We\u2019ve seen Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and now WordGirl, but never before have we seen a duckling, a guinea pig and a turtle out to save the world. But those are precisely the stars of The Wonder Pets!<\/i>, created by Josh Selig, who not only writes and produces preschool shows, he has lived in one\u2014Selig was one of the preschoolers in the cast of Sesame Street<\/i> during its first two seasons. Today he heads up Little Airplane Productions, a company he established in 1999 that specializes in preschool programming. Selig says he grew up believing that furry monsters, alphabets and Hooper\u2019s Store were real, so what else could he do but make shows for 2- to 5-year-olds\u2014no one else would take him!<\/p>\n
Selig has built a successful business catering to the entertainment needs of preschoolers, and particularly four-year-olds. \u201cAt four years old, kids are really focused on what I consider to be the right things\u2014friends, family, play, generosity, they are very kind and patient with each other,\u201d he explains. \u201cSomething happens with humans as we get a little older. We get a little more focused on \u2018myself\u2019 and hording things. And for some reason right around age four seems to be this perfect [time] where kids are very creative. When music is turned on they dance. When you give them paints, they paint. They have a lot of unselfconsciousness that adults simply don\u2019t have. And it really leads to an imaginative, open creative and beautiful time of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
After college, Selig returned to Sesame Street<\/i> as a writer. He later directed short films and worked on the Israeli-Palestinian co-production of the show. Along the way he won ten Emmys, but he has always remembered what head writer Norman Stiles told him. \u201cHe used to remind me, \u2018Josh, these characters have souls,\u2019 and that changed my whole perspective on how I would write,\u201d explains Selig. \u201cOften when it comes to writing children\u2019s material, writers do it in a very two-dimentional way. We don\u2019t here. We take our scripts very seriously. We\u2019ve been known to easily go through ten drafts of a script until we get it right. And to me it\u2019s all about that texture. It\u2019s what\u2019s really the underlying meaning of the script. And if there isn\u2019t some real weight to it or importance, then chances are we\u2019ll move on and find other subjects to write about.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first show Little Airplane sold was Oobi<\/i>, featuring bare-hand puppets adorned with eyes, hair, clothing and minimal props. The series now airs on NOGGIN. Selig and his team are currently working on two shows. The Wonder Pets!<\/i> is about three classroom pets who sing opera and travel the world to save animals in distress and airs on Nick Jr., and 3rd & Bird<\/i> is a commission for CBeebies about living in a community and is full of singing, whistling and dancing.<\/p>\n
Selig not only has a different approach to writing children\u2019s material, he has organized the workspace at Little Airplane in a completely different layout from traditional production companies. Everyone involved in a show\u2014writers, designers, animators, producers and editors\u2014all work in the same space. This setup facilitates communication and the sharing of ideas.<\/p>\n
Both The Wonder Pets!<\/i> and 3rd & Bird<\/i> are produced in a unique way that combines the rich colors of real photographs with the flexibility of animation. This \u201cphoto-puppetry\u201d animation, created by Jennifer Oxley, the creative director at Little Airplane, allows animators to manipulate photos of real animals in a process they call \u201ccutification.\u201d The animators take an image of a character and the backgrounds and make them sweeter by pushing back the harsher textures and bringing out the softer ones.<\/p>\n
Selig says he gets his inspiration from all different places. \u201cOn The Wonder Pets!<\/i> I was really interested in the idea of creating superheroes [whose] only superpower is the ability to use teamwork, which is something every preschooler has. It was a very empowering idea for a show\u2014if you work with your friends and family, you can accomplish amazing things. It\u2019s a show without villains, which is also unusual when it comes to superhero shows. So there are these very familiar characters\u2014pets, which most children have\u2014who can really do these exceptional things.\u201d<\/p>\n
3rd & Bird<\/i> was triggered by some images Selig had seen of interesting handmade birdhouses. \u201cIt struck me as a great idea for the setting of a show\u2014a very beautiful birdhouse in a tree,\u201d he explains. \u201cI was also interested in the idea of a community and what is possible when a community looks inward to solve problems. The Wonder Pets!<\/i> is show where the pets leave their classroom to help others in outside places. 3rd & Bird<\/i> is a show where the problems are solved locally.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of Selig\u2019s shows make use of music. \u201cMusic is a strong pull for any young child,\u201d he says. \u201cWe believe that music is one of the key elements in the success of any show. It helps tell a story. It adds an emotional depth to any plot. It helps the children feel what\u2019s going on. I can\u2019t even remember a time when we pitched a show where the music wasn\u2019t central to the plot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Introducing young children to many musical styles is only one way that Selig sets his company apart from the rest. \u201cWe really came into this business to make content as an end; it wasn\u2019t to make money, it was to make content,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe are more than happy to do just a couple of series and do them really well and be really happy with each and every image, and each and every episode. We would rather love everything we do and not do so much of it, than to do lots and lots of series and feel that they were mediocre or they weren\u2019t our best possible work. We\u2019re really much more about making great work than we are about pursuing a business plan or hitting a new target. Of course, we want to survive and we are happy to prosper, but we are really focused on making great shows, first and foremost.\u201d<\/p>\n
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We\u2019ve seen Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and now WordGirl, but never before have we seen a duckling, a guinea pig and a turtle out to save the world. But those are precisely the stars of The Wonder Pets!, created by Josh Selig, who not only writes and produces preschool shows, he has lived in one\u2014Selig was …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[319,320],"class_list":["post-9394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","tag-josh-selig","tag-little-airplane","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n