American Dragon Jake Long
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American Dragon: Jake Long is an American original animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It features Jake Long, a seemingly ordinary Thirteen year old Chinese American boy living in New York City. However Jake has a secret - he is the American Dragon.

Premise[]

Jake Long is a skateboarding teenager who secretly is a fire-breathing dragon and the magical protector from New York City. He uses his duties as a dragon to help defend the underground magical world of New York City, while continuing his training.

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 as well as on the Seven Network in Australia. It is still being aired on Disney Channel Latin America from Monday to Friday on the animated block and Saturdays and Sundays after The Wonderful World of Disney. The show will be syndicated on Toon Disney's successor Disney XD. American Dragon currently airs on Disney Channel every day at 2:30 AM ET.

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.

Currently, fans are signing petitions and sending it to The Walt Disney Company for them to have Disney Channel produce a third season. They are also many website were you can sign petitions including Save American Dragon; Jake Long and Save Disney Shows - American Dragon: Jake Long. Both these websites and many more promote another season of American Dragon: Jake Long and need your help and support!

Characters[]

Main characters[]

  • Jacob "Jake" Luke Long  (Dante Basco): Jake is a proud, kind, and loyal thirteen-year-old (fourteen years old in the second season) skateboarder who is, secretly, 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. He's a big show off, but at the end of the day, he shows a strong sense of responsibility and a greater sense of maturity. It is revealed that Jake's reckless time traveling turned the Huntsman into the cruel monster he is today. However, doing so, he helped secure his family's secret. Jake is famous for being the second dragon to survive an encounter with the Dark Dragon and the first to do so twice.
  • Luong Lao Shi "Gramps" (Keone Young): Lao, as Jake's Chinese Dragon maternal grandfather, is a Dragon Master who teaches Jake the necessary skills in becoming a protector of magical creatures. He runs the Canal Street Electronics shop, which is infamous for never having any customers (the shop's slogan is "Never had a customer, never had a sale"), 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. He is famous for being the first dragon to face the Dark Dragon and live to tell about it, and insisted that he train Jake himself in case the Dark Dragon should return; before this encounter, he was very laid back, but matured immensely after defeating him. The name, Luong Lao Shi, appears to be a Romanized translation of the Chinese words for "dragon" and "teacher".
  • Fu Dog (John DiMaggio): Fu is a six hundred-year-old talking Shar Pei and Lao's only companion, who speaks with a Brooklyn accent. 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 put him at odds with Lao Shi. He is somewhat lecherous, and is infamous for constantly gambling and placing bets on Jake in battles; he owes an immense amount of money to many magical beings as a result.
  • Arthur "Spud" P. Spudinski  (Charlie Finn): Spud is Jake's other human best friend who, although apparently slow-witted, is actually a genius (he just doesn't want to live with the pressure of being a genius child). 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. He apparently has magical potential and may have a wizard heritage as evidenced by him being able to use Panderis' wand and his grandpa knowing how to seal away the genie in taranushis chalice and his grandpa telling him stories about the mermaid city.In the episode "Something Fishy This Way Comes," it is revealed that he has a fascination with the advanced mermaid city. In the episode "Homecoming" he and Trixie finally decide they are only friends and nothing more.
  • Trixie Carter (Miss Kittie): As one of Jake's human best friends, she is sassy, vivacious and is a judgmental 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 shown a dislike and distrust towards Rose advising Jake to be wary around her. But over time, she started to be more supportive of their relationship and even tried to help Jake move on once she was gone.
  • Rose/Huntsgirl (Mae Whitman): Rose, Jake's primary love interest, 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." She was born an identical twin, but was taken away from her family as a newborn by The Huntsman after recognizing "the Mark of the Huntsclan" on her right palm and wrist. Jake eventually learns of her secret identity as the Huntsgirl, whom in one episode is addressed by the Huntsman as "Thorn", a play on her real name that reflects her "evil side" and she, in return, 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 Huntsclan to be destroyed (herself included) was granted, Jake immediately wished that Rose had never become a member of the Huntsclan thus rewriting history and, resulting in a normal life for her but also meaning that their relationship had never been. However in the series finale, she later learns of the relationship and helps Jake defeat the Dark Dragon. After defeating the Dark Dragon, it can be assumed that she and Jake started a long distance relationship. It is unknown what became of her twin sister.
  • Haley Kay Long (Amy Bruckner): Haley is Jake's seven-year-old little sister who is quite intelligent, talented, a bit of a perfectionist, and a goody two shoes, much to Jake's annoyance. Jake often refers to her as his Achilles heel. He was shocked to discover that Haley is second in line to become the American Dragon. She is currently under the guidance of Sun Park in order to learn and acquire the skills necessary to become the American Dragon. Haley tries hard in school unlike Jake. She is also quick to point out Jake's faults and make herself look superior to him. Yet, deep down, she looks up to him.In the episode Being Human. After Jake became suspended of his dragon duties,she became his replacement for one week.Upon learning of how much of responsibilities Jake has as the American Dragon she quickly defended him when her grandfather and her dragon teacher Sun Park called Jake irresponsible upon finding out what he did to the dragon council was his own doing.

