Dragon Tales

Dragon Tales is a Canadian–American[3][4] animated fantasy adventure children's television series created by Jim Coane and Ron Rodecker, and developed by Coane, Wesley Eure, Jeffrey Scott, Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser. The story focuses on the adventures of two ordinary kids, Emmy and Max, and their dragon friends Ord, Cassie, Zak, Wheezie, and Quetzal. The series began broadcasting on PBS on their PBS Kids block on September 6, 1999, with its final episode airing on November 25, 2005, with 3 seasons and 78 episodes during its 6-year run. Following the series finale, reruns remained on the block as well as on a channel related to it named PBS Kids Sprout (renamed Universal Kids) until August 31, 2010. Yearim Productions was responsible for the animation for all seasons (Sunwoo Entertainment and Wang Film Productions only did animation for season 1), with the exception of Koko Enterprises, which recorded the show, and The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The U.S. Department of Education, Kellogg's, and greeting card manufacturer, American Greetings[5] were responsible for the funding.

Dragon Tales
Genre
Created by
Developed by
  • Jim Coane
  • Wesley Eure
  • Jeffrey Scott
  • Cliff Ruby
  • Elana Lesser
Directed by
  • Tim Eldred
  • Curt Walstead
  • Phil Weinstein
  • Michael Hack
  • Gloria Jenkins
Voices of
Theme music composer
Composers
  • Joey Levine & Co.
  • Jim Latham
  • Brian Garland
  • Cheryl Hassen
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
  • [1]
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes96 (156 segments)[2] (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Richard Raynis
  • Jeff Kline
  • Ron Rodecker
  • Cliff Ruby
  • Elana Lesser
  • John Mariella
  • Cheryl Hassen
  • Pamela Aguilar
Running time30 minutes per episode
Production companiesAdelaide Productions
Sesame Workshop[lower-alpha 1]
Columbia TriStar Television (1999-2002)
Sony Pictures Television (2005)
DistributorSony Pictures Television[lower-alpha 2]
Release
Original network
Picture format480i (SDTV)
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseSeptember 6, 1999 (1999-09-06) –
November 25, 2005 (2005-11-25)

The subtitles and close captioning for the show were done by the National Captioning Institute when seen on PBS Kids in America and CBC in Canada during its original run.

Background

Origin

Dragon Tales is based on characters created in 1978[6] by Laguna Beach, California artist and retired educator Ron Rodecker. Rodecker was recovering from a coronary artery bypass graft when he began sketching dragons as a means of symbolizing forces in life that were too big to control.[6][7][8] In 1995, Jim Coane, then a producer at Columbia TriStar Television, found the artwork and developed it into a television series with several writers. The project was considered something of a risky venture, because it was not based on a well-known franchise like many children's television programs, such as Arthur or Paddington Bear. The series was immediately shipped to PBS member stations at the suggestion of PBS, but all originally passed at the time. In October 1995, Jim Coane met Marjorie Kalins, senior VP of programming and production at Children's Television Workshop, and showed her the idea for the series. Kalins, who loved the idea, brought the series to Children's Television Workshop, who agreed to a partnership with the Columbia TriStar Television Group. Kalins helped him and Columbia TriStar Television obtain an $8.5 million grant from the Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The grant proposal was written by Wesley Eure.[9] Coane stated that there was never any consideration of trying to shop the program to a commercial broadcast network and that PBS was, in his mind, the only destination for the program.[10] As Columbia TriStar was the TV division of two major Hollywood film studios, which in turn are owned by the Sony Pictures Entertainment division of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony, Dragon Tales became one of the few PBS Kids and Sprout programs to be co-produced by a major Hollywood studio's TV subsidiary; The other PBS shows were Bill Nye the Science Guy (made by Walt Disney Television) and Curious George (produced by Universal Television). In 2002, C-T was renamed to Sony Pictures Television, a company that would co-produce the third season of the program.

