Jake and the Never Land Pirates explained

Alt Name:	Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates
Developer:	Bobs Gannaway
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Num Seasons:	4
Num Episodes:	116 (215 segments)
List Episodes:	List of Jake and the Never Land Pirates episodes
Executive Producer:	Rob LaDuca
Producer:	Mark Seidenberg
Editor:	Reid Kramer
Runtime:	24 minutes
Company:	Disney Television Animation
Network:	Disney Junior Disney Channel

Jake and the Never Land Pirates (titled Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates for the fourth season and associated merchandise^[1]) is an American animated interactive preschool children's television series for Disney Junior. Based on Walt Disney's Peter Pan franchise, which was itself based on the 1904 play and 1911 book by J. M. Barrie, it was the first Disney Junior original show following the switch from Playhouse Disney. It stars Sean Ryan Fox, Megan Richie, Jadon Sand, David Arquette, Corey Burton, Jeff Bennett, Loren Hoskins, and Dee Bradley Baker. The series was created by Disney veteran Bobs Gannaway, whose works include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Secret of the Wings.

The series focuses on Jake, Izzy, Cubby, and their parrot Skully, a band of young pirates who spend their days competing for treasure against Captain Hook and his pirate crew, consisting of Mr. Smee, Sharky and Bones. They are often accompanied by several characters, including their living pirate ship, Bucky, and their mermaid friend, Marina.

The series' fourth and final season, under the name Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates, premiered on September 14, 2015.^[2] The show ran until November 6, 2016.

Premise

The show takes place some time after the events of Peter Pan and before Return to Never Land and focuses on Jake, Izzy, and Cubby. Each episode consists of two eleven-minute segments in which Jake his crew and the audience have adventures around Never Land and outsmart Captain Hook and his crew. In each segment, they earn gold doubloons each time they solve a problem together, and at the end they count them and put them in their "Team Treasure Chest".

The first season of the series followed more "playful" conflicts, such as Jake and the crew reclaiming their basketball or skateboard from Captain Hook. The second season had less interactive moments and a larger scale of adventure, with plots such as the characters finding a lost city of gold and an ancient pirate pyramid. The third season has an updated theme song and more action. The fourth and final season has one fourth-wall break at the end of each episode.

Almost every episode contains two eleven-minute animated segments, followed by a live-action song by the Never Land Pirate Band. The singing characters Sharky and Bones appear in both animated and live-action forms, being part of Hook's crew.

Episodes

See main article: List of Jake and the Never Land Pirates episodes.

Characters

Main

• Jake (voiced by Colin Ford from season 1-"Little Red Riding Hook", Cameron Boyce from "Izzy Trident Treasure"-"Queen Izzy-Bella", Sean Ryan Fox from "Smee–erella"-"The Great Never Sea Conquest" and Riley Thomas Stewart in season 4) is the protagonist and leader of the Never Land Pirates, and Captain Hook's main pirate rival. He is shown using a telescope and steering the ship in the opening. He used the wooden Forever Sword, which was cut from the Forever Tree and given to him by Peter Pan. He also briefly used the transformable Mega-Mecha Sword and the golden Destiny Sword. As a captain, he uses the metal Mighty Captain's Sword, which can cut through metal padlocks, heat up to cut through ice bars, shoot heat beams, and deflect cold or energy blasts. Both cutlasses have a crossguard on the hilt but the Mighty Captain's Sword has a larger pommel and no knuckle-bow on the side. He also acquires an invisibility ring and has used Izzy's pixie dust to fly.^{[3] [4] [5]}
• Izzy (voiced by Madison Pettis from season 1–"Happy 1,000th Birthday!" and Megan Richie from "Shiverjack"-season 4) acts as Jake's second-in-command. She has a small sack of pixie dust given to her by Tinker Bell and her friends, which the team uses only in emergencies. Her catchphrase is "Yay, hey, no way!"
• Cubby (voiced by Jonathan Morgan Heit from season 1–"Stowaway Ghost" and Jadon Sand from "Battle for the Book"-season 4) is the youngest of the group and Jake's best friend, who is timid and lacks confidence. He has the map of Never Land and is shown manning the crow's nest in the opening. He is not a member of the Lost Boys, despite physically resembling the Cubby of the group. His catchphrase is "Aww, coconuts!"
• Skully (speaking voice by David Arquette and singing voice by Loren Hoskins) is a green anthropomorphic parrot who acts like a guardian to the team and keeps a lookout for Captain Hook and Mr. Smee.
• Bucky is Jake, Izzy, Cubby and Skully's pirate ship. It is shown to have some life, as it can listen to their orders. It can move parts of itself, including stairs, a slide, a bell, and its sails and steering mechanisms, and fly.
• Captain Hook (voiced by Corey Burton) is Never Land's resident pirate captain and Peter Pan's nemesis. He is the commander of the galleon "The Jolly Roger". He is legendary for his cruelty to his enemies and his own men and struggles to maintain a permanent crew, as he currently has only three crew members and the rest of his crew is never seen. He also likes to keep a collection of different things, such as seashells. His greatest fear is encountering Tick Tock, the crocodile that ate his hand after Peter Pan sliced it off in a sword fight.
• Mr. Smee (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is Captain Hook's first mate. He is also an expert on Never Land's legends and the wisest of Captain Hook's pirates, but no one ever seems to listen to his suggestions.
• Sharky (voiced by Loren Hoskins) and Bones (voiced by Jeff Bennett; and singing voices provided by Kevin Hendrickson) are members of Captain Hook's pirate crew. They usually spend time performing musical numbers and act as troubadours. Live-action versions appear at the end of the show to perform an original song.
• The Jolly Roger is Captain Hook and his crew's ship. It is bigger than Bucky, but unlike it is not animate.

