Jane and the Dragon (TV series)

Plot

Jane is a redhead 12-year-old adolescent girl who lives in a small fictional kingdom called Kippernium located in southern England. Jane was being trained to become a lady-in-waiting but had always dreamed of becoming a knight. When the prince is taken by a dragon, Jane sets out to defeat the beast. When Jane brings the prince back, the king makes her a knight apprentice. Jane and the dragon end up becoming best friends. Further details of this early adventure are never explained in the series. They are, however, explained in detail in the book Jane and the Dragon by Martin Baynton. The series follows Jane's interactions with the rest of the castle's residents and their frequent adventures. Themes of integrity, loyalty, friendship, and courage are woven through the stories. Jane frequently makes errors in judgment, but every episode ends happily. As a knight apprentice, Jane trains and performs various tasks and duties around the castle. Her master is wise Sir Theodore. Sir Ivon, a valiant but somewhat comical knight, has an apprentice of his own named Gunther, a boy whose integrity seems outwardly questionable and whom Jane views as a rival. Dragon helps Jane as she trains to become a knight. When she is on patrol duty, he lets her ride on his back as he flies around the kingdom. Jane, in turn, helps Dragon, who is an orphan, in his efforts to uncover the secrets of his ancestry. In addition to Dragon, Jane has several other friends among the castle staff. Jester the royal jester, Pepper the castle cook and Rake the castle gardener are all about Jane's age. She is also friends with Smithy, the castle blacksmith and stable hand. Also residing in the castle are the King and Queen, their two children, Jane's parents and the wizard. The only non-resident of the castle seen is Gunther's father, a merchant who has regular dealings with Jane's father and the king. No other characters are seen or heard in the series. The wizard is never seen but he lives in a tower, in the far corner of the Royal Gardens near the castle. He is seemingly knowledgeable in alchemy. The younger members of the castle staff appear to be afraid of him, for some reason. While hoping to preserve verisimilitude in its portrait of the earthy characters inhabiting a medieval castle Baynton engineered into his depiction substitute swear words to avoid controversy with parents. Jane is prone to exclaiming "Maggots!" when frustrated or exasperated. In this manner the series taps into the imagination of children, encouraging them to find their own expressions that can be much more fun and creative and colourful than conventional profanity without being offensive.

Characters

The characters were voice-acted (in English) by the Canadian actors credited below and physically performed and performance-captured by a team of five actors at Weta Productions in New Zealand.

