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American Dragon: Jake Long

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American Dragon: Jake Long
File:Adjllogo.jpg
Created byJeff Goode
Voices ofDante Basco
Keone Young
John DiMaggio
Amy Bruckner
Miss Kittie
Charlie Finn
Mae Whitman
Jeff Bennett
Lauren Tom
Kyle Massey
Nicholas Brendon
Sandra Oh
Opening theme"The Chosen One" performed by Mavin (Season 1)
Jonas Brothers (Season 2)
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
Running timeapprox. 22 minutes (per episode)
Original release
NetworkDisney Channel
ReleaseJanuary 21, 2005 –
September 1, 2007

American Dragon: Jake Long is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series finale aired on September 1, 2007.[1]

Premise

Jake is a descendant of a long line of dragons, and it is his duty to protect the community of magical creatures secretly living among the masses in New York. He lives with his parents, Jonathan and Susan, and his eight-year-old sister, Haley. His grandfather and sister are also dragons, the dragon powers having skipped his mother's generation. His Caucasian father is unaware of his family being dragons.

Throughout the series Jake is taught how to use his innate magical powers by his grandfather and a 600-year-old talking, anthropomorphic Shar Pei named Fu Dog. Jake needs these powers to protect the other magical creatures of the city from various malevolent beings, most notably the villainous Huntsclan led by the Huntsman. Because he is the first American Dragon he is the protector of the magical world that lives in the United States. His best friends are Trixie Carter and Arthur Spudinski, with whom he skateboards. They are also aware of his secret. He is infatuated with Rose, another schoolmate who once was a member of the Huntsclan. The stories are driven by Jake's search for balance between his life as a schoolboy and his secret life as a powerful magical guardian.

Production

American Dragon: Jake Long was created by Jeff Goode. The Walt Disney Company ordered an initial twenty-one 30 minute episodes for the first season, all of which have been made. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on The Disney Channel January 4, 2005, in the United States on The Disney Channel on January 21, 2005, and on Toon Disney on February 2006. It has also been broadcast on The Family Channel in Canada.

It had been announced that Steve Loter, who had served as director of Disney Channel's Kim Possible, would be joining the show for its second season as director and executive producer alongside the current executive producers Matt Negrete and Eddie Guzelian. However, following Disney's renewal of Kim Possible for a fourth season, Loter would resume his role as director of that series, but still serve as an executive producer of Jake Long. Nick Filippi, who had also done some directorial work on Kim Possible, will be the new director of Jake Long. With Steve Loter joining the staff, the show had all of its characters and backgrounds re-designed with new animation. For the second season, The Jonas Brothers sang the theme song.

Characters

Major characters

  • Jacob "Jake" Luke Long (Dante Basco): As the main protagonist of the show, Jake is a proud, lazy skateboarder who is, in secret, a dragon. He uses his duties as a dragon to help defend the underground magical world of New York City, while continuing his training into becoming the first American Dragon.
File:Amdraggang.JPG
(From left to right) Lao Shi, Fu Dog, Spud, Jake and Trixie in Canal Street Electronics (second season)
  • Luong Lao Shi (Keone Young): Lao, as Jake's grandfather, is a Dragon Master who teaches Jake the necessary skills in becoming a protector of magical creatures. He runs the Canal Street Electronics and in turn, uses this location as the main headquarters for all operations. His friend Fu Dog is his guardian who can create magical potions to assist in these missions. Lao's attempts at training Jake can, at times, cause more damage than help. However, Jake learns and puts into use the skills that are essential in becoming the American Dragon.
  • Fu Dog (John DiMaggio): Fu is a 600-year-old talking Shar Pei and Lao's only companion. Like many magical animals, Fu is able to walk upright, and has no trouble using his front paws as hands despite the apparent absence of opposable thumbs. He's particularly skilled at potion-mixing. Despite his age, he frequently keeps up-to-date with current trends and events that will occasionally putt him at odds with Lao Shi.
  • Trixie Carter (Miss Kittie): As one of Jake's best friends, she is sassy, vivacious, and is somewhat of a judgemental character. She is a fashion enthusiast, yet she does not necessarily partake in typical wear. In the situation of Jake and Rose's relationship, Trixie has always showed a dislike and distrust towards Rose advising Jake to be wary around her.
  • Arthur "Spud" P. Spudinski (Charlie Finn): Spud is Jake's other best friend who, although apparently slow-witted, he is actually a genius. He owns a laptop computer that sports surveillance capabilities and other functions that assist him in the field. His philosophy is that he believes that all play and no work is just as bad as all work and no play and he wants to be the medium.
The Huntsman and Huntsgirl in "The Academy".

Rose/Huntsgirl (Mae Whitman): Rose, Jake's paramour is a member of the Huntsclan. There is a birthmark on her right palm and wrist resembling a Chinese dragon, otherwise known as the "Mark of the Huntsclan". Jake eventually learns of her secret identity as the Huntsgirl and she, in turn, eventually learns that Jake is the American Dragon. Contrary to expectation, Rose helped Jake throughout the show until the Huntsman learned of their relationship. After Rose's wish for all Huntsmen to be destroyed (herself included) was granted, Jake immediately wished that Rose had never become a member of the Huntsclan. Thus, resulting in a normal life for her but also meaning that their relationship had never been. However, she later learns of the relationship and helps Jake defeat the Dark Dragon.

  • The Huntsman (Jeff Bennett): Jake's main enemy, the Huntsman (referred to as "Huntsmaster" by his subordinates) is the leader of the Huntsclan. The Dragon Council rates him as the #4 threat to the magical community. He ultimately meets his demise when Rose's wish to destroy all Huntsclan is granted. The Huntsman was originally Rose's first guardian because of the fact that he took her from her parents as an infant which ultimately resulted in giving her the idea that her parents were deceased.

Episodes

Season Ep # First Airdate Last Airdate
Season 1 21 January 21, 2005 January 29, 2006
Season 2 31 June 10, 2006 September 1, 2007

Appearances in other media

Television

Video games

Two video games based on the show were produced, one for Nintendo DS and one for Game Boy Advance.

References

  1. ^ Matt Negrete. "Awwww man!" (HTML). amdrag.blogspot.com.