Recurring characters[]

  • Jonathan Long (Jeff Bennett): As Jake's well-meaning American father, he's a normal human who has no clue that he's married into a whole family of magical and mystical fire-breathing dragons. He has a sister. Even though his last name is also a valid Chinese surname, Johnathan has no Chinese ancestry. He eventually learns that his family members are dragons, when he sees Haley in her dragon form, in the series finale and is completely accepting.
  • Susan Long (Lauren Tom): Jake's Chinese human-born to Dragon ancestry mother. She does not appear to have inherited any natural dragon powers and abilities, for it skipped her generation. Throughout the series, she keeps the family secret from Jonathan out of fears that he would freak out and (possibly) leave her; yet, this does not occur. However, on the last day of twelfth grade, she wrote a letter explaining her families dragon powers and abilities, but never gave it to him. In one episode, Jake went back in time, took the note and put it in his father's locker causing him to actually leave her but he solved this problem. In the last episode her husband finally finds out of his wife's family history.
  • Sun Park (Sandra Oh): She is the Korean Dragon as well as Haley's dragon master and Jake's Home Economics teacher. She appears to be a pacifist. According to executive producers Eddie Guzelian and Matt Negrete, Sun was originally set to die in "Homecoming", however the scene was cut for being too dark.
  • Kara and Sara  (Tara Strong): Twin siblings who are oracles, possessing the ability to see into the future. Kara only sees good things occur but is very moody and sullen, while Sara only sees bad things occur but is very happy and cheerful. When questioned by Jake, Kara states that this is because there are no surprises or pleasures in life when one only sees good things occur, while Sara states that only seeing bad things leaves one constantly looking at the positives of things and being cheerful at any good news. In the first season, they are identical redheads, while Sara is a blonde and Kara has black hair in the second season.
  • Veronica (Tara Strong): An arachnoid human hybrid and love interest of Fu. She runs a stand in Magus Bazaar, a magical shopping district in New York.
  • Silver (Kari Wahlgren): A highly intelligent mermaid and ally of Jake, first shown as one of the prisoners for the Huntsclan's Grand Equinox Hunt. Strangely, despite her species, she suffers from aquaphobia in her first appearance; though this is overcome, she still suffers from occasional relapses.
  • Dolores Derceto (Susan Blakeslee): The first principal of Jake's school. Though initially appearing to be a paraplegic, she is revealed in the second season to be a mermaid detective.
  • Councilor Andam (Clarence Williams III): One of the members of the Dragon Council. He is the Dragon of Africa and is from Kenya.
  • Councilor Kulde (Jeff Bennett): One of the members of the Dragon Council. He is the Dragon of Europe and is from Norway.
  • Councilor Omina: One of the members of the Dragon Council. She is the Dragon of Atlantis.
  • Councilor Kukulkan: One of the members of the Dragon Council. He is the Dragon of Central America and is from Guatemala.
  • Danika Hunnicutt (Jessica DiCicco): Jake's new girlfriend who wins him at their school's fund-raising Bachelor Auction. When Jake starts to act self-destructive, Danika is the main suspect of being a siren, although it turns out that she was actually a pawn for the actual siren.
  • Bertha: (Kyle Massey) A giant girl whose feet smell.
  • Nigel Thrall (Adam Wylie): Millard Fillmore Middle School's new foreign exchange student from the United Kingdom who turns out to be a wizard who came to America to complete his training. He and Jake immediately become rivals, as Nigel outdoes Jake at skateboarding and rapping, but eventually settle into a competitive friendship.

