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American Dragon: Jake Long
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American Dragon: Jake Long is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series finale aired on September 1, 2007. The show currently airs on Disney Channel and Toon Disney in the United States. In the United Kingdom it also airs on Disney Channel, But in India, It airs on Jetix and Disney Channel
Long 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.
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Encyclopedia
American Dragon: Jake Long is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series finale aired on September 1, 2007. The show currently airs on Disney Channel and Toon Disney in the United States. In the United Kingdom it also airs on Disney Channel, But in India, It airs on Jetix and Disney Channel
Premise
Jake Long 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 seven-year-old sister, Haley. His grandfather and sister are also dragons, the dragon powers having skipped his mother's generation. His 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 P. 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 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.
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, which was received negatively by some fans.
Characters
Main characters
- Jake Long (Dante Basco): As the main protagonist of the show, Jake is a proud and lazy yet kind and loyal 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. Unlike many other heroes, Jake talks in a street vernacular often involving slang. 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.
 - Haley Long (Amy Bruckner): Haley is Jake's little sister who is quite intelligent, talented, a bit of a perfectionist, and a goody two shoes, much to Jake's annoyance. He was shocked to discover that Haley is next 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.
- 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. 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 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 put 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 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.
- Arthur "Spud" P. Spudinski (Charlie Finn): Spud is Jake's other best friend who, although apparently slow-witted, 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. He apparently has magical potential and may have a wizard heritige as evidenced by him being able to use Panderis' wand and his gradpa 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.
*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 a twin, but was taken away from The Huntsman. Jake eventually learns of her secret identity as the Huntsgirl 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 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. After defeating the Dark Dragon, both her and Jake start dating.
- 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.
Major secondary characters
- Hans Rotwood (Paul Rugg): Jake's 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. 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. Few dragons have faced him and lived. 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 Knights", 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 in for, according to Fu, 1,000 years.
- 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 NeGrate, Sun was originally set to die in "Homecoming", however the scene was cut for being too dark.
- Huntsboys #88 and #89 (Kyle Massey and Nicholas Brendon): Two Huntsclan students that become the Huntsman's apprentices in the second season. They were admitted into the Huntsclan because of their impressive skills in a fantasy video game. 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 resigning. However, they made a return in "Shaggy Frog".
- Jonathan Long (Jeff Bennett): As Jake's goofy but well-meaning father, he's a normal human who has no clue that he's married into a family of dragons. He eventually learns that his family members are dragons in the series finale and is completely accepting.
- Susan Long (Lauren Tom): Jake's mother. She does not have dragon powers, for they 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 12th grade, she wrote a letter explaining her families dragon powers, but never gave it to him. In one episode, Jake went back in time, took the note and put it in his dad's locker causing him to actually leave her.
- 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 Knights" and she was imprisoned. However, in the second season, she escapes from prison to get revenge on Jake and bring the Dark Dragon back to power.
- Eli 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.
- 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.
- Stacey Wintergrin (Tara Strong): One of the head cheerleaders at Jake's school. She is completely snobby and takes pleasure out of her status as a cheerleader; despite this, Spud is obsessed with winning her heart. As such, Stacey is often unknowingly a pawn in Spud's attempt at getting her attention, such as when Spud shot her with one of Cupid's love arrows or when Spud used onions to make him appear sensitive enough to cry at just about anything. In "Furious Jealousy", Stacey finally noticed Spud after she learned that he was creating a school dance for her.
Notable Guest Stars
Episodes
| Season | Ep # | First Airdate | Last Airdate |
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| 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.
- Rise of the Huntsclan (GBA) — released October 12, 2006
External links
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