Jake and the Never Land Pirates is an Annie Award-winning musical interactive animated Disney Junior show based on the successful Disney franchise, Peter Pan that was in turn based on the famous book and play by British author J.M. Barrie. It is the firstDisney Junior original show following the switch from Playhouse Disney. It stars Cameron Boyce (from Disney Channel's "Jessie"),Madison Pettis, Jonathan Morgan Heit, David Arquette, Corey Burton, Jeff Bennett and Loren Hoskins. Colin Ford voiced the titular character Jake until season 2 episodes 11, 13 – 15. The series is co-developed by Bobs Gannaway, who is also responsible for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
The series focuses on a band of young pirates consisting of Jake, Izzy, Cubby and their parrot Skully, who continuously spend their days competing against Captain Hook and Mr. Smee for treasure. They are often accompanied by several characters including their living pirate ship, Bucky, and their mermaid friend, Marina.
The series is a critical and commercial success, receiving high praise from critics and fans for its educational, yet entertaining format. The series is currently in its second season, while Disney recently ordered a third season, to premiere on September 2, 2013.
At the American International Toy Fair in New York City, Disney announced a film based on the series, premiered on September 19, 2012, entitled Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Bucky's Great Race. The film was later downgraded to a special episode renamedJake and the Never Land Pirates: Jake Saves Bucky.
The show revolves around a group of three children; Jake, Izzy and Cubby (two boys and a girl) who are pirates in Never Land (vs. Peter Pan's Neverland), looking for treasure. Their main obstacles are Captain Hook, Smee, and Tick-Tock the Crocodile from Disney's Peter Pan franchise. Captain Hook usually sees Jake and his crew doing something fun and steals it from them, and Jake and his crew have to get it back. After they succeed, Jake and his crew count their gold doubloons (which they receive after solving puzzles, or "pirate problems") and put them in their treasure chest known as the "Team Treasure Chest".
The first season of the series followed more "playful" conflicts such as, Jake and the crew getting their basketball back from Captain Hook, or Jake and the crew taking back their stolen skateboard. The second season gave a larger scale to the adventure in the show, now having the characters find a lost city of gold, and an ancient pirate pyramid.
Each program contains two eleven-minute animated episodes, 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.
Primary characters
- Jake
- Voiced by: Colin Ford (Ep. 1 – 36, 38 – 40 and 56) and Cameron Boyce (Ep. 37 and 41 – present)
- Jake is the protagonist of the series and leader of the Never Land Pirates. He has a wooden sword, which was given to him by Peter Pan. He is Captain Hook's main pirate rival.
- Izzy
- Voiced by: Madison Pettis
- Izzy is the only girl pirate in the group and acts as second-in-command to Jake. She has a small sack of pixie dust, which was given to her by the fairies (Tinker Bell and her friends). The team only uses the pixie dust for emergencies. However, there had been episodes when pixie dust is not used at all especially in "No Returns". Her catchphrase is "Yay hey, no way!"
- Cubby
- Voiced by: Jonathan Morgan Heit
- Cubby is the youngest of the group with his catchphrase, "Aw, coconuts!" He has the map of Never Land. Cubby is not a member of the "Lost Boys", despite the fact he physically resembles the Cubby of the group. Cubby's personality is rather timid and he is not very confident in himself.
- Skully
- Voiced by: David Arquette (Speaking) and Loren Hoskins (Singing)
- Skully is a small, green parrot who acts like a guardian to the team. He is usually shown wearing a black bandanna with white skulls on it. He keeps a look-out for Captain Hook and Mr. Smee.
- Captain James Hook
- Voiced by: Corey Burton
- Captain Hook is Never Land's resident pirate captain and the main antagonist of the series. Commander of the galleon "The Jolly Roger". Legendary for his cruelty to his enemies as well as his own men, Captain Hook has trouble holding onto a permanent crew. In fact, at the moment, he only has three members of crew, the rest of his crew was never seen or appeared in the show. He speaks with an English accent.
- Mister Smee
- Voiced by: Jeff Bennett
- Mr. Smee is Captain Hook's "left-hand man", first mate, and the secondary antagonist of the series, but he usually appreciates Jake and his crew's help.
- Sharky and Bones
- Voiced by: Loren Hoskins and Kevin Hendrickson (singing)/Jeff Bennett (speaking)
- Sharky and Bones are members of Captain Hook's pirate crew. They usually spend time performing musical numbers rather than advancing the plot, acting as troubadours. Live action versions appear at the end of the show and they perform an original song.
- Marina the Mermaid
- Voiced by: Ariel Winter
- A young mermaid who lives in the ocean around Never Land with the rest of her people. Unlike some of her sister, who tend to be snobbish, selfish, vain and downright cruel, Marina is sweet, gentle and kind to the young pirates. She often shows them the secrets of the Never Sea she finds. Marina and Izzy are very close friends, and may even be the same age. Marina also has a little sister named Stormy, and may have a crush on Jake.
- Tick-Tock the Crocodile
- Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker
- The very same crocodile that devoured Captain Hook's left hand after Peter Pan cut it off in a sword fight some years ago. Tick-Tock loved the taste of Captain Hook's hand so well, he has followed the Jolly Roger ever since, licking his chops as he imagines the rest of his meal. And he also swallowed an alarm clock that goes tick-tock to warn Captain Hook.