Recurring

• Marina (voiced by Ariel Winter) is a young mermaid who lives with her people in the ocean surrounding Never Land. Unlike some of the mermaids, who tend to be selfish, vain, and cruel, Marina is gentle and kind to the crew and is close friends with Izzy, often showing them the secrets of the Never Sea she has discovered. She also has a little sister named Stormy and has a crush on Jake.
• Tick-Tock (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is the crocodile that ate Captain Hook's left hand after Peter Pan cut it off in a sword fight and has followed the Jolly Roger ever since. He also ate an alarm clock, whose sound alerts Captain Hook to his presence.
• Never Bird (vocal effects by Russi Taylor) is a former sidekick of Captain Hook, who betrays him and joins Jake and his crew.
• Sandy (voiced by Loren Hoskins) is Marina's singing pet starfish, who has the ability to heal through a special song.
• The Pirate Princess (speaking voice by Tori Spelling and singing voice by Laura Dickinson) is a pirate who was cursed and shipwrecked in a hidden grotto, but is later rescued by Jake and his crew.
• Winger (voiced by Lisa Loeb) is Skully's close friend, who is revealed to be the princess of the Sky Bird Kingdom.
• The Wise Old Parrot (voiced by Adam West) is an aged scarlet macaw and the ruler of the Sky Bird Kingdom.
• The Monkey (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is a mischievous primate who steals Jake's bongos, but later returns them and befriends Jake and his crew.
• Mama Hook (voiced by Sharon Osbourne) is Captain Hook's mother.
• Red Jessica (voiced by Jane Kaczmarek) is a pirate whom Captain Hook falls in love with.
• Captain Flynn (voiced by Josh Duhamel) is a pirate who was stranded in the Never Land desert with his ship, the "Barracuda", but is rescued by Jake and his crew.
• Peter Pan (voiced by Adam Wylie) is Captain Hook's nemesis and the leader of Never Land and the Lost Boys. He is mentioned throughout the series, but physically appears in the special episodes "Peter Pan Returns", "Jake Saves Bucky", "Never Land Rescue", and "Battle for the Book".
• Stormy (voiced by Allisyn Ashley Arm) is Marina's lazy, yet well-meaning younger sister.
• The Sea Witch (voiced by Carol Kane) is an evil witch who seeks to turn the Pirate Princess into gold, but later turns good after Izzy stops her.
• Misty (speaking voice by Tiffani Thiessen and singing voice by Laura Dickinson) is a good witch who tends to be the Pirate Princess' neighbor.
• Pip (voiced by Jerry O'Connell) is a pirate genie who once resided in a ship-in-the-bottle.
• Percy (voiced by Rhys Darby) is an anthropomorphic penguin who Jake and his crew help to get his group to their colony.
• Beatrice Le Beak (voiced by Teri Hatcher) is a sneaky pirate who steals from Captain Hook.
• Queen Coralie (voiced by Leigh-Allyn Baker) is the mermaid ruler of Neptune City.
• Pirate Mummy (voiced by Jack McBrayer) is a thousand-year-old pirate mummy who inhabits the Pirate Mummy's Tomb in the Never Land Desert.
• Ghostly Bob (voiced by Bill Farmer) is the leader of a mischievous band of pirate ghosts who were sealed away in the wooden crate and cast into the bottom of the Never Sea.
• Wendy Darling (voiced by Maia Mitchell) is the eldest of the Darling siblings and one of Peter Pan and Tinker Bell's oldest and dearest friends.
• John Darling (voiced by Elliot Reeve) is the middle child of the Darling siblings.
• Michael Darling (voiced by Colby Mulgrew) is the brother of Wendy and John Darling.
• Peg-Leg Peg (voiced by Estelle Harris) is a pirate ghost and Captain Treasure Tooth's love interest.
• Dread (voiced by David Tennant) is an evil genie who steals other genies' magic for himself.
• Lord Fathom (voiced by Malcolm McDowell) is an evil Merwizard who plots to take over the Never Sea.
• Beardini (voiced by Steve Valentine) is a pirate magician who lives on Never Land.
• ShiverJack (voiced by Mark Hamill) is a sorcerer with ice powers.
• Doctor Undergear (voiced by Tony Hale) is a mad inventor.
• The Grim Buccaneer (voiced by Christian Slater) is a shadowy pirate.
• Captain Wraith (voiced by Blair Underwood) is a pirate ghost who resides on Ghost Island. He seeks to take over the Never World by using his enchanted treasure to transform pirates who travel to Ghost Island in search of treasure into his ghostly crew.
• King Zongo (voiced by Chris Kattan) is the ruler of the pirate monkeys of Never Land.
• Captain Colossus (voiced by Hector Elizondo) is a pirate and former captain of the battleship the Mighty Colossus.

