Yes, It's Springtime". He also hates losing, as seen in "The Great Sky Race Rematch". In the episode, "Show and Tell", Big Jet gets revenge on Rocket and the Little Einsteins for defeating him in all of his appearances by stealing their favorite things. He befriends them later, however.
  • Little Mouse is a small gray mouse. He appeared in the episodes "The Mouse and the Moon" and "Rocket Soup".
  • The Good Knight appeared in the episodes "The Good Knight and the Bad Knight" and "Rocket Soup".
  • Joey is a kangaroo who appeared in the episodes "Jump For Joey" and "Rocket Soup".
  • The Three Little Pigs appeared in three episodes: "Farmer Annie", "Super Fast", and "Build It Rocket".
  • Melody is a musical pet that Leo helped find her ticket for the pet train in "Melody the Music Pet". After boarding the train, Melody is brought to live with Leo. She reappeared in "Melody and Me", where Leo must save her after her hot air balloon flies away.
  • The Little Red Train is a good friend of Annie, and despite his small size, he is very determined and very strong. He appeared in the episodes "Go West, Young Train" and "Annie, Get Your Microphone!"

Others

  • Ring only appeared in the episode "Ring Around the Planet" when it fell off Saturn and landed near June's garden. Ring is also a great dancer just like June which makes them and the rest of the Little Einsteins friends, with the team bringing it back home to Saturn.
  • Grandma Rocket only appeared in the episode "Little Red Rockethood" and is the grandmother of Rocket. She shares a similar appearance to Rocket. Just like Rocket, she communicates by marimba noises.

Broadcast

The first regular episode of Little Einsteins premiered in the US on October 9, 2005. The final regular episode aired (in the US) on December 22, 2009, and a standalone special titled "Rocket's Firebird Rescue" was released on August 21, 2007, marking the series' official end. The series continued to air in reruns afterward, including after Playhouse Disney was rebranded as Disney Junior on February 14, 2011, through March 25, 2019. Later, this show was added to Disney+.[5]

Production

In the UK version, the Little Einsteins are voiced by Poppy Lee Friar (June), Piers Stubbs (Leo), Kirsty Hickey (Annie), and Mitchell Zhangazha (Quincy), and certain American terms are converted to the British vernacular: for example, changing mentions of "Candy Canes" to mentions of "Sweetie Sticks."

Additional home and streaming media

DVD ReleasesIncluded episodesRelease date
Our Huge Adventure"Our Huge Adventure" (later separated into the episodes "A Brand New Outfit" and "The Missing Invitation") August 23, 2005
Team Up for Adventure"How We Became the Little Einsteins: The True Story", "I Love to Conduct" and "Rocket Safari" April 25, 2006
Mission Celebration!"The Birthday Machine", "Go West, Young Train" and "The Birthday Balloons" August 22, 2006
The Legend of the Golden Pyramid"The Legend of the Golden Pyramid", "Dragon Kite" and "Annie and the Little Toy Plane" February 27, 2007
Rocket's Firebird Rescue"Rocket's Firebird Rescue" and "Rocket Soup" August 21, 2007
Race for Space"What Loud Music Tombliboos", "Kicking the Ball" and "Makka Pakka’s Piles of Three" February 19, 2008
Flight of the Instrument Fairies"Flight of the Instrument Fairies", "The Puppet Princess", "The Glass Slipper Ball", "Little Red Rockethood"August 5, 2008
The Christmas Wish"Show and Tell", "The Christmas Wish", "The Wind-Up Toy Prince", "The Northern Night-Light"October 14, 2008
Go to Europe (US release)"Hello, Cello", "Silly Sock Saves the Circus", "Go Team!"August 31, 2009
O Yes, it's Springtime (UK release with US voices)"Too Loud Tombliboos Nice and Quiet", "Tombliboos Clean Their Teeth", "Mr Pontipine’s Moustache Flies Away"September 1, 2009
Fire Truck Rocket's Blastoff"Fire Truck Rocket", "Melody the Music Pet", "Carmine's Big Race", "Mr. Penguin's Ice Cream Adventure"September 8, 2009
Go to Africa (US release)"He Speaks Music", "Animal Snack Time", "The Puzzle of the Sphinx"November 11, 2009
Go to America (US release)"Melody and Me", "A Tall Totem Tale", "Knock on Wood"November 11, 2009
Animal Expedition"The Prettiest Flower", "Upsy Daisy’s Big Loud Sing Song", "Funny Noise Coming from the Pinky Ponk", "The Wrong Trousers"February 9, 2010
Incredible Shrinking Adventure"The Incredible Shrinking Adventure", "Quincy and the Instrument Dinosaurs", "Rocket the Bug", "Sleeping Bassoon"June 18, 2013

The series also had two VHS releases, one being a VHS version of Our Huge Adventure and the second being Climb Aboard and Get Ready to Explore which included the episodes "The Pontipines in Upsy Daisy’s Bed", "Igglepiggle’s Blanket in Makka Pakka’s Ditch" and "Makka Pakka Washes Faces". The Halloween special is a bonus feature on the In the Night Garden DVD Funny Noise Coming from the Pinky Ponk.

Reception

The series was given a 5-star rating by Common Sense Media.[3]

In other media

A video game based on the show was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2006.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Information about the cast and crew is taken from the closing credits of each episode.

References

  1. ↑ "The Baby Einstein Company Grows Beyond Video Aisle and into Preschool Television" (Press release).
  2. ↑ Maughan, Shannon. "Disney Buys Baby Einstein". Publishers Weekly.
  3. 1 2 "Little Einsteins TV Review". Common Sense Media. 27 November 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Meet the Team". Little Einsteins. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  5. ↑ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 169–170. ISBN 9781476672939.
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