The Life and Times of Juniper Lee explained
| Creator: | Judd Winick |
| Director: | Frank Squillace |
| Opentheme: | "You Can't Stop the Girl" |
| Composer: | Stewart Copeland |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Network: | Cartoon Network |
| Company: | Cartoon Network Studios |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 40 |
| Runtime: | 22 minutes |
The Life and Times of Juniper Lee is an American animated television series created by former MTV reality star Judd Winick for Cartoon Network and produced by Cartoon Network Studios.[1] It premiered May 30, 2005 on Cartoon Network and ended its run on April 9, 2007.[2]
Premise
The series centers on the life of a preteen girl named Juniper Lee, who lives in Orchid Bay City. Based on Winick's adopted hometown of San Francisco, the city is a hub for magical activity and is filled with various monsters and demons, both good and evil. The magic and human worlds have been separated by an invisible mystical shield, known as "the Veil" which prevents ordinary humans from seeing any magic-related events or the creatures related to them. Juniper has recently been made the new Te Xuan Ze, the protector of the balance between the human and magical worlds.
To accomplish Juniper's task, she has been magically enhanced, making her far stronger and faster than ordinary humans; her abilities include superhuman strength, speed, agility and reflexes. She can also use several different types of spells to assist her. Maintaining the balance often interferes with her personal life, including her schoolwork and her social life, but she always manages to keep everything flowing.
Inspiration
Winick has stated that Juniper Lee was inspired by both The Simpsons and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, Juniper does follow in the footsteps of Buffy, as stated in the quote below:
Characters
Main
- Juniper "June" Kim Lee (voiced by Lara Jill Miller) is the protagonist of the series. Juniper is a feisty 11-year-old Chinese-American girl who lives in Orchid Bay City and is the current Te Xuan Ze. Juniper is relatively uneducated in the world of magic, mostly relying her super human strength, the advice of her grandmother, Ah-Mah and her enchanted dog, Monroe to defeat her foes. She has long black hair and after she inherits the powers of the Te Xuan Ze, a lock of hair on the left side changes to white from root to end (Juniper's grandmother, Jasmine, the former Te Xuan Ze has the same stripe in her hair) and Juniper later dyes this reddish-pink. The juniper flower symbolizes protection, referring to Juniper's role as the Te Xuan Ze, protecting others.
- Jasmine Lee (voiced by Amy Hill) – Jasmine Lee or "Ah-Mah" as Juniper calls her, is Juniper's grandmother, and the previous Te Xuan Ze. Calm and deliberate in most respects but crude and tough when she needs to be, the 69-year-old assists June when she is in serious trouble. As of the "Monster Con" episode, Ah-Mah was shown to still possess a significant amount of magically-enhanced speed and strength, though her stamina and durability are severely diminished to the point of being unable to stand unassisted after two to three minutes of combat (this is because of her old age). This supports her assertion in the first episode that it was no longer her place to act as Te Xuan Ze.
- Ray Ray Lee (voiced by Kath Soucie) is Juniper's hyperactive, dim-witted 8-year-old little brother. Like Juniper, Ray Ray can see through the magic barrier, though this is not a naturally occurring ability. When Juniper first gained her powers, a group of demons attempted to drain her powers. Ray Ray unwittingly intervened, causing some of her powers to transfer to him. He is hyperactive and careless, and often gets himself into trouble when dealing with the magic world. He also has a sibling rivalry relationship with Juniper, although it is often seen that he cares for her deeply. In the episodes after "O Brother, What Art Thou?", Ray Ray is a homunculus, his mind having been transferred to an artificial body after accidentally mutating his original body into a massive dinosaur by ingesting the growth potion that was supposed to make a giant grow back to his proper size.
- Monroe Connery Boyd Carlyle McGregor Scott V (Monroe for short, voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is an enchanted pug of Scottish origin. He is quite educated in the world of magic, having been alive for several centuries and assisting each Te Xuan Ze for nearly his entire life. Despite his knowledge, Juniper makes him her pet dog, due to his lack of grasping hands or opposable thumbs. Monroe has been magically enhanced, allowing him to be understood by those who can see through the magic barrier.
- Dennis Lee (voiced by Alexander Polinsky) is Juniper's grumpy, cynical 14-year-old elder brother who does not take June or Ray Ray seriously and usually calls them names. He loves manga and video games, and does not like anyone touching his stuff. In "Sealed With a Fist", Dennis learns that his sister is the current Te Xuan Ze and has grown to trust June after they work together with Boomfist and the heroic team of H.A.T.E. (Heroes Against Terrible Evildoers) to defeat the villainous L.O.V.E. (League of Villainous Evildoers). After that, he starts helping Juniper and Ray Ray on occasion.