After a tour of the lot of Sony Studios, Wesley Eure created the first treatment of the show, including the initial conception of the two-headed dragon Zak and Wheezie, back then known as "Snarf and Bugger." The series received a massive multi-million dollar grant from the federal government, beating out The Muppets and Sesame Street for the request. As part of the conditions for the grant, Eure was required to create a companion series for the program, which he titled Show and Tell Me, based on his own lecture series known as "Anyone Can Write a Book." Though the companion series was never actually created, Eure remains hopeful that it will one day be produced. Eure's name was not included in the initial credits for the series, forcing him to hire an attorney to ensure that he received credit.[11]

Following the development of a show bible by Jeffrey Scott, with some tweaks by writers Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser, the series was ordered for just over 60 eleven-minute episodes by PBS. Scott was assigned to write and edit half, with Ruby/Lesser assigned to the other half. At this point, the writing team was provided with a document titled "FUN AND LEARNING IN DRAGON LAND: A Writer’s Guide to Dragon Tales Educational Content" which provided directives as to which curriculum should be included within the stories, such as "emotional challenges > understanding other people’s emotions > recognizing and labeling feelings in others" and the statement that "CURRICULUM IS PARAMOUNT!" After the creation of the first script, all writing parties involved agreed that the scripts "weren’t fun or funny, they were flat and boring." The writers successfully explained to the consultants, educators and psychologists of PBS that children watch television to be entertained and must be entertained in order to be educated. They were then provided with a new directive, "Come up with entertaining stories and shoehorn in the curriculum wherever it fits!" Scott states that from the experience he learned an invaluable lesson about how to create a successful preschool series.[12] Dong Woo Animation, Rough Draft Korea, Sunwoo Entertainment, Wang Film Productions (season 1 only), Yearim, and lotto animation contributed some of the animation for this series.

Show premise and overview
Dragon Tales has three primary educational goals. They are:
  • To encourage children to take on new or difficult challenges in their lives
  • To help children recognize that there is more than one way to approach a challenge
  • To help children understand that to try and not succeed fully is a valuable and natural part of learning

Dragon Tales official website Parents FAQ[13]

The series focuses on the exploits of two siblings, Emmy and Max, in possession of an enchanted dragon scale capable of reading the special rhyme then transporting them to Dragon Land, a whimsical fantasy world inhabited by colorful anthropomorphic dragons. Befriended by four friendly talking dragons with distinctive personalities, Ord, Cassie, Zak, and Wheezie, they frequently travel to Dragon Land and help their friends in fulfilling particular quests, assisting them in their daily problems, and learning important morals through their experiences with Dragon Land.

Designed to educate preschoolers mildly in Hispanic culture, a new character named Enrique debuted during the show's final season, providing the series with a third protagonist. Surrounded by a variety of unique characters and faced with numerous differing situations, Emmy and Max commonly embark on adventures with their dragon friends, conquering fears or achieving goals in spite of any obstacles preventing them from doing so.

As a series broadcast on PBS, the program had an educational focus, combining lessons of a pro-social nature with those of more general educational value. Educational themes covered included identifying shapes, learning words and letters in both English and Spanish, counting and basic math. Social themes were also covered, such as good sportsmanship, the importance of being a good friend, overcoming obstacles such as jealousy or fears and getting along with siblings. Many of the show's interstitial song segments, known as "Dragon Tunes," also covered such themes, such as "Make It Fun", which encouraged viewers to not complain about having to do seemingly mundane chores such as washing dishes or helping parents with cooking meals, but instead find ways to make them fun. Another, "Hum," encouraged those who had a fear of the dark or trying new things to hum a gentle tune to comfort them. Stated goals of the program's educational philosophy included the encouragement of pursuing new experiences, finding ways to approach and learn from challenges and that learning can come through trying and not succeeding.[14] Despite two of the show's human leads, Emmy and Enrique, being six years old, the show's described target audience was children closer to the age of four.[15]

