The Life and Times of Juniper Lee (also known as just Juniper Lee), is an Americananimated television series, created by Judd Winick and produced by Cartoon Network Studios about a pre-teenage girl who has to keep monsters and other creatures from interfering with the human world. Her powers include super strength, super speed, and paranormal magic. With these powers, she has the responsibility of keeping the world of humanity and magic balanced. However, it is not that easy as this can get in the way of her friends, her school, and in general her life, but somehow she manages to keep everything flowing. The show has a fairly campy take on the genre; it often makes fun of itself.
Juniper (mostly called "June" for short) is the main character of the series. This eleven-year old pre-teen Chinese American girl lives in Orchid Bay City (based on Winick's adopted hometown of San Francisco, California), and is currently the Te Xuan Ze, which is the definition on the show being the one who handles the balances between magic and humanity. Her grandmother, Ah-Mah, going under the name of Jasmine Lee, is Juniper, Ray-Ray, and Dennis' grandmother, and previous Te Xuan Ze. Calm and deliberate (in Protector matters), the 68-year old gives June advice on dealing with the magical community and their expectations of her, and helps her out when she is in (serious) trouble. As of the Monster Con episode, Ah-Mah was shown to still possess a significant amount of magically enhanced speed and strength, though her stamina (and presumably durability) is severely diminished in comparison to her granddaughter, to the point of being unable to stand unassisted after two to three minutes of relatively light-weight combat in which she wasn't so much as scratched by the opposition. This would seem to suggest that her assertion in first episode that it was no longer her place to act as Te Xuan Ze was pragmatic as much as it was to prevent June from shirking her responsibilities. Lara Jill Miller is the voice of June, while Amy Hill is the voice of Ah-Mah.
Ray Ray Lee is Juniper's eight-year-old little brother who often carelessly gets into trouble. Much like his older sibling, he can see and interact with creatures from the magical world. Monroe is an enchanted dog that speaks with a Scottish accent. He knows a lot about magic because he has been the Te Xuan Ze's dog for generations. Most people can't understand him and hear his words as only barks but only Juniper, Ah-Mah, and Ray Ray can understand him. Two voice acting veterans provide their character voices: Kath Soucie is Ray Ray and Carlos Alazraqui plays Monroe.
Dennis Lee
Dennis is Juniper and Ray Ray's seventeen-year-old brother who, unlike his siblings, has no magic in him and knows nothing about June's adventures and powers. Despite this, Dennis is a hardcore fantasy enthusiast, doing regular LARPing sessions with his friends. This interest has other people, particularly Monroe and Ray Ray, taunt him about his love life (or lack thereof) The Lee siblings have a band, called the Short Angry Freuds. Alexander Polinsky provides his vocal talents.
File:Three kind2.JPGTwo of Juniper's best friends are Ophelia (right) and Jody Irwin (left).
Ophelia and Jody Irwin, June's BFFs
June's best friends are Ophelia and Jody Irwin. Ophelia is a punk rocker/goth girl in training, simular to the Yumi character in Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi. If there is some sort of trend, she would not be caught wearing, listening to it, or even associating with anything mainstream. As we learned in "Magic Takes A Holiday" and "Take My Life, Please", she will go out of character if need be. Meanwhile, Jody Irwin is the smartest girl in school, and the best cheerleader. She is the type of person who most likely won't misbehave, is a great friend and is a big fan of The Powerpuff Girls and has every episode (she claims that there are two hundred episodes when in fact, there were only 78) on tape. Candi Milo does the dry, throaty voice of Ophelia, while Jody's voice is done by Colleen O'Shaughnessey.
Roger
Roger is the type of person who tries to follow trends and stay cool, but every time he tries he seems uncool. Besides these characteristics, he is somewhat both loveable and yet annoying at the same time. He had to fill in for June when she was kidnapped in "Stalk: The Rocksical" during "Magic Takes A Holiday." Roger is voiced by noted voice-over actress Tara Strong, who in vocal style, is akin to another character she voices, Terrence on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee
June, Ray Ray and Dennis' parents are the son and daughter-in-law of Jasmine, and sadly, the father did not have the powers of the Te Xuan Ze passed onto him. Carlos Alazraqui lends his voice to Mr. Lee, and Candi Milo does Mrs. Lee's voice.
