# It's a Small World: The Animated Series
**It's a Small World: The Animated Series** is an American animated web series produced by Disney Interactive, Disney Television Animation, and [Powerhouse Animation Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/powerhouse-animation-studios), based on the Disney Parks boat ride [It's a Small World](https://www.edgepedia.org/its-a-small-world). Six international friends travel the globe in a hot air balloon, exploring new lands and learning words and customs from around the world, and the series is presented by the language-learning company [Rosetta Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosetta-stone) through its Rosetta Stone Kids brand.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/its-a-small-world-the-animated-series)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Online-exclusive animated series of 8 episodes, each about 4 minutes long[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/its-a-small-world-the-animated-series) • [2](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/disney-creates-its-a-small-world-animated-web-series-95943.html) |
| Run | Season 1 from December 2013 to February 4, 2014; a premiere date of November 26, 2013 is also reported[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/its-a-small-world-the-animated-series) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3458548/) |
| Production | Disney Interactive with Austin, Texas-based Powerhouse Animation; Disney Television Animation also credited[2](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/disney-creates-its-a-small-world-animated-web-series-95943.html) |
| Sponsorship | Sponsored by Rosetta Stone and its children's app Lingo Word Builder; one episode was themed around the actual Rosetta Stone tablet[2](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/disney-creates-its-a-small-world-animated-web-series-95943.html) • [4](https://www.licenseglobal.com/entertainment/disney-turns-over-new-stone) |
| Visual style | Inspired by artist Mary Blair's original designs for the theme park attraction[5](https://d23.com/a-to-z/small-world-animated-series-television/) |
| Music | Original music by Richard Sherman, co-composer of the ride's song "It's a small world (after all)"; theme song "We're on Our Merry Way"[2](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/disney-creates-its-a-small-world-animated-web-series-95943.html) • [6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_a_Small_World%3A_The_Animated_Series) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and characters
The series follows six multicultural children who fly around the world in a hot air balloon, visiting different lands, making new friends, and learning about local cultures.
Two companion characters round out the cast. Wazoh is a small bluebird who hosts a short segment at the end of most episodes titled "Words with Wazoh", in which he teaches a word or phrase, usually related to the episode, in Spanish. Mr. Balloon is an anthropomorphized hot air balloon that serves as the children's transportation, and Mr. Cloud is a sentient cumulus cloud who is his close friend.[4](https://www.licenseglobal.com/entertainment/disney-turns-over-new-stone)Each episode features cameos by characters from one or two animated Disney movies, usually relevant to the part of the world an episode focuses on.[6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_a_Small_World%3A_The_Animated_Series)
## Production and sponsorship
The series was a collaboration between Disney and the language instruction company Rosetta Stone, created as a promotion for Rosetta Stone's then-recent children's app, Lingo World Builder. It was also part of a year-long celebration of the It's a Small World attraction's 50th anniversary in 2014. The project was revealed at the D23 Expo in August 2013, where Disney Interactive shared concept art and a live performance of new music for the series.[7](https://mouseplanet.com/disney-interactive-at-the-d23-expo/4131/)**Sponsored content model.** Disney Interactive described the series as a move into sponsored content, with Rosetta Stone as the exclusive sponsor. Mark Walker, senior vice-president of Disney Interactive Entertainment, framed the project as leveraging the interactive medium to bring a classic Disney experience to a new generation. Cartoon Brew's Amid Amidi, editor in chief of the animation news site, noted that direct sponsorship of animation has older roots: in the 1950s and 1960s, animated television characters such as [The Flintstones](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-flintstones), Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Rocky & Bullwinkle were sponsored by corporate brands, and Ren & Stimpy creator [John Kricfalusi](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-kricfalusi) had advocated reviving the model on the internet from the mid-1990s.[2](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/disney-creates-its-a-small-world-animated-web-series-95943.html)
The stated educational goal was to heighten children's knowledge of places and cultures around the world while giving them early exposure to foreign language skills. Rosetta Stone's president of global consumer markets, Prag Shah, described the partnership as pairing Disney's appeal to children with Rosetta Stone's language teaching.[4](https://www.licenseglobal.com/entertainment/disney-turns-over-new-stone)
