Sporn directed a number of television specials based on children's books, often for HBO, and his Abel's Island aired on the PBS anthology Long Ago and Far Away. One of his earliest solo shorts, Doctor DeSoto received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Subject in 1985. Sporn began his career working as an animator for others, including the Hubley's Everybody Rides the Carousel and other projects and Richard Williams' feature film Raggedy Ann and Andy. He also supplied animated sequences for the series Braingames, Reading Rainbow, and Between the Lions.