Dragon Tales
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| Dragon Tales | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Jim Coane Ron Rodecker |
| Developed by | Jim Coane Wesley Eure Cliff Ruby Elana Lesser Jeffrey Scott |
| Directed by | Phil Weinstein Michael Hack |
| Starring | Kathleen Barr Eli Gabay Andrea Libman Danny McKinnon Jason Michas Ty Olsson Chantal Strand |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Production | |
| Producers | Sony Pictures Television Sesame Workshop |
| Running time | 30 minutes per episode |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS Kids (USA) Tiny Pop (UK) Italia 1 (Italy) Cartoon Network (Pakistan) Cartoon Network (India) |
| Release | September 6, 1999 – November 25, 2005 [1] |
Dragon Tales is an American animated children's television series chronicling the adventures of two siblings, Max and Emmy, with their later friend Enrique, and their dragon friends Cassie, Ord, Zak, and Wheezie. The television series was created by Jim Coane, an Emmy-award-winning creator and executive producer. It has been shown on the PBS Kids Channel/PBS Kids Sprout and PBS in the United States from September 6, 1999 to November 25, 2005, with reruns airing on most PBS stations.
Origin
Dragon Tales is based on the characters created in 1978 by Laguna Beach, California artist and retired educator Ron Rodecker. Coane, then a producer at Sony Pictures Television, found the art work and developed it into a television series with several other writers, including Wesley Eure. Coane and Eure share the development credit on every episode. Coane then brought the project to Sesame Workshop, where Marjorie Kalins helped him and Sony Pictures Television obtain a grant from the Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Coane was the executive producer for the first two seasons.
Overview
In the episodes, the children are able to travel to Dragon Land anytime they want by using a magical dragon's scale found in a hidden location within their playroom and reciting the verse, "I wish, I wish, with all my heart, to fly with dragons, in a land apart." The children transport back to their world in their playroom by using the same refrain and the phrase "I wish, I wish to use this rhyme to go back home until next time."
In Dragon Land, the children meet up with their Dragon friends, Cassie, Ord, Zak, and Wheezie (the latter two being two halves of a two-headed dragon), and their bilingual teacher, Quetzal, as they learn valuable life lessons, aided by the fact that the children are inexperienced with the magical flora and fauna of Dragon Land.
Show structure
The series mixes in Spanish language elements to promote a bilingual experience for the audience. By incorporating parts of another language, the show appeals to a wider audience, as well as providing a new learning experience for children.
Each show is divided into three segments: the first story, a song known as a "DragonTune", and the second story. Each story is approximately 10–12 minutes long.
Characters
Max
Max, voiced by Danny McKinnon, is four years old. He is Emmy's younger brother. Young and full of energy, Max is prepared for just about any adventure. His best friend is Ord the blue dragon.
Emmy
Emmy, voiced by Andrea Libman, is six years old. She is Max's older sister. Her best friend is Cassie, and she is perhaps known for saying, "Definitely!" whenever a good idea arises.
Enrique
Enrique, voiced by Aida Ortega, is six years old and is a friend of Emmy and Max who moved to the US from Colombia. He appears beginning in Season 3 and travels to Dragon Land with the children. His recent experiences in South America provide more opportunities for the characters to demonstrate the meanings of new Spanish words. He rides with Zak and Wheezie, the 2-headed dragon who rarely flew with any human friends prior to Enrique's debut.
Ord
Ord, voiced by Ty Olsson, is the large blue male dragon who can turn invisible when he's scared. He loves to eat Dragonberries and is very creative, although his art is often misunderstood. His best friend is Max, whom he always rides with.
Cassie
Cassie, voiced by Chantal Strand, is the small pink female dragon. She is the smart one of the group and also the youngest one in the group. She can be shy, but then learns to stand up for what she believes in. When she's scared or when she cries, she shrinks to a very small size. Her best friend is Emmy. She loves to hunt for crystals, and sing and dance she is probably 4 years old due to the way she talks.
Zak and Wheezie
Zak & Wheezie, voiced by Jason Michas and Kathleen Barr, are a two-headed dragon and are siblings; Zak (green) is the male, and Wheezie (purple) is the female.
Zak is the tidy and calm one, and prefers to pursue things in a logical, orderly manner. Wheezie is more excitable and very messy, much to her brother's annoyance. They have bumped heads more than once, but when it really counts, they put their heads together and prove to be a solid team.
Zak and Wheezie always fly with Enrique. Prior to his debut, Zak and Wheezie rarely flew with any of their human friends.
Zak & Wheezie live in and travel by means of Knuckerholes.
Quetzal
Quetzal, portrayed by Eli Gabay, is a dragon who is the teacher at The School in the Sky where young dragons attend. He is considered very wise due to his old age and often has the answers to the gang's many questions. He loves pretzels and gamecube. He often says, "Hola, ninos," although he has no idea what it means. Quetzel rhymes with pretzel. One time, he sat on max and took a massive dump on his face. Max soon recovered, but Quetzel still apologizes every year on the day that it happened, June 14. Quetzel is gay in the later episodes, but his husband died on the episode "My Poor Joseph." His second husband's name was Jim. Although he has been married to over 18 men and 4 women, he still has no idea what a butthole looks like. He eats bologna on weekends and watches iCarly weekdays at 4. When ord first found out that Quetzel was gay, in the episode "Up the Butt for Quetzel," he cried for 2 days and had sex with Max out of anger. Max soon recovered, but Ord still apologizes every year on the day that it happened, June 14. Quetzel is a major contribution to the gang, but most people hate him.
