Line #108 WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee


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6	[[caption-width-right:350:You can't stop the girl![[note]]Left to right: Monroe, June, Ray Ray[[/note]]]]
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8	''The Life and Times of Juniper Lee'' is a Creator/CartoonNetwork original series created by cartoonist Creator/JuddWinick, an alumnus of ''Series/TheRealWorld''. It ran for forty episodes from 2005 to 2007, over the course of three seasons.
9
10	The series follows the titular Juniper "June" Lee, your average 11-year-old Chinese-American youngster who lives in [[UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco Orchid Bay City]], dealing with the usual problems of an annoying younger brother, crushes, and protecting the balance between the realms of humans and magic. Oh, right, June also happens to be heir to the secret family title of "[[TheChosenOne Te Xuan Ze]]". This not only grants her the ability to see the members of a society of monsters [[InvisibleToNormals living invisibly among humans]], as well as super-strength and agility, but also the responsibility of keeping the peace among said monsters and maintaining the {{Masquerade}} when necessary. Fortunately, she has the help of her kindly grandmother (the former Te Xuan Ze), a snarky talking pug named Monroe, and her plucky kid brother Ray-Ray.
11
12	Strangely enough, a similar premise of an urban Chinese-American youth as TheChosenOne protector of a hidden world of magic with a talking dog sidekick existed in the concurrently-running Creator/DisneyChannel show ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong''.
13
14	The show has the distinction of being the first Cartoon Network original show produced in widescreen.
15
16	----
17	!!Provides examples of:
18
19	* AbusiveParents: Monroe's father William, especially during the Easter episode.
20	* ActionGirl: Both June and Ah-Mah.
21	* ActorAllusion: June nicknames the leader of H.A.M "Lex Luthor" for his similarities to him. His voice actor also happens to be Creator/ClancyBrown, who voiced Lex Luthor in the [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries 90's Superman cartoon]].
22	* AdultsAreUseless: Mostly...
23	* AffablyEvil: WAY more frequent than you can imagine.
24	* AllAsiansKnowMartialArts: In "Little Big Mah," Ah-Mah is de-aged to eleven and has to temporarily masquerade as a new student at June's school. While introducing herself to the class, a (white) student asks Jasmine if she knows karate. Jasmine understandably gets upset and almost mentions this trope by name.
25	* AllPartOfTheShow: In ''It Takes A Pillage'' June, Ray Ray and Monroe hijack a tour boat to chase after their viking- possessed friends. June manages to convince the tourist that the chase, bombardment, and sinking of their ship is all part of a history tour.
26	* AloofBigBrother: Dennis. He gets better, though.
27	* AlphaBitch: Melissa O'Malley, the school diva.
28	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Ray-Ray, and ''how''.
29	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
30	--> '''June''': All right! I have fought a small army of hillbilly demons, punched my way through 200 feet of concrete, and I lost my favorite pair of earrings!
31	* ArtisticAge: Juniper and her friends are supposed to be eleven years old, but aspects such as their clothing ([[AgeInappropriateDress like Juniper having her midriff exposed]]) and their personality or behaviors leaning more to middle or high school students, you'd think they are a bit older than that.
32	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: This happens quite frequently on the show.
33	* BadassCreed: The Te Xuan Ze have one in the form of an Oath and a HeroicVow, which Jasmine recites as a passphrase to get to the hiding spot of the Sword of the Elders and Juniper Lee recites to restore the Veil on Orchid Bay.
34	-->'''Jasmine:''' I am but [[HumbleHero a hand.]] I am but [[WillingChanneler a vessel.]] I am but [[BarrierMaiden a stone that balances the worlds.]]
35	* BadassAdorable: Juniper, for certain. Lila also easily qualifies. Even little Ray Ray counts, too.
36	* BatmanColdOpen: Some of the early episodes.
37	* BetweenMyLegs: In episode 1.
38	* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: Lila is a smart, young girl sasquatch. By contrast, adult male sasquatches are incredibly dim (if harmless).