Antagonists[]

  • The Huntsman  (Jeff Bennett): The Huntsman (referred to as "Huntsmaster" by his subordinates) is the leader of the Huntsclan and the main antagonist of the series. The Dragon Council rates him as the #4 threat to the magical community. Though he is quite powerful on his own, he commonly leaves his minions to do the fighting for him. It is revealed in one episode that he is the monster he is today due to Jake's reckless usage of time travel. He ultimately meets his demise when Rose's wish to destroy all Huntsclan is granted. The Huntsman was originally Rose's first guardian because he took her from her parents as an infant which ultimately resulted in giving her the idea that her parents were deceased.
    • Huntsboys 88 and 89  (Kyle Massey and Nicholas Brendon): Two Huntsclan students that become the Huntsman's apprentices in the second season. It was confirmed, that they were admitted into the Huntsclan because of their impressive skills in a fantasy video game (killing three dragons, a giant leech and a pack of Manticores.) which the Huntsman took literally, as shown in one of Fuu's "rap-ups" . They both act brave and arrogant, when in reality, they are cowards who run in fear at the sight of a dragon. Other than Rose, #88 and #89 are the only known Huntsclan members that were left alive after Rose's wish for the destruction of all Huntsclan was granted due to them quickly resigning before they were eliminated (and ran off with their masks being the only part of their uniform, in their boxers). However, they made a return in "Shaggy Frog". They were never shown without their masks.
  • Hans Rotwood (Paul Rugg): Jake's evil teacher who eventually becomes principal. He believes in magical creatures and by the middle of season two, he is able to trick Jake into revealing himself as a dragon to him. He used to be a famous professor, until his theories on magical creatures humiliated him in front of his peers, destroyed his credibility as a scientific researcher, got him fired from his job at the Hoboken Science Institute, and reduced him to his current position at Jake's school. In the near end of season two in the episode "Magic Enemy #1." He attempts to make Jake reveal himself as being a dragon by humiliating him at school but by the end of the episode after seeing the magical world he is satisfied and refrains himself from further attempts in proving Jake's a dragon.
  • The Dark Dragon (Clancy Brown): The number one threat to the magical world who replaces the Huntsman as the primary villain. His human form is never seen in the series. The Dark Dragon is shown to be stronger than other dragons and capable of creating and controlling shade demons. Few dragons have faced him and lived; Lao Shi was the only one before Jake encountered him, and Jake is the first dragon to fight the Dark Dragon and survive the encounter twice. He feels that magical creatures are superior to humans, and should be the dominant species of Earth instead. He appeared twice in the first season, in which he tried to get Jake to join him. He was seemingly killed in "Hong Kong Nights", only to be resurrected at the end of the second season. In the series finale, he captured Lao-Shi in order to blackmail Jake into betraying the dragons of the world. In the end, he was defeated by Jake and Rose when he was sucked into a portal where he will be imprisoned for, according to Fu, 1,000 years, or at least for the time being.
    • Councilor Chang (Lauren Tom): A member of the Dragon Council that was secretly working for the Dark Dragon. Her cover was blown in the episode "Hong Kong Nights" and she was imprisoned. However, in the second season, she escapes from prison to get revenge on Jake and revive the Dark Dragon.
    • Bananas B (Adam Wylie): The first ever "hip-hop helper monkey" who replaces Fu as Jake's animal guardian. However, when Chang escapes from prison, Bananas joins her out of fear for his life.
  • Brad Morton: A boy of Jake's school. Always mess with him and try to put in ridiculous.
  • Eli Excelsior Pandarus  (Jonathan Freeman): The Wizard of Wall Street. Pandarus desires to be the most powerful magical being. In season one, Pandarus is fairly cowardly, as he cowers and begs not to be hurt after he is defeated in "Eye of the Beholder". In season two, he appears less cowardly and is much more wicked, being more willing to kill his enemies or those who get in his way.

