Johnny and the Sprites

Johnny and the Sprites premiered as a full twenty-five minute series on January 13, 2007 at 10 A.M. eastern. The series features more elaborate sets, such as a reflecting pond and the Sprites' home in Grotto's Grove. Three new Sprites have also been added - Lily, the water Sprite (played by Carmen Osbahr), Root, "a budding earth Sprite," (played by Heather Asch) and Sage, the wisest of the Sprites (also played by Tartaglia). Natalie Venetia Belcon (who, along with fellow cast member John Tartaglia also had a role on Avenue Q) plays Gwen, a recurring character who, as a running gag, holds a different occupation in each episode. She always explains that "you never know what you can do, until you try on something new!" Johnny's sister Tina (Sutton Foster) has also appeared.
Each show consists of two 10-minute mini episodes. Each half hour also features the song "Heads Up!" (Music and Lyrics by Gary Adler and Phoebe Kreutz) performed by Johnny, Lily, Root, Ginger, and Basil in between the two 10-minute episodes.

Johnny and the Sprites is a musical television show aimed for preschoolers that airs every weekend on the "Playhouse Disney" program ofThe Disney Channel. The show was created for, is produced by, and stars John Tartaglia (of Avenue Q fame). The show's theme song was written by Stephen Schwartz. Each episode of the show features a musical number, many of which are written by various notable Broadway composers such as Gary Adler, Bobby Lopez, Laurence O'Keefe, Michael Patrick Walker, and others. The Sprites and all of the other creatures that inhabit Johnny's world were designed by Michael Schupbach. The set was designed by Laura Brock.

The show premiered on October 9, 2005 with five 5-minute-long episodes, which continually play on The Disney Channel's programming. However, due to extremely positive audience reaction, the show was renewed for thirteen half-hour shows for 2007. The current episodes can also be viewed on the Disney Channel's official website. The show was then renewed for a second season of half-hour episodes, which were filmed in Fall 2007 at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York City. The second season premiered Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008.

The show follows Johnny T (Tartaglia), a song writer who moves into a house given to him by his great-uncle. There, he discovers little magical creatures (brought to life through puppetry) called "sprites," who introduce him to their fantasy world. In return, Johnny shows the sprites, named Ginger (Leslie Carrara-Rudolph), Basil (Tim Lagasse), Lily (Carmen Osbahr) and Root (Heather Asch) what it is to be human, teaching them (and the viewer) an important lesson through song, dance, and entertainment.

In October 2007 Disney/MGM Studios presented a live version of the show as part of their Playhouse Disney in Concert series.

In the Spanish dubbed version of the program, Johnny's voice is dubbed by the host of Playhouse Disney Latin America, Diego Topa.

Stanley

Each episode shows Stanley (voiced by Jessica D. Stone) in a situation he does not fully understand. He discusses it with his pet goldfish Dennis before consulting the Great Big Book Of Everything, a remarkably complete zoology book aimed at young children. By observing how an animal copes with the same situation Stanley faces, or how it can overcome a similar difficulty, Stanley learns to deal with the situation himself.

Throughout the show Stanley and all his preschool aged friends are able to talk to his pet cat and dog as well as Dennis. Other animals also seem to occasionally respond, but never talk or give a definite indication they truly understood what was said. Stanley and his friends actively try to keep the adults, and by extension Stanley's older brother, from realizing this.

The Great Big Book Of Everything appears to be magical in nature, able to either let the animals out of the pages or allow the children to enter, sometimes changing them into animals in the process. This does not appear to be imaginary since occasionally adults do notice the noise, and Stanley works hard to hide the animals. There is also an episode where Stanley's brother sees a T-Rex in the yard, but dismisses the memory when it disappears back into the book.

The Halloween special features Stanley's grandmother who, it is implied, is a witch. She reveals that she too can work the book, and in fact was the one who gave it to Stanley.

When someone says the "Great Big Book Of Everything" the cat and dog (named Elsie and Harry, respectively) will wake up or find their way into the scene and start singing. This usually annoys Dennis, who after the introductory verse, says something like "Oh not again!" As of May 2008, Stanley no longer airs in the US, but DVD's and books are still available.

In Little Dog Lost, It is revealed that Stanley's friend Lester is Jewish. Because he does not celebrate Christmas and he celebrates Hanukkah.

The episodes, "Growing Pains," "Time for Toolfish," and "Pearls of Wisdom," show Harry, Stanley's pet dog, in a swimsuit.

PB&J Otter

PB&J Otter was an animated children's series which premiered on Playhouse Disney on March 15, 1993. A total of 65 episodes were produced during the course of its three season run, with the "farewell" episode airing on September 24 1995. The series centered on the Otter family who lived in the rural fishing community of Lake Hoohaw. Most stories revolved around the Otter kids: older brother Peanut, younger sister Jelly, and diapered baby Butter (named after the peanut butter and jelly sandwich), as well as their friends and neighbors. Supporting characters included gossipy Cranes, overly hygienic Raccoons, a junk-collecting Mayor, and some very wealthy Poodles.

The show was created by Jim Jinkins (the creator of Doug), and executive produced by David Campbell in close conjunction with Harvard University's

Cognitive Skills Group, "Project Zero". The Group's job was to monitor each and make sure the material had a positive educational message. In that respect, PB&J Otter was one of the few shows of its kind on the air at that time.

As of now, PB&J Otter has been taken off the air completely in the USA, and there is no indication that it will return anytime soon. It also aired on Playhouse Disney Channel Asia up until July 1, 2009. It continues to air on the Australian Disney Channel and the British Playhouse Disney channel. It should be on CITV on Saturday 4th September 2010.

Bear in the Big Blue House

The gentle, soft title character of Bear in the Big Blue house is a talking, six-foot, light brown bear who lives in a house and loves to help children learn. Despite his enormous size, Bear is child-friendly, teaching them his favorite pastimes. He addresses the kids at home directly, talking to them as if they were all his close friends. Bear in the Big Blue House was created for the very young, teaching concepts like shapes, gravity, helping, seasons, and even toilet training. Joining the ever-curious Bear are an assortment of woodland creatures — excitable lemur Treelo, headstrong mouse Tutter, peppy otter twins Pip and Pop and imaginative little bear cub Ojo — all of whom help illustrate the day’s lesson. At the end of every episode, Bear goes out on his balcony to talk about what everyone has learned with his friend Luna, the wise moon. He then retires to bed with a great big smile.

Bear interweaves learning with playtime. After the musical call, "Where oh where oh where is Shadow?", Bear's friend Shadow appears. She then will tell Bear a story in musical form, relating to the episodes theme, played out with shadow puppets. Sometimes on certain episodes, There is a song; either called "Clean up the House!" or "Everybody in the Tub" that has nothing to do with the topic of the episode; just to add a little more music.

Rolie Polie Olie

The show centers around the Polie Family, who live in teapot-shaped house in a geometric world (Planet Polie) populated by robot-based characters. The stories revolve around the young 6 Year Old Robot Olie learning life lessons and going on wacky adventures (either real or imaginative) while growing up. These often include his 5 Year old younger sister Zowie, his 30 Year Old inventor dad, his 29 Year Old hard-working mom, his fun-loving 70 Year old grandpa Pappy, and his dog named Spot. Though, most of the main cast is made up of circular bots, other characters are featured in other shapes, such as Olie's friend Billy Bevel and his family, who are square-shaped bots from "Planet Cubey". The show contains a classic Mickey Mouse flow to it, mixed with a little Star Trek. Nearly every object in this world is alive.