Jackie Chan Adventures

*Jackie Chan Adventures*
Jackie Chan Adventures
	File:Jackiechanadventures logo.gif
Created by	John Rogers
Starring	Jackie Chan
Country of origin	United States
Original release
Network	Kids' WB!

Jackie Chan Adventures was a successfull childrens animated television series chronicling the adventures of a fictionalized version of action film star Jackie Chan. Many of the episodes contain references to Chan's actual works. This series ran on Kids' WB! from September 9, 2000 to July 8, 2005 for a total of 95 episodes, over 5 seasons. After its run ended, it began airing on JETIX on Toon Disney.

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Plot

The series features the fictional adventures of Jackie Chan, who is an archaeologist, martial arts expert and secret agent in the series. With help from his niece Jade, his grumpy old uncle (simply known as "Uncle") and his old friend Captain Black, he saves the world from evil forces that use would magical artifacts to rule the world. Later seasons included other supporting characters that comprised the world-saving "J-Team". He often works for the spy group Section 13 against the criminal organisation 'The Dark Hand' and various evil and supernatural forces. The first season involved the pursuit of 12 magical talismans. Subsequent seasons featured talisman powers, but more prominently involved Jackie Chan's pursuit of other magic items. While he travels around the world, Jackie lives in San Fransisco, where both Section 13 and Uncle's Antique Shop are located.

Characters

See List of Jackie Chan Adventures characters

The main characters are:

Jackie Chan - an archaeologist, who does work for Section 13.
Jade - Jackie's niece from Hong Kong who is staying with him. She constantly wants to get into the action.
Uncle - Jackie's grumpy old uncle who owns an antique shop and is also a good Chi wizard
Tohru - A huge Japanese Sumo. Originally a criminal, he becomes Uncle's apprentice
Captain Black - the leader of secret spy organisation 'Section 13'

The Seasons

See List of Jackie Chan Adventures episodes

Season One - The Twelve Talismans

(13 episodes) Jackie searches for the 12 magic talismans that are scattered across the world. Section 13 has recruited Jackie to do this before the Dark Hand do. The Dark Hand intend to use the talismans to re-awake the evil demon Shendu, who is encased in stone.

Season Two - The Demon Portals

(39 episodes) Shendu has possesed Valmont and is trying to bring his brothers and sisters - the Demon Sorcerers into this world through a series of mystic portals, located witht the magic pan'ku box. Jackie must stop this to save the world. In this series there are also a large number of one off episodes, where Jackie goes off on his own adventures, encountering leprecauns, Spring-heeled Jack, Chupacabra, among others. There are also three episodes set during season one.

Season Three - The Animal Powers

(17 episodes) The evil Chi wizard Daolon Wong is searching for the magic powers from the talismans, which have been spread across the world, contained in 12 magic animals. Jackie must try to stop him before he gains too many powers. This series also contained a few one off episodes.

Season Four - The Masks of the Shadowkhan

(13 episodes) Tarakudo, The King of the Shadowkhan awakes, taking the Dark Hand as his servants. He sets off to find the legendary eight Oni masks which, when worn, each release a new type of Shadowkhan. Jackie battle's the King of the Shadowkhan to stop him from plunging the world under eternal shadow.

Season Five - The Demon Powers

(13 episodes) When Drago, the son of the demon Shendu, escapes from Section 13 and sets off to find the seven magic objects that imprisoned the Demon Sorcerers, Jackie sets off to stop him.

Magic and the Supernatural

See also List of magical items in Jackie Chan Adventures The series nearly always involves the supernatural, like spells, demons, and chi.

Mythical Beings

A number of mythical beings appear in the show:

Demons, namely the Demon Sorcerers
Dragons
Shadowkhan - warriors that can turn into shadows
Monkey King

Talismans

The talismans represent the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac:

Rat: Power of Motion to the motion-less (reanimation). Gives inanimate objects life. If the object is based on a living thing, real or fictional(e.g. an action figure or a statue), it becomes real and can move/walk/fight, etc. Found in an ancient Chinese lantern.
Ox: Power of Super Strength. Was found in a Mayan temple by El Toro Fuerte, and was discovered by Jackie in El Toro's mask.
Tiger: Power of Balance. Splits the user's good and evil halves (Ying and Yang) into two separate beings, each holding a half of the talisman. The two beings rejoin when they reunite the broken talisman. Was found within a pie.
Rabbit: Power of Superspeed. Allows Time Travel when doused in Chronoton Radiation. Was found stuck in the shell of a turtle in a zoo.
Dragon: Power of Fire- Allows energy to be discharged from the talisman, with minor powers of levitation. Found in a volcanic cave.
Snake- Power of Invisibilty. Found in a secret passage in a cave, near Amazon River.
Horse: Power of healing. Originally it merely "Expels the alien forces within" or cured the user of illness. Later it could heal injuries and repair broken objects. Found atop an unnamed mountain.
Sheep: Power of Astral Projection, or the ability to eject the soul from the body and wander as an invisible spirit.
Monkey: Power of Animal Transmogrification. Any item/person/animal may be changed into the shape of any animal. Found in Micronesia, underwater.
Rooster: Power of Levitation. Found embedded in a shield in episode 1. When combined with the Rabbit Talisman gives the power of flight.
Dog: Power of Immortality and Youthful energy. Found in a windmill.
Pig: Power of Laser/Heat-Beam Eyes. Found in a Bavarian chocolate factory.

