American Dragon: Jake LongLast modified: December 14, 2004, 5:32 PMContributed By: Kyle Luna American Dragon Jake Long is one of New York City's average 13-year-old boys, living with his extended Chinese-American family and skateboarding with his friends… until he learns his amazing destiny. He is a descendent of dragons and, when he transforms into one of these fire-breathing, shape-shifting magical beings, it's his duty to protect the magical creatures secretly living among the masses in New York. Among them are the herd of unicorns in Central Park, the leprechauns on Wall Street, the gargoyle nest atop the Empire State Building, the Triborough Troll Bridge, the mystical city between NOHO and SOHO and the underwater Hudson mermaids.Greater New York is the American Dragon's territory and if he can make it here, he can make it anywhere, in the animated comedy/adventure series "American Dragon: Jake Long" premiering in a special timeslot FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel. Jake's life takes madcap twists and turns as he juggles all the social hurdles of teenage years (including his crush on Rose, the new girl in school) with his secret training to become the American Dragon, a regimen guided by his recently immigrated grandfather Lao Shi, and Grandpa's unique "associate," a gruff 600-year-old magical Shar-Pei named Fu Dog. Ushering in the series premiere is Disney Channel's first ever presentation of the blockbuster adventure movie "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (5:00 p.m., ET/PT). "American Dragon: Jake Long" features a fresh concept and lively action/adventure approached from a comedic angle. Created by playwright and director Jeff Goode, a native of Palo, Iowa, and co-founder of No Shame Theatre in Los Angeles, the series is geared towards kids age 6-11 and produced in 2D animation. Goode, Matt Negrete ("Kim Possible"), Eddie Guzelian ("Disney's Fillmore!") and Christian Roman are executive producers. Roman also directs the episodes. It is a production of Walt Disney Television Animation, the studio behind Disney Channel's hit franchise "Kim Possible." Regarding the series' milieu, Jeff Goode said, "This show explores the multi-faceted melting pot that is America and Jake's most important challenges find him working together with magical creatures of different worlds and cultures. New York City was the ideal location because it is a place where so many 'non-magical' cultures have already come together in an amazing patchwork of distinctive communities. A kid can go from Chinatown to Little Italy to the Village without ever leaving his skateboard. And every part of the city, from Harlem to Chelsea to the Brooklyn 'Troll' Bridge, lies in easy reach of an ordinary 13-year-old with nothing more magical than a subway card." The cultural consultant to the series is Professor Yunxiang Yan, Ph.D. A graduate of Harvard University, Professor Yan is an author and faculty member at UCLA's Department of Anthropology. His areas of expertise include folklore, mythology, the Chinese dragon, Chinese family and kinship. |
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