Another key topic of the program was the encouragement of honest and candid expressions of emotion. In "Cassie, the Green-Eyed Dragon," Cassie felt jealous of her little brother, Finn, when he gets everyone's attention when she takes him to school for "circle time." Discussing the matter with her best friend, Emmy, and her teacher, Quetzal, helps her to understand that jealousy is a natural feeling that everyone experiences sometimes, but that there are ways that she can appreciate her brother, while still feeling appreciated herself.[16] In "Feliz Cumpleaños, Enrique," Enrique feels sad and homesick for his homeland of Colombia when his birthday celebrations in Dragon Land are not like the traditions of those back in his old home. He talks with Quetzal, who encourages him to cry, even though he had been told that crying was something a boy at his age was not supposed to do. After doing so, he feels better and is able to enjoy his party celebrations.[17]

As with Sesame Street, which was also produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop), the program's creators encouraged "co-viewing," the practice of parents or other caregivers watching the program along with their children and engaging in activities such as discussion, singing and dancing, and pretend play.[13] The program's official website offered a number of activities and lesson plans to aid in these efforts.[18][19]

Characters
 
Protagonists Emmy and Max (top image) in a season 2 episode of Dragon Tales. Ord, Enrique, Max, Emmy, Zak and Wheezie, and Cassie in a season 3 episode (bottom image) of Dragon Tales.

Emmy

Emily "Emmy", voiced by Andrea Libman, is a 6-year-old girl, who commonly appears as the leader of the group until she gave her position to Enrique while helping him get used to Dragon Land. She’s Max's older sister. Her best friend is Cassie, and she’s perhaps known for saying, "Definitely!" whenever a good idea arises. Though Emmy is not ashamed to do "girly" things with Cassie, she’s also heavily into sports and games and generally is up for any activity. Though she experiences occasional jealousy of her brother, the two are otherwise usually together within Dragon Land and share many adventures. Though a brave, smart natural leader, she’s also impulsive and does not always think before she acts. She’s typically seen wearing a blue button-up dress over a red short sleeve shirt.[20]

Max

Maximilian "Max", voiced by Danny McKinnon, is 4 years old,[21] and is Emmy's younger brother. For the most part, he and Emmy get along fine, but occasionally have arguments due to him being prone to anger. His best friend is Ord. Though Max loves Emmy, he sometimes struggles with being the younger brother, and is usually frustrated about being too little to do certain things, or when Emmy acts in certain ways. He’s of an adventurous sort and sometimes helps to give courage to Ord when he's afraid of certain things. He’s kind to others, but often enjoys acting silly or goofy. He sometimes acts in a stubborn manner, determined to prove that a child his age can do things on his own, even when he really needs help. He usually wears a green short-sleeved shirt with yellow on the collar & edges of the shirt-sleeves and brown slacks.[20] Max was named after the son of executive producer Jim Coane.[11]

Enrique

Enrique, voiced by Aida Ortega, is 6 years old. He is Emmy and Max's new friend and next-door neighbor who moved from Colombia to the United States and also once lived in Puerto Rico. He is raised by his father and his grandmother ("abuelita") [22] He first appears in the Season 3 episode "To Fly with a New Friend", and travels to Dragon Land with the children when Max encourages Emmy to share their secret. His recent experiences in South America provide more opportunities for the characters to demonstrate the meanings of new Spanish words.[22]

He rides with Zak and Wheezie, the two-headed dragon who rarely flew with any human friends prior to Enrique's debut in Season 3.

His personality is somewhat bashful, missing his homeland of Colombia and sometimes shy to join in on new experiences and saddened by reminders of times from his old home. However, he finds that he enjoys himself when he allows himself to let go, express his feelings and then move forward to have fun. He’s raised by his grandparents and described as an intensely smart and logical character. A series of moves throughout his early life has left him jaded and wary of both making new friends and trying new things. He normally wears a yellow short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans.[22]

The presence of Enrique on the program, in conjunction with Max and Emmy, was the subject of a study "'They Are?!' Latino Difference vis-à-vis Dragon Tales," which was critical of the show's use of the characters, feeling that the series ultimately "undermines multiculturalism because it fails to nurture children's ability to live fearlessly with and within difference."[23]