**Visual design and music.** The animation draws on Mary Blair's original designs for the theme park attraction. One contemporary reviewer observed that the series' look derived more directly from Joey Chou's illustrations for the Small World book and iPhone app, lending the franchise a coherent brand of its own. Richard Sherman, who composed the attraction's song "It's a small world (after all)" with his brother [Robert B. Sherman](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-b-sherman), a song that debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair, wrote original music for the series, including the theme song "We're on Our Merry Way".[5](https://d23.com/a-to-z/small-world-animated-series-television/) • [2](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/disney-creates-its-a-small-world-animated-web-series-95943.html) • [8](https://yesterday-tomorrow-and-fantasy.blogspot.com/2013/12/) • [6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_a_Small_World%3A_The_Animated_Series)
Scot Forbes, senior art director at Disney Interactive, co-created the series and led its visual development, working in partnership with the Powerhouse Animation team. According to Forbes, the completed eight episodes were integral in driving the Rosetta Stone Kids app to #1 in the app store for language learning.[9](https://scot-forbes-j2lp.squarespace.com/kids/)
## Release and episodes
The episodes were presented on Disney.com, Disney's YouTube channels, and across Disney's connected TV apps. Sources differ on the premiere date: IMDb and Disney-related fan sources give November 26, 2013, while TheTVDB and D23 list a first airing of December 2, 2013, and D23's encyclopedia entry says the series launched online on December 3, 2013.[2](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/disney-creates-its-a-small-world-animated-web-series-95943.html) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3458548/) • [1](https://thetvdb.com/series/its-a-small-world-the-animated-series) • [5](https://d23.com/a-to-z/small-world-animated-series-television/)
The eight first-season episodes, with their airing dates as listed by [TV Time](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-time) and Simkl, were:[10](https://www.tvtime.com/show/289724)
1. "A Jolly Holi Day" (December 2, 2013), set in India around the Holi festival
2. "Bricht and Braw" (December 9, 2013), set in Scotland around the highland games
3. "Let's Go Fly" (December 16, 2013)
4. "Little Birds, Frost and Pine" (December 23, 2013)
5. "Tropical Hideaway" (January 14, 2014)
6. "Up and Down" (January 21, 2014)
7. "One Golden Sun" (January 28, 2014)
8. "Just One Moon" (February 4, 2014)
In the first episode, the children travel to India, where Harold struggles to find something to paint and, guided by Wazoh, finds inspiration at a statue of [Saraswati](https://www.edgepedia.org/saraswati) holding a vina; Wazoh teaches the Spanish word for blue, "azul".
One episode was explicitly themed around the sponsor's name, following a journey to the British Museum to discover the importance of the actual Egyptian Rosetta Stone tablet.[2](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/disney-creates-its-a-small-world-animated-web-series-95943.html) • [4](https://www.licenseglobal.com/entertainment/disney-turns-over-new-stone)
## Cancellation and availability
On April 11, 2014, voice actress Dina Sherman, who voiced Ashley and Harold, announced that a layoff at Disney Interactive had resulted in the series ceasing production. Despite positive reception from audiences and plans to renew the series for more episodes, it was quietly canceled, and no new installments were made. All episodes were unlisted or privated from Disney's video platforms by late 2016.[6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_a_Small_World%3A_The_Animated_Series)The series is one of several media projects Disney developed from the It's a Small World attraction; in April 2014, Disney also announced development of a feature film based on the attraction, with [Jon Turteltaub](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-turteltaub) attached to direct.
## Voice cast and reception
The credited voice cast includes [Lauren Tom](https://www.edgepedia.org/lauren-tom), Michael D. Cohen, Elle Newlands, Dina Sherman, and Nicholas Keenan, the last as principal singer of the "On Our Merry Way" theme song. On IMDb the series holds a rating of 7.3 out of 10 from 25 votes.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3458548/) • [6](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_a_Small_World%3A_The_Animated_Series)
## References
1. [It's a Small World: The Animated Series, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/series/its-a-small-world-the-animated-series)
2. [Disney Creates "It's A Small World" Animated Web Series, Cartoon Brew (Amid Amidi, February 10, 2014)](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/internet-television/disney-creates-its-a-small-world-animated-web-series-95943.html)
3. [It's a Small World: The Animated Series (TV Series 2013–2014), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3458548/)
4. [Disney Turns Over a New Stone, License Global (April 6, 2018)](https://www.licenseglobal.com/entertainment/disney-turns-over-new-stone)
5. [it's a Small World: the animated series (television), D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/small-world-animated-series-television/)
6. [It's a Small World: The Animated Series, Disney Wiki (Fandom)](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_a_Small_World%3A_The_Animated_Series)
7. [Disney Interactive at the D23 Expo, MousePlanet](https://mouseplanet.com/disney-interactive-at-the-d23-expo/4131/)
8. [Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy, December 2013 year-in-review](https://yesterday-tomorrow-and-fantasy.blogspot.com/2013/12/)
9. [Kid Stuff, Scot Forbes portfolio](https://scot-forbes-j2lp.squarespace.com/kids/)
10. [It's a Small World: The Animated Series, TV Time](https://www.tvtime.com/show/289724)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Early English-language web series (1997–mid 2010s)*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license