Whoopi's Littleburg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Whoopi's Littleburg |
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| Genre | Children Preschool |
| Created by | Johnny Belt Robert Scull |
| Written by | Alan Katz |
| Directed by | Robert Scull Tim Hill |
| Starring | Whoopi Goldberg Sean Curley Sofie Zamchick Mary Birdsong Dr. John |
| Composer(s) | Whoopi Goldberg Dr. John Guy Davis |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Johnny Belt Robert Scull |
| Producer(s) | Whoopi Goldberg |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Lil' Whoop Productions, Inc. Shot in the Dark Productions Nick Jr. Productions |
| Distributor | MTV Networks |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon |
| Original release | January 18 – June 7, 2004 |
Whoopi's Littleburg is a musical miniseries of three specials produced for Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block. It was created by Johnny Belt and Robert Scull, the latter of whom co-directed the show along with Tim Hill. The show uses a blend of puppetry and live-action characters.
The miniseries focuses on a five-year-old piglet named Spencer, who has recently moved to the town of Littleburg. Young children and puppets make up the majority of the population and hold the community's jobs, and very few adult characters are seen. The only major adult characters are Spencer's mother and Mayor Whoopi Goldberg, whose behavior resembles that of a preschool teacher. The setting was modeled after a nursery school classroom. Multiple original songs are woven into each story, normally in conjunction with the episode's moral. Whoopi Goldberg, Dr. John, and Guy Davis composed the theme music.
Characters
Main
- Spencer Piggle (voiced by Sean Curley and performed by Josh Gustin) - A light-pink pig and the newest Littleburg citizen. He is five years old.
- Mayor Whoopi (played by Whoopi Goldberg) - Spencer's tour guide around Littleburg, and the only major human character in the series.
- TJ/Tiger Jane (performed by Sofie Zamchick) - A light-purple cat who is Spencer's closest friend. She is six years old.
- Mrs. Peg Piggle (performed by Mary Birdsong) - Spencer's mother, who teaches him about the town through song.
- Peggy Piggle - Spencer's baby sister.
- The Sun (voiced by Dr. John) - An anthropomorphic Sun (who can set and become the Moon at night) seen above Littleburg.
- Phil - A horse with a love of painting. He is dressed in a necktie.
- Dave - A chicken who is almost always seen with his favorite food, pretzels.
- Gordy (performed by Timothy Doner)- A male bird that is green and yellow and learns new words. He is the town shouter. He is two years old.
Guest stars
Rosie Perez, Mary Testa, and Sandra Bernhard made guest appearances on the show.
Episodes
Three specials and a pilot episode were produced.
Pilot (2003)
| Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|
| "Pilot" | 2003 | |
| Spencer, a piglet, moves to a town inhabited by preschoolers. "Welcome to Littleburg" uses a similar plotline. | ||
Season 1 (2004)
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Welcome to Littleburg" | January 18, 2004 |
| Spencer attempts to make new friends. Guest star: Mary Testa as the Sock Lady | ||
| 2 | "Tah-Dah! Day" | March 19, 2004 |
| Spencer worries that he doesn't have a talent to demonstrate at Littleburg's Tah-Dah! Day celebration, so his friends must help him find it. Guest star: Sandra Bernhard as the Macaroni Lady | ||
| 3 | "But I Still Like You" | June 7, 2004 |
| Spencer and TJ forget the importance of friendship after arguing and deciding to not speak to each other after TJ accidentally breaks Spencer's flashlight that his dad had given him. So Mayor Whoopi and Spencer's mother must help them understand that, even though friends and family members get mad at each other sometimes, that doesn't mean they won't love each other anymore. Guest star: Rosie Perez as the Flashlight Lady | ||
Release
Whoopi's Littleburg was first announced at Nickelodeon's upfront presentation on March 24, 2003. In June, it joined the channel's 2004–05 programming slate. It was advertised as a series of specials. Episodes were aired sporadically throughout 2004, with reruns shown once weekly. During its run, VITAC representatives deemed Littleburg "educational enough" to receive free closed captioning and subtitling. In 2006, the series' soundtrack was released to Nick Jr. Radio, a webcasting station featuring songs from preschool-oriented programs.