Along with being handsome and way popular, Marcus Carsner is one cool guy (and although she won't admit it, June has a big crush on him.) Despite being part of the in-crowd, Marcus is friends with everyone and often looks out for June. He never gets caught up in all of that and is always laid-back. As we saw in "Enter Sandman", it was in June's dream that she was marrying Marcus, after getting advice from Ah-Mah saying she had to fall asleep in order to go into the dream realm without being a visitor, she fell into a dream of her own when Marcus proposed to her…in tights. Voice veteran Phil LaMarr lends his vocal talents for Marcus.
Ms. Gomez
At school, Ms. Gomez is the teacher of Juniper, Jody, Opheila, Marcus, Ray-Ray, and Dennis, and is voiced by Amy Hill.
Magical Characters
Here is a list of magical characters that have appeared on this show so far:
Season One
Racatan and Barasafer: Racatan, a creature described initially by June as "a giant hamster", is actually a short-tempered demonic rodent that breathes fire. It was accidentally freed by the leprechauns and was defeated by June (with the help of a Baresafer). Barasafers are ghost/genie creatures who only attack evil beings in It's My Party And I'll Whine If I Want To. Both are played by Dee Bradley Baker.
Leprechauns: The Leprechauns seen in It's My Party And I'll Whine If I Want To are tall and have hippie appearances and are not like the leprechauns we know. Some of them released a Racatan. A leprechaun named Jeff is played by Billy West.
The Vikings of Kragnarok Ghosts: When Roger found one half of the Medallion of Takar, it caused June's friends and the rest of the chorus to get possessed by the spirits of the Vikings of Kragnarok(from Ragnarok). If the other half of the medallion is retrieved, the ghosts will permanently stay in their host. June destroyed the medallion and the ghosts disappeared.
Skeeter Khommen-Gettit: The mummy of a pharaoh revived by people that looked like Egyptians and used zombies to work for him at his waffle and rib restaurant instead of ruling the world for some reason. June, Ray Ray and Monroe saved the world by defeating him. It turns out that Khommen-Getit was a chief architect instructor who had an aqueduct built which eventually flooded a part of a town. Name is a play on "come and get it". He is played by Jeff Bennett.
Zombies: Khammen-Getit used his powers to raise an army of zombies to work in his restaurant. When Khammen-Getit was defeated, the zombies were returned to their graves. Zombie #1 is played by Adam Wylie.
Loki, Thor and the Trulekian Trolls:Loki, the shape-shifter and Norse Trickster God, appeared in "New Trickster in Town" and was the one that did dangerous pranks on April Fool's Day disguised as Terry the Trickster. When June came to a monstrous place, he exposed himself and challenged her to play on the game show Let's Save Humanity! Loki was then defeated by Thor, the Norse God of Thunder (also called T-Money) along with the Trulekian Trolls, who are blue and in charge of Loki escaping from escaping the underworld, using hammers to seal Loki in a graveyard. T-Money then helped restore Orchid Bay City back to normal. Loki is played by Matt Davidson, while Thor is played by S. Scott Bullock.
Fix-It Elves: They have been known to repair anything they see broken like cars. One of them stopped June from harming a Batoot. Three of them are played by Alexander Polinsky, Kath Soucie, and Amy Hill.
Batoot and Batoot Hunters: Known to bring bad luck to people, Batoots travel in herds. When one stumbled away from its herd and into Orchid Bay, June and Ray Ray had to protect it from Batoot Hunters, a pair of biker monsters that hunt the Batoot for sport. They were taken down by Juniper Lee. The Batoot is played by Amy Hill. The Bikers are played by Carlos Alazraqui and Alexander Polinsky.
Leonard: A big, horned goblin that tried to join Juniper's band for the talent show. However, with him being a magical creature, he couldn't. He is played by Rob Paulsen.
Steven The Sandman: Responsible for making people sleep, he needed slaves to build a tower so that he can reach the portal that'll take him to the Real World. June defeated him in "Enter Sandman" and Steven ended up in a island with a man. He is played by Daran Norris.
