American Dragon: Jake Long

American Dragon: Jake Long
File:Adjllogo.jpg
Created by	Jeff Goode
Voices of	Dante 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 language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	52 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	approx. 22 minutes (per episode)
Original release
Network	Disney Channel
Release	January 21, 2005 – September 1, 2007

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

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 eight-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 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 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.

Characters

• Jacob "Jake" Luke Long (Dante Basco in the television series and Emile Hirsch in the pirate-fairy tale version of Tom and Jerry): 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.

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(From left to right) Lao Shi, Fu Dog, Spud, Jake and Trixie in Canal Street Electronics (second season)

• Haley Long (Amy Bruckner): Haley is Jake's little sister who is quite intelligent, talented, 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.

• 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 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 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.

• The Dark Dragon: Jake first encountered the Dark Dragon when he was competing against the Australian dragon. He was the Dragon Council's #1 threat but was sealed away long ago. In the series finale he was reawoken to destroy the Dragon Council and conquer the world with his dark power, but Jake with the help of his family and friends defeated him for good.

Episodes

Main article: List of American Dragon: Jake Long episodes

Season	Ep #	First Airdate	Last Airdate
Season 1	21	January 21, 2005	January 29, 2006
Season 2	35	June 10, 2006	September 1, 2007

Appearances in other media

Television

• Jake, Spud, Trixie, Lao Shi, and Fu Dog made a guest appearance in the Lilo & Stitch: The Series episode "Morpholomew" on July 1, 2005.

Video games

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

• Attack of the Dark Dragon (DS) — released October 12, 2006

• Rise of the Huntsclan (GBA) — released October 12, 2006

External links

• American Dragon: Jake Long at the Disney Channel Official Site
• American Dragon: Jake Long at the Disney Channel Asia Site
• American Dragon: Jake Long at IMDb
• American Dragon: Jake Long at TV.com
• American Dragon: Jake Long at JeffNet
• Unofficial Amdrag Blog by Eddie Guzelian & Matt Negrete