Other characters in Dragon Land
Each of the following have appeared more than once:
- Lorca, Max, Emmy, Zak, Wheezie, Ord, and Cassie's friend. He is in a wheelchair and is also incapable of flight. He is very adventurous. Lorca is voiced by Lenore Zann.
- Syrus, a lizard-like "slinky serpent"; he often tries to steal others' eggs to eat.
- The Giant of Nod, leader of a group called the Nodlings. While much bigger than his fellow Nodlings, he is smaller than any of the main characters, but is enormously strong.
- Mungus, a giant who lives in a castle in the clouds; he knows many folks in Dragon Land since he can travel far and wide in just a few steps.
- Eunice, a unicorn who has poor eyesight and must wear glasses. She is a good friend of the protagonists. Eunice is voiced by Janyse Jaud.
- Polly Nimbus, the operator of the Cloud Factory, which controls Dragon Land's weather.
- Sid Sycamore, a talking tree who loves telling corny jokes that relate to the concept of trees; the dragons' tree house is attached to him. Sid is voiced by Scott McNeil.
- Wyatt, a talking wishing well that immediatly grants any wish for a single coin. Often tells stereotypically bad puns. Earlier in the series, he was called Willy.
- Captain Scallywag, a pirate who captains a flying galleon.
- Arlo, a dragon who works at the Dragon Dump; he has a machine at the Dragon Dump which he calls his lil' ol' recycler that sorts out things that can be used again.
Places in Dragon Land
- Dragon Beaver Dam - A dam where the dragonbeavers reside,.
- The School in the Sky – The school where the dragon children are taught by Quetzal.
- Dr. BoobooGone's office – Where dragons go when sick or hurt.
- Dragoon Lagoon – A large lagoon seen in many episodes. It is home to creatures like the silliguanas and hissyfish. It even has a plug at the bottom just like a bathtub.
- The Forest of Darkness – A large forest that holds trees with glowing stars, but is very dark. Ord is very afraid of this forest because of its darkness and other things that inhabit this strange Forest.
- Turtle Rock - A rock that is shaped like a turtle.
- Singing Springs – A gold fountain that plays music.
- Rainbow Canyon – A canyon with pigments that make paint.
- The Cloud Factory – Where a dragon named Polly Nimbus manufactures rain clouds, snow clouds, etc., and ejects them into the sky as needed.
- Snowy Summit – A frigid, snow-covered mountain range, where Chilly the Snowman and his snow puppy Nippy live.
- Stickleback Mountains – Another mountain range, with colored sticks that have to be pulled out carefully.
- Chile Valley - A valley with lots of tasty, yet spicy chilly peppers, which are red in colour & resembles dragonberries.
- The Crystal Cave – A giant, crystallized cave where special crystals dance, with the aid of water from Singing Springs, and some Dandelion fuzzies from the Dandelion Forest.
- Dandelion Forest – A forest made of dandelions that actually roar and growl and are as tall as trees just like real lions. Ord is usually allergic to dandelions that when he sneezes in front of the dandelions, they lose their pollen and turn sad.
- Wyatt the Wishing Well – A well where dragons or people can make wishes, which actually come true if they flip a coin into the well. The well is inhabited by a purple walrus named Wyatt (named Willy in his first appearances) who laughs at lame jokes. He's old friends with Quetzal.
- Marshmallow Marsh – A swamp full of sticky marshmallow goo, which is almost impossible to clean off.
- Rainbow Falls – A waterfall where there are always rainbows.
- Crystal Cave - A cave where the crystals are stored.
- Crystal Fountain - A fountain inside the Crystal Cave for cleaning.
- Dragon Land Laundry - A place where dragons do laundry.
- Dragon Dump – The place where the citizens of Dragon Land send their garbage to be recycled or disposed of. It's run by a dragon named Arlo.
- The Knuckerhole, where Zak & Wheezie live. Of course, there are also lots of other knuckerholes all over Dragonland.
- Mushroom Meadow, a large field of mushrooms with "bouncy" tops. The dragons and the children often play there.
- "Lost Forever" Hole, a small tunnel formed by a river where any thing that flows on the river through the hole is "lost forever".
Scenes often take place in the homes of the dragon characters – Cassie's cave, Zak and Wheezie's knuckerhole, and Ord's home, or in an open land area.
Awards
- 1997–1999 Emmy nomination for Best Animated Children's Series [citation needed]
- 2000–2001 Emmy nomination for Best Animated Children's Series [citation needed]
- 2001–2003 Emmy nomination for Best Animated Children's Series [citation needed]
- 2000 Parents' Choice Silver Award Winner [citation needed]
- 2001 Parents' Choice Approved Award Winner (for "Dragon Tales: Dragon Tunes" CD) [citation needed]
- 2003 Parents' Choice Silver Award Winner (for "Let's Start a Band" video) [citation needed]
- 2005 Parents' Choice Approved Award Winner (for "Dragon Tales: More Dragon Tunes" CD) [citation needed]
Funding
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1999–present)
- A Cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Education's Ready to Learn/No Child Left Behind Grant (1999–present)
- Kellogg's (1999–2007)
- Viewer contributions (2005–present)
- American Greetings (2007–present)
- Lego (2009-present)
References
- Coane, Jim (November, 1997). "Dragon Tales". Kid Screen Magazine.
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