Little Einsteins is an animated television series on Disney Junior

Disney Junior

Disney Junior is a current program block on Disney Channel and an upcoming American basic cable and satellite television network intended to replace SOAPnet in February 2012. It began airing on February 14, 2011, replacing Playhouse Disney....

. The educational preschool series was developed for television by Douglas Wood

Douglas Wood (producer)

Douglas Wood is a writer, creative executive, director and producer. From 2005-2009 at the feature animation studio, Animation Lab, Wood was Head of Creative Affairs then director and executive producer on its first feature, "The Wild Bunch." He has previously served as VP of Feature Animation...

 who created the concept and characters, and a subsequent team headed by Emmy Award-winning director Olexa Hewryk and Dora the Explorer

Dora the Explorer

Dora the Explorer is an American animated television series created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner. Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. The show is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network, including the associated Nick Jr. channel. It aired on CBS until...

co-creator Eric Weiner

Eric Weiner

Eric Weiner is a longtime correspondent for National Public Radio. He spent a decade overseas for NPR, based in New Delhi, Jerusalem and Tokyo. Weiner is also the author of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World...

, and produced by Curious Pictures

Curious Pictures

Curious Pictures is an American animation studio and multi-media company set in New York City and Santa Monica that creates and produces television programs, commercials, animation and videogames for audiences worldwide....

 and The Baby Einstein Company. The first episode of the Little Einsteins TV series premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo

TV Tokyo

is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...

 on October 5, 2005 and in the United States on the Disney Channel

Disney Channel

Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

 on October 9, 2005. In Europe, the second season of the show premiered on the Disney Channel around Christmas time, and in Japan, it aired on October 8, 2007, on Playhouse Disney Japan.

Little Einsteins ("Einstein" being a licensed trademark of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...

) was designed to teach the target demographic art and music appreciation by integrating famous or culturally significant art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

 works (usually, but not exclusively, painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

s) and classical music

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 (most typically from the Baroque

Baroque music

Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...

, Classical

Classical period (music)

The dates of the Classical Period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or...

, and Romantic

Romantic music

Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....

 periods) into the scenery, plot, and soundtrack of each episode. The show is also designed to encourage viewer interaction (such as patting their legs, gesturing, or singing along to help the characters succeed on their "mission").

The series was based on the direct-to-video film of the same name, subtitled "Our Big Huge Adventure".

Main characters

• Leo is a 6 year old boy, the Little Einsteins leader, and the one who pilots Rocket. He is Annie's big brother. His main talent is conducting and his most precious object is his baton; he never leaves home without it. His skills with the baton include the ability to conduct cows (seen in the Our Big Huge Adventure). Leo has red hair and green eyes, and he is the only character on Little Einsteins to wear glasses
  Glasses
  Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
  
  . He was named after famous conductor Leopold Stokowski
  Leopold Stokowski
  Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
  
  . It is hinted that he might have a crush on June. He is voiced by Jesse Schwartz.
• June is a relatively mature-looking 6 year old girl who loves to dance. She also loves to look at the stars at night with her telescope, and is friends with one of Saturn's rings (as seen in the episode Ring Around The Planet) and is a slight tomboy
  Tomboy
  A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
  
  . She loves art and is thought by some to be portrayed as East Asian. She might have a slight crush on Leo. It's likely she was named after famous choreographer June Taylor
  June Taylor
  June Taylor was an American choreographer, best known as the founder of the June Taylor Dancers, who were featured on Jackie Gleason's various television variety programs.-Early life and career:...
  
  . She is voiced by Erica Huang.
• Quincy is a 5 year old boy who loves to play every type of musical instrument, the violin, the guitar and the trumpet being his favorites. He is the only member of the team who is afraid of the dark (as seen in the episode The Northern Night Light and in Our Big Huge Adventure). He was named after famous musician/composer/arranger Quincy Jones
  Quincy Jones
  Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
  
  . When surprised or amazed, his usual response is "I cannot believe it!" (This is almost always pronounced "I ... can ... not ... be ...LIEVE ...it!") He is voiced by Aiden Pompey.
• Annie is a 4 year old blonde girl who loves to sing. She is Leo's beloved little sister and also the only character who has piloted Rocket solo. She loves animals, but she's afraid of spiders, just like the rest of the team (as seen in Our Big Huge Adventure). She loves dolphin
  Dolphin
  Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
  
  s as proven in Pirates Treasure, but her favorite animal of all is a horse
  Horse
  The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
  
   as seen in "The Great Schubert's Guessing Game". She owns a silver microphone with orange music notes that she won in a song contest after Big Jet ripped her music. The color of her jean dress is also changed into pink. She was named after famous jazz singer Anni Rossi
  Anni Rossi
  Anni Rossi is a singer, violist and keyboardist from Minnesota. She graduated for the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, MN. She is notable for her unique style of playing the viola and singing, often at the same time, although her solo records also incorporate elements of...
  
  . When she wishes to urgently point something out to the team, her usual phrase is "Look-look-look!" She is voiced by Natalia Wojcik.
• Rocket is the Little Einsteins' main transportation, but it is also their friend. Rocket has an array of tools and accessories (stored in somewhere similar to hammerspace and Max from Flight of the Navigator
  Flight of the Navigator
  Flight of the Navigator is a 1986 Disney science fiction film directed by Randal Kleiser and written by Mark H. Baker and Michael Burton, about a 12-year-old boy named David who is abducted by an alien space craft and finds himself caught in a world which has changed around him...
  
