It was October 5, 2005 when Jane and the Dragon premiered in Canada on YTV, and September 2, 2006 when it was first broadcast in the United States on NBC.
Based on the trilogy of children’s books by Martin Baynton, Jane and the Dragon told the story of 12-year-old Jane Turnkey who trained in secret to become a knight in the southeast England kingdom of Kippernia. Her best friend was a 300-year-old fire-breathing talking dragon, named Dragon, who promised to help in exchange for her helping find others of his kind. More often than not, Dragon’s clumsy help made matters more difficult for Jane, but she would rise to the occasion and ultimately succeed.
Weta Workshop of New Zealand and Nelvana Ltd. of Canada made 26 episodes of whimsical fun, adventure, and challenges that provoked the audience as well as the characters. Is there a Tooth Fairy? What are the consequences of gossip? What does loyalty really mean, and are there sacrifices involved? How do you deal with someone as obnoxious as Dragon?
Alas, we never saw Jane achieve her knighthood, though it was likely she would. We never saw Dragon find others of his kind, assuming other dragons existed.
In the meantime, fans hoped the stories would continue at some point. Here are some reactions from a YouTube posting of the episode “Rune,” uploaded by KnifeInTheCrayonBox:
Susan Soltau
3 years ago
I’m glad to see after all this time, there still is a reasonably sized fanbase for this highly underrated show. I first discovered it when I was in early high school so thank you for uploading the remaining episodes even after 12 years. I still enjoy looking back on them once and a while.
Susan Soltau
3 years ago
I do love how Jane is just a little out of breath complaining how out of shape she is. Jane you do realize you just ran up a mountain thousands of feet above ground level in like a unrealistically short amount of time right? I wish I was in half as good of shape as she is.
Mads the Ghost
3 years ago
I used to tune my tv’s antenna all morning just to watch this program. I miss it and I wish it could be resurrected by someone who loves it and would keep the tone and art the same.
HiddenTalent
2 years ago
“Integrity is a banner we must each carry every day…” This hit really hard. Always some great lessons sprinkled throughout this series.
mariem labbaoui
2 years ago
jane’s voice is actually pretty cool in the intro i don’t know why she said she can’t sing
Jade Kitchen
3 years ago
I love how the castle staff like Gardner, jester etc… are like 11-13 years old
Giuly Salvati
2 years ago
I remember watching this as a Child and I loved it, now at the age of 17 I still love it…and I can explain now why I so much love Dragon stories.
IrmaTheSperma
8 months ago
I would kill for a reboot of this show with everyone being older. It could have a more serious narrative and go into more depth about Dragon’s story. Also it could focus on more mature themes and relate to an older audience since most of us who remember watching it are older now. It would be kick ASS
Amelia Rizk
2 years ago
I feel bad about jane actually, she always tryin to please everyone
Emma Grainger
3 years ago
don’t mess with pepper’s pies or she’ll throw a wooden spoon at you
little Red
3 years ago
Every episode has a life lessons dose anyone else see that?
Destiny Miller
4 months ago
This is one show from my childhood I would support of reboot of. Our advancements in animation tech would make this show next level. Also, we could finally get a proper ending to the show
XDanW
2 years ago
I’m glad Gunther came through in the end, I guess he’s not such a bad guy after all.
Fernando Garcia
1 year ago
It wasn’t until now that I realized that Gunther isn’t even that bad. He is pushed to by his dad which is messed up. He is just lazy and childish but thats nothing tok bad… oh and Pepper is pretty bad 🥵😭
Good news, Jane fans.
Martin Baynton is writing new stories about Jane and the Dragon. Click on the link and enjoy.
More in the next post.