39	* BilingualBonus: Auntie Roon's flying fish and Ophelia in ''There's No Mitzvah Like Snow Mitzvah''
40	* BlessedWithSuck: As the Te Xuan Ze, June is able to do a lot of inhuman feats due to being infused with magical energy, can see all sort of supernatural creatures, and travel to other dimensions. However, the drawback is the fact that she's physically unable to [[spoiler:leave her hometown, as the city is the epicenter of magic and there is an invisible barrier placed all over the outskirts of Orchid Bay City that cages her in, which saddens her a lot as that effectively prevents her from ever becoming an astronaut until she grows up, start her own family, and hopefully get a child to [[PassingTheTorch pass the torch]], though that would still doom her child to the same fate.]] Her grandmother then reveals the whole reason she takes a lot of trips in the first place is so that she can find an answer to help June out.
41	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Thor's Valkyries the Hammerettes.
42	* BreathWeapon: Racatan (the very first monster that Juniper faces in the show) has the ability to breathe fire when in [[{{SizeShifter}} its giant form]].
43	* BrickJoke: In the ColdOpen of "Not in My Backyard", Ray Ray lets loose some monkeys, who then free an over-sized chicken. This is then forgotten about until near the end of the episode, when June and Ray Ray fly on said chicken en route to defeating the episode's BigBad.
44	* CaptainFishman: "Sealed With A Fist" features the superhero team H.A.T.E. (Heroes Against Terrible Evildoers). Being a parody of well-known superheroes, they have their own Aquaman allusion named Fishmonger, whose uselessness on land is an obvious reference to Aquaman's reputation as the most useless superhero in the Justice League.
45	* CaptivityHarmonica: Played by the koala in [[Recap/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLeeS2E3TheGreatEscape "The Great Escape]]". The zookeeper tells him to stop.
46	* ChainOfDeals: "It's the Great Pumpkin, Juniper Lee". It eventually culminates in her having to win a wrestling match.
47	* ComicBookAdaptation: Comic stories based on this show were featured in the earlier issues of ''ComicBook/CartoonNetworkActionPack''.
48	* CompulsorySchoolAge: Happens to Jasmine, who experiences FountainOfYouth syndrome for one episode.
49	* ContagiousPowers: The main reason Ray Ray can see monsters. [[spoiler: During an attack by some monsters just as June was coming into her powers, they try to suck it out of her. However, Ray Ray interrupted the transfer and some of June's power got implanted in him.]]
50	* CutShort: The final episode ends with [[spoiler:Juniper on her way to stop some monsters, happily jumping superhumanly high in the process, unaware that Jody is watching her.]] The series ends before this can be resolved.
51	** What's more, [[spoiler: Jody]] is carrying a book on how to spot magical creatures.
52	* CuteBruiser: Both Juniper and Lila easily qualify as this.
53	* DarkHorseVictory: In "Citizen June", June runs for class president against incumbent Melissa O'Malley. When June's hero duties prevent her from being able to give a speech, her friend Ophelia manages to save the occasion by giving a speech about how horrible Melissa is. This wins over so many people that Ophelia ends up winning the election for class president via write-in votes, despite not running. She, along with everyone else, is shocked by this.
54	* EducationMama: June's parents occasionally show shades of this.
55	* EmergencyTransformation: Ray Ray in one episode when he permanently transforms his original body into a T-Rex. June and Monroe have to make a golem body and transfer his soul into it.
56	* EvilIsEasy: Played straight in the episode "Out of the Past" where Juniper grows tired of the constant combat practice her grandmother has her conduct and opts to just use dark magical artifacts for combat. Her grandmother chides her for this, stating as the Te Xuan Ze she must not choose Dark Magic since it is the easy road and also fraught with corruptive dangers, something her evil predecessor Kai Yee chose otherwise. Kai Yee himself later appears and tempts her with path again, echoing her previous question of why she fights so hard when she could just win everything she wants through magic.
57	* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: In ''O Brother, What Art Thou?'', a giant is revealed to be much smaller than what would be usually expected of giants. June, Ray Ray, and Monroe constantly poke fun at this at the giant's expense.
58	* ExpositoryThemeTune: "InAWorld full of monsters and demons / June is the only one who sees them..."
59	* ExtremeOmnivore: In "Not in My Backyard", June has to watch a harmless-looking creature called a Batoot. Turns out it's also a bottomless pit.
60	* TheFatEpisode: Monroe fattens up in "Magic Takes a Holiday". He tries burning off the extra poundage during the credits.
61	* FishPeople: The Aqualandians from "Water We Fighting For?"
62	* ForcedTransformation: In [[Recap/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLeeS2E3TheGreatEscape "The Great Escape"]], Juniper is turned into a lemur and imprisoned in a zoo with other transformed magical beings.