Ord

Ord, voiced by Ty Olsson, is a strong blue male dragon who is Max’s best friend. He is extremely fond of food and always carries some just in case; a running gag in the show features Ord making "Dragon Corn" by throwing the kernels in the air and popping them with his fire breath. He’s also allergic to dandelions. Despite his physical strength, Ord is afraid of almost everything, particularly darkness and thunder, and possesses a magical tendency to turn invisible when he is upset or frightened. Ord's sun-shaped Dragon Badge glows when he faces his fears.[24]

Cassie

Cassie, voiced by Chantal Strand, is a shy, cute, demure and sweet pink female dragon and Emmy's best friend. She possesses a magical tendency to shrink when unhappy, may occasionally come across as slightly insecure and uncertain, and is prone to worrying. However, Cassie is distinguished by her maternal sweetness as a result of her responsibilities as an older sister and babysitter to a humongous myriad of younger siblings, and has been shown to be gifted with great singing and dancing abilities. Cassie also is characterized by her color combination consisting of pink and yellow, albeit her body is spotted with blue speckles in some areas. Cassie knows just about everything there is to know about Dragon Land and has a deep love of fairy-tales, both stemming from her love of reading. Her dragon badge glows when she feels confident, but she often worries about making a mistake.[25]

Zak and Wheezie

Zak and Wheezie, voiced by Jason Michas and Kathleen Barr, are conjoined twin dragons with opposite personalities; Zak (green) is male, and Wheezie (purple) is female. Zak is neat and clean, worries a lot, and is pessimistic about many things. His catchphrase is "Take it easy, Wheezie!", which he often says when Wheezie takes off running, dragging him with her. Wheezie, on the other hand, is bold, hyper, and free-spirited, with a tendency to be messy, much to her brother's annoyance. Her catchphrase is "Love it!", when she loves something. The two have a shared love of music and performing and they often perform in talent shows and recitals together.[24]

Zak and Wheezie always fly with Enrique, although prior to his debut, Zak and Wheezie rarely flew with any of their human friends. Their dragon badges glow when they work together and get along, though will sometimes glow independently when one of them accomplishes something on their own of significance. Although they fight a lot, they are very close and care about each other a lot.

Quetzal

Quetzal, portrayed by Eli Gabay, is an elderly Mexican yellow dragon who’s the teacher at The School in the Sky where young dragons attend. He has an identical twin brother named Fernando who works in his garden. He tries to encourage his students to find solutions to their problems on their own, but is a sounding board who offers stability and comfort, as well as sound advice.[24] In the episode "Snow Dragon", Quetzal mentions it has been hundreds of years since he visited the dragon snow sculpture as a child, implying he is centuries old.

Other characters

Each of the following have appeared more than once:

