American Dragon: Jake Long facts for kids
Quick facts for kids American Dragon: Jake Long |
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|---|---|
| Genre | Animated Series Action-adventure Superhero Comedy Fantasy |
| Created by | Jeff Goode |
| Based on | American Dragon books by Jeff Goode |
| Developed by | Eddie Guzelian Matt Negrete |
| Written by | Billy Lincoln Kat Green Michael Gurley |
| Directed by |
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| Voices of | Dante Basco Keone Young John DiMaggio Amy Bruckner Kittie Charlie Finn Jeff Bennett Lauren Tom Mae Whitman |
| Opening theme | "The Chosen One" performed by Mavin (2005–06) Jonas Brothers (2006–07) |
| Ending theme | "The Chosen One" (instrumental)(2005–06) |
| Composer(s) | Kat Green (2005–06) Billy Lincoln (2005–06) Adam Berry (2006–07) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52 (55 segments) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jeff Goode Eddie Guzelian Matt Negrete Christian Roman |
| Producer(s) | Larry Johnson (Line producer) |
| Editor(s) | Dong Hun Oh |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Walt Disney Television Animation |
| Distributor | Buena Vista Television (2005–07) Disney–ABC Domestic Television (2007) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Disney Channel |
| Original release | January 21, 2005 – September 1, 2007 |
American Dragon: Jake Long is an exciting animated TV show from the United States. It was made by Walt Disney Television Animation and created by Jeff Goode. The show first aired on Disney Channel on January 21, 2005, and finished on September 1, 2007. There are 52 episodes in total. You can also watch the series on Disney+, where it was added in February 2021.
Contents
What the Show is About
This animated series takes place in New York City, specifically in Manhattan. It tells the story of Jake Long (voiced by Dante Basco), a Chinese-American teenager. Jake has a big secret: he's a dragon! He has to balance being a normal kid with his amazing dragon powers.
When Jake becomes the American Dragon, his job is to protect all the magical creatures living in the city. But as a regular teenager, Jake has a crush on his schoolmate, Rose (Mae Whitman). What Jake doesn't know is that Rose also has a secret. She is a dragon slayer known as the Huntsgirl, a member of the Huntsclan. This group hunts and defeats dragons, and Jake has fought them many times. The leader of the Huntsclan is the Huntsman (Jeff Bennett), who raised Rose.
Jake goes through his daily life with his two best friends, Trixie Carter (Miss Kittie) and Arthur P. "Spud" Spudinski (Charlie Finn). At home, Jake lives with his big family. His dad, Jonathan (Jeff Bennett), is a businessman who doesn't know his wife's family are dragons. Jake's mom, Susan (Lauren Tom), doesn't have dragon powers herself, but her family does. Jake's grandpa, Lao Shi (Keone Young), trains Jake in the magical ways of dragons. Jake also has an annoying but smart younger sister, Haley (Amy Bruckner), who is also a dragon. And then there's Fu Dog (John DiMaggio), a magical talking Shar-Pei dog who is Jake's animal guardian and another good friend.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 21 | January 21, 2005 | January 29, 2006 | |
| Special | July 1, 2005 | |||
| 2 | 31 | June 10, 2006 | September 1, 2007 | |
Characters You'll Meet
Main Characters
- Jacob Luke "Jake" Long (Dante Basco): Jake is a cool, laid-back Chinese-American skateboarder. He's 13 (then 14 in season two) and loves video games, extreme sports, and music. He has dragon powers like flying, breathing fire, and sharp claws. He used to have a crush on Rose, but then found out she was the Huntsgirl. They eventually become a couple.
- Luong Lao Shi (Keone Young): Jake's grandpa is a wise Chinese dragon. He runs an electronics shop and trains Jake. His name means "teacher" in Chinese.
- Fu Dog (John DiMaggio): Fu Dog is a 600-year-old talking Shar-Pei dog. He's Lao Shi's friend and helps Jake. He's often more "hip" than Lao Shi.
- Arthur Patrick "Spud" Spudinski (Charlie Finn): Spud is Jake's loyal best friend. He might seem a bit slow, but he often says very smart things at unexpected moments. He also knows all of Shakespeare's plays by heart!
- Trixie Carter (Kittie): Trixie is Jake's other best friend. She's witty, direct, and loves fashion. She's often the most logical one in the group.
- Haley Kay Long (Amy Bruckner): Haley is Jake's seven-year-old sister. She's very smart and also has dragon powers. She loves to tease Jake and show off her own abilities, but she looks up to him.
- Susan Luong-Long (Lauren Tom): Jake and Haley's mom. She doesn't have dragon powers, but her family does. She tries to keep the magical world a secret from her human husband, Jonathan.
- Jonathan Long (Jeff Bennett): Jake and Haley's dad. He's a businessman and doesn't know his family is full of dragons until the very end of the series.