Chi Magic

In the universe of Jackie Chan Adventures, several characters can use a form of magic using chi energy. Chi magic involves the use of potions, magic objects, and incantations. Below are some of the Chi incantations that have been used throughout the series. Each wizard usually uses the same incantation but can accomplish many different effects, ranging from banishing demons to turning living creatures to stone.

Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao-The main good incantation of the series, this spell is used most often by Uncle. It is used for multiple purposes, including: banishing Shendu from Jade's body, returning the Demon Sorcerers to the Netherworld, turning Shendu to stone, and extracting the Demon Chi of the Demon Sorcerers. The incantation is actually Cantonese for "spirits, demons, ghosts and monsters quickly go away ".
Lai Sui Sie-The incantation used by Bai Tza during her attempt to flood San Francisco. In Mandarin it is along the lines of "summon water"
Kai Kwitchi Ka-Incantation used by Shendu (in Jackie's body) to open the portal to the Book Of Ages.
Nu Ke Ru, He Men Ja'a Ku-The Japanese incantation used for the removal of Oni Masks. It is also used to imprison Tarakudo in his Oni Mask.
Ya Gaa Mee Mo, Ya Gaa Mee Chi-Wah-Drago's incantation, used to absorb Demon Chi and cause destruction.
Mee-thana Chi. Chi-Mee-thana Chi-Chant Tohru uses to attempt to ambush Drago's absorption of the Demon Chi. Presumably Japanese.
Ju Ichi Bu Shun Li-Iso's incantation, used for evil chi spells.

A non-chi spell called Ex Metu Veres that the Magisters used when they stole Stonehenge was also invoked Neither Chinese nor of any relevance to Chi magic. Latin: "Out of fear, truth." This spell appears to have the same versatility as other forms of magic.

References to Jackie Chan's Film Career

There are many references to the real Jackie's live-action film career in the cartoon:

Animated Jackie's all beige/khaki clothes are also similar in appearance to the real Jackie in his film Armour of God.

In the first episode entitled The Dark Hand, Jackie fights Finn, Ratso and Chow in a playground. There is a similar playground fight scene in the Jackie Chan film Police Story 2.

In another first season episode Tough Break, Jackie is seen waterskiing with a cast on his leg. This is a reference to the waterskiing scene from the Jackie Chan film Rumble in the Bronx where Jackie performed the scene with a disguised cast under his costume. Jackie had broken his leg shooting a prior stunt where he jumped onto a passing hovercraft.

The episode Project A, For Astral is homage to Jackie's film Project A.

The Season Two episode Showdown in the Old West has Jackie's ancestor during the Old West looking just like Shanghai Noon.

In The Tiger and the Pussycat, Jackie splits into "good" and "evil" twins. Jackie Chan played dual roles in The Twin Dragons, one is a musical conductor and the other was the lost twin who is the only one with martial arts moves.
- Another possible reference can be seen during the fight between "light" and "dark" versions of Jackie in Tiger and the Pussycat where "Light" Jackie fights balancing onto makeshift stilts; using a ladder split vertically by "dark" Jackie. In the Jackie Chan film, Police Story 4: First Strike (known as Jackie Chan's First Strike in the US), Jackie has a fight scene whilst wearing stilts.

In a Season 3 episode, Jackie is bitten by a snake. The poison affects him, putting him in a drunken state, which he uses to his advantage. This is an allusion to Jackie's movie Drunken Master.
- Another possible "Drunken Master" reference appears in season 5, in the episode "Clash of the Titanics." Jackie (wearing SCUBA gear) explores a sunken ship which holds the chi of the thunder demon, Tchang Zu. Jackie, pursued by Strikemaster Ice and his gang, is forced to surface too quickly and gets "the bends," a condition which makes him delusional, ie drunken.

During the episode when Jade went back in time to Jackie's childhood, adult Jackie and young Uncle perform the same double team technique that Jackie Chan used in Rush Hour with Chris Tucker.

Trivia

The noble sheep in Sheep In, Sheep Out talks like Sean Connery when he's in astral form.

During an episode in Season Three, the TV Jade is watching switches to a picture of a man in a yellow jumpsuit with black stripes down the sides. The man is Bruce Lee, and the movie she is watching is Game of Death.

Throughout various episodes of Season Five, several of the Talismans are hidden on screen without the characters noticing them.

In one episode right after Bai Tza gets banished, it was stated that only one demon may escape at a time. Shendu then says that he will try to find a spell that will allow all the demons to escape. Ironically, Shendu's son, Drago, finds such a spell and tries to use it but fails.

Season 3's "Re-Enter the J Team" is a refrence to Bruce Lee's Enter The Dragon

A running gag throughout the series is that whenever Paco is in the episode, he and Jade argue over who is more impressive, Jackie or El Toro.

External Links