Dragon Tales
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| Dragon Tales | |
| Format | Children's television series |
|---|---|
| Created by | Jim Coane Ron Rodecker |
| Developed by | Jim Coane Wesley Eure Cliff Ruby Elana Lesser Jeffrey Scott |
| Starring | Kathleen Barr Eli Gabay Andrea Libman Danny McKinnon Jason Michas Ty Olsson Chantal Strand |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Sony Pictures Television Sesame Workshop |
| Running time | 30 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PBS Kids, Tiny Pop UK |
| Original run | 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, 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 present. 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.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
In the episodes, the children are able to travel to Dragon Land anytime they want, through by the use of 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.
[edit] 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 "DragonTunes", and the second story. Each story is approximately 10–12 minutes long.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Max
Max, voiced by Danny McKinnon, is four years old. Emmy's brother. Young and full of energy, Max is prepared for just about any adventure, although he can be naive at times. His best friend is Ord.
[edit] Emmy
Emmy, voiced by Andrea Libman, is Max's six-year-old sister. She is smart and deeply loyal to her friends, although at times can be bossy and overconfident, which leads to situations where she learns that she must be more open-minded. Her best friend is Cassie, and is known for her trademark "Definitely!", which she says whenever a good idea arises.
[edit] Enrique
Enrique is a friend of Emmy and Max who moved to the US from South America. 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.[2]
[edit] Ord
Ord, voiced by Ty Olsson, is the large blue male dragon who can turn invisible when he's scared. He loves to eat and is very creative, although his art is often misunderstood. His best friend is Max, whom he always rides with.
[edit] Cassie
Cassie, voiced by Chantal Strand, is the small pink female dragon who can shrink when she's really sad. She is usually the brains of the group, but is also shy and struggles to open up to others. She is also the most sensitive of the group. Her best friend is Emmy, who she always flies with.
[edit] 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, 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.
[edit] Other characters in Dragon Tales
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.
- Cyrus, 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Quetzal, 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.
[edit] 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.
- 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.
- Scenes often take place in the homes of the dragon characters – Cassie's cave, Zak and Wheezie's knuckerhole, and Ord's home.
[edit] 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]
[edit] 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)
- Contributions to you PBS stations from Viewers Like You (2005–present)
- American Greetings (2007–present)
[edit] Literary and film references
There is an oblique reference to Dragon Tales in Michael Chabon's novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
Cassie, the Dragon Tales balloon float from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, makes an appearance in the Tom Cruise film Vanilla Sky.
Dragon Tales has a prominent mention/appearance in the Adam Sandler film, Click.
Cassie and Ord make a minor appearance in the Robot Chicken episode, The Deep End.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.tv.com/dragon-tales/show/5646/summary.html?q=dragon%20tales&tag=search_results;title;1
- ^ http://pbskids.org/dragontales/parentsteachers/character_descriptions.html
- Coane, Jim (November, 1997). "Dragon Tales". Kid Screen Magazine. http://kidscreen.com/articles/magazine/19991001/26892.html.