• Jane Turnkey (voiced by Tajja Isen, performance-captured by Angela Green) – A 12-year-old girl and the daughter of the King's chamberlain and the Queen's lady-in-waiting. She found her life as a future lady-in-waiting to be boring and wanted to become a knight and experience adventure. When she heard that the King's son Cuthbert had been kidnapped by a dragon, she set out to rescue him and kill the dragon. However, upon meeting the dragon Jane befriended him instead. Her courage in rescuing the prince led the King to make Jane a knight's apprentice. Jane wields a special sword, which she found in Dragon's cave. It is made of special metals and was forged using dragon fire. Its unique properties make it capable of piercing dragon skin. The sword's hilt also doubles as a removable whistle, which lets out a sound that Dragon can hear from great distances.
  • Cleva – Jane's horse.
• Milton Turnkey (voiced by Ben Campbell, performance-captured by Aaron Alexander) – A royal chamberlain and Jane's father. The son of a knight, his father died in battle defending the castle. He oversees all of the kingdom's finances and negotiates trade deals with the surrounding kingdoms. Milton is overprotective of Jane at times, and is generally supportive of Jane's efforts at knighthood and helps both her and Dragon when the need arises.
• Adeline Turnkey (née d'Ark) (voiced by Jill Frappier) – The queen's Lady-in-Waiting, as well as Jane's mother. She was born in the year 776 to Sir John d'Ark, the First Knight of the King. She has concerns over Jane's plan to become a knight and does not always approve of the influence that Dragon seems to have over her. Adeline also opposes some of Jane's tomboyish looks and behaviors, to the point that she forbids Jane from attending a royal ball unless she wears a dress, for fear of embarrassment.
• Dragon (voiced by Adrian Truss) – A dragon who is estimated to be 200 to 300 years old. When he was young, Dragon was orphaned, forcing him to teach himself how to fly and survive on his own. Dragon was later captured by humans and kept as a pet and was traded many times before escaping. After many years, he set out to discover more about the history of dragons. Dragon saw a rune in the dragon language on his cave wall that had been left by his father many centuries before and indicated a child. Dragon kidnapped Prince Cuthbert, believing that he was the child and could help him uncover what happened to the other dragons (who had long since vanished). Jane journeyed to rescue Cuthbert, but learned that Dragon was friendly and brought Cuthbert home safely without anyone being harmed.
• Jester (voiced by Mark Rendall, performance-captured by Aaron Alexander)–The 14-year-old jester of the king's royal court. He was left at the castle at the age of 7 by his parents, who thought it was best for him. He is not paid for his services, but receives free education and housing. Jester, whose real name he keeps a secret, is generous and possesses an excellent memory and a quick wit.
• Jethro "Smithy" Junior (voiced by Alex House, performance-captured by David Hoskins) – The 14-year-old castle blacksmith/stable hand. He keeps the horses shod, the swords sharp and the armor in good shape. He has invented many labor-saving devices for the castle. He also has a way with animals, a calm confidence that all creatures seem to respond to. Smithy is calm, caring and quiet. He is also the most mature of Jane's friends and always keeps his head in an emergency.
  • Pig – Smithy's pet pig. She often runs in a wheel that pumps the bellows for his fire.
• Verbena "Pepper" Salter (voiced by Sunday Muse, performance-captured by Ban Abdul) – The 12-year-old castle cook. Her parents work at salting herring and they took her to the castle to find better work for her. As a cook, she works long hours in the royal kitchens and is rarely able to go outside.
• Drake "Rake" Gardener Junior (voiced by Will Seatle Bowes, performance-captured by Nick Blake) – The 13-year-old royal gardener. He is introverted and deeply devoted to his craft. His gardening talents are displayed in the topiary of the Royal Garden, although he seems to spend more time growing foodstuffs than maintaining ornamental plants. He also has his own compost pile, which he maintains by himself. He has rarely been outside the castle walls or even to the higher places within the castle.
• Gunther Breech (voiced by Noah Reid, performance-captured by David Hoskins) – A 14-year-old loner who struggles to balance his loyalty to his merchant father and his loyalty to the knight's code of honor. Gunther's father, Magnus, believes that being a knight is simply about being a good swordsman and has no problem with coercing Gunther into dishonorable activities. These situations reveal Gunther's greatest strength: his quick and resourceful thinking. Gunther often manages to resolve the sticky situations his father creates without damaging his reputation. Gunther is secretly jealous of Jane and the two of them are in constant competition for which of the two is the better knight in training.
• Magnus Breech (voiced by Clive Walton, performance-captured by Aaron Alexander) – A 41-year-old wealthy merchant who is also Gunther's father. He is greedy and does things such as making a fake dragon egg and having Gunther steal a dragon's tooth just to get money. He hates Dragon and is always trying to get him to leave the kingdom, one way or another. His family is not well thought of in the kingdom, as they started their fortune by trading with enemy forces when the castle was under siege two generations ago.
• King Caradoc (voiced by Juan Chioran, performance-captured by Nick Blake) – The 30-year-old king. He means well, but has little patience for the affairs of state (though he is concerned for his subjects and will listen to their concerns openly). He much prefers hunting, fishing and dancing—a lifestyle that has put a considerable financial strain on the kingdom. He also loves cabbage. Originally named Rathbonne, Caradoc assumed the name of his late older brother to keep his legacy alive.
• Queen Gwendolyn (voiced by Alex Belcourt)–The 28-year-old queen who came from another kingdom called Scandinavia. She is the daughter of a noble family and came to England on a business trip with her father, where she eventually fell in love with and married king Caradoc. Gwendolyn is very conscious of how other people view her and feels the pressures of being expected to be beautiful and ladylike since she is the queen.
• Prince Cuthbert (voiced by Cameron Ansell, performance-captured by David Hoskins) – The 8-year-old heir apparent of the kingdom. Born a sickly child, he is pampered and doted on by his parents as well as the court staff. A rather selfish child, he tends to take what he wants and is hard to impress. Cuthbert usually thinks about short-term goals; he is focused on avoiding work and enjoying food, but he also desires his parents to be proud of him. Prior to the start of the series, Cuthbert was captured by Dragon, which led to Dragon meeting Jane.
• Princess Lavinia (voiced by Isabel De Carteret, performance-captured by Ban Abdul) – The 6-year-old younger sister of Prince Cuthbert who looks up to Jane as a true hero. She sometimes dreams of becoming a knight like Jane and will often pay more heed to Jane than she will to her parents. She enjoys playing games, looking through Rake's garden and hearing stories. She loves everyone around her and like her brother, also has a soft spot for animals and finds hunting to be a rather poor and cruel sport.
• Sir Theodore Boarmaster (voiced by Aron Tager, performance-captured by Nick Blake) – A 66-year-old wise knight who, as Jane's mentor, displays patience and understanding. He was best friends with Jane's maternal grandfather, who was also a knight and died in battle protecting the castle. His family comes from a long line of dragonslayers, which is revealed one day when Jane stumbles upon his family's broken ancestral sword, hidden in his supplies chest. When confronted with his family's past actions, Theodore begs for Dragon's forgiveness. Dragon shows that all is forgiven by destroying Theodore's sword.
  • Trencher – Sir Theodore's trained falcon.
• Sir Ivon Mackay (voiced by Ben Campbell, performance-captured by David Hoskins) – The 44-year-old loud, enthusiastic, short-tempered mentor to Gunther. He has a deep love of weapons of any kind, from swords and axes to the fearsome chopping-machines he invents himself. None of the gadgets he invents have been shown to work too well and generally backfire.

Episodes

Awards and nominations

The show was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production in 2007.

Reception

Andrea Graham of Common Sense Media gave it 5 out of 5 stars and called it "a soaring delight." Graham also wrote: "With its lovable characters, engaging story lines, and wit reminiscent of the Shrek series, Jane and the Dragon may capture the attention of the entire family."

References

References

1. (14 January 2021). "Scripps Begins to Move Katz Networks to Ion TV Stations".
2. "Jane and the Dragon – Fun Facts".
3. "Jane Ask Archive".
4. "Last of the Dragon".
5. "Meet the Cast: Jane".
6. "Meet the Cast: Lady in Waiting".
7. "Meet the Cast: Dragon".
8. [http://www.qubo.com/index.php?path=cast&id=2&castid=14&navid=4 Meet the Cast: Jester]. Qubo.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-28.
9. link. (2011-09-30 . Qubo.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-28.)
10. link. (2011-07-15 . Qubo.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-28.)
11. "Meet the Cast: Rake". Qubo.com..
12. (September 2025)
13. (September 2025)
14. (September 2025)
15. link. (2011-09-30 . Qubo.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-28.)
16. (2007-12-03). "Ratatouille Cooks Up Most Annie Nominations". Animation World Network.
17. Andrea Graham. "Jane and the Dragon TV Review".