Auntie Roon, the Tenth Level Warlock, Pus Goblin and Antelope Snake: Auntie Roon is an evil witch that rides a fish. Banished for eight centuries by the Te Xuan Ze of that time, she returns to a shopping mall that once was a magical spot thanks to a tenth level Warlock, a Pus Goblin and a Antelope Snake. Exposing herself to everyone after lifting the veil that prevents humans from seeing the monsters, June has to defeat her, before a new record by Ambiguous Angst comes out. A Tenth Level Warlock had made a deal with a Pus Goblin and an Antelope Snake to free Auntie Roon with his spell. The Pus Goblin gets his name from his pussing, while the Antelope Snake has horns that resemble an antelope. Susan Silo played Auntie Roon, Carlos Alazraqui portrayed her Spanish-speaking fish, and Rob Paulsen was the voice of the warlock.
Donnie, the Helper Elf and the Shark-O-Dile: Donnie is a demon who June fought earlier in his first appearance. He had a Helper Elf posed as June's assistant to organize her schedule. She got June in trouble with her teacher and parents after plagerized while writing her report on the platypus two weeks early. Donnie also created a Shark-O-Dile, one part shark and one part crocodile, with the heads of both. The Helper Elf is played by Carlos Alazraqui.
Speed Demons, Levithan Frog and Kilbana Beast: Speed Demons are small creatures that can run very fast and are easily panicked. Ray Ray and Monroe had to try and take them down. The Leviathan Frog is a giant frog, and little is known about this monster except that it set off the Speed Demons, while the Kilbana Beast is a giant monster sent by the Helper Elf to attack Orchid Bay. It ended up battling the Leviathan Frog in the end. Kath Soucie played one of the speed demons.
Maret and the Paradas Demons: Maret is the Grand Arch-Demon of the Sixth Plain. He had a henchmen of Paradas Demons that helped to look for the Goblet of Nestir that'll make him more powerful. In a plot to have the Paradas Demons capture June's little brother Ray Ray, they captured her older brother Dennis by mistake. After Maret was defeated, June sent the one who helped to make Dennis forget about this event to Fresno, California where his cousin is. Maret is played by Phil LaMarr.
Dimitri The Terrible: This giant doesn't observe the magical holiday Ephidan, and kidnaps June in "Magic Takes A Holiday". We also discover that he isn't too crazy for Labor Day or cheese, either. He is played by Maurice LaMarche.
Ashley, Baguano and the Fustertroll: Ashley is a Fourth-Level Sorceress and a big fan of June who came to Orchid Bay City while pursuing the Baguano, of which little was known, except that it turned out to be a big catfish monster. She rides on a pony with wings on its ankles and was Te Xuan Ze for a time, giving June more time to herself. That is, until Ashley accidentally fed cookies to a Fustertroll, which is small in size, but turn humongous when given human food, and only a counterspell can revert them back to normal. Ashley returned the title and bracelet back to June, and continued her search for said Baguano, which she later found outside Orchid Bay City. We also learned Ray Ray had a crush on her. Ashley's voice was provided by Marcy Perlson.
Dracotta Beasts: These reptilian monsters have club-ended tails similar to an Ankylosaurus. They are known to expand their hoods like cobras and shoot slime out of their mouth. In a battle, it easily defeated June in battle. June got struck by the tail of the Dracotta Beast and fell into a tree unconcious.
H.A.M.:Humans for the Abolishment of Magic is a secret organization that uses high-tech monster capturing gear and each member wears a crystal that lets them see the Monsters of Magic. Their leader (named after Superman villain Lex Luthor) is played by veteran actor Clancy Brown.
Season Two
Gigi: She was the demon who trapped many magical beings into the Orchid Bay Zoo as animals, disguising herself as an old male zookeeper. Gigi was known to have turned Juniper Lee into a ring-tailed lemur. Then she drained June's a lot of June's magical energy. Kath Soucie provides her voice.
Cordath the Conqueror and Daughter: Cordath the Conqueror is a dangerous demon who was banished to the Spirit World by magical humans. His daughter plots to capture Juniper Lee and use her powers to free her father. When her father was free, Cordath let himself go.
