''Little Einsteins'' is an American animated

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

developed by Douglas Wood and based on the

Baby Einstein Baby Einstein, stylized as baby einstein, is an American franchise and line of multimedia products, including home video programs, CDs, books, flash cards, toys, and baby gear that specialize in interactive activities for infants and toddle ...

line of videos. Produced by The Baby Einstein Company (at the time owned by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

) and Curious Pictures, it marked the Baby Einstein Company's first project for

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

ers. The series centers around of a team of four adventurous young children: Leo, June, Quincy, and Annie. Together, the children travel around the world in Rocket, a red anthropomorphic rocket ship, and undertake various missions, with the goal of solving a problem, helping someone, or finding something. Every episode features a specific art piece and composition of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. ''Little Einsteins'' was announced in November 2001, when Disney purchased The Baby Einstein Company. Press releases stated, "There are already plans to extend the Baby Einstein brand into a Little Einstein product line aimed at preschoolers." The series' concept and characters were developed by Wood, with further development 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

. According to '' Common Sense Media'', both series share the same "philosophy of artistic visuals and stimulating classical music to enhance brain development and learning." ''Little Einsteins'' started with a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

film, '' Our Huge Adventure'', that was released on August 23, 2005. The series proper then premiered on Playhouse Disney later that year on October 9, 2005, and ended on December 22, 2009, after two seasons and 67 episodes.

Overview

''Little Einsteins'' was designed to teach viewers art and music appreciation, done by integrating famous or culturally significant art pieces (usually, but not exclusively, paintings) and classical music (most often from the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

, Classical, and Romantic eras) into the plot, scenery, and soundtrack of each episode. The show is also designed to encourage viewer interaction, prompting the audience to pat their laps, gesture, or sing along to help the characters achieve success on their mission.

Episodes

Broadcast

The first regular episode of ''Little Einsteins'' premiered in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on October 9, 2005 on

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

, through the Playhouse Disney block. The final regular episode aired on December 22, 2009, and a standalone special titled "Rocket's Firebird Rescue" was released direct-to-DVD on August 21, 2007. 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. The show is currently available on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, and was available on DisneyNow until 2023. Internationally, the show aired on Family Channel in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. A UK dub for the series was also produced for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where certain American terms are changed to fit within

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

Game

A video game based on the series was released on the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

on September 12, 2006.

Reception

''Little Einsteins'' has received positive reviews from critics. Pam Gelman of ''Common Sense Media'' rated the series five stars, writing: "An artistic adventure packed into each episode."

Notes

References

* {{portal bar, Animation, Cartoon, Television, 2000s, United States, Education, Geography 2005 American animated television series debuts 2009 American television series endings 2000s American animated television series 2000s American children's comedy television series American preschool education television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated musical television series American children's animated fantasy television series American children's animated comedy television series American flash animated television series American television series with live action and animation Animated preschool education television series 2000s preschool education television series Animated television series about children Animated television series about siblings Cultural depictions of Albert Einstein Disney animated television series Disney Channel original programming American English-language television shows Television series by Curious Pictures Television series by Disney Disney Jr. original programming