View source for Little Einsteins

{{short description|American children's animated television series}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Little Einsteins title card.png
| image_size           = 250
| caption              = Title card from the show's first season
| genre                = {{ubl|[[Children's television series]]|[[Educational]]|[[Adventure]]|[[Musical film|Musical]] | [[Fantasy]] | [[Comedy]]}}
| runtime              = 24 minutes
| creator              = <!-- The end credits credit a developer (Douglas Wood), but not a creator. -->
| creative_director    = Olexa Hewryk (season 1)
| director             = {{ubl|Olexa Hewyrk|Andy Thom}}
| voices               = {{ubl|Jesse Schwartz|Natalia Wójcik|Aiden Pompey|Erica Huang|[[Harrison Chad]]|Jesse Goldberg|Emma Straus|Philip Trencher}}{{efn|name="credits"}}
| executive_producer   = {{ubl|[[Eric Weiner]]|Susan Holden|Steve Oakes|Richard Winkler}}
| producer             = Kris Greengrove{{efn|name="credits"|Information about the cast and crew is taken from the closing credits of each episode.}}
| company              = {{ubl|[[The Baby Einstein Company]]|[[Curious Pictures]]}}
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| network              = [[Playhouse Disney]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|2005|10|9}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|2009|12|22}}
| num_seasons          = 2
| num_episodes         = 67
| list_episodes        = List of Little Einsteins episodes
| image_alt            = 
| developer            = [[Douglas Wood (writer)|Douglas Wood]]{{efn|name="credits"}}
| writer               = Jeff Borkin (head writer){{efn|name="credits"}}
| theme_music_composer = [[Billy Straus]]
| composer             = {{ubl|[[Billy Straus]]|Matthias Gohl|Teese Gohl{{efn|name="credits"}}}}
}}

'''''Little Einsteins''''' is an American [[Animated series|animated]] [[children's television series]] developed by [[Douglas Wood (writer)|Douglas Wood]] and based on the [[Baby Einstein]] line of videos. Produced by The Baby Einstein Company (at the time owned by [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]) and [[Curious Pictures]], it marked the Baby Einstein Company's first project for [[preschool]]ers.<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=1505|title=The Baby Einstein Company Grows Beyond Video Aisle and into Preschool Television}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ring |first=Susan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nm3N395c09AC&q=%22Little+Einsteins%22+-wikipedia |title=Disney's Little Einsteins: Galactic Goodnight |date=2006-08-28 |publisher=Disney Press |isbn=978-0-7868-4973-4 |language=en}}</ref> Every episode features a specific [[Work of art|art piece]] and composition of [[classical music]].

''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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20011119/32210-disney-buys-baby-einstein.html|title=Disney Buys Baby Einstein|first=Shannon|last=Maughan|website=[[Publishers Weekly]]}}</ref> The series' concept and characters were developed by Wood, with further development led by Emmy Award-winning director Olexa Hewryk and ''[[Dora the Explorer (TV series)|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."<ref name="CSM"/>

''Little Einsteins'' started with a [[direct-to-video]] 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 music|Baroque]], [[Classical period (music)|Classical]], and [[Romantic music|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==
{{main|List of Little Einsteins episodes}}
{{:List of Little Einsteins episodes}}
*

==Broadcast==
The first regular episode of ''Little Einsteins'' premiered in the [[United States]] on October 9, 2005 on [[Disney Channel]], 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-video|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+]], and was available on [[DisneyNow]] until 2023.

Internationally, the show aired on [[Family Channel (Canadian TV channel)|Family Channel]] in [[Canada]]. A UK dub for the series was also produced for the [[United Kingdom]], where certain American terms are changed to fit within [[British English]].

== Game ==
A video game based on the series was released on the [[Game Boy Advance]] on September 12, 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Disney's Little Einsteins |url=https://www.gamespot.com/disneys-little-einsteins/user-reviews/2200-222373/ |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}</ref>

==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."<ref name="CSM">{{cite web|title=Little Einsteins TV Review|date=27 November 2007|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/little-einsteins|publisher=Common Sense Media|access-date=February 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218195614/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/little-einsteins|archive-date=February 18, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
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{{Playhouse Disney}}
{{Cuppa Coffee Studios}}
{{portal bar|Animation|Cartoon|Television|2000s|United States|Education|Geography}}

[[Category:2005 American animated television series debuts]]
[[Category:2009 American television series endings]]
[[Category:2000s American animated television series]]
[[Category:2000s American children's comedy television series]]
[[Category:American preschool education television series]]
[[Category:American children's animated adventure television series]]
[[Category:American children's animated musical television series]]
[[Category:American children's animated fantasy television series]]
[[Category:American children's animated comedy television series]]
[[Category:American flash animated television series]]
[[Category:American television series with live action and animation]]
[[Category:Animated preschool education television series]]
[[Category:2000s preschool education television series]]
[[Category:Animated television series about children]]
[[Category:Animated television series about siblings]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Albert Einstein]]
[[Category:Disney animated television series]]
[[Category:Disney Channel original programming]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Television series by Curious Pictures]]
[[Category:Television series by Disney]]
[[Category:Disney Jr. original programming]]