Jackie Chan Adventures

Jackie Chan, a professional archeologist, enjoyed his job working for the local university until fate dealt him another hand. After finding a shield containing a talisman he encounters The Dark Hand, a criminal organization led by a man called Valmont that serves the demon sorcerer Shendu. Jackie and his family must cooperate with a secret law enforcement organization, Section 13, to counter the threat, and must face dangers that will demand all of Jackie's daring and skill in martial arts to overcome.

While Chan did not perform the voice of his animated character, he appeared in live-action inserts at the end of the program, in which Chan presented notable aspects of Chinese history, culture and philosophy.[3]

The main characters are:

• Jackie Chan – Jackie Chan is a talented archaeologist and skilled martial artist who lives in San Francisco with his uncle. His quiet life of exploring booby-trapped castles and dusty tombs is disturbed when an old friend, Captain Black of Section 13, recruits him to stop the Dark Hand from acquiring the 12 Talismans, forcing him onto the front lines of the battle between good and evil.
• Jade Chan – Jade is Jackie's Hong Kong-born, 12-year-old niece (technically his first-cousin-once-removed, since she is his "Cousin Shen's girl") who is already "Americanized". She is adventurous, and thus she frequently disobeys her uncle's advice to remain in safety. She tends to accompany Jackie as he goes out on adventures and gets herself into trouble. Though she will not admit it, she has to be rescued by Jackie almost every time. Just as often, however, her quick mind and flexible thinking help Jackie in situations where his moderate thinking and habitual caution are a definite hindrance. A frequent gag in the series is her inexplicable ability to appear in the middle of the action mere seconds after being left in a supposedly secure location/vehicle for her safety.
• Uncle Chan – Uncle, as he is known (he is called "sensei" by Tohru), is the uncle of Jackie and great-uncle of Jade. He has a very stereotypical Cantonese-accented drawl, usually talks in third person about himself, and often uses Cantonese in many aspects of his speech (his magic incantation, "Jiu¹mo¹gwai²gwaai³ faai³ di² zau²" (妖魔鬼怪快啲走), means "Evil demons and malevolent spirits, be gone!" in Cantonese). His most commonly used magical items are a dried salamander and puffer fish; both having backgrounds in Asian remedies. Tea is his favorite drink, but he often complains that it is too hot or too cold and always throws the cup when he finishes. He has a variety of catchphrases, many of which serve as admonitions to other characters, and frequently exclaims "One more thing!" before pointing out something that annoys him. He is a skilled martial artist, but he is rarely seen engaging in hand-to-hand combat. When he does, he usually takes opponents out with one discreet strike. Uncle's most utilized skills are his knowledge of history, and his talents for sorcery and magic. He is a talented chi wizard, able to hold his own against and gain the better of opponents who are much more capable than him.
• Tohru – A very large Japanese man, Tohru was once an enforcer for the Dark Hand and a personal servant for Valmont, its leader. From the episode centered around the Pig and Dog talismans, Tohru started to have second thoughts about working for the Dark Hand. Several things point to this, from Jackie trying to tell Tohru to come and work for Section 13 because "they serve donuts every Thursday" (which he stated back in episode 13) to all the insults and blames he bore through his working for the Dark Hand and betraying them, always angering him. However, when the Dark Hand managed to revive Shendu, the demon sorcerer double-crossed them. Forced to fight Shendu alone, Tohru was quickly defeated, after which he changed his allegiances, and turned himself in to Section 13's authorities. After an ordeal that allowed Tohru some degree of freedom, he became Uncle's apprentice in chi magic and developed a close big-brother relationship with Jade, whom he becomes very protective of. Tohru shows great loyalty to whoever he stands by, even back to the time when he was an enforcer for the Dark Hand. By the end of the series, Tohru becomes a full chi wizard.
• Ratso – A nerdy strongman who acts somewhat childish, dimwitted and has a fondness of toys, baseball and grilled cheese sandwiches. He wears a bandage across his nose as a fashion statement, and studied theoretical physics before joining the Enforcers. When he was a Dark Chi warrior in Season 3, he inherited the mantle of Chuy. When infused with fire demon Chi by Drago, he could generate fire from his hands. When the Monkey Talisman affected him, he was usually mutated into a rat (which is fitting, based on his name). In Season 2 episode 1, Chow mutated him into a walrus by accident and reverted him. He has an unnamed sister and a young nephew named Rocko, who is his sister's son and is unaware of his uncle's criminal career.
• Chow – Of Asian descent (most likely Chinese, for in Season 2 episode 3, he is able to read a riddle in Chinese), he is the shortest and youngest member of the group. His trademark is a pair of yellow-orange sunglasses, which are actually eyeglasses, and worked at a store called Sunglass Shack where he was employee of the month 3 times before joining the Dark Hand. When he was a Dark Chi warrior in Season 3, he inherited the mantle of Ghon. He gained the ability to shoot fire from his eyes during his employ by Drago (although all too often his sunglasses broke when he used that ability). He has a fear of flying, heights, space travel and a lot of other things. He has a young nephew named Charlie, who is unaware of his uncle's crime life.
• Finn – An Irish-American comedian and the brains (or at least the most intelligent) of the Dark Hand enforcers (after Tohru's defection). He is a 1970s fanatic, and sang disco at weddings before joining the Dark Hand. Along with the other two recurring Enforcers and Hak Foo, he worked for Shendu, Valmont, Daolon Wong, Tarakudo and Drago (shortly). He commonly and playfully refers to Valmont as Big-V (and Little-V when he is reduced to a child) and Shendu as "Shen-Dude". When a dragon, he has the ability to shoot fire from his fingers, and as a Dark Chi Warrior he assumes the mantle of his predecessor Rhen. He has a young nephew named Frank, who is unaware of his uncle's criminal career.
• Hak Foo – aka the Black Tiger, has spiked red hair, a thin moustache and chin beard, and habitually wears a blue muscle shirt and jeans. He wore a blue vest and red pantaloons in his first appearance, and when he joined the Dark Hand, had a costume change. He is a very skillful and brawny fighter, and a dangerous opponent to all who face him. Hak Foo has the habit of making up and shouting colorful metaphorical phrases whenever he commences an attack or a special action. When Hak Foo and Jackie first met, he was the first opponent who ever defeated Jackie in a fair fight, and throughout the entire series, Jackie never defeats him outright.
• Valmont – The leader of the Dark Hand who hails from the United Kingdom. He is a skillful criminal mastermind and martial arts expert who is able to hold his own against (and even get the better of) Jackie in their personal confrontations. When something goes wrong, he says his catchphrase, "blast!" In Season 2, he was possessed by Shendu. Throughout the series, Valmont loses more and more capital until he is plunged into total poverty. By the time Season 4 comes around, he lives in a rundown apartment barely large enough for him to live comfortably, and in the series' finale he is found working as a bus driver.
• Captain Black – Captain Black is the head of Section 13 and Jackie's longtime friend. In the first-season episode The Rock, when Jade tries to access Section 13's Vault, it is revealed that Captain Augustus Black was born on October 27, 1959, which Jade thought might have been the Talisman vault's password. It is also hinted that Captain Black may be a fan of James Bond as he used "007" as the pass code to the vault (Jade mentions that the code only had "three numbers, last one seven"). In Black Magic, Captain Black mentions that he is a fan of Elvis Presley; "The only (King) I bow to is Elvis, and I don't see you wearing Blue Suede Shoes". He is also relatively sarcastic, as (in season 3, "A Jolly J-Team Xmas") when mistaken for Tohru's mother, Captain Black commented that, "I am often mistaken for elderly Japanese women". Uncle has commented that Captain Black has a lot of good chi inside of him, as Jackie found out when he was surprised to find that Captain Black was able to resist an Oni Mask for quite a significant amount of time.