63	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Many background references to the creator:
64	** In the second episode, one of the gravestones in the cemetery reads "J. Winick".
65	** In "Enter Sandman", each door leading into a person's dreams has that person's name on it. One unentered door is labelled "Judd".
66	* GameShowAppearance: In "New Trickster in Town", the god Loki puts June on a show called ''Let's Save Humanity''. Round 1 has a {{Calvinball}}-esque question of "Banana" with an answer of "UsefulNotes/RichardNixon"; Round 2 offers her "Multiple choice" or "Molten pit of eternal torment". She picks "Multiple choice", which leads to a Series/LetsMakeADeal-alike. Door #1 has a box full of {{Wicked Weasel}}s; Door #2, a lifetime supply of deviled ham; and Door #3, a werewolf-like creature. [[spoiler:It's then interrupted when Ray Ray has a moment of competence.]]
67	* GonnaNeedMoreX: In "Welcome Bat Otter", the fear of bat otters made some magical creatures hide inside a cave. Seeing the size of some of the magical creatures seeking shelter made June believe a bigger cave would be needed.
68	* {{Goth}}: Ophelia.
69	* GrandFinale: The final episode ''Every Witch Way But Loose'' has the overall feel of wrapping up the series, but the final shot features [[spoiler: Jody discovering June's powers after watching her leap from rooftop to rooftop]]. It seems the writers were uncertain if the show would continue and thus crafted the Season 3 finale to work as a serviceable finale, while also including the final scene as a way of setting up a potential fourth season.
70	* GuardingThePortal: June is guardian of Orchid Bay's nexus of the world of magic, [[TheMasquerade The Magical Veil]] and [[spoiler: power of the elders]].
71	* IJustWantToBeNormal: June frequently.
72	* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Ray Ray occasionally.
73	* IWasQuiteTheLooker: "Ding Dong the Witch ain't dead" opens up on the prologue where Roon was once a striking-looking witch in her prime, hundreds of years ago. In the present day? ...She didn't age well.
74	** In "Little Big Mah", an age reversal shows that half a lifetime ago, Ah Mah was rather lovely in her adulthood.
75	* InterspeciesRomance: Ray Ray has a crush on [[CuteMonsterGirl Lila]].
76	* InvisibleToNormals: With VERY VERY few exceptions like the Bombat and Monroe, all magical creatures can only be seen by a Te Xuan Ze or someone with the proper magical artifacts. (But ''not'' the sasquatches, as they are not technically magical.)
77	* ItsAllAboutMe: In "There's No Mitzvah Like Snow Mitzvah", Jody says that her sister, Rachel, acts like ''every day'' is all about her. This quote should speak for itself.
78	-->'''Jody:''' It's not like ''every day'' isn't about '''''Rachel!'''''
79	* {{Jerkass}}: Dennis sometimes, but he gradually grows out of this as the series progresses.
80	* JerkassHasAPoint: In "A Helping H.A.M.", when it's revealed Monroe wasn't actually going to help the Leader of H.A.M., he mocks how the Leader's backstory [[DisappointedByTheMotive boils down to a pathetic fanboy having sour grapes syndrome]]. Although it comes off as snide, he's certainly not wrong in that the Leader has wasted away his life trying to destroy magic instead of moving on. As it's revealed, when the Leader is trying to get a job in the hiring agency, his talk of hunting down and destroying magic doesn't exactly fly as a resume.
81	* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: During their younger sister's birthday, Ahma's sisters look on as she seemingly greets imaginary friends (really her own magical friends, who are InvisibleToNormals) and [[SincerityMode pity]] that her mind is going. For a moment, they credit that at least she's still prettier than them. ...before they rescind their statement with a Wayne's-World-esque "NOT!" (It's implied that they pick on Ahma because of [[FreudianExcuse jealousy]].
82	* LeftHanging: See CutShort, not that the last episode doesn't feel like a finale and it was obvious the writers left that in there in case they got another season.
83	* KnightTemplar: A [[GovernmentConspiracy secret government]] [[TheMenInBlack Men In Black]] organization known as [[FunWithAcronyms H.A.M.]] (Humans Against Monsters) is out to get ''all'' monsters, bad or otherwise.
84	* LighterAndSofter: Two episodes were adapted from the more adult [[ComicBook/TheAdventuresOfBarryWeenBoyGenius Barry Ween]].
85	* LimitedWardrobe: Lampshaded.