  ) that help the team complete their missions. Rocket also has the ability to transform into any other transportation it wants, like a submarine or a train.

Recurring minor characters

• Big Jet is the airborne nemesis of Rocket and the Little Einsteins. It is not known whether anyone pilots him, or if he has his own free will. Big Jet has been known to ruin parties, and steal things to keep for himself. Big Jet doesn't like springtime
  Spring (season)
  Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
  
  , owing to his being allergic to flowers, as seen in the episode "Oh Yes, Oh Yes, it's Springtime". He also hates losing. Big Jet is a blue Mig-29 fighter plane.
• Little Mouse, The Good Knight and Joey the Kangaroo appeared individually in their own episodes ("The Mouse and the Moon", "The Good Knight and The Bad Knight" and "Jump For Joey", respectively) and collectively in "Rocket Soup".
• The Three Little Pigs appear several times in episodes including "Farmer Annie", "Super Fast", and "Build It Rocket".
• Melody, the Music Pet is a music 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 reappears in "Melody and Me", where Leo must save her after her hot-air balloon flies away.
• The Bad Knight is the knight that imprisoned the good knight.
• The Little Red Train is a good friend of Annie, and although he's very small, is very determined and very strong. He appeared on the episodes "Go West, Young Train" and "Annie, Get Your Microphone".

DVD Collections

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", "Rocket Safari"	April 25, 2006
Mission Celebration!	"The Birthday Machine", "Go West, Young Train", "The Birthday Balloons"	August 22, 2006
Legend of The Golden Pyramid	"The Legend of the Golden Pyramid", "Dragon Kite", "Annie and the Little Toy Plane"	February 27, 2007
Rocket's Firebird Rescue	"Rocket's Firebird Rescue", "Rocket Soup"	August 21, 2007
Race for Space	"Great Sky Race Rematch", "Super Fast", "The Treasure Behind the Little Red Door"	February 19, 2008
Flight of the Instrument Fairies	"Glass Slipper Ball", "The Puppet Princess", "Little Red Rockethood", "Flight of the Instrument Fairies"	August 5, 2008
Christmas Wish	"Christmas Wish", "The Wind-up Toy Prince", "Show & Tell", "The Northern Night-Light"	October 14, 2008
Go to Europe (AU release)	"Hello, Cello", "Silly Sock Saves The Circus", "Go Team"	August 31, 2009
Go to Africa (AU release)	"He Speaks Music", "Animal Snack Time", "Knock On Wood"	November 11, 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
Animal Expedition	"Whale Tale", "Duck, Duck, June", "Jump For Joey", "Little Elephant's Big Parade"	February 9, 2010

Books

• Farmer Annie's Garden (ISBN 0-7868-4970-3)
• Birthday Machine (ISBN 0-7868-4971-1)
• Australian Adventure (ISBN 0-7868-4972-X)
• Galactic Goodnight (ISBN 0-7868-4973-8)
• Music of the Meadow (ISBN 0-7868-5537-1)
• Butterfly Suits (ISBN 0-7868-5538-X)
• Disney's Little Einstein (ISBN 0-7868-5539-8)
• Disney's Little Einsteins (ISBN 0-7868-5540-1)
• Disney's Little Einsteins Storybook and Viewer (ISBN 0-7944-1307-2)
• Halloween Surprise (ISBN 1-4231-0208-8)
• The Firebird (ISBN 1-4231-0209-6)
• Christmas Wish (ISBN 1-4231-0210-X)
• Pirate's Treasure (ISBN 1-4231-0211-8)
• June's New Shoes (ISBN 1-4231-0213-4)
• Annie's Solo Mission (ISBN 1-4231-0214-2)
• Leo's Baton (ISBN 1-4231-0215-0)
• Quincy's Dream (ISBN 1-4231-0216-9)
• Oh Yes, Oh Yes, It's Springtime (ISBN 1-4231-1002-1)
• Explore with the Little Einsteins (ISBN 1-59069-563-1)
• Watch Me Draw Disney's Little Einsteins Amazing Missions (ISBN 1-60058-033-5)

UK version

In the UK, the Little Einsteins are voiced by these actors and actresses: Poppy Friar (June), Piers Stubbs (Leo), Kirsty Hickey

Kirsty Hickey

Kirsty Nicole Hickey born 17 January 1996 and lives in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, is known best for her voiceover role of Annie Playhouse Disney's Little Einsteins.-Personal life:...

 (Annie), and Mitchell Zhangazha (Quincy). In the UK version, "Yeah" has been changed to "Yes" and 'Mission Completion' is changed to 'Mission Completed'.

Early preview version

On several of the Baby Einstein

Baby Einstein

Baby Einstein is a line of multimedia products and toys that specializes in interactive activities for children aged 3 months to 3 years old. Subjects such as classical music, art, and poetry are prominently explored. These products are currently made by a division of the Walt Disney Company,...

series of DVDs, a preview of Little Einstein (singular) appears in the form of a quick snippet before the main content and a 30-second commercial at the end. Screenshots (see External Links) show the early versions of the characters and Rocket.