- Rose/Huntsgirl (Mae Whitman): Rose is Jake's crush and later his girlfriend. She's a dragon slayer called the Huntsgirl. She was taken by the Huntsclan when she was young because she has a special birthmark.
Main Villains
- The Huntsman (Jeff Bennett): He's the leader of the Huntsclan, a group that hunts magical creatures for money. He raised Rose.
- The Dark Dragon (Clancy Brown): This is a very powerful and evil dragon. He becomes a major enemy after the Huntsman is gone.
- Councilor Chang (Lauren Tom): She's a member of the Dragon Council but secretly works with the Dark Dragon.
Other Characters
- Professor Hans Rotwood (Paul Rugg): Jake's schoolteacher. He's obsessed with finding magical creatures and wants to discover who the American Dragon is, but he never realizes it's Jake!
- Sun Park (Sandra Oh): Jake's home-ec teacher and Haley's dragon mentor. She used to be the Korean Dragon.
- Nigel Thrall (Adam Wylie): An exchange student from England who is secretly a wizard.
- Brad Morton (Matt Nolan): A jock bully at Jake's school who often teases Jake.
- Stacey Wintergrin (Tara Strong): The head cheerleader at school. Spud has a crush on her, and they eventually start dating.
- Silver (Kari Wahlgren): A mermaid who is afraid of water but is very smart in science.
- Ms. Dolores Derceto (Susanne Blakeslee): An undercover mermaid detective who becomes the principal of Jake's school.
- Danika Hunnicutt (Jessica DiCicco): Jake's second crush after Rose leaves for a while.
- Yan Yan (Tia Carrere): A Sphynx cat who has been fighting with Fu Dog for centuries over a family amulet.
Voice Actors
Main Cast
- Dante Basco as Jake Long
- Keone Young as Luong Lao Shi
- John DiMaggio as Fu Dog
- Lauren Tom as Susan Long, Councilor Chang
- Jeff Bennett as Jonathan Long, The Huntsman
- Miss Kittie as Trixie Carter
- Amy Bruckner as Haley Long
- Charlie Finn as Spud
- Mae Whitman as Rose
Additional Voices
- Sandra Oh as Sun Park
- Paul Rugg as Professor Hans Rotwood
- Kyle Massey as Huntsboy #88
- Nicholas Brendon as Huntsboy #89
- Matt Nolan as Brad Morton
- Jonathan Freeman as Eli Excelsior Pandarus
- Tara Strong as Stacey Wintergrin, Kara Oracle, Sara Oracle
- Clancy Brown as The Dark Dragon
- Kari Wahlgren as Silver
- Susanne Blakeslee as Ms. Dolores Derceto
- Jessica DiCicco as Danika Hunnicutt
- Adam Wylie as Nigel Thrall, Fred Nerk, Bananas B.
- Tia Carrere as Yan Yan
- Corey Burton as Sigmund Brock
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Santa Claus
- Lacey Chabert as Jasmine
- Phil Morris as Hank Carter
How the Show Was Made
American Dragon: Jake Long was created by Jeff Goode.
The idea for the show first started as a live-action series for Fox. It would have been a darker story about Jake dealing with dragon slayers who had hurt his parents. However, the executive who liked the idea left Fox.
So, the show was then pitched to Disney Channel as an animated series between 2002 and 2003. The story was changed to be more family-friendly, which is why Jake's parents are alive in the show we know.
Disney Channel approved the show, and it premiered on January 21, 2005. The first season had 21 episodes. The theme song for the first season was performed by the band Mavin.
In 2006, Disney Channel decided to make a second season. For this season, Steve Loter, who had worked on Disney Channel's Kim Possible, joined the team as a director and executive producer. With Steve Loter joining, the show's characters and backgrounds were redesigned with a new animation style.
The theme song for Season 2 was also re-recorded by the famous band, The Jonas Brothers.
The show finished its run on September 1, 2007. After that, reruns of the show continued to air on Disney Channel, Toon Disney, and later Disney XD until 2012.
Crossover with Lilo & Stitch
Jake Long and his friends even appeared in an episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series called "Morpholomew". In this episode, Jake comes to Hawaii to investigate one of Jumba's experiments. Meanwhile, Lilo enters a skateboarding contest. Jake and Stitch team up to stop Gantu and rescue the experiment.
Other Cool Stuff
Video Games
Two video games based on the show were made for different gaming systems:
- Attack of the Dark Dragon for the Nintendo DS (released October 12, 2006)
- Rise of the Huntsclan for the Game Boy Advance (released October 12, 2006)
Books
Before the TV show even started, Jeff Goode wrote two children's books about American Dragon in 2004:
- American Dragon Book 1: The Dragon Hunter (released April 1, 2004)
- American Dragon Book 2: The Gnome Eater (released May 1, 2004)
See also
In Spanish: American Dragon: Jake Long para niños