- Jody Irwin (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey) is Juniper's best friend and usually the happiest of the group. She tries her best to cheer the group, even in the most ridiculous of ways.
- Ophelia Ramírez (voiced by Candi Milo) is one of Juniper's friends. She is a Latina goth, grumpy, cynical emo girl with pinkish-purple colored hair. She doesn't like a lot of things such as girly stuff and especially hates Roger. When she is in charge, she wants everything done perfectly.
- Roger Radcliffe (voiced by Tara Strong) is one of Juniper's friends and the school's class clown, he has unpredictable tendencies and he constantly asks Ophelia to go on a date, which she refuses. He has been known to imitate famous people or songs in the most crude and ridiculous of ways. His family is eventually revealed to be wealthy, but he has never even come close to becoming spoiled, due to his cheerful personality.
Supporting
- Marcus Conner (voiced by Phil LaMarr) – Along with being handsome and popular, Marcus Conner is a cool African-American boy. Juniper has a big crush on him, although she won't admit it. Despite being part of the in-crowd, Marcus is friends with everyone and often looks out for Juniper. He never gets caught up in his popularity and is always laid-back.
- Michael and Barbara Lee (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui and Candi Milo) – Michael Lee and his wife, Barbara are the parents of Juniper, Ray Ray and Dennis. Michael is Jasmine's only child and was supposed to wind up being the Te Xuan Ze after her, but the trait skipped him and ended up with Juniper instead. Michael works with Mr. Radcliffe, though his occupation is unknown. His wife, Barbara, is a kind and caring mother but neither will tolerate academic problems. Unlike their daughter, neither Michael nor Barbara can see magic or enchanted beings. Michael and Barbara love their children and will discipline them occasionally.
- Ms. Jill Gomez (voiced by Candi Milo) is a Mexican-American teacher at Juniper's school. While it's never shown, Ray Ray mentions in the episode "The World According to L.A.R.P." that he once accidentally turned her into a rhinoceros, he still thinks she was happier that way.
- William (voiced by Martin Jarvis) is Monroe's father, who previously served as the assistant to the Te Xuan Ze and constantly teases Monroe about his weight. Although being a dog, he has a short beard. He seems more proud of his Scottish ancestry than Monroe, as he is seen wearing a kilt and tam o'shanter.
- Melissa O'Malley (voiced by Tara Strong) is Juniper's Irish-American school diva rival who is jealous of June because she has a boyfriend (Marcus) and she doesn't which is why she plans on breaking June and Marcus apart so that she can steal Marcus from June. She is accompanied by two unnamed girls who help her with her plans against June and her friends.
- Cletus and Gus (voiced by Jeff Bennett and Dee Bradley Baker) are two recurring monsters, and friends of Juniper and Ray Ray.
- Lila (voiced by Tara Strong) is a Sasquatch. She is significantly more intelligent than other Sasquatch. Ray Ray is seen to have a crush on her. Monroe uses an Exfoliax Charm to remove most of her excess hair so that she could pass for human. She then enrolls at Juniper's school to learn more about humans. On top of super strength and reflexes on a par with Juniper's, Lila knows a lot about survival skills. As a cover-up to Juniper's friends, Lila claims that her parents were forest rangers. For some unknown reason, she is completely absent after "Make Me Up Before You Go-Go" only to return in the final episode.
Episodes
Shorts (2006–07)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|
| 2006 | | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Frederick Gardner
| |
| Best Production Design in an Animated Television Production | Alan Bodner
| |
| 2007 | | Best Character Design in an Animated Television Production | Mike Kunkel
| |
| Best Production Design in an Animated Television Production | Alan Bodner
| |
| Writers Guild of America[3] | Best Writing in an Animated Program for Television | Marsha Griffin
| | |
Comics
Stories based on the series were featured in issues of Cartoon Network Action Pack.
Notes and References
- Book: Perlmutter, David . The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . 2018 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1538103739 . 358.
- News: Baisley . Sarah . May 30, 2005 . Life & Times of Juniper Lee Premieres May 30 . January 23, 2021 . . Animation World Network.
- Web site: Thielman . Sam . McNary . Dave . February 9, 2008 . Cody, Coens Bros. Top WGA Awards . 23 February 2019 . Variety.
