Disney Junior has acquired the rights to air the 45-minute movie special debut of the Small Potatoes -- Meet the Small Potatoes -- in the United States and Japan, it was announced.
The first animated movie from Little Airplane Productions, Meet the Small Potatoes stars the four popular singing spuds alongside legendary British actor Malcolm McDowell. The movie will premiere in the U.S. on Disney Channel and Disney Junior in early 2013, and then later that year on Disney Junior in Japan.
The film was written and directed by 11-time Emmy Award winner Josh Selig (Wonder Pets, 3rd & Bird). The music for the film was written and produced by the Emmy-winning team at Little Airplane and features original songs by the late Jerry Bock (Fiddler on the Roof). The cast of the film will include hundreds of custom potato avatars of Disney Junior and Small Potatoes fans, created especially for the film in the months preceding the premiere that will then be integrated into shots throughout the special.
Beginning Monday, November 5, DisneyJunior.com invites families to visit DisneyJunior.com/SmallPotatoes, where parents can submit photos of their child for the chance to have them “potato-ized” and featured in the movie.
Meet the Small Potatoes is a new genre of film: the Animated Rock Mockumentary. It features the voice of McDowell (Entourage, Clockwork Orange) as Lester Koop, the band's manager. The film follows the story of the band's rise to fame from its humble roots on a farm in Idaho. We witness the struggles between Ruby, the band's diva, and Nate, the band's songwriter, and see the band's historic breakup and its ultimate reunion onstage in New York City.
"We're very excited that Disney Junior will debut Meet the Small Potatoes," said Selig, president and founder of Little Airplane Productions. "We believe this is the first time an animated movie has integrated a brand's Facebook community into the actual cast of the film. We want to thank our huge international following on Facebook for helping us build the Small Potatoes from a series of shorts to a truly global on-line and broadcast phenomena."
Selig will take part in a special MIP Junior session in Cannes at 10 a.m. Sunday, October 7, talking about the success of the Small Potatoes as a cross-platform project. The session, "KIDS IP, Where Does It Come From," will be held at the Martinez Hotel.
