Jackie Chan Adventures is an animated television series chronicling the adventures of a fictionalized version of action film

Action film

Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...

 star Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...

. Many of the episodes contain references to Chan's actual works. This series ran on Kids' WB! from September 9, 2000 to July 7, 2005 for a total of 95 episodes, or 5 seasons. During its run, it was also shown on Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....

, and afterwards, its reruns landed on Disney XD

Disney XD

Disney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...

. An Arabic translation has been airing on MBC 3

MBC 3

MBC 3 is a free-to-air children channel that hosts by Dania al-Shafii and Hassan al-Mula and belongs to the Middle East Broadcasting Center . It was launched on 8 December 2004...

 since early 2006 and an Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 translation has been airing on Chutti TV

Chutti TV

Chutti TV is a 24-hour Tamil language television channel owned by the Sun Network. The target audience are children aged between 3 and 14. It was launched in 2007, making it Sun TV Network's first ever television channel for kids....

 since its launch. There have been several toys and video games

Jackie Chan Adventures (video game)

The Jackie Chan Adventures video game is based upon the Jackie Chan Adventures cartoon. Developed by Atomic Planet and published by Sony, it was released for PlayStation 2 on October 1, 2004 in Europe. It was compatible with the Eyetoy. Jackie, Jade, Uncle, Valmont and Shendu were voiced by their...

 based on the series. Its main character designer is Jeff Matsuda

Jeff Matsuda

Jeff Matsuda is a Japanese-American concept artist, comics artist, and animator. He served as the chief character designer for both Jackie Chan Adventures and The Batman, and is the president and creative director of X-Ray Kid Studios. Matsuda was discovered by Rob Liefeld after submitting some...

.

Plot

Jackie Chan is an amateur archaeologist living above his uncle's antique shop in San Francisco, California when he comes across a magical artifact in a hidden treasure room of a Bavarian castle. This brings him to the attention of his old friend, Captain Augustus Black, who is in charge of a secret governmental organization known as Section 13, as well as the criminal organization known as the Dark Hand, led by Valmont. The artifact he found is a shield, which contains one talisman from a set of twelve. This sets Jackie, his uncle (Uncle), his niece (Jade), and allies on many adventures involving magic, danger, and often the fate of the world itself.

Characters

The main protagonists are:

• Jackie Chan - an archaeologist, who works part-time for Section 13.
• Jade - Jackie's 11 year old niece from Hong Kong
  Hong Kong
  Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
  
  . Highly adventurous, stubborn, impulsive, and most certainly vigilant, she constantly intends to get into the action.
• Uncle - Jackie's superstitious old uncle who owns an antique shop and is also a master Chi wizard.
• Captain Black - the bald leader of secret spy organization "Section 13" and an old friend of Jackie.
• Tohru - A huge Japanese man who claims to be "too small for Sumo" (although he weighs 480 lb (217.7 kg)). Originally a Dark Hand criminal, he becomes Uncle's apprentice in the 2nd season and remains with the Chans for the rest of the series.

Season 1: The Twelve Talismans

(13 episodes) Jackie is recruited by Section 13 to search for twelve magic Talismans scattered across the globe, in order to stop a criminal organization known as the Dark Hand from using them to revive an ancient demon sorcerer, Shendu, in order to gain access to the lost treasure of Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang

Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...

. When the tiger Talisman is split in two along with Jackie, his dark half hands over the rest of the Talismans, allowing the Dark Hand to reanimate Shendu. Shendu travels to China to summon his dragon army to destroy all of Asia. Jackie pulls the Talismans out of Shendu, causing him to transform back into a statue, and Jade destroys him. However, this leaves a vacuum to be filled by a new more powerful evil force.

Whilst the ending theme for other seasons are the same as the opening, in the first season, the ending theme is "Chan's the Man" by Wheatus

Wheatus

Wheatus are an American rock group from Northport, New York. They are known for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag" which was featured in the movie Loser, as well as in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.-1995-2002: Formation and Wheatus:...

.

