Jackie Chan Adventures

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox television Jackie Chan Adventures is an animated television series developed by John Rogers, Duane Capizzi and Jeff Kline, and produced by Columbia TriStar Television (now Sony Pictures Television), Adelaide Productions, The JC Group and Blue Train Entertainment. The cartoon series premiered on September 9, 2000, and ran for five seasons until its conclusion on July 8, 2005. The series focuses on a fictionalized version of Hong Kong action film star Jackie Chan,<ref name="picture">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="seasonfour">Template:Cite web</ref> who operates in life as an archaeologist and special agent, combatting threats that are mainly magical and supernatural (based on real-life mythologies and supernatural stories from Asia and around the world) with the aid of his family and allies.

Many of the episodes created for Jackie Chan Adventures featured references to Chan's actual works, with the actor making live-action appearances in the form of an interview situation, answering questions about his life and work. The series was aired in the United States on Kids' WB, with re-runs and second run premieres airing on Toon Disney's Jetix programming block, Cartoon Network's Toonami block, and in Canadian broadcasts on YTV's Vortex. The series proved a success on children's television, including abroad, leading to the creation of a toy franchise and two video games based on the series.

Premise

Jackie Chan Adventures is set in a world which magic and supernatural forces exist but are unknown to much of humanity – these include demons, ghosts, spirits, spells, and various creatures and gods. Although the series focuses mostly on those from Asia, primarily Chinese mythology and folklore, it also includes those from other locations in the world, including Europe and Central America. In the animated series, the actor Jackie Chan exists in this setting as a professional archaeologist with a high degree of martial combat skill, who is forced to accept the fact that magic and the supernatural exists when he uncovers a talisman in an artifact that possess magical powers sought out by a criminal organization.

Throughout the series, Chan is aided by his family, including his uncle and his niece Jade, and his ally Captain Black – head of a secret law enforcement organization codenamed "Section 13" – alongside additional companions introduced over the course of the series. Each season of the program primarily contains an overarching storyline in which Chan and his allies must face off against a dangerous demonic figure, aided by human henchman, by preventing them from finding a series of magical objects that can help them to conquer the world. Alongside the overarching plotline, seasons also include standalone stories that focus on Chan and his friends combatting magical and supernatural forces that are either evil or not understanding of their situation. While storylines feature action sequences focused on magic and martial arts, they also include comedic situations akin to several of Chan's works in action-comedy films.

While Chan does not provide the voice of his animated character, he appears regularly in live-action inserts at the end of the program to offer insights on Chinese history, culture and philosophy as well as answering fan questions read by Stacie Chan offscreen.<ref name="Perlmutter">Template:Cite book</ref>

References to Jackie Chan's career

The series often features references to Jackie Chan's films and his own life throughout the series. In the episode "A Night at the Opera", Uncle states that he was part of the stage group "Seven Little Fortunes", which Jackie Chan was actually part of in real life. Another example is in the episode "The Invisible Mom" where Jackie is bitten by a Snake, and uses a kung fu style known as "the drunken master" from one of his earliest headlining films of the same name. According to Jackie during one of his question segments, the characters of the show are based on certain people in his life. Uncle is based on his agent and father, Jade is based on an assortment of his nieces, and Tohru is based on one of his stunt team members as well as himself. The episode "And He Does His Own Stunts" is a reference to the fact that Jackie Chan does his own stunts in his movies.

Some episodes' titles are based on actual film names. For example, "Half a Mask of Kung Fu" is based on Half a Loaf of Kung Fu, four episode titles ("Enter the Viper", "Enter the Cat", "Re-Enter the J-Team", and "Re-Enter the Dragon") are based on Enter the Dragon (in which Jackie Chan performs as a stuntman<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>), "Shanghai Moon" is based on Shanghai Noon, "Armor of the Gods" is based on Armour of God, "Project A, for Astral" is based on Project A and "Rumble in the Big House" is based on Rumble in the Bronx.