Notable Guest Stars[]

  • Corey Burton as Sigmund Brock (episode "The Rotwood Files")
  • Nestor Carbonell as Cupid (episode "The Love Cruise")
  • Tia Carrere as Yan-Yan (episode "Fu and Tell")
  • Lacey Chabert as Jasmine (episode "Dragon Breath")
  • Diane Delano as Ogelvy (episode "Fu Dog Takes a Walk")
  • Will Friedle as Greggy (episode "Feeding Frenzy")
  • Dee Bradley Baker as Pooka Pooka (episode "Haley Gone Wild")
  • Monty Hall as Himself (episodes "Eye of the Beholder" and "A Befuddled Mind")
  • T'Keyah Crystal Keymah as Trixie's mom (episodes "Professor Rotwood's Thesis" and "Hairy Christmas")
  • Tress MacNeille as Queen Lilliana (episode "Bite Father, Bite Son")
  • Wendie Malick as Aunt Patchouli (episode "Adventures In Trollsitting")
  • Ron Masak as Marty (episode "Family Business")
  • Edie McClurg as The Tooth Fairy (episode "Legend of Dragon Tooth")
  • John C. McGinley as Dr. Diente (episode "Legend of the Dragon Tooth")
  • Phil Morris as Trixie's dad (episode "Hairy Christmas")
  • Paige Moss as Marnie Lockjelly (episode "Bite Father, Bite Son")
  • Laura Ortiz as Vicky (episode "Siren Says")
  • Liliana Mumy as Olivia Meers (episodes "Fu and Tell" and "Switcharoo")
  • Kay Panabaker as Lacey (episode "Bring It On")
  • Rob Paulsen as Thad Rochefort-Chaise (episode "Jake Takes the Cake'")
  • Daryl Sabara as Hobie (episode "Ring Around the Dragon")
  • Brenda Song as Tracey (episode "Bring It On")
  • Mindy Sterling as Mrs. Grumplestock (episode "A Befuddled Mind")
  • David Ogden Stiers as Narrator (episode "The Talented Mr. Long")
  • James Arnold Taylor as Sam Spark (episode "Family Business")
  • Stephen Tobolowsky as Troll (episode "Adventures In Trollsitting")

Criticism[]

Many audiences had mixed opinions about Jake's excessive use of street slang. While some liked it, others despised it as irritating. There is no doubt Jake's personality is homage to the second and third-generation immigrants who willingly embraced American culture and adapted to its varying idioms. Executive producer Eddie Guzelian also admits the bravado of Jake's character was helped shaped by Dante Basco's ad-libbing, and their own writing which parodied the "wannabe MTV gangsta" crowd. Season 2 toned down on Jake's superfluous use of slang.

Many audiences and fans found that they had mixed opinions of Season 2. The art style was changed drastically for the second season, giving the show an edgier look than the more traditional designs of the first season. However, many fans have grown past the initial shock of the drastic art change, and at the least accept the second season as its own experience, or else grown to prefer it, and the outcry that accompanied its initial showing has died down considerably. Season 2 director Steve Loter has offered some explanation to the change in aspects such as the dragon forms, in which the forms were meant to be directly related to the dragon's human form and current level of development. In the case of Jake, he would start out as a short, scrawny teenage dragon (as he is as a human), and need to train and develop into a muscle-bound dragon (much like his form from Season 1) over time.

Cancellation[]

Disney wanted to make more episodes after the success of the first two seasons of the show, even a live action movie was planned, however they decided against the idea and chose the 31st episode of season 2 to be the series finale.

