Katie and Orbie

Katie and Orbie is an animated television series aimed at preschoolers, originally broadcast in Canada in 1994 by Family Channel and later aired in the United States on PBS from 1995–1997 and on Disney Channel from 1997–2000. In Canada, the series still airs on Family and Disney Junior (formerly called Playhouse Disney). The show has also aired in several countries around the world.

The animated series is based on a series of four environment-themed children's books titled Katie and Orbie Save the Planet, illustrated by Canadian cartoonist Ben Wicks and written by his daughter Susan Wicks, which were published in 1991. In 1993, Lacewood Productions adapted the characters into an animated series which was originally in production until 1996, being revived five years later by Amberwood Entertainment and then cancelled in 2002. Contrary to the original books, the series isn't strictly environment-themed, having stories that range from having a new pet or helping their friends, to address themes like children with divorced parents, Down's Syndrome and cerebral palsy. However, some stories are still focused on protection of the environment.

The TV show was narrated by actor Leslie Nielsen.

The theme song was written by Edmund Eagan and performed by his daughter, Mireille Eagan. Michael Nyman has also provided music for the series.

During the first three seasons, most stories were written by the characters' co-creator Susan Wicks, with Mary Mackay-Smith serving as a secondary writer. For seasons 4–6, all stories were written by Mackay-Smith.

Unlike most TV shows, the animation on Katie and Orbie is similar to a slideshow, instead of coming to life, also, none of the characters actually speak, so a variety of sound effects are used during the stories. Pumper Pups, a TV series produced by Amberwood Entertainment in 2000, also used this style of animation, and it was also narrated by Leslie Nielsen.

International rights for the series were first owned by Entertainment Rights (which was also a producer company on seasons 4–6), which on 2009 was merged into Classic Media. On March 25, 2010, Canadian company E1 Entertainment signed a deal with Amberwood Entertainment on which E1 obtained the worldwide distribution rights to several of Amberwood Entertainment's TV shows, including all 78 episodes of Katie and Orbie.