86	-->'''Ray-Ray:''' (''when Ashley compliments his shirt'') Dude, I am never taking this off!
87	-->'''Monroe:''' I hate to break this to you, lad, but you never do. You're like [[Franchise/{{Peanuts}} Charlie Brown]].
88	* MarkOfTheSupernatural: The red-pink streak running down June's otherwise raven hair, which is actually a skunk stripe that she dyes. Justified in-universe as the physical mark of her powers as a Te Xuan Ze -- Ah-Mah also has a streak through her hair like June, which was originally purple before it turned white in her old age as her hair started graying.
89	* {{Masquerade}}: As mentioned above under InvisibleToNormals, magical creatures are normally invisible to anyone not the Te Xuan Ze.
90	* MeaningfulEcho: "Out of the Past" starts with Juniper debating with Ahma that she wants to use dark magical artifacts to win her battles more easily. She asks "Why fight when we can just... win?" Ahma can only offer cryptic and mysterious advice about how the Te Xuan Ze is to never cut corners or take the easy way as it is [[EvilIsEasy the path of corruption]]. Midway through the episode, she learns that the reason Ahma is strongly against cutting corners is because this sort of thinking is what lead Kai taking the path of trying to destroy the Elders. So when Kai offers "[[WeCanRuleTogether Why fight when we can just win]]?" Juniper has a definite answer:
91	-->'''Juniper:''' [[ShutUpHannibal Because I'd rather fight]]...
92	* MineralMacGuffin: The three [[CosmicKeystone Touchstones]] featured in [[spoiler:the finale episode are this]].
93	* MissedTheCall: Juniper's dad was originally supposed to be the next Te Xuan Ze, but it skipped and passed on to her instead.
94	* MixAndMatchCritters: One episode centers around a bat-otter.
95	* MonsterIsAMommy: The episode "Meet The Parent" has a giant, stone-eating monster terrorizing the town looking for its baby, which, due to June getting sprayed with said baby's scent, it thinks is June.
96	* NinetiesAntiHero: Two episodes have one as a RefugeeFromTVLand, named "Boomfist". He spouts off bad morals, but is not really that bad at the whole hero thing.
97	* NoodleIncident: A leprechaun in the first episode mentions that his uncle played for [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation The Boston Celtics.]] Considering that magical creatures are InvisibleToNormals, that must have been quite a spectacle for basketball fans.
98	* OneSteveLimit: Subverted. There are two characters named "Michael". One of them is the protagonist's father, and the other is a monster film-maker. There's no episode featuring both Michaels.
99	* OnlySaneWoman: Lila among the sasquatches.
100	* OurMonstersAreDifferent: One of the more prominent examples. Just in the first episode, leprechauns are shown to be really tall and speak more like stereotypical hippies as opposed to having an Irish accent.
101	* PluckyComicRelief: Roger.
102	* PopStarComposer: Stewart Copeland of Music/ThePolice wrote the theme song.
103	* ReluctantHero: June displayed this trait right from the first episode, and seeing as she's the youngest Te Xuan Ze in history, you can't exactly blame her.
104	* RightBehindMe:
105	--> '''June''': I mean, there is no question that Marcus is a ninth-degree babe with the great hair... and the cute smile... but that doesn't change the fact that he's standing right behind me, right?
106	* RiseOfZitboy: In one episode, June gets a pimple the day class photos are taken, so she tries to cover it up. Later on, Ray Ray uses it to successfully identify her in a SpotTheImposter situation, much to her dismay.
107	* RockTrio: The band formed by June (guitar), Dennis (bass), and Ray Ray (drums), aka Short Angry Freuds.
108	* RoguesGallery: Though the show usually employed a MonsterOfTheWeek format, there were a few that appeared at least twice, including [[WickedWitch Auntie Roon]], The Sandman (aka Steven), [[VanHelsingHateCrimes H.A.M]], Korgoth's unnamed [[DaddysLittleVillain demoness daughter]], [[ConMan Skeeter Khomen-Getit]] and Loki.
109	* SchoolPlay: Played with in "Magic Takes a Holiday", in which June goes to Drama Camp and is cast as Jack in a RockOpera [[AllMusicalsAreAdaptations adaptation]] of ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'' directed by Ophelia.
110	** The Sandman tries to trap June in her worst nightmare: being in a school production of ''Film/TheWizardofOz''... and she forgot her lines! [[spoiler: It doesn't work because June knows she's asleep already, which June lampshades]].
