The Littles (French: Les Minipouss) is an animated television series whose original episodes aired from September 10, 1983, to November 2, 1985. It is based on the characters from The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John Peterson, the first of which was published in 1967. The series was produced for the American broadcast network ABC by the French/American studio DIC Audiovisuel. It was post-produced by a Canadian animation studio, Animation City Editorial Services.

Characters The Little family Tom Little is the older of the two Little children. Lucy Little is the younger of the two Little children. Grandpa Little is the oldest member of the family. Dinky Little is a cousin of the family (as in the books, where he is always presented as 'cousin Dinky'). Frank Little is the father in the family. Helen Little is the mother in the family and the daughter of Grandpa Little. Ashley Little is a second, younger cousin of the family.

In the television series, the family tree is mostly clear. Frank and Helen are the parents of Tom and Lucy, Grandpa is the father of Helen, and Dinky is a cousin (on Helen's side, as said by Grandpa in the episode "Ben Dinky") of Tom and Lucy. In the books, the family tree is never explicitly identified. The Littles that often appear are Tom, Lucy, Dinky and Grandpa.

Supporting characters Henry Bigg is a 13-year-old boy and one of the few humans who knows about the existence of the Littles. They live in his house and are his best friends. Slick is a little turtle and Henry's pet.

Villains Dr. Erick Hunter is a scientist whose primary goal is to prove the existence of the Littles. He often builds machines that can detect these tiny humans to prove to the others and himself that the Littles really exist, but his plans are always foiled by the Littles and Henry. Dr. Hunter's plans often get him in trouble with the police. James Peterson is Dr. Hunter's assistant. He is named for series creator John Peterson.

Other characters Mr. and Mrs. Bigg are Henry's parents. Both archeologists, they often go on journeys. Marie is Henry's classmate and close friend.

Voice cast Jimmy Keegan as Henry Bigg Alvy Moore as Grandpa Little Gregg Berger as Frank Little Patricia Parris as Helen Little Donavan Freberg as Tom Little (seasons 1–2) David Wagner as Tom Little (season 3) Bettina Bush as Lucy Little B. J. Ward as Ashley Little (seasons 2–3) Frank Welker as Slick (season 1) Pat Fraley as Slick (seasons 2–3) Robert David Hall as Mr. Bigg and Dinky Little Laurel Page as Mrs. Bigg Ken Sansom as Dr. Hunter and Peterson (seasons 1–2)

Rachelle Cano provides the opening and closing theme vocals.

Additional voices Candace Craig Paul Eiding Jonathan Goldsmith David Hollander Erv Immerman Tress MacNeille Mona Marshall Julie McWhirter Hal Smith - Mr. Finnegan (in "When Irish Eyes are Smiling") Marilyn Schreffler John Stephenson Russi Taylor

Episodes A dagger (†) denotes an episode that was not rerun in syndication.

Season 1 (1983)

Season 2 (1984)

Season 3: Around the World (1985)

Television history Along with Inspector Gadget and Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats, The Littles was one of the first cartoons produced by DIC Entertainment for American television, and it was the only one of the three to air on a network rather than in syndication.

The first two seasons of shows featured The Littles around the Bigg household, while the final season featured the Littles traveling around the world.

The series also had two film tie-ins: The Littles starred in their first animated feature, Here Come the Littles, which serves as a prequel to the television series. It was directed by Bernard Deyriès and written by Woody Kling. It was released on May 25, 1985 and is available on DVD. The following year (1986), a made-for-TV film was created starring the Littles: Liberty and the Littles. This film was also directed by Bernard Deyriès. It was written by Marc Scott Zicree. It aired in three parts during the tenth season of ABC Weekend Special. It was subsequently edited into a three-part episode and included in the third season of the series. The episode is available on DVD.

In 2003, the series began to air on the syndicated DIC Kids Network block in order to fulfill E/I criteria, but not every episode of the series was syndicated during this run.

The series was also broadcast in the United Kingdom on TVAM and in Australia on Network 10. Many other countries also picked up the series.

Home media VHS/DVD nameEp #DistributorRelease dateAdditional information Liberty and the Littles Liberty and The Littles Strand VCI Entertainment (ABC Kidtime) 1991 The Littles Christmas Special Looking for Grandma LittleSpirits of the NightThe Little Girl who CouldThe Little Scouts (DVD only)Sterling Entertainment Group (2003)NCircle Entertainment (2007) November 13, 2003October 23, 2007 Despite the name, the episodes on this release have nothing to do with the Christmas holiday. The Littles: The Complete Unedited SeriesAll 29 episodes on 5 discs S'More Entertainment(in association with Shout! Factory) November 13, 2007 Bonus features: Storyboard to episode comparison (Disc 1) Complete storyboard for the episode "Prescription for Disaster" (Disc 1, DVD-ROM feature) "How Would the Littles Use...?" Trivia Game (Disc 2) Big/Little Scrounge List (Disc 2, reward for completing the trivia game) Big/Little Scrounge List PDF (Disc 2, DVD-ROM feature) "Little Ideas for Big People" PSAs (Disc 3) Interview with Marc Scott Zicree (Disc 3) Liberty and The Littles (Disc 4) Show Bumpers (Disc 4) Show Bible (Disc 4, DVD-ROM feature) Visual history of the DIC logo (Disc 5) Pilot outline (Disc 5, DVD-ROM feature) The Best of The Littles First 10 episodes Mill Creek Entertainment July 19, 2011 The Littles: The Complete SeriesAll 29 episodes on 3 discs Mill Creek Entertainment July 19, 2011 Bonus content: Here Come the Littles Liberty and The Littles The Best of The Get Along Gang DVD promo

Other merchandise Some of the merchandise that was released during the series run included tie-in story books, a Milton Bradley board game, stickers and greeting cards. Foreign merchandise included many more items such as Halloween masks, a set of figures, card game, VHS videos, records, and more.

See also

Here Come the Littles, 1985 animated feature film

References

External links The Littles episode guide