Holiday Specials
Vikki Devyne: She is a monster agent who turned a monster kid named Evan Thompson into a human forever on Halloween. June had to get a protein shake from Qegaria to break the contract.
Jorden the Destroyer: June had to fight him in a westling tournament to get the Shroud of Voldwards in a large trade for Vikki Devyne to break the contract. June was losing badly and had to pull the second horn on it causing Jorden to shrink to a quarter of its' size.
1. It's Your Party and I'll Whine If I Want To: For just over a month, June has been working on the Te Xuan Ze and it's become a real hassle, flaking out on her friends regularly and managing to acquire a reputation for being weird. Now Jody, one of her best friends, is having a birthday party, but June gets called away because Leprechauns have let loose a Racatan. Despite begging Ah Mah to help out, she is forced to pass up the party and once again save Orchid Bay City.
The episode's title is a pun on Lesley Gore's 1963 hit song "It's My Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To)."
2. I Got My Mind On My Mummy And My Mummy On My Mind: Marcus, June's secret crush, is assigned with June to do a class report on a mummy of the pharaoh Khamen-Gettit. When it is brought back to life, it raises the dead and employs them at his newly opened restaurant chain. Now June must prevent it from permanently raising his army of the dead, and finish her report, trying do it all without blowing her chance to get Marcus to like her.
3. It Takes a Pillage: When Roger finds half of a cursed Viking medallion on a school chorus trip to a nursing home to perform, the whole chorus (June's friends included) are possessed by the spirits of Nordic Vikings. This causes them to rampage through the city on a mad search for the other half of the medallion, breaking the curse and causing it to reside in their bodies...permamently. Can June stop them on a shopping mall that hasn't seen a guest in eight years on the former site of a notorious prison?
The episode title is a play on the adage "It takes a village", made more famous in 1996 during the Presidential elections in the USA by then-first lady Hilary Clinton as a book title.
4. New Trickster's in Town: Each year, April Fool's Day brings plenty of practical jokes to Orchid Bay City, and what all the citizens don't realize it that there is magic at work courtesy of a harmless creature called "The Trickster", who plays magical tricks. But all of the magical creatures have gotten a "bad vibe" from this year's pranks and start to constantly nag June both at home and school to look into it, andfinds out that the Trickster has been possessed by the great ancient god Loki, who has evil plans for the city, and has to stop a 12,000 year old god and save Orchid Bay City by playing in a game show.
5. Not In My Backyard: When Ray Ray finds a new pet, a Batoot, things get out of hand, and June is mad, because it's lost and must be returned to its herd before the Batoot Hunters get their hands on it.
The title is based on the protesters' credo when they don't want something in their neighborhood.
6. Enter Sandman: Steven the Sandman is putting everyone to sleep in the middle of the day, and June must find out why by crossing over to the dream realm, where she discovers her friends are doing the opposite things they usually do, and trying to have her family band play in the school show, singing "I Sing The Body Electric" from the movie and broadway musical Fame.
The title is borrowed from Metallica's song title.
7. Ding Dong, the Witch Ain't Dead: A cranky, fish-riding witch named Auntie Roon is released from a eight century banishment thanks to a 10th level warlock getting help from a Pus Goblin and an Antelope Snake, she returns at a mall that was once sacred ground. The mall is full of kids for a record release, including June and her friends, and makes herself seen to everyone. Now it's up to June to pull a Die Hard and save her friends from her.
The episode title is a pun off a song from the 1939 movie adaptation of The Wizard of Oz entitled "Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead."
8: I Get By with a Little Help From My Elf: June is too busy to keep up with her Te Xuan Ze and school, so a helper elf offers to give her a hand, but instead screws up her life. Grounded by her parents, it's up to Ray Ray and Monroe to save the day from an Levithian Frog.
The title of this episode plays off The Beatles song "(I Get By) With A Little Help From My Friends."
9. The World According To LARP: Dennis is in a live-action role-playing game (L.A.R.P.), and takes some of June's items without her knowing, and sees what she sees. So when a band of Paradas Demons led by Maret, the Grand Arch-Demon of the Sixth Plain try to kidnap Ray Ray, Dennis winds up as the victim because of the Goblet of Nestir he "borrows" from June.