Episodes

Template:Main List of Jackie Chan Adventures episodes

Cast

• James Sie as Jackie Chan, Chow, Shendu
• Franco Velez as Paco
• Stacie Chan as Jade Chan
• Sab Shimono as Uncle
• Noah Nelson as Tohru
• Clancy Brown as Captain Augustus Black, Ratso, Melvin/Super Moose
• Miguel Sandoval as El Toro Fuerte
• Julian Sands as Valmont (seasons 1–2)
• Andrew Ableson as Valmont (seasons 3–4)
• Susan Eisenberg as Viper
• Adam Baldwin as Finn
• Jim Cummings as Hak Foo (season 1)
• John DiMaggio as Hak Foo (seasons 2–5)
• James Hong as Daolon Wong
• Miguel Ferrer as Tarakudo
• Michael Rosenbaum as Drago
• Mike Erwin as Strikemaster Ice
• Jeff Fischer as MC Cobra
• Jackie Chan as himself

Broadcast

The series aired in the Republic of Ireland on RTÉ Two from April 30, 2001, and was regularly rerun until 2014.<ref>Template:Cite magazine 2001 edition and subsequent dates</ref>

In the Philippines, the series was first aired on ABS-CBN in 2003, then on GMA Network in 2005.

Reception

Common Sense Media gave the show 4 out of 5 stars, saying "Lighthearted, entertaining, suspenseful, and humorous, this show may not be deep, but it's a lot of fun".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other media

Books

A number of books were released to accompany the series.

Issue no	Release name	Release date	Author	Publisher	Notes	Ref
#1	The Dark Hand	2002 (UK)	Eliza Willard	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#2	Jade's Secret Power	2002 (UK)	Cathy West	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#3	Sign of the Ox	2002 (UK)	Megan Stine	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#4	Enter...the Viper	2002 (UK)	Jacqueline Carrol	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#5	Shendu Escapes!	2002 (UK)	David Slack & Jim Thomas	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#6	New Enemy	2002 (UK)	R. S. Ashby	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#7	Revenge of the Dark Hand	2002 (UK)	Eliza Willard	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#8	The Power of the Rat	2002 (UK)	Megan Stine	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#9	Stronger Than Stone	2002 (UK)	R. S. Ashby	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#10	Uncle's Big Surprise	2002 (UK)	Jacqueline Carrol	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#11	The Jade Monkey	2002 (UK)	Judy Katschke	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref>
#12	The Strongest Evil	2002 (UK)	Jacqueline Carrol	Grosset & Dunlap		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
N/A	The Day of the Dragon	2003 (UK)	Eliza Willard & David Slack & Alexx Dyne	Grosset & Dunlap	Special	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Comics

A number of comics were released to accompany the series.

Volume	Release name	Release date	Author	Publisher	Notes	Ref
#1	Enter the Dark Hand	July 15, 2004 (UK)	Duane Capizzi & John Rogers	Tokyopop		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#2	Legend of the Zodiac	October 15, 2004 (UK)	Duane Capizzi & David Slack	Tokyopop		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#3	Jackie and Jade Save the Day	January 15, 2005 (UK)	John Rogers	Tokyopop		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
#4	Return of the Vampire	April 15, 2005 (UK)	John Tomlinson	Tokyopop		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Home media

In 2001, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released episodes from the first season on VHS and DVD. But one format differed from the other in that of the four DVDs released, three were select, individual episodes while the fourth contained the whole season of 13 episodes; the VHS series had only three, separate episodes. Also, there was a difference in the titles of said episodes released on VHS and DVD. The Day of The Dragon VHS box cover art was the same as that of the first season DVD case cover, which featured Jackie, Jade and Uncle with the villains behind them, dimmed in a yellowish background. On these, the episodes were presented without the teasers that originally appeared prior to the opening/intro sequence as they aired. They are currently unavailable and out-of-print, especially since they had limited pressings and no plans have been announced to follow up season one with DVD box sets of the remaining four seasons. However, the entire series can be ordered and seen via video-on-demand service at Amazon and iTunes. As of October 2010, the entire series was made available on the Netflix streaming service.