Music

The show's musical elements are handled by Loren Hoskins and Kevin Hendrickson, who were emailed by the show's creator Bobs Gannaway, asking if they would be interested in creating songs for the show.^[6] According to Hoskins, Gannaway "just wanted good music to listen to while he was writing the pilot". Gannaway searched "pirate music for kids" online and found his way to Captain Bogg and Salty, listening to their songs while working on the script. He introduced the band to Jay Stutler, vice president of music at Disney Television Animation. "We're in charge of creating every note of music for the show. We create the underscore. We sit in the studio and record the background music that comes in and out."^[7] The music for the show has been praised for being enjoyable for both the children, and the adult caretakers.^[8] Three soundtracks have been released featuring songs from the show.^[9]

Broadcast

The series aired worldwide on Disney Junior. It premiered on May 6, 2011 in Canada, on May 7, 2011 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, on May 29, 2011 in Australia and New Zealand, on June 1, 2011 in South Africa, on July 4, 2011 in India, on July 11, 2011 in Southeast Asia, and on April 29, 2013 in Zimbabwe, with TVNZ in New Zealand and 7flix in Australia. It was also broadcast in Belgium on Club RTL, in France on M6 and TF1 as part of the TFOU block, and in Greece on ERT1 (Season 1 Only).

Home media

Collection	Included episodes	Release date
Yo Ho, Mateys Away!	"Hats Off to Hook/Escape from Belch Mountain", "Hide the Hideout!/The Old Shell Game", "Izzy's Pirate Puzzle/The Never Land Games", "Off the Hook	/Never Say Never!", "Cubby's Sunken Treasure/Cubby's Goldfish", "Happy Hook Day	/No Returns!", "The Sky's The Limit	/Bucky Makes a Splash"	September 27, 2011
Peter Pan Returns	"Peter Pan Returns" Full Length Adventure, "The Elephant Surprise!/Jake's Jungle Groove", "The Pirate Pup	/Pirate Rock!", "The Sword and the Stone/Jake's Home Run", "The Pirate Princess/The Rainbow Wand", "Mama Hook Knows Best	/Pixie Dust Away"	April 3, 2012^[10]
Jake Saves Bucky	"Jake Saves Bucky" Full Length Adventure, "Peter's Musical Pipes/The Never Night Star", "Captain Hook's Hooks/Mr. Smee's Pet", "Race-Around Rock!/Captain Hook is Missing	", "Captain Hook's Lagoon/Undersea Bucky!"	October 16, 2012^[11]
Never Land Rescue	"Never Land Rescue" Full Length Adventure, "It's a Pirate Picnic / The Key to Skull Rock ", "The Golden Twilight Treasure / Rock the Croc!", "Jake and Sneaky Le Beak / Cubby the Brave", "Jake's Special Delivery / Seahorse Saddle-Up	"	November 19, 2013
Battle for the Book	"Battle for the Book" Full Length Adventure, "Treasure of the Pirate Mummy's Tomb / Mystery of the Missing Treasure!", "Pirate Genie Tales" Full Length Adventure, "Captain Gizmo / Jake's Pirate Swap Meet", "Sleeping Mermaid / Jake's Mega-Mecha Sword"	January 6, 2015
The Great Never Sea Conquest	"The Great Never Sea Conquest" Full Length Adventure, "Into the Heart of Coldness/The Remarkable Beardini!", "Escape from Ghost Island/ The Island of Doctor Undergear", "Rise of the Pirate Pharaoh/ The Golden Hook", "The Mystery of the Mighty Colossus/The Doubloon Monsoon", "Shark Attack	/Captain Hook’s Colossal Collision"	January 12, 2016