Trivia[]

  • Concept sketches show that Jake's best friends were originally going to be named Jamal and Brook, and did not look like they did as of now. Jamal was a big African-American boy and Brook was a Caucasian girl.
  • Before coming up with the current title, the show had three previous titles. They were: Last Dragon, American Dragon and Jake Long: American Dragon.
  • The name Long (龍) is the Chinese word for dragon.
  • The name Lao Shi (老师) is the Chinese word for teacher. Though 老 can be used as a term of respect for an old or wise person, which would make 'Shi' Jake's Grandfather's given name.
  • According to Jeff Goode's American Dragon webpage, there was originally a Season 1 episode titled "The Order of the Dragon". The episode was soon scrapped as a budgetary maneuver to hire an extra writer to help revise the script. The episode was soon rewritten into "Dragon Summit".
  • In Season 2, the numerical address of Canal Street Electronics is 10048, which was also the former zip code of the World Trade Center, and was made in memoriam to the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.
  • According to executive producer Matt Negrete, almost all of the early Season 2 episode scripts ran longer than needed; nearly eight minutes had to be cut from "Half Baked" and "The Academy".
  • An early draft of "Hong Kong Nights" was originally going to reveal Chang to be Jake's grandmother, but was rejected due to the distaste of the scenario by Standards & Practices (Chang would have had Jake's mother out of wedlock), and the conflicts it created with the series timeline.
  • During a majority of "Hero of the Hourglass", a series of Super Mario Bros. sound effects can be heard, including getting coins, hitting a koopa, and the Klown Car from Super Mario World.
  • In "Dreamscape", a name on a door in the dream corridor is "Nick Filippi", who is Steve Loter's directing replacement for Season 2 of American Dragon: Jake Long, after he went back to direct Kim Possible for its fourth season.
  • Episode Title Changes: Episode 221 was originally called "Student Body by Jake", but was changed to "Supernatural Tuesday" (a play on the political term "Super Tuesday") for legal reasons. In addition, episode 220 was originally called "Youth or Consequences" (an obvious nod to the classic game show "Truth or Consequences") but was changed to "Young At Heart".
  • The name "The American Dragon" is also used by a professional wrestler named Bryan Danielson, and, like Jake Long, sometimes refers to himself as "The AmDrag". However, he has been calling himself by this name before the show's 2005 premiere.
  • In "Halloween Bash", Ingrid Third, one of the stars of Disney's "Fillmore!" can be seen at Jake's Halloween party. Coincidentally, most of American Dragon's executive producers worked on that show, Chris Roman being the director for all episodes, and the writer of "Halloween Bash" Scott Gimple, created the series.
  • Another tribute to the show is the name of Jake's school: Millard Fillmore Middle School.
  • In a scene in "Feeding Frenzy", the female shark regurgitates various objects, including a license plate that reads "OUTATIME". This same license plate can be found on Doc Brown's DeLorean in Back to the Future.
  • Though it was shown on DisneyChannel.com's video service, the episode "Supernatural Tuesday" is the first episode of the series to be premiered on television before the Disney Channel. It was shown on Toon Disney a full four days before Disney Channel's broadcast of the episode.
  • Though constantly referred to as "Huntsgirl", Rose's original moniker as a Huntsclan member was "Thorn". It was discovered late in the recording of first season episodes that a DC Comics character already existed with the same dual-personality label of Rose and Thorn. For legal reasons, re-recording was done to replace all mentions of "Thorn" with "Huntsgirl". However, she is called Thorn in "Shapeshifter". Though it is somewhat alluded to when Jake says: "Every thorn has got to have a rose."
  • In an early draft of "Homecoming", Rose was going to end up slaying Sun, but the Disney Channel considered it was too dark and too Jetix. Rose was also set to lose her memory, just as she did in the actual episode, and stay in New York without remembering Jake but the Disney Channel told the writers that it would be too confusing to those who missed watching "Homecoming". Rose moving to Hong Kong was a last minute addition.
  • In "Dreamscape", it was revealed that Rose's last name was Killdragonosa. Her last name in this episode originally came from one of the early incarnations of American Dragon: Jake Long according to Eddie Guzelian and Matt Negrete. However, this is not her real last name. The last name she uses was given to her by the Huntsclan.
  • The entire series is available to be streamed on Disney+ since February of 2021.

Retrieved from "http://adjl.wikia.com/wiki/Rose"

External links[]

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