In March 2025, all five seasons of the series are made available for free streaming on Tubi.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment plans to release the second season on DVD through Amazon.com, and other online retailers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mill Creek Entertainment announced all five seasons on DVD in Region 1.Template:Citation needed

VHS

Release name	Release date	Publisher	Format	Notes	Ref
The Day of the Dragon	October 23, 2001	Sony Pictures	NTSC	30 minutes	<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
The Power Within	October 23, 2001	Sony Pictures	NTSC	30 minutes	<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Friends & Foes	March 5, 2002	Sony Pictures	NTSC	30 minutes	<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
The Search for the Talisman	July 22, 2002	Sony Pictures	PAL	30 minutes	<ref name="uk-search">Template:Citation</ref>

DVD

DVD Title		# of Disc(s)	Year	Series	Episodes	DVD release
						Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	The Search for the Talisman (Volume 1)	1	2000	1	1–3	October 23, 2001<ref>Template:Citation</ref>	July 22, 2002<ref name="uk-search" />	March 17, 2004<ref name="ezydvd.com.au">Template:Cite web</ref>
	The Dark Hand Returns (Volume 2)	1	2000	1	4–6	March 5, 2002<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	September 1, 2002	March 17, 2004<ref name="ezydvd.com.au" />
	The Shadow of Shendu (Volume 3)	1	2000	1	7–9	March 5, 2002<ref>Template:Citation</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A
	The Entire Season One	2	2000 & 2001	1	1–13	Template:N/A	May 17, 2004<ref>Template:Citation</ref>	Template:N/A
	The Entire Season Two	4	2001 & 2002	1	14–52	June 5, 2012<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>Template:Efn	Pulled from schedule
	The Demon Portals Saga (Season 2)	3	2001 & 2002	1	14–52	June 4, 2019<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:N/A	Template:N/A

Video games

There are two video games based on the animated series. The first, Jackie Chan Adventures: Legend of the Dark Hand is a beat 'em-up released for the Game Boy Advance in November 2001. The second, simply titled Jackie Chan Adventures is an action-adventure game released for the PlayStation 2 in October 2004.

Title	Genre	Platform	Studio	Release Date	Notes
Jackie Chan Adventures: Legend of the Dark Hand	Beat 'em-up	Game Boy Advance	Activision	November 6, 2001 (US) & November 30, 2001 (EU)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Find eight stolen scrolls and stop the Dark Hand from unleashing demons.
Jackie Chan Adventures	Action	PlayStation 2	Sony Computer Entertainment	October 1, 2004 (EU), September 19, 2004 (CH) & Cancelled (US)<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>	Play as Jackie Chan and collect the Talismans. Compatible with PlayStation's EyeToy.

Successors

Following Jackie Chan Adventures, Chan set off to create local productions in Asia. The first, Jackie Chan's Fantasia, is a 52-episode Chinese animated series produced by Nanjing Hongying Animation Entertainment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It aired in 2009 on CCTV and in English on Sonic-Nickelodeon.<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

In 2017, Chan announced All New Jackie Chan Adventures, a $6 million 104-episode Chinese CG-animated series produced by Zhejiang Talent Television & Film, Khorgas JJ Culture Media Co., and VJ Animation Studio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was released in China in 2017, with a feature film scheduled for 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Despite the name, it is unrelated to the American series.

Later in 2008 the series was adapted into multiple South Indian languages by Sun TV Network.

Channel	Language	First Aired	TRP
Chutti TV	Tamil	2009	100.23
Kushi TV	Telugu	2010	99.2
Chintu TV	Kannada	2010	73.34
Kochu TV	Malayalam	2011	80.00

See also

• Mike Tyson Mysteries

External links

• Template:Webarchive
• Template:IMDb title