  • 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. (Scott McNeil)
  • Dr. Booboogone, a veteran pink dragon who works as a doctor. She wears a doctor's coat. (Shirley Milliner)
  • Captain Scallywag, a pirate who captains a flying ship. (Scott McNeil)
  • Chilly, a living snowman who lives on top of the Stickleback Mountains with his snowdog Nippy. (French Tickner)
  • Cyrus, a conniving lizard-like slinky serpent, a minor antagonist in the show he often tries to steal others' eggs to eat. (Ian James Corlett)
  • The Doodle Fairy, a fairy with green skin and purple dress. She does not speak but can doodle.
  • Poozy the Butterfairy, a fairy with butterfly wings that was once Cassie's pet caterpoozle, Poozy. She looks similar to the Doodle Fairy and like the Doodle fairy she does not speak.
  • Eunice, a winged unicorn. She cannot see very well, so she wears glasses. (Janyse Jaud)
  • Finn, voiced by Ellen Kennedy, is Cassie's younger brother. He is light blue, toddler-aged, attached to his blankie, and only just learning to fly. He is prone to tantrums when upset.[26]
  • The Giant of Nod, leader of a group of gnome-like creatures called the Nodlings. While much bigger than his fellow Nodlings, he is smaller than any of the main characters but is enormously strong. (Blu Mankuma, first appearance; Paul Dobson, later appearances)
  • Kiki, Cassie's younger sister. Kiki is light green. She seems slightly younger than Finn and still drinks from a bottle. She is attached to her "squishy", an oddly-shaped fruit that she enjoys squeezing.[27] (Ellen Kennedy)
  • The Little Bird with the Big Eyes, is a bird that lives in the Forest of Darkness who has big round eyes.
  • Lorca, voiced by Lenore Zann, is Max, Emmy, Zak, Wheezie, Ord and Cassie's friend. He was born without wings and can use a wheelchair because he was born this way and is incapable of flight. Despite his physical limitations, however, Lorca enjoys participating in adventures and sports activities and encourages his friends to think of new ways to do things[28]
  • Norm the Number Gnome, a friendly little gnome who loves to count. (Stevie Vallance)
  • Monsieur Marmadune, the main ruler and leader of Kingdom Come, who tells Ord that Kingdom Come is the happiest place a dragon could ever be. (Cusse Mankuma)
  • Mr. Pop, a gnome-like character that temporarily steals Wheezie's laugh with his sound switcher. (Ian James Corlett)
  • 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. (Garry Chalk)
  • Polly Nimbus, the operator of the cloud factory, which controls Dragon Land's weather. (Kathleen Barr)
  • Priscilla, the manager at the lost and found, who during her first appearance, was feeling embarrassed because her wings were bigger than those of other dragons. She eventually realized that there is nothing wrong with being different when the uses her big wings to help Mungus clean up his castle in a "different" way. (Erin Fitzgerald)
  • Sid Sycamore, voiced by Scott McNeil, is a talking tree who loves telling jokes that relate to the concept of trees, the dragons' tree house is attached to him. When upset, the children will sometimes go to talk to him to be cheered up by his jokes.[29]
  • Slurpy, Zak and Wheezie's pet furball. (Stevie Vallance)
  • Windy the Whistling Wind, a little wind that likes to blow like her father. (Maggie Blue O'Hara)
  • Wyatt, a talking wishing well that immediately grants any wish for a single coin. He’s old friends with Quetzal. Whenever coins pile up too high, he knows it is time for them to be emptied and taken to the First Dragon Land Bank. Earlier in the series, he was called Willy. (Doug Parker)
  • Emmy and Max's parents, they are not seen, but their voices are often heard off-screen. They call out to Emmy and Max from downstairs at the beginning or end of an episode. Their mom is voiced by Kathleen Barr, and their dad is voiced by Eli Gabay.[30]

Places in Dragon Land

Dragon Land is the fantasy world where the majority of the show takes place. It is home to numerous colorful, anthropomorphic dragons and many other fantastical creatures. Max and Emmy travel to Dragon Land by holding an enchanted dragon scale while reciting the rhyme: "I wish, I wish, with all my heart, to fly with dragons in a land apart." The scale then teleports them to Dragon Land. It appears that it does not matter who does or does not say the rhyme, as long as at least one person says it; whoever is holding the dragon scale while they say the rhyme will be teleported with them. Returning home from Dragon Land is done in the same fashion, although no dragon scale is needed. The rhyme is: "I wish, I wish, to use this rhyme, to go back home until next time." The person reciting the rhyme, as well as all those holding their hand, will be transported back to their original homes.

