When
Doctor DeSoto was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Animated Short, HBO and animator
Michael Sporn agreed to make animated specials for the network as it also was oriented on family-friendly programs and never financed/produced a children's television series before. Sporn directed and produced
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile: The Musical, HBO's first animated television special and aired on November 18, 1987. Then, HBO presented a few animated specials, such as
The Story of the Dancing Frog (aired in October 1989),
The Red Shoes and
Earthday Birthday, both aired in early 1990. The specials combined illustrations with songs. ==Episodes==