The series involves magic and the supernatural, like spells, demons, chi, and stone talismans all throughout the episodes.

Common Sense Media gave the show 4 out of 5 stars, saying "Lighthearted, entertaining, suspenseful, and humorous, this show may not be deep, but it's a lot of fun".[4]

The TV series features references to Jackie Chan's films and his own life throughout the series. In the episode "A Night at the Opera", Uncle states that he was part of the stage group "Seven Little Fortunes", which Jackie Chan was actually part of in real life. Another example is in the episode "Rabbit Run" where Jackie is bitten by a Snake, and uses a kung fu style known as "the drunken master" from one of his earliest headlining films of the same name. According to Jackie during one of his question segments, the characters of the show are based on certain people in his life. Uncle is based on his agent and father, Jade is based on an assortment of his nieces, and Tohru is based on one of his stunt team members as well as himself. The episode "And He Does His Own Stunts" is a reference to the fact that Jackie Chan does his own stunts in his movies.

Some episodes' titles are based on actual film names. For example, "Half a Mask of Kung Fu" is based on Half a Loaf of Kung Fu, four episode titles ("Enter the Viper", "Enter the Cat", "Re-Enter the J-Team", and "Re-Enter the Dragon") are based on Enter the Dragon (in which Jackie Chan performs as a stuntman[5]), "Shanghai Moon" is based on Shanghai Noon, "Armor of the Gods" is based on Armour of God, "Project A, For Astral" is based on Project A and "Rumble in the Big House" is based on Rumble in the Bronx.

The series aired in the Republic of Ireland on RTÉ Two from 30 April 2001 and was regularly rerun until 2014.[6]

Following Jackie Chan Adventures, Chan set off to create local productions in Asia. The first, Jackie Chan's Fantasia (Chinese: 奇幻龙宝; pinyin: Qíhuàn Lóng Bǎo), is a 52-episode Chinese animated series produced by Nanjing Hongying Animation Entertainment.[43][44] It aired in 2009 on CCTV and in English on Sonic-Nickelodeon.[45]

In 2017, Chan announced All New Jackie Chan Adventures (Chinese: 新成龙历险记; pinyin: Xīn Chénglóng Lìxiǎn Jì), a $6 million 104-episode Chinese CG-animated series produced by Zhejiang Talent Television & Film, Khorgas JJ Culture Media Co., and VJ Animation Studio.[46] It was released in China in 2017, with a feature film scheduled for 2019.[47] Despite the name, it is unrelated to the American series.

• deleted official site at the Wayback Machine (archived February 9, 2010)
• Jackie Chan Adventures on IMDb
• Jackie Chan Adventures at TV.com