Dragons in Disney's latest cartoon series

Dragons, those mystical creatures that we know of, are portrayed in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours. In the cartoon trade, dragons are usually depicted as bad-tempered and mean creatures. Every now and then, you'd get a cartoon dragon that's funny and silly, like the under-sized dragon in Disney's Mulan.  

However, the one trait that many of these celluloid dragons share is that they are powerful beings. In Disney's latest cartoon programme, American Dragon: Jake Long, the dragons in it are strong and powerful creatures that are in charge of other mystical creatures living among humans on Earth.  

Created by Jeff Goode, American Dragon is a half-hour cartoon series that revolves around the life of teenage boy Jake Long, who is of Chinese-American parentage.  

On the surface, Jake seems like a normal New York kid who loves to skateboard and play with his two best friends, Trixie and Spud. But recently, Jake learns of a family secret that his mother has been keeping from him for so long - he is a descendent of dragons.  

Jake can transform into a dragon, but not just any dragon, mind you. Jake the American Dragon is also the protector and guardian of all magical creatures secretly living in the human world.  

Among these creatures are a herd of unicorns, leprechauns, a gargoyle, a troll and mermaids.  

To help him slowly uncover and master his mystical powers is Jake's Chinese grandfather, who is the Dragon Master. Grandpa has just migrated to the United States from China to be closer to his grandson. Tagging along is Grandpa's gruff sidekick, a talking 600-year-old Shar-Pei named Fu Dog.  

Jake's mother is also a dragon but she doesn't have transforming abilities because dragon powers skip a generation. His younger sister Haley is a budding dragon who is very excited about her newfound powers. Jake's father has no clue that he has married into a family of dragons, and it doesn't seem like Mum is going to let him in on the secret anytime soon.  

In school, Jake depends on Trixie and Spud for support, but he's not sure if they should find out about his dragon powers just yet. Jake also has a big crush on a beautiful girl named Rose, who is a Huntsgirl in training or dragon slayer. However, neither of them are aware of each other's secret identities ? not yet, anyway.  

Dante Basco, who played Rufio in Steven Spielberg's fantasy film Hook, provides the voice for Jake. Grandpa is voiced by Keone Young, while Fu Dog is played by John DiMaggio. Other voice talents include Lauren Tom as Mum, Jeff Bennett as Dad/The Huntsman, Mae Whitman as Rose/Huntsgirl, Amy Bruckner as Haley, Charlie Finn as Spud and Kali Troy (aka Miss Kittie) as Trixie.  

According to Christian Roman, who is the director and also one of the show's four executive producers, a lot of research and planning were conducted to make American Dragon.  

"We did a lot of research on dragons and what they symbolise in Chinese culture. At the same time, we wanted our dragon to be unique to our series, so while creating the whole look of the dragon, we just used our own imagination and came up with our own interpretation. That was the fun part of the whole process, the part where we make things up.  

"There's something so free about doing animation, about animation itself. Free in the sense that you can do almost anything for the sake of entertaining your audience," said Roman in a phone interview from Los Angeles recently. Executive producers Matt Negrete, Eddie Guzelian and Jeff Goode, who is also the show's creator, as well as Keone Young, also took part in the interview.  

The show is a personal project for Goode, who is an actor and playwright too. He said: "I like dragons, that's the main reason I made a show about them." He noted that the title is called American Dragon: Jake Long because Jake is the first dragon born in America.  

Said Guzelian: "We didn't have any apprehension writing about a Chinese-American family. It was easy for us to relate to Jake because I think we all have some sort of background ethnicity. Also, we try to portray Jake as a person rather than as a Chinese-American boy living in New York." 

The selection of voice talents was done carefully. The producers all wanted the characters to be alive and fresh, so choosing a voice that matches the personalities of the characters was vital.  

Negrete said that only after the voices for lead characters Jake and Grandpa were found, everything else started to fall into place.  

"We think Dante and Keone played their characters very well. The cast members put their own personalities into the characters, which add a unique and more real perspective to the show," continued Negrete.  

Twenty-one episodes of American Dragon have been produced over a year-and-a-half. Roman revealed that the cast, crew and artists worked on six episodes each week, all at the same time.  

Guzelian said that because of that, they weren't always happy with the result. He noted: "Your goal is to make every episode perfect, but that's impossible when you have so many to do at the same time. Still, sometimes the episode that you're not satisfied with becomes the episode that the audience loves the best, so it's all up to personal preferences I guess."  

American Dragon: Jake Long premieres on the Disney Channel (Astro Channel 61) on Feb 12 at 9am, with a repeat at 5pm the same day. The first showing airs two hours, followed by weekly 30-minute screening on Saturdays at 9am and the repeat at 5pm the same day.