  • Basketball Court – For one episode, Emmy and Max and the dragons come here for a game of basketball.
  • Chile Valley – A valley with many tasty, yet spicy chilly peppers, which are red in color and resemble dragonberries.
  • The Cloud Factory – Where a dragon named Polly Nimbus manufactures rain clouds, snow clouds, etc., and ejects them into the sky as needed.
  • Crystal Cave – A giant, crystallized cave where crystals are stored and special crystals dance, with the aid of water from Singing Springs, and some Dandelion fuzzies from the Dandelion Forest.
  • Crystal Fountain – A fountain inside Crystal Cave for cleaning.
  • Dandelion Forest – A forest made of dandelions that actually roar and growl like real lions, and are as tall as trees. Ord is so allergic to dandelions that when he sneezes in front of the dandelions, he usually does so with an incredible force that the dandelions lose their seeds and turn sad.
  • Dr. BoobooGone's office – Where dragons go when sick or hurt.
  • Dragon Beaver Dam – A dam where the dragonbeavers reside.
  • 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 is run by a dragon named Arlo.
  • Dragoon Lagoon – A large lagoon seen in many episodes. It is home to creatures called silliguanas and hissyfish. It even has a plug at the bottom just like a bathtub.
  • Dragontronic Supercave - the new home of Ord, Cassie, Zak and Wheezie, Quetzal, and Moonface.
  • 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.
  • The Knuckerhole – Zak & Wheezie's home. Of course, there are also many other knuckerholes all over Dragonland.
  • Lost Forever Hole – A small tunnel formed by a river. According to Ord, anything that flows on the river through the hole is "lost forever". Because it is not really explored, it is unknown if this is true or not. It only appeared in "Big Funky Cloud".
  • Marshmallow Marsh – A swamp full of sticky marshmallow goo, which is almost impossible to clean off and it is near Mushroom Meadow.
  • Mushroom Meadow – A large field of mushrooms with "bouncy" tops. The dragons and the children often play there.
  • Rainbow Canyon – A canyon with pigments that make paint. When it rains, the pigments turn to mud.
  • Rainbow Falls – A waterfall where there are always rainbows.
  • The School in the Sky – The school where the dragon children are taught by Quetzal.
  • Singing Springs – A gold fountain that plays music. It is seen in the opening and closing of the Dragon Tunes segment.
  • 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.
  • Tubbytronic Superdome - the home of Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, Po, and Noo-Noo.
  • Treasure Trove – A cave where dragons keep their treasure it is guarded by a magic door named Woody in knuckerhole.
  • Turtle Rock – A rock that is shaped like a turtle.
  • 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 stone statue named Wyatt who laughs at silly jokes.

Release history

Dragon Tales premiered on PBS Kids on September 6, 1999 with the episode "To Fly with Dragons/The Forest of Darkness." The installment introduced the characters of Max and Emmy to Dragon Land after discovering a magical dragon scale in their new home and to their new dragon friends. In the first half, they discovered Ord's missing tooth, while the adventures continued in the second story with Ord facing his fear of the dark. A total of forty episodes were aired in the first season, with the finale airing on April 28, 2000. The show's second season premiered on June 4, 2001 and had 25 episodes. 20 of these episodes were broadcast from June 4, 2001 to September 20, 2001. The final installment of this set, "Just the Two of Us/Cowboy Max," was broadcast only in non-U.S. markets such as Guam and Canada and did not premiere to U.S. audiences until the program's third season, though "Cowboy Max" was released on DVD prior to this. The special "Let's Start a Band!," featuring the dragon characters blended with live humans in a musical show based on the program's "Dragon Tunes" segments, was released on March 2, 2003. Following this, no new episodes were aired until February 21, 2005, leading many long-time viewers to believe the program had been quietly canceled. The new season introduced the new character Enrique, an immigrant from Colombia, as well as an updated focus on folk songs and teaching of Spanish. The premiere installment, in two parts, showed Enrique being introduced to the sights and sounds of Dragon Lands, learning to fly on Zak & Wheezie, and having his first adventure. The second half appeared as "The Mystery of the Missing Knuckerholes" in some listings, but on the program was simply titled as Part 2 of the episode. Though 29 episodes were broadcast, including "Just the Two of Us/Cowboy Max," only one story from each was original, while the others were a repeat of a story from the second season. The series officially concluded with the "Big, Big Friends Day" special on November 25, 2005.