Reception

Critical

The series has received generally mixed reviews. A review in Variety called it "part video game, part interactive cartoon, part advertisement for 'Peter Pan' merchandise".^[12] The Los Angeles Times gave a mixed review of the show's portrayal of Captain Hook compared to the classic Peter Pan, stating that the character "has been laundered — reasonably enough, yet sadly as well — into a shell of his former self, too silly to be frightening, not even a decent bully, just a kind of (much) older boy who wants to steal your toys."^[13] Common Sense Media rated it "on" for ages 3 and older, praising the educational content, role models, and especially the messages of the show, and expressing only mild concern about the moderate violence.^[14] As the flagship of the newly launched Disney Junior channel, the series was rated the most-watched program among boys ages 2–5 during its first few weeks on the air, with 2.9 million viewers, including 1.1 million ages 2–5, and over 600,000 women ages 18–49 (presumed to be mothers and other caregivers).^[15] On July 27, the series was awarded #2 of the Best TV Shows 2011 list.^[16]

The character Jake has too received positive reviews. The character has been thought of as a "classic Disney character", lovable and entertaining addition. He has quickly become an icon at Disney's Hollywood Studios from the popular Disney Junior Live as well as being added on the park's entrance drawings. The atmosphere character can be seen at the Hollywood And Vine character breakfast and the Animation courtyard, while at Disney California Adventure, Jake can be found on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood Land.

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Nominee	Result
Disney Sanya Awards	Best Episode [Pirate-Sitting Pirates]
Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role – Young Actor	Colin Ford
Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Casting for an Animated Series or Special	Brian Mathias and Aaron Drown
	Outstanding Pre-School Children's Animated Program	Rob LaDuca, Bradley Bowlen and Mark Seidenberg
	Outstanding Casting for an Animated Series or Special	Abbie D'Andrea and Brian Mathias
	Outstanding Individual in Animation	Jairo Lizarazu – background layout designer

Merchandise

Upon the initial release of the series onwards, there has been a high demand for toys, games, and other merchandise from the show. At the American International Toy Fair in New York City, Disney announced a line of toys to be released in the summer of 2012.

Video games

On May 24, 2012, the Jake's Never Land Pirate School app was released on Apple and Android devices.^[17]

A variety of other video games are based on the series^[18] including:

1. Big Air Adventure^[19] a 5-series crossover of title characters from Doc McStuffins, Henry Hugglemonster, Miles from Tomorrowland, and Sofia the First
2. Bucky's Never Sea Hunt^[20]
3. Cave of Mystery^[21]
4. Go Bananas^[22]
5. Golden Pirate Pumpkin Patch^[23]
6. Hook Yer Pirate Name^[24]
7. Hook's Merry Winter Treasure Hunt^[25]
8. Izzy's Flying Adventure^[26]
9. Jake and the Never Land Pirates Sand Pirates^[27]
10. Never Land Games^[28]
11. Shadow Shenanigans^[29]
12. Sharky and Bones Pirate Rock^[30]
13. Super Pirate Powers^[31]
14. The Great Pirate Pyramid^[32]
15. Rainbow Wand Color Quest^[33]
16. Jake's Story Quest^[34]

Spin-offs

A spin-off series of shorts of the show centering on Skully, titled Playing With Skully, aired on September 19, 2012.^[35] Another short series entitled Jake's Never Land Pirate School premiered on November 26, 2012.^[36] The third spin-off, Mama Hook Knows Best! premiered on September 29, 2013, starring Sharon Osbourne as Mama Hook, but instead of a series, it was a book. The fourth spin-off entitled, Jake's Buccaneer Blast premiered on October 26, 2014, as the first Lego Duplo adventure.