Season 2: The Demon Portals

(39 episodes) Shendu has possessed Valmont and is trying to bring his brothers and sisters - the Demon Sorcerers - into this world through a series of mystic portals, located with the magic Pan'ku box. Jackie must stop this to save the world. After initial failure, Shendu's spirit possesses Jackie as previously planned and travels to Australia, rewriting the Book of Ages so that the demons were never banished and now rule the world, with no one remembering their now-alternate lives; however, Jade manages to retain her memories by ripping a page out of the Book before Shendu made his alterations, and, with the help of the J-Team, changes the world back. In this series there are also a large number of "filler" episodes, where Jackie goes off on his own adventures, involving minor criminal organizations and other bandits such as Spring Heeled Jack

Spring Heeled Jack

Spring-heeled Jack is a character in English folklore of the Victorian era who was known for his startling jumps. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over England and were especially prevalent in suburban London, the Midlands and...

, the Monkey King, as well as more grisly ones with beings such as the Jiangshi and the Chupacabra

Chupacabra

The chupacabras is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico , Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities...

, and occasional run-ins with Dark Hand members. There are also three episodes set during the time period of Season One. At the end of the season, the Dark Chi Wizard Daolon Wong was introduced, who after having been foiled in his long-term plan to engulf the world in dark chi, pursued the Talisman powers, paving the way for the events of Season Three. In the intro, Hak Foo replaced Tohru, and Shendu is shown as a spirit possessing Valmont.

Season 3: The Talisman-Powered Animals

(17 episodes) Daolon Wong attacks Section 13 in search of the Talismans, at the same time as the Dark Hand does as well. In an attempt to stop them, Jackie destroys the Talismans, only to have their power scattered around the world once again. Now Jackie must find the animals of each Zodiac symbol before Wong can find them and steal their power. Wong manages to get the rooster's and pig's respective abilities of levitation and laser vision, while Jackie and the others successfully get the rest of the animals. When the time comes to find the dragon, Wong resurrects Shendu in exchange for his Talisman power of pyrokinesis. However, Shendu betrays him upon revival and steals the rest of the powers. In the end, Jackie's uncle uses a spell to imprison Shendu in a statue and separate his powers into Talismans, the same spell used on him centuries ago.

Season 4: The Masks of the Shadowkhan

(13 episodes) Tarakudo, the King of the Shadowkhan, is awakened by Daolon Wong. Taking the Enforcers as his servants, he sets off to find the legendary nine Oni masks which, when worn, each release a new type of Shadowkhan. Jackie battles the King of the Shadowkhan to stop him from plunging the world into eternal shadow. Sometime during this season Shendu's son, Drago, travels back in time from the future in an attempt to bring back his father but is defeated and detained in Section 13.

Season 5: The Demon Powers

(13 episodes) In the final season, Drago escapes from Section 13, and it's another race around the world as Jackie must locate seven cursed objects of the immortals that imprisoned Shendu's siblings which are all imbued with their demonic power before Drago does. As an easter egg, the Dragon Talisman is hidden in the background at some point in every episode.

Magic and the Supernatural

The series nearly always involves magic and the supernatural, like spells, demons, chi, and stone talismans.

Talismans

The Talismans represent the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac

Chinese astrology

Chinese astrology is based on the traditional astronomy and calendars. The development of Chinese astrology is tied to that of astronomy, which came to flourish during the Han Dynasty ....

:

• Rat
  Rat (zodiac)
  The Rat is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Rat is associated with the earthly branch symbol 子...
  
  : Power and ability of Animation
  Undead
  Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
  
  . "Motion to the Motionless" Gives inanimate objects life. The animated object takes on the personality, powers and abilities of the person or thing it's modeled after. A Quetzalcoatl (sun god) statue could fly and shoot fire balls and the Lo Pei statue knew chi magic. When Shendu was under the spell of Lo Pei, this Talisman was required to maintain his form, if the Talismans were used to free him from statue form. Found on top of an ancient Chinese lantern. Can also deanimate objects or people.
• Ox
  Ox (zodiac)
  The Ox is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Ox is denoted by the earthly branch character 丑...
  