The program's first musical album, Dragon Tunes, was released on March 20, 2001 and featured the character themes of Cassie and Ord, as well as tunes such as "Betcha Can," the "Wiggle Song" and "Shake Your Dragon Tail."[31] A second album, More Dragon Tunes, was issued on February 15, 2005. This album introduced the character theme of Zak & Wheezie, as well as a number of new tunes introduced in the program's second and third seasons, including "Hola," "Make a New Friend" and remixes of two previous themes, "Shake Your Dragon Tail" and "Dance."[32]

Throughout its history, a number of tie-in book releases were printed, some based on installments of the television program, others not. These included Cassie Loves a Parade,[33] Ord Makes a Wish[34] and Taking Care of Quetzal.[35]

A special, Parent Tales from Dragon Tales, was produced in association with the program. The program was stated to use "messages built into the children's series to inform parental challenges. From bedtime dramatics to tantrums and assorted other small-fry rebellions..." For the special, parents were given video cameras used to record problematic behavior, then counselors analyzed the video footage and provided specific tips to the parents, who all reported significantly improved behavior two months later. The researchers also discovered from their work on the series that children often think in pictures and that visual aids are often helpful.[36]

Music and songs

Dragon Tales featured an original score composed by Jim Latham and Brian Garland.[37] Each episode also included an interstitial segment between story airings known as "Dragon Tunes," featuring a song either based on one of the characters of the show, or designed to teach a lesson, such as "Stretch!", which encouraged viewers to reach forward for their goals and "When You Make a New Friend," which espoused the joys of forming a new friendship. The songs were released on the albums Dragon Tunes[31] and More Dragon Tunes.[32]

Episodes
Main article: List of Dragon Tales episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
140September 6, 1999 (1999-09-06)April 28, 2000 (2000-04-28)PBS Kids (U.S.)
CBC Television (Canada)
224June 4, 2001 (2001-06-04)October 15, 2002 (2002-10-15)
330February 21, 2005 (2005-02-21)April 1, 2005 (2005-04-01)

Dragon Tales aired a total of 94 episodes, 40 in its first season, 24 in its second season and 30 in its third season. Each episode featured two original stories, aired back-to-back, split by the interstitial song segment "Dragon Tunes," all of which were eventually released on the show's music albums. Almost all episodes from the third season, however, generally contained at least one repeat of a story from the program's second season and some were even repeats of material from that season and earlier material from the third season. In all, there were a total of 155 original stories. The show also had two specials: Let's Start a Band and Big, Big Friend Day. Let's Start a Band was a musical feature in which the characters of the show were seen alongside real human children. Big, Big Friend Day, however, was merely a special featuring episodes of Dragon Tales and Clifford the Big Red Dog, with interstitial segments introducing characters from the new series It's a Big Big World. As such, it did not contain any original Dragon Tales material.[2]

International broadcast
Country Channel
Australia ABC
ABC Kids
United Kingdom CBBC
Cartoon Network
New Zealand TV2
Japan Fuji TV
United States of America PBS Kids
Canada CBC

Reception

The series has received generally positive reviews (although the third season's reception was more mixed). Common Sense Media rated the show a four out of five stars, stating, Dragon Tales intends to positively impact a child's growth and development by encouraging a love of learning and helping children problem-solve and work through the challenges of growing up. The kids and dragons embark on different adventures and attend the School in the Sky, all while learning how to face their fears and handle new situations. The fun, nurturing, and sometimes challenging atmosphere of Dragon Land is a lot like preschool."[38]

Awards
  • 2000 Parents' Choice Silver Award Winner[39]
  • 2001 Parents' Choice Approved Award Winner (for "Dragon Tales: Dragon Tunes" CD)[40]
  • 2003 Parents' Choice Silver Award Winner (for "Let's Start a Band" video)[41]
  • 2005 Parents' Choice Approved Award Winner (for "Dragon Tales: More Dragon Tunes" CD)[42]

The series was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children's Animated Program in 2001, 2002 and 2003, but did not win any. Kathleen Barr and Jason Michas also received Annie Award nominations in 2000 for their performances of Zak and Wheezie.

