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Western Animation: Jake and the Never Land Pirates

Yo ho, let's go!

Jake and the Never Land Pirates is a 2011 animated series airing on Disney Junior, one of three new programs that helped to launch the network along with Babar and the Adventures of Badou and Tinga Tinga Tales. Set in the universe of the classic Disney film Peter Pan, the program focuses on the adventures of the young Jake and his two friends, Cubby and Izzy, along with their parrot, Skully. They're a group of "pirates" who just want to have fun and do the things ordinary kids do, but their time is often spent chasing after Captain Hook, who is always trying to steal their stuff. Hook is "aided" by his usual bumbling sidekick, Smee and Bones & Sharky, two even-more-dimwitted pirates who seem to exist for little more than to swab the deck and sing comic songs. The program contains occasional references to Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.

In December 2011, it was officially announced that the program was returning for a second season. New episodes began airing on February 20, 2012, though each "new" episode actually consists of one original story and one repeat.

Jake and the Never Land Pirates provides examples of:

Actor Allusion: The two other members of Hook's crew are the musicians who sing and dance at the end during the credits.
Adorkable: Cubby ("Aw coconuts!")
Ambiguously Brown: Izzy
American Football: Played, but called "pirate football" in an episode.
Animate Inanimate Object: Bucky, the ship, is apparently supposed to be sentient, though "he" has no face and doesn't talk. "He" will come when called, though, and has attachments that can be used to scoop hazards out of the water on command.
Big Bad Wannabe: Captain Hook
Bowdlerise: Hook keeps claiming he wants to "make Peter Pan leave Neverland forever", and while it's likely meant to be taken literally, it's all too easy to read blatant murderous intent into it.
Buffy Speak: Any of the names Hook has for Jake's toys and such, like "throwy-kicky-thingy" for a football.
Butt Monkey: Hook and his crew, but mostly Hook.
Catch Phrase: Several, including "Aw, coconuts!", "Yey-hey no way!", "Let's grab 'em and go!", "Crackers/cracker crumbs!" and "Yo ho, let's go!"
Character Name and the Noun Phrase
Companion Cube: Captain Hook can't sleep without Captain Cuddly Bear.
Dark Reprise: Sort of inverted in Peter Pan Returns. "I Can't Fly" comes before "I Can Fly", though an upbeat instrumental version plays over the opening scene.
Derelict Graveyard: The seahorse episode features a pretty sizeable ship's boneyard.
Edutainment Show: Like all programming airing as a part of Disney Junior, it has basic educational concepts that it teaches, though it's really much more entertainment than education. Education generally focuses on pro-social skills, such as good manners, working together as a team, and sticking to a task. It also teaches basic counting.
Egg MacGuffin: The episode "Golden Egg".
Enemy Mine: Used in combination with Glad I Thought of It after a playful seal swipes everyone's toys, including Captain Hook's rubber ducky bath toy, which he plays with during his yearly bath. Jake suggests the idea. Captain Hook initially rejects it, then claims the credit for it. Jake doesn't try to argue.
Expository Theme Tune: "Just off the shores of Neverland, a hideaway at sea... a pirate band outwits the plans of Captain Hook and Smee..." It's also a Title Theme Tune.
Expy: Clearly Hook, Smee and Tick Tock from the Peter Pan film, but Jake also looks a lot like the Jake from American Dragon: Jake Long. And kinda like a younger version of Captain Jack Sparrow. Jack, Jake... See the resemblance? There had even been rumors going around for a while that Disney was going to make an animated show based about a young Jack Sparrow.
Failure Is the Only Option: For any of Captain Hook's schemes to take the stuff of Jake and his team.
Fantasy Helmet Enforcement: Used with lifejackets when Jake and his team go canoeing.
- And in the bike episode; not only are helmets placed on all of the kids, but Hook and Smee don them before stealing said bike as well. Interestingly, however, the gang does not need safety gear when traversing rocks or leaping pits and traps.
Fluffy Fashion Feathers: Hook's large hat plume.
Follow the Leader: The show owes much to Dora the Explorer.
Free-Range Children: Naturally, this being Neverland and all.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: In the golden egg episode, when Jake and Skully discovers an egg and they try to figure out the owner. Skully then quickly says "Don't look at me!".
