Dragon Tales

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Dragon Tales is a children's television series chronicling the adventures of the human children Max and Emmy (brother and sister respectively) and their friend Enrique. The television series was created by the late Nina Elias-Bamberger of Sesame Workshop, who also helped create Tiny Planets and other children's shows. It has been shown on the PBS Kids network in the United States since September 1999.

Overview

The children transport themselves to Dragon Land through the use of a magical dragon scale with the line, "I wish, I wish with all my heart to fly with dragons in a land apart." at the beginning of each episode. They are then transported back to their world using the same scale 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 conjoined twins), 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.

It is not revealed where the children's home is, however, one often sees palm trees combined with mountains outside of their bedroom window, suggesting California. As a contrast, Dragon Land is in a more temperate climate, with flora and fauna more typical of the northern United States and snow in the wintertime. However, the weather is also managed by Pollynimbus, the weatherdragon, and weather conditions can vary greatly from place to place in Dragon Land.

Show Structure

The series mixes in Spanish language elements in order to promote a bilingual learning experience for all audiences; this has been done more often since the 2004-2005 season with the introduction of Hispanic human neighbor Enrique joining Max and Emmy on their adventures.

Each show is divided into three segments: the first story, a song, known as a "Dragon Tune," and the second story. Each story is approximately 10-12 minutes long.

Characters and Cast

• Max - Max is Emmy's four-year-old brother, who proves to be both rambunctious and independent. He's a bundle of energy with a big smile and a mischievous streak, prone to sudden bouts of silliness. Despite being the smallest and youngest of the group, Max is determined to keep up in a big way. "I'm big!" he insists, ready to jump over the stream just like the rest of the crew. When it comes to Emmy, Max is her biggest fan. She's the one Max looks to for approval. When it gets right down to it, they both count on each other.

• Emmy - Emmy is an enthusiastic and imaginative six-year-old. This third generation Latina is the leader of the group, and "I know what to do. Come on!" is her mantra. Emmy is brave, smart and good-natured. She is supremely confident in her abilities. She can be found marching into the Forest of Darkness without fear, even though she may be holding Max's hand to make "him" feel better. She usually believes that she's right and shows it with her signature word, "definitely." But sometimes her over-confidence can land her and her friends in a heap of trouble. And that's where the learning begins.

• Enrique - Enrique, Max and Emmy's new next door neighbor, is a six year old boy from Colombia who is being raised by his father and by his grandmother, whom he calls abuelita (grandma.) He is smart, intensely logical and bilingual. His background and experiences will provide an insight into Hispanic culture and customs. Because he has moved several times, he finds it hard to make new friends. Once Emmy and Max reach out to him, they soon become inseparable, sharing fun adventures in Dragon Land.

• Ord - Ord is the largest, strongest, and fastest dragon. But, for a big dragon, he sure is a scaredy-cat. He's afraid of the dark. He's afraid of bugs. He's afraid of almost everything. More than anything, Ord wishes he could be brave. Ord has a badge that lights up when he finds a way to overcome his fears - even if his courage is fleeting. Like the other dragons, Ord loves to fly. He flies higher, longer, and does more loop-de-loops than any dragon who ever flew. When Emmy or the other dragons want to encourage their big friend, they point out that he once was afraid of flying and now he's not. Perhaps the one thing bigger than Ord's heart is his appetite and he can almost always be distracted by food. Especially Dragonberries - dragonberry pies, dragonberry muffins and dragonberry cakes. He loves his friends, especially Max, whom he affectionately calls "little buddy".

• Cassie - Cassie is the little and loveable pink dragon. She's the 35th hatchling of the 72 in her family - the typical middle child who strives to help everyone. Cassie is the first one with a bandage when someone gets hurt, and is always ready to cheer up a gloomy friend. She is shy about expressing her ideas because she worries that she'll be wrong. Slowly but surely, Cassie is learning to trust her own thoughts - even when others don't agree. She wears a dragon badge in the shape of a pearl, which glows brilliantly when she gains the courage to speak up and believe in her own wisdom. Cassie looks up to Emmy like a big sister, and appreciates Emmy's little brother Max for his good nature and independence. Cassie is known to have a younger brother Finn, a younger sister, Kiki and an older sister named Sophie. Her family may now be larger than 72 --- in the third season episode, "Moving On," she had to move out of her old room because her parents were hatching some more eggs.

• Zak and Wheezie - Zak & Wheezie are brother and sister–one body and two heads. Zak is the neat and orderly brother, while Wheezie is the wild and free-spirited sister. They make up a "one-dragon band," literally playing scales on their scales. At times, their opposite personalities can lead to disagreement, but harmony occurs when they learn to respect and listen to each other. Their badges light up when they can find a way to meet a difficult challenge–like getting along with each other. As with most brothers and sisters, they don't agree on a lot. But when they put their heads together, it's music to our ears.

• Lorca - Lorca is a member of Dragon Land's School in the Sky. Lorca is a great addition to Quetzal's classroom. He has a real can-do attitude and a wonderful imagination that fits right in with his Dragon Land friends. With Lorca's help, the Dragon Land crew learns how to overcome their fears and frustrations, while facing new challenges in their daily adventures. Although this dragon propels himself in a wheelchair instead of flying, Lorca has no trouble keeping up with his friends in Dragon Land. In fact, he often manages to save the day!

• Quetzal - Quetzal is an old, wise dragon. He has been in Dragon Land for centuries, is an expert on Dragon Land lore, and is a great resource for Emmy and the others. As one of the older members of the Quetzalcoatl culture of Dragon Land (which is the same as the Mexican culture in Max and Emmy's world), Quetzal speaks with a Mexican accent and adds some of his native language to his speech (we know this language as Spanish). He's the teacher at The School in the Sky, gently guiding our heroes on their voyage of self-discovery. His classroom is full of books, art supplies and surprises, including The Big Storybook - a fantastical almanac of sorts. Quetzal is the source youngsters turn to when they need a grownup. But the wise dragon never gives them a solution. He just leads them to discover, on their own, the right path to take.

• Mungus the Giant - A friendly giant who lives in a castle in the clouds.

Places in Dragon Land

• The School in the Sky - The dragon kids' school where Quetzal teaches.
• Dr. BoobooGone's office - Where dragons go when sick or hurt.
• The Scale Store - Featured in the episode, "Wild Time" where dragon scales are sold.
• Dragoon Lagoon - A large lagoon seen in many episodes
• 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, it somewhat resembles Mirkwood, and other Dark Forests.
• Turtle Rock - A large rock shaped like a turtle, although it seems to be constructed by numerous rocks.

Funding

• Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (1999-present)
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1999-2001)
• United States Department of Education

External links

• [Dragon Tales] at PBS - Official site
• [] at TV.com

 

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