See also

• Never Land Pirate Band
• Tree Fu Tom

External links

• • • Disney Channel information on Jake and the Never Land Pirates

Notes and References

1. Web site: Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates Figure Play Set.
2. Web site: 'Sofia The First', 'Doc McStuffins' & 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates' Renewed by Disney Junior. https://web.archive.org/web/20170906133657/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/network-press-releases/sofia-the-first-doc-mcstuffins-jake-and-the-neverland-pirates-renewed-by-disney-junior/. dead. 6 September 2017. 17 May 2018. zap2it.com.
3. The Sword and the Stone . Jake and the Never Land Pirates.
4. Jake's Mega-Mecha Sword . Jake and the Never Land Pirates.
5. Never Land Rescue . Jake and the Never Land Pirates.
6. Web site: Interview with Sharky and Bones from the Never Land Pirate Band – interview for Moms and Dads . YouTube . 2011-08-22 . 2013-12-01.
7. Web site: Rob Owen, Special to The Oregonian . Two Portland performers provide music for Disney's 'Jake and the Never Land Pirates' . 14 February 2011 . OregonLive.com . 2013-12-01.
8. Web site: Jake & The Never Land Pirates: Music . Amazon . 2013-12-01.
9. Web site: Jake and the Never Land Pirates – iTunes – Apple (scroll down to "Top Albums and Songs by The Never Land Pirate Band") . January 2011 . iTunes . 2017-05-21.
10. Web site: Jake & the Never Land Pirates: Peter Pan Returns (Two-Disc DVD + Digital Copy Combo): Jake & The Never Land Pirates: Movies & TV . Amazon . 3 April 2012 . 2013-12-01.
11. Web site: Jake and the Never Land Pirates Products | Disney Movies . Disneydvd.disney.go.com . 2013-12-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130520171904/http://disneydvd.disney.go.com/jake-and-the-never-land-pirates-jake-saves-bucky.html . 2013-05-20 . dead .
12. Jake and the Never Land Pirates. Brian Lowry. Variety. 2011-04-24. February 15, 2011.
13. News: Television review: 'Jake and the Never Land Pirates'. The Los Angeles Times. Robert Lloyd. 2011-04-24. February 15, 2011.
14. Web site: Jake and the Never Land Pirates. 2011-04-24.
15. Web site: Jake and the Never Land Pirates Hit Series Highs on April 9. https://web.archive.org/web/20110415091243/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/04/12/disney-junior%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cjake-and-the-never-land-pirates%E2%80%9D-sails-to-series-highs-on-saturday/89175. dead. 2011-04-15. Disney press release. 2011-04-13. 2011-04-24.
16. Web site: Best TV Shows 2011 . Screenjunkies.com . 2011-07-14 . 2013-12-01.
17. Web site: Jake's Never Land Pirate School on the App Store on iTunes . Itunes.apple.com . 2012-07-16 . 2013-12-01.
18. Web site: Jake and the Never Land Pirates – All Games – Disney Junior. Disney Junior.
19. Web site: Disney Junior Big Air Adventure. Disney Junior.
20. Web site: Bucky's Never Sea Hunt. Disney Junior.
21. Web site: Cave of Mystery. Disney Junior.
22. Web site: Go Bananas!. Disney Junior.
23. Web site: Golden Pirate Pumpkin Patch. Disney Junior.
24. Web site: Hook Yer Pirate Name. Disney Junior.
25. Web site: Hook's Merry Winter Treasure Hunt. Disney Junior.
26. Web site: Izzy's Flying Adventure. Disney Junior.
27. Web site: Jake and the Never Land Pirates – Sand Pirates. Disney Junior.
28. Web site: Never Land Games. Disney Junior.
29. Web site: Shadow Shenanigans. Disney Junior.
30. Web site: Sharky and Bones' Pirate Rock. Disney Junior.
31. Web site: Super Pirate Powers. Disney Junior.
32. Web site: The Great Pirate Pyramid. Disney Junior.
33. Web site: Rainbow Wand Color Quest. Disney Junior.
34. Web site: Jake's Story Quest. Disney Junior.
35. Web site: Brown . Sophie . GeekMom Exclusive: Jake and the Neverland Pirates New Primetime Special | GeekMom . Wired.com . 2012-07-27 . 2013-12-01.
36. Web site: Kitchen Table: Tune into Disney Channel for Jake and The Never Land Pirates . Kitchentable4.com . 2012-11-21 . 2013-12-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131204031458/http://www.kitchentable4.com/2012/11/tune-into-disney-channel-for-jake-and.html . 2013-12-04 . dead.