  : Power and ability of Super Strength
  Superhuman strength
  Superhuman strength, also called superstrength, super-strength, or super strength, is an ability commonly employed in fiction. It is the ability for a character to be stronger than humanly possible...
  
  . Found by Jackie on the mask of El Toro Fuerte. In the episode "The Mask of El Toro Fuerte", it greatly strengthened Jade to superhuman levels. Can also strengthen objects.
• Tiger
  Tiger (zodiac)
  The Tiger , is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Tiger is associated with the earthly branch symbol 寅.- Years and the Five Elements :...
  
  : Power and ability of Balance
  Balance (metaphysics)
  In the metaphysical or conceptual sense, balance is used to mean a point between two opposite forces that is desirable over purely one state or the other, such as a balance between the metaphysical Law and Chaos — law by itself being overly controlling, chaos being overly unmanageable,...
  
  (the spiritual kind, not the literal kind.) When activated, it splits the user's positive and negative halves (Yin and Yang
  Yin and yang
  In Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...
  
  ) into two separate beings, each holding a half of the Talisman. Can also be used to find the "other half" of a broken object. The two beings rejoin when they reunite the broken Talisman. It was found within a pie. In Season 1 episode 12 "The Tiger and the Pussycat" Shendu claims it is the glue which binds the others together. The sheep talisman can reverse all effects of the Tiger talisman."
• Rabbit
  Rabbit (zodiac)
  The Chinese Year of the Rabbit is actually the Chinese Year of the Hare, as China has seven native species of hares and no native species of rabbits. The Chinese applied their word for hare to the first rabbits to be taken to China, and the word is now erroneously back-translated into English as...
  
  : Power and ability of Super Speed. It was found stuck in the shell of a Giant tortoise in the Pacific. When combined with the levitation Talisman, it gives the user the power of flight.
• Dragon
  Dragon (zodiac)
  The Dragon , is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, and the only animal that is legendary...
  
  : Power and ability of Combustion
  Combustion
  Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
  
  . Allows highly destructive and explosive pure fiery energy to be discharged from the Talisman. The dragon Talisman fuses to the wielder's hand. Found in a volcanic cave.
• Snake
  Snake (zodiac)
  The Snake is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Snake is associated with the earthly branch symbol 巳.-Years and the Five Elements:...
  
  : Power and ability of Invisibility
  Invisibility
  Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...
  
  . Found on the ceiling of a chamber of a snake worshiper's temple near the Amazon River and later donated to a New York museum. It is also Viper's favorite Talisman (as she considers it to be her "sign").
• Horse
  Horse (zodiac)
  The Horse is the seventh of the 12 animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Horse is associated with the earthly branch symbol 午.- Years and the Five Elements :...
  
  : Power and ability of Healing
  Healing
  Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
  
  /Renewal
  Renewal
  Renew or renewal may refer to:*Urban renewal, a function of urban planning*Renewal theory, a branch of probability theory*Renewal , a 2008 documentary on the religious environmental movement...
  
  . "The noble horse of a knight" can "expel all alien forces within," curing the user of illness (foreign bodies), and can also heal physical injuries, repair broken objects, and instantly relieve physical pain and disorientation. Found within a structure atop an unnamed mountain. In the Old West, it was government property destined for the San Francisco museum. Its whereabouts in between are unknown.
• Sheep
  Sheep (zodiac)
  The Goat is the eighth sign of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Goat is associated with the earthly branch symbol 未.- Years and the Five Elements :...
  
  : Power and ability of Astral Projection
  Astral projection
  Astral projection is an interpretation of out-of-body experience that assumes the existence of an "astral body" separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside it...
  
  , or the ability to remove the soul from the body (and others too) and wander as an invisible spirit. While projecting, the wielder is able to enter another person's dreams. Although you can't hurt a person's astral form, if two or more users are both astral then they can do damage to each other (As seen when Chow fought Jackie) and the user's body is susceptible to all damage when the astral user returns to the body (i.e Hak Foo during his fight with Tohru). It was first found in a crate on a freight train bound for Istanbul.
• Monkey
  Monkey (zodiac)
  The Monkey is the ninth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Monkey is associated with the earthly branch symbol 申.-Years and the five elements:...
  
