''Whoopi's Littleburg'' is a musical

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

of three specials produced for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's Nick Jr. block. It was created by Jonny 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 (portrayed by

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

), whose behavior resembles that of a

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

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.

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

, and Guy Davis composed the theme music.

Characters

Main

*Spencer Piggle (voiced by

Sean Curley Sean Curley (born 1995) is an American actor. He is the singing voice of Pablo on ''The Backyardigans'' and a pig named Spencer on ''Whoopi's Littleburg''. He also played Josh Learner in ''Reservation Road''. On Broadway, he has been in ''Fiddl ...

and performed by Josh Gustin) is a light-pink pig and the newest Littleburg citizen. He is five years old. *Mayor Whoopi (played by

) is Spencer's

tour guide A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...

around Littleburg, and the only major human character in the series. *TJ/Tiger Jane (performed by

Sofie Zamchick Sofie Zamchick (born April 2, 1994) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and puppeteer. She is best known as the voice of Linny the Guinea Pig on the American animated children's television series, ''Wonder Pets!''. Zamchick attended the E ...

) is a light-purple cat who is Spencer's closest friend. She is six years old. *Mrs. Peg Piggle (performed by

Mary Birdsong Mary Evans Birdsong (born April 18, 1968) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and singer. She has worked in the theater and voiceover work and is a regular cast member on '' Reno 911!'' Early life Birdsong was born in Florida and grew u ...

) is Spencer's mother, who teaches him about the town through song. *Peggy Piggle is Spencer's baby sister. *The Sun (voiced by

) is an anthropomorphic

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

(who can set and become the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

at night) seen above Littleburg. *Phil is a horse with a love of painting. He is dressed in a necktie. *Danielle is a chicken who is almost always seen with her favorite food, pretzels. *Gordy (performed by Timothy Doner) is 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 Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's perf ...

Mary Testa Mary Testa (born June 4, 1955) is an American stage and film actress. She is a three-time Tony Award nominee, for performances in revivals of Leonard Bernstein's '' On the Town'' (1998), '' 42nd Street'' (2001) and'' Oklahoma'' (2019). Early life ...

, and

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, singer, comedian and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. She is perhaps b ...

made guest appearances on the show.

Episodes

Three specials and a pilot episode were produced.

Pilot (2003)

Season 1 (2004)

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 VITAC is a Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based provider of audio transcription services. It provides services such as closed captioning, dubbing, and audio description services. The company has over 700 employees, with clients ranging from broadcas ...

representatives deemed ''Littleburg'' "educational enough" to receive free

closed captioning Closed captioning (CC) and subtitling are both processes of displaying text on a television, video screen, or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information. Both are typically used as a transcription of the audio por ...

and subtitling. In 2006, the series' soundtrack was released to Nick Jr. Radio, a

webcasting A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...

station featuring songs from preschool-oriented programs.

Reception

The miniseries received positive reviews from critics, many of which praised its music and appeal towards multiple age groups. ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''s Marilyn Moss stated that ''Whoopi's Littleburg'' was "a lively and educational adventure into a friendly television space" and that the series was "likely to attract a wide audience." Writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Kathryn Shattuck called the series a "saga of empowerment" and dubbed the series' songs "fanciful." Lynne Heffley of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' praised the show's music, saying that it "is a standout component, woven deftly throughout." In his review for ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'', M.S. Mason noted that "this amusing, sweet-natured show for tiny tots will earn kudos from parents as well. Whoopi Goldberg has a wonderful ability to make kids giggle with the aid of puppets." Jacqueline Cutler of the ''

Hays Daily News The ''Hays Daily News'' is a newspaper that serves western Kansas. The ''Daily News'' is published every day except Saturday. In 2011, the paper reported a circulation of 9,644 subscribers. Harris Enterprises, based in Hutchinson, Kansas, purc ...

'' lauded Goldberg's performance in particular and felt that "Goldberg emanates no-nonsense warmth. When she talks to the puppets, she neither camps it up or talks down, and that even approach makes the show work."

References

External links

*
''Whoopi's Littleburg''
at

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

''Whoopi's Littleburg''
at

Moviefone Moviefone is an American-based moving pictures listing and information service. Moviegoers can obtain local showtimes, cinema information, film reviews, and advance tickets, as well as TV content and a comprehensive search tool that allows users ...

{{Former Nickelodeon original series English-language television shows Treehouse TV original programming 2000s Nickelodeon original programming Nick Jr. original programming American children's musical television series American preschool education television series American television shows featuring puppetry 2000s preschool education television series 2004 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings 2000s American children's television series 2000s American music television series 2000s American television miniseries Television series about cats Television series about chickens Television series about horses Television series about pigs Television series about children