Jake and the Never Land Pirates
Jake and the Never Land Pirates (also known as Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates in the fourth season and associated merchandise) is an American animated musical and interactive preschool children's television series shown on Disney Junior. It is based on Disney's "Peter Pan" franchise, which in turn is based on the famous 1904 play and 1911 book by British author J. M. Barrie. It is the first Disney Junior original show following the switch from Playhouse Disney. It stars Sean Ryan Fox, Megan Richie, Jadon Sand, Kirsten Newlands, David Arquette , Corey Burton, Jeff Bennett, Loren Hoskins and Dee Bradley Baker. The title character Jake was previously voiced by Colin Ford, and then later by Cameron Boyce, while Izzy was voiced for the first three seasons by Madison Pettis And Kirsten Newlands and Cubby was voiced by Jonathan Morgan Heit. The series was created by Disney veteran Bobs Gannaway, whose works include another Disney Junior series, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", and films such as "Secret of the Wings", "The Pirate Fairy", and "". 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 his pirate crew (consisting of Mr. Smee, Sharky and Bones) for treasure. But Jake and his crew beat Hook and his crew, and throw them to the sea. Captain Hook and his crew gets chased away by Hook's fear nemesis, Tick-Tock the Crocodile and Jake and his crew wins for treasure. They are often accompanied by several characters including their living pirate ship, Bucky, and their mermaid friend, Marina. 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 renamed "Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Jake Saves Bucky". The series started its fourth and final season on September 14, 2015, which is titled "Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates". The show ran until November 6, 2016. Premise. Years after the events of the original Peter Pan film, as Peter prepares to explore the Never Seas, he recruits three lost children from the United States; Captain Jake, Izzy, and Cubby who are pirates in Never Land , to protect the place and hunt down all sorts of treasures. Captain Hook usually sees Jake and his crew doing fun activities and steals it from them, and Jake and his crew have to get it back. After they solve their problems, Jake and his crew count their gold doubloons (which they receive after solving "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 Captain Jake and the crew getting their basketball back from Captain Hook, or Captain Jake and the crew  taking back their stolen skateboard. The second season had less interactive moments and gave a larger scale to the plot and adventure in the show, now having the characters find a lost city of gold and an ancient pirate pyramid. The third season had an updated theme song and contained more action. The 4th and final season only has one 4th 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. 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. 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." The music for the show has been praised for being enjoyable for both the children, and the adult caretakers. Three soundtracks have been released featuring songs from the show. Broadcast. The series airs 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. 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". "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." 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. 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). On July 27, the series was awarded #2 of the Best TV Shows 2011 list. 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. 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. A variety of other video games are based on the series including: Spin-offs. On July 27, 2012, Disney announced a  spin-off series of shorts of the show centering Skully. The series is titled "Playing With Skully", and is a collection of short cartoons that aired on September 19, 2012. Another short series entitled "Jake's Never Land Pirate School" premiered on November 26, 2012. 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. Jake and the Never Land Pirates Jake