  : Power and ability of Shape-shifting. Grants the ability to change the shape of yourself or others into different animals. Found by Jade at the bottom of the sea next to a volcanic island. Any item/person/animal may be changed into the shape of any animal by saying the name of the intended animal's shape.
• Rooster
  Rooster (zodiac)
  The Rooster is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rooster is represented by the earthly branch character 酉.- Years and associated Five Elements :...
  
  : Power and ability of Levitation
  Levitation
  Levitation is the process by which an object is suspended by a physical force against gravity, in a stable position without solid physical contact...
  
  . The user of this Talisman will have the ability to levitate objects into the air as well as his/herself. Combining this Talisman with the rabbit Talisman will allow the person to achieve supersonic flight. It also grants the user telekinesis. Found within a golden shield inside a ruined Bavarian castle. This was the first talisman of the series and has been used quite often throughout the series.
• Dog
  Dog (zodiac)
  The Dog is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dog is associated with the earthly branch symbol 戌...
  
  : Power and ability of Immortality
  Immortality
  Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
  
  . "The dog talisman is best friend to man, it restores youthful energy to its holder, and grants eternal life." Found in a Bavarian windmill.
• Pig
  Pig (zodiac)
  The Pig , is the last of the 12 animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac. The Year of the Pig is associated with the earthly branch Hai .In Chinese culture, the pig is associated with fertility and virility...
  
  : Power and ability of Heat Vision
  Heat vision
  Heat vision may refer to:*Thermography, image production using infrared radiation*Infrared vision, a capability of detecting infrared radiation*Heat vision, a fictional superpower...
  
  . "Heat Beam Eyes" Allows the user to expel unusually strong and powerful beams of pure yellow-colored heat energy from their eyes. Found on the hat of a mechanical pig atop a Bavarian clock tower. It also give the user power to see shapes as heat. Used to counteract Snake talisman (Invisibility)

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 "Ghost and goblins quickly leave" .
• Lai Shui Zai - The incantation used by Bai Tza during her attempt to flood San Francisco. It is possibly 'Lai Shui Zai(來水災)' in Chinese. It means 'Occur, flood' or 'Come, flood'. The spell circle that this spell needs has a '水' at the middle of it, in Chinese, meaning 'Water'.
• Kuai Kuai Qi Lai - Incantation used by Shendu (in Jackie's body) to open the portal to the Book Of Ages. In Mandarin, 快快起來 literally means "Quickly Quickly Stand Up."
• Nukeru, He Men Jaaku - The Japanese incantation used for the removal of Oni Masks. It is also used to imprison Tarakudo in his Oni Mask. Can be translated as "Come out, evil spell."
• Qu Yiqi Bushi Ni - The main incantation used by the evil chi wizard Iso. He uses it to do a variety of things.

VHS & DVD Releases

In 2001, Sony Pictures released episodes from the first season on VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 and DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

. But one format differed from the other in that of the four DVDs released, three were select, individual episodes while the fourth contained the whole season of 13 episodes; the VHS series had only three, separate episodes. Also, there was a difference in the titles of the said episodes released on VHS and DVD. The Day Of The Dragon VHS box cover art was the same as that of the first season DVD case cover, which featured Jackie, Jade and Uncle with the villains behind them, dimmed in a yellowish background. On these, the episodes were presented sans the teasers that originally appeared prior to the opening/intro sequence as they aired. They are currently unavailable and out-of-print, especially since they had limited pressings and no plans have been announced to follow up season one with DVD box sets of the remaining four seasons. However, the entire series can be ordered and seen via video-on-demand service at Amazon

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

 and iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

. As of October 2010, the entire series is available on the Netflix Instant Streaming service.

List of Jackie Chan Adventures Titles On VHS:

• The Day Of The Dragon
• The Power Within
• Friends & Foes

List of Jackie Chan Adventures Titles On DVD:

• Jackie Chan Adventures - The Entire Season One
• The Dark Hand Returns
• The Search For The Talisman
• The Shadow of Shendu