The Ghost: Whenever there's a "Wow, Peter Pan sent us an [insert object here]!" moment. And other than a constellation that resembles him, the boy is present only in name.
- At least until February 2012, anyway, when Disney Channel premiered the primetime special "Peter Pan Returns." He also promised that he'd be back, so viewers can presumably look forward to more appearances from him.
Ghost Ship: Bucky is thought to be this when he's stolen by Hook.
Glad I Thought of It: Captain Hook has done this to Smee at least once the show, probably more. See also the entry for Enemy Mine on this same page.
Halloween Episode: "Night of the Golden Pirate Pumpkin / Trick or Treasure"
Hook Hand: Captain Hook is this trope's page picture.
Huddle Power: Jake's team does this in "Huddle", and Hook's decides to do it too, just because. Both come with huddle shots.
Human Doorstop: Smee being used as a toboggan and for other purposes.
I Can See My House From Here
Bones: "Well, whaddya know? I can see our ship from here..!"
I Don't Pay You to Think: In "The Never Star," when talking about the Lost City of Gold, Captain Hooks asks his crew, "You know what methinks?" Bones replies "That somebody lost an entire city?" and Captain Hook decides "Methinks from now on I'll do the methinking around here."
I Meant to Do That: Hook after falling into a messy bog.
Indy Escape: In one episode there are many giant rolling boulder traps.
In Name Only: Jake and his crew is really just Lost Boys trying out their own version of being "pirates."
Joke Item: Bucky's cannons gush water. How this would ever be useful is anyone's guess.
Leitmotif: An instrumental of the Tick Tock Croc's Villain Song "Tick Tock the Crocodile" is often played whenever said Croc puts in an appearance.
Lighter and Softer: Than Disney's Peter Pan.
Made a Slave: Those three seahorses, when Hook decided he wanted to capture them to pull his dinghy.
Minion with an F in Evil: Smee; he's nowhere near the cut-throat longing to return to days of plunder he used to be. Hook even has to ask once, "Whose side are you ON, Smee?!" As for Sharky and Bones, well, they're pretty much getting downright chummy with Jake and his team.
- In "Captain Hook is Missing!," Jake and his team are their choice for someone to help find him, without hesitation or debate.
Mondegreen: In "Treasure Chest Switcheroo," Hook and his minions swipe the Team Treasure Chest, but can't figure out how to open it. They then actually manage to come up with a reasonably good plan by planting a decoy treasure chest and then observing how Jake and his crew attempt to open it... only to then blow it by not being able to get a single line of the "Well Done, Crew" song correct.
Mythology Gag: Sharky is most likely named after Starkey, a pirate from the original Peter Pan.
Never Smile at a Crocodile: Tick Tock Croc.
Non-Interactivity: Used regularly in the show, but the bonus games included on the DVD take this to the fullest extreme. It's a DVD, so they could actually have interactive games. Instead, however, the "games" are fully non-interactive, simply around five minutes of Jake navigating the viewer through a non-interactive adventure.
Once an Episode: At the end of every episode, the team gets together and counts the gold doubloons earned for solving pirate problems before putting them in the pirate treasure chest.
- Also the use of pixie dust.
Only Known by Their Nickname: "Mother Hook Knows Best" reveals that Captain Hook's name is actually James Bartholomew Hook.
Optional Party Member: Skully; I mean really, what does he do? And he has practically no screen time anyway.
Our Mermaids Are Different: Marina, the mermaid friend of the group who teaches them to surf, is MUCH different than any of the mermaids appearing in the original Disney movie. For starters, she's their friend. And helpful. And not trying to jealously drown all females.
Paper-Thin Disguise: Subverted in one episode where Hook disguises as a mermaid. The gang (almost) immediately noticed.
- Another subversion in a Halloween Episode, where Hook and Smee tries to steal the gang's treats by disguising as clowns. It was a pretty convincing disguise though, if not for the fact that they didn't bother to fake their voices and Hook blew it off by being terrified of Cubby's crocodile costume. Smee too, as he was fooled by Jake's trick by calling him by his name. He realizes this, but too late. It doesn't help that their figure was well-known by Jake and his crew.
Picked Last: Exaggerated with Captain Hook, who was never picked as a kid to play on any baseball team, despite turning out to be a natural.
Pirates: Duh.
- Buried Treasure
- Desert Island
- Inexplicable Treasure Chests
- Pirate Booty: 'Tis what both sides are always after.