111	* ShoeSizeAngst: Although never a true inconvenience, Lila's giant feet don't allow her to wear anything that's not open-toed. This makes sense, since she's actually a [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti sasquatch]].
112	* ShoutOut:
113	** The puzzle chimes from ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' are used in a mock game show in "New Trickster in Town".
114	** When bidding farewell to the Batoot at the end of "Not in My Backyard", Ray Ray says, "[[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial Be good]]."
115	** While she is grounded, Juniper watches a show on TV and shouts, "[[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Go get 'em, Bubbles!!]]"
116	* TheSnarkKnight: Ophelia, oh so very much.
117	* SquashedFlat: Just once in the Halloween special.
118	* SupernaturalHotspotTown: Orchid Bay City is a nexus of magic, where various supernatural creatures secretly live alongside humans (humans are unable to see these creatures). Because of its concentration of magic, evil monsters are naturally drawn to the city. Juniper is the Te Xuan Ze, a supernaturally powerful warrior tasked with protecting Orchid Bay City from evil and maintaining balance between its human and non-human inhabitants. [[spoiler:Juniper eventually learns that there is a magical barrier called the Veil surrounding Orchid Bay City that wards off evil magic, makes supernatural things invisible to humans, and [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne prevents the current Te Xuan Ze from ever leaving]]]].
119	* TalkingAnimal: Monroe and his father William.
120	* TemptingFate:
121	** In "Not in My Backyard", June starts yelling at the Batoot after it eats every item in the basement. Monroe warns her not to upset him, because doing so will bring more bad luck. She, of course, asks how much worse it can get.
122	** The episode with the Tarabok weed problem also had her TemptingFate and Monroe cautioning her against that. Cue problems left and right.
123	* TransformationConventions: In [[Recap/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLeeS2E3TheGreatEscape "The Great Escape"]], June and a bunch of magical creatures are turned into animals so they can be kept captive and have their own magical powers drained from them by another magical creature named Gigi.
124	* TheUnfavourite: [[spoiler:Loki]] is revealed to be this to [[spoiler:Thor]] in "New Trickster in Town".
125	* ValleyGirl: Ophelia would occasionally slip into valley girl mode when excited over a girly interest, such as boy bands.
126	* VanHelsingHateCrimes: H.A.M (Humans Against Magic), an organization dedicated to wiping out all monsters and anything magic-related. This includes humans that help them, i.e: Juniper and Ah-Mah.
127	* VoicesAreMental: Referenced in "I've Got You under My Skin" where June has to magically change the voices of Ray Ray and Monroe when they are disguised as her and Ray Ray, respectively.
128	* WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties: Occurs to a news anchor in "New Trickster in Town".
129	* WeCanRebuildHim: [[spoiler:Ray Ray's soul now occupies a replica of his original body, after he became a huge monster and could not be turned back.]]
130	* WeirdnessMagnet: Orchid Bay City, naturally. Strangely enough, this affects ''June herself'', as stated below.
131	* WhamEpisode: "Dog Show Afternoon" becomes this at the end, where it's revealed that the Te Xuan Ze is ''physically incapable of ever leaving Orchid Bay'' until they have a descendant who can take their place. Poor June looks so heartbroken when Ah-Mah tells her the bad news.
132	* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse:
133	** Whatever happened to those clones of June's friends? We see Ophelia's clone shopping at the same music store as the original, but what about the others?
134	** Also, the turtle in "Little Big Mah" [[spoiler: that was used to defeat the villain.]] The energy-syphoning Darnock demon sucked up all those turtle years, but where did the turtle itself go? Not to mention, it wasn't even a random turtle, but one that Ray Ray was loaning from a friend during the episode. It and the demon are never mentioned again, but by the looks of it seem to be one entity now, but it is left unclear.
135	* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Orchid Bay is heavily based on UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco in terms of geography and architecture. However, in a few episodes, characters mention traveling ''to'' California, implying that Orchid Bay is in a different state.
136	* WitchWithACapitalB: June feels this way about Ashley after she turns into a PrettyFreeloader who her friends liked to hang out with more than her.
137	-->'''June:''' If she drools on my pillow, she's gonna be one dead '''W'''itch.
138	* WorldOfSnark: June and Monroe are the two biggest, but just about everyone gets their turn, including Jasmine, Ray Ray and even June's cheery friend Jody.