TV Guide - January 23-29, 2005

Shizzle Fizzle

Hip-hop hero Jake Long doesn't play

 
Oh, that we all could have been around the pitch table when creator Jeff Goode explained the double-life concept behind American Dragon: Jake Long, an animated adventure series (with comic overtones) aimed at boys 6 to 11. How many times in life could you hear someone say, "I want to make a show about a 13-year-old Chinese-American skateboarder and rapper who is studying ancient Eastern ways in New York City with his grandfather and a wisecracking 600-year-old shar-pei named Fu Dog. Oh, and did I mention that Jake, who is decended from dragons, can shape-shift into a flying, fire-breathing superhero who must outwit blue-eyed Rose, his middle-school crush and sometime nemesis?"
 
My eyes rolled back in my head watching this messy suit-case of a series, which purports to incorporate cultural references to authentic Chinese folklore and mythology. After my screening of two episodes, those educational touches seemed to have been drowned out by a noisy soundtrack, hip-hop-influenced and forced dialogue, jagged story lines and rather static 2-D animation.
 
Young boys may love martial arts, fanatastical beings and rap, but this busy-busy attempt to merge those interests does none of the them justice.
 
by Michael Davis

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