10. Magic Takes A Holiday: For a trip to Drama Camp, June just wants to be one of the kids for once as the annual magic holiday of Epidan is celebrated, where creatures take a week off from their work, and gets the lead role in a musical version of Jack and the Beanstalk directed by an out-of-character Ophelia, filling in for the regular director, an aging diva named Madame Rothchild (voiced by veteran character actress Jane Lynch) who "broke a leg" — literally. Dimitri the Terrible, a giant who never observes the magic recess nor is too crazy about Labor Day kidnaps June…now Roger must fill in, and likely steal the show. Meanwhile, Monroe gets to eat his heart out thanks to his friend, Scottie.
The title comes from the phrase "Logic Takes A Holiday."
11. Take My Life, Please: A new "good witch" named Ashley comes to Orchid Bay City and volunteers to take over June's job, the latter temps her. Ashley becomes friends with June's friends, and hangs out with them. However, when she feeds a cookie to a fustertroll, it turns everything that it touches into stone in a Midas-meets-Medusa moment. Can June get her job back?
This episode title is a pun on the late comedian Henny Youngman's catchphrase "Take my wife, please!"
12. Meet the Parent: Monroe's dad, William (voiced by British actor Martin Jarvis) comes to visit as a baby Dracotta Beast is devouring statues in the park. William shows off his skills against the Dracotta Beast leaving Monroe in the shadow. June gets easily defeated by the Dracotta Beast.Monroe, Ray Ray, and William must find the baby and rescue June before it kills June.
13. Monster Con: The triennial convergance brings magical creatures from all over to listen to June speak. However, a government agency called H.A.M. (Humans for the Abolishment of Magic) is taking those there, and now it's up to Ah Mah to come out of retirement and save the day.
Season Two
14. O Brother, What Art Thou? - Ray-Ray tests a growth potion that June is creating for a giant that hasn't grown on himself (leading to Monroe and some little humor, pun intended), but his experimentation causes a big problem…becoming invisible and a monster. So June and Monroe try to create a new person and transfer Ray Ray's brain into it. It works, but the monster has suddenly gotten a mind of its' own and wants to eliminate them all. The monster easily defeats June in combat. Is June really beaten?
15. The Great Escape - Juniper and her friends are at the zoo, but when two camels speak to her, she suddenly learns from that that they are a group of magical beings trapped in the form of zoo animals because the zoo has a magical barrier. Now June must try to save them from a wicked zookeeper who is in reality a female demon named Gigi who drains magical energy from magical folk to stay young. When Gigi turns June into a ring-tailed lemur, she drains June magical energy. Can Ray Ray and Monroe get there in the nick of time before all of June's magical energy is drained??
The episode's title is borrowed from the 1963 World War IIfilm of the same name.
16. Picture Day (premieres January 28, 2006). An evil demon decides to make clones of June and her friends, and then plan to use June's powers to free her father, Cordath the Conquerer, from magical banishment.
17. Star Quality (premieres February 3, 2006). Juniper Lee becomes the star of her own reality television show.
Holiday Specials
It's the Great Pumpkin, Juniper Lee. (Halloween): Monster kids are turned into humans and thanks to an agent demon named Vikki Devyne, they refuse to turn back to monsters, and the parents turn to June to help. However, she has to make deals in order to break the spell before midnight, or else they won't be monsters anymore but remain humans. So in order to do that, June makes deals from getting a protein shake to wrestling a monster that is promoted by a Don King-hair styled monster promoter.
Comparisons to American Dragon: Jake Long and Danny Phantom, two other shows starring teenagers with special powers, may seem apt, but Winick has stated that Juniper Lee was really inspired by both The Simpsons and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Certainly, all three animated shows borrow the heroic duties and juggling adolescent life setting. Juniper does this however, following in the footsteps of Buffy, as stated in the quote below:
It's kind of like Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets The Simpsons. That's the simplest way to put it. At the end of the day, it's about a little girl who fights monsters. There's a rather massive backstory to the whole thing, which really provides a spine to build from. I've only tapped into it a little in the show, but for me, knowing its there is important. The show needs a spine, and needs a place to work from.