In other media

Video games
Cover of Dragon Tales: Dragon Adventures

On November 29, 2000, a video game based on the series, Dragon Tales: Dragon Seek, was released for the PlayStation. Published by NewKidCo, the player takes control of either Emmy or Max as the player navigates them through Dragon Land playing hide and seek, searching for either Ord, Cassie, Zak and Weezie, Monsieur Marmaduke or Captain Scallywag that are hiding in certain areas in each level, the player would also have a choice to pick what character they want to search for at the beginning.[43]

On December 16, 2000,[44] another video game, Dragon Tales: Dragon Wings, was issued for Game Boy Color. Issued by NewKidCo, the game allowed players to take on the role of a novice dragon that was learning the secrets of flight at Quetzal's School in the Sky. Players moved through 15 levels of obstacles available in three difficulty levels. Reviews were mixed at Amazon.com, with an overall rating of 3/5 stars from ten reviewers. Many praised the graphics and fun of the game, but also felt that the game was too challenging for most younger players and did not offer much educational value.[45]

On July 28, 2001, a third video game titled Dragon Tales: Dragon Adventures was released for Game Boy Color. Also issued by NewKidCo, the game included journeys to familiar locations from the show including the Stickleback Mountains, the Singing Springs and Crystal Caverns. The game included multiple skill settings and the option to play as Cassie, Ord, Emmy or Max, the title having been issued before the addition of Enrique to the series.[46] The Game Boy Advance version was later released in 2004, which also makes Zak and Wheezie playable in that version.

The show's official website also included a number of tie-in games, such as "Finn's Word Game" and "Dragonberry Surprise," though following the discontinuation of the site, such titles are no longer available.[47]

Marketing and merchandise

In addition to the various books, music albums and video game releases, numerous merchandise items featuring the characters of Dragon Tales were made available for purchase throughout the program's run. A total of six different designs featuring scenes from the program were featured on Welch's jam jars.[48] An official board game for the series titled Dragon Tales: A Dragon Land Adventure, featured obstacles and memory games, with the goal of completing a puzzle. It was released by University Games and overall reviews were generally positive, though also expressed that the game was not very challenging.[49] Other merchandise released for the series included plush toys for most of the major characters, such as Cassie and Quetzal though Enrique, seen only in the program's third season, was never released in plush form and was largely absent from merchandise releases. As early as January 1996, Hasbro reached an agreement for a line of plush, puzzles and board games related to the series to be released beginning in spring 2000.[9]

For the program's video debut, multiple licensees, including Hasbro, Random House, Sony PlayStation and New Kid Toys promoted in tandem a "Dragon Tales Family Fun Getaway." Promoted via stickers on Dragon Tales merchandise and home video releases, the promotion was a contest with a grand prize of a four-day, three-night trip for four to San Diego, including a visit to the San Diego Zoo.[50]

In 2001, Mott's ran a five-month Dragon Tales promotion with its apple juice packs. Dragon Tales character stickers were offered on 50 million packs. Additionally, 20 million bottles offered an instant win game with the top prize as a Dragon Tales themed party with the pink dragon Cassie and an additional 10,000 prizes of Dragon Tales books.[51]

In October 2004, Scholastic Parent & Child selected the CD-ROM game Learn & Fly With Dragons as teachers' pick for best new tech.[52]

Live events
Ord, Max, Emmy, Cassie, Zak & Wheezie in Dragon Tales Live!

A musical stage show called Dragon Tales Live! features the characters and concepts of the show. It toured nationally in the United States. It featured performers playing the dragons in full body costumes and two real children in each production playing the roles of Max and Emmy. Shows included the "Missing Music Mystery",[53] "Journey to Crystal Cave" [54] and "The Riddle of Rainbow River."[55]

Dragon Tales Live! toured from January 2002[56] until at least March 2006.[57] The program was never modified to include the character of Enrique, who was not added until the program's final season, one year before productions of the stage show ended.

References

Citations
  1. "American Animation Directory- KOKO Productions Inc". Award winning recording studio and production house. Selected animation credits: Ed Edd n Eddy, Dragon Tales, Johnny Test, Transformers, Bratz, Care Bears, He-Man, Krypto, Madeline, Martin Mystery, Strawberry Shortcake, Noddy. Features: Barbie (Island Princess, Christmas Carol, Thumbelina, Diamond Castle), My Scene, The Condor, The Chameleon, Edison & Leo, My Little Pony.
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  1. Known as Children's Television Workshop for the first season
  2. Known as Columbia TriStar Television Distribution for seasons 1-2
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