- Pirate Girl: Izzy.
- Pirate Parrot: Skully (obviously).
- Talk Like a Pirate: Of course. Oh, and one of the songs is titled this.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Jake and his crew.
- Treasure Map: Cubby's always in charge of one, even.
Pit Trap: With a crocodile in it!
Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Subverted with Tick Tock. While he is shown to be dangerous (he is a crocodile, after all), his actions are driven by hunger rather than any sort of malevolent thought towards the other characters.
Save the Villain: Pretty much Once an Episode, Captain Hook gets into trouble after his plans go awry. Jake and/or the members of his crew always offer to help him, but he always refuses, saying that he can solve his own problems. (He can't.)
Shout Out: "Duck and cover!"
- A possible gaming one; fans of Dragon Age's Isabella might be amused at seeing a cute, rather action-y little pirate girl named Izzy.
- In Trick Or Treasure, Jake is dressed like Peter Pan, and Cubby is dressed like Tick Tock the crocodile (who also occasionally appears)
The Smurfette Principle: Izzy is the only girl on Jake's team, and the only regular female character on the show.
- Marina later appears, but Izzy is still the main girl.
Speech Impediment: Cubby has a bit of a lisp. (Very noticeable in "Escape from Belch Mountain" where he says "Slippery Serpant Forest")
Stock Puzzle: Every puzzle in "Izzy's Pirate Puzzle".
Swiper, No Swiping!: Tried with Captain Hook, though it doesn't work. Occasionally works for other guest characters on the program that engage in mischief, but aren't actually villainous.
Swiss Army Appendage: Hook's got a whole case full of interchangeable hook replacements.
Talking Animal: Skully the parrot.
Team Pet: Skully, naturally.
Team Spirit: The theme of most episodes, and what is preached by the main crew.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: In one episode, Hook and his crew must work with Jake's crew to find out whose been stealing all of their treasure.
Tempting Fate: Twice in Peter Pan Returns. First when Hook and his crew are ejected from the Jolly Roger and fall into a raft. Either Bones or Sharkey points out their good luck, only for it to then sink due to the group's combined weight. One of them then comments that it can't get any worse, only for the Tick Tock Croc to then show up.
Terrible Ticking: The ringing of Bucky's bell is thought to be this by Hook and Smee.
That Reminds Me of a Song: A marching song used as the team begins their adventure and also the "Well Done, Crew" song performed before the team counts the gold doubloons. Also, live-action versions of Bones and Sharky (portrayed by "Captain Bogg and Salty," a real-life pirate rock band from Oregon) perform an original song about Captain Hook and Smee at the end of the each episode over the credits. This team also writes the entire underscore for the program and wrote the theme song.
This Is Gonna Suck: Hook often has moments like this before being blasted or hurled somewhere.
Token Trio: They've got the right combination, and each actually counts as a twofer. Cubby, the white male, also overweight. Izzy, obviously of some Hispanic heritage, also a token female. And of course, Jake, male token minority, but not very noticably.
Took a Level in Badass: It doesn't stick, naturally, but when Peter Pan is back in Neverland, Hook becomes much more competant in his evil-doing, getting ahead of the heroes at nearly every turn and actually coming pretty close to success.
Trojan Horse: In "Elephant Surprise!," Captain Hook and Smee trick their way into the trio's treasure room by hiding inside a large wooden elephant presented as a gift. The plan fails, however, when the elephant slides out of the treasure room and Jake and his crew spend the remainder of the story chasing after it.
Viewers Are Geniuses This is a show for four year olds with three villain(-ish) Protagonists and a love triangle between Jake, Izzy, and Marina the Mermaid.
Villain Song: Captain Hook, Smee and Tick Tock each get one from the pirate band. Hook even has a little theme chant that plays during many of his entrances. Additionally, Bones and Sharky have one of their own.
- The Villain Sucks Song: A song in "Peter Pan Returns" serves as this AND a "the HERO sucks" song, as it's both Peter Pan and Hook trading insults and singing about how much they hate each other.
Wholesome Crossdresser: Both Hook and Smee have done this.
Yank the Dog's Chain: Happens to Hook at times, like at the end of "Treasure Chest Switcheroo" where his crew gets him his own magic treasure chest filled with golden eggs. Heartwarming, right? Unfortunately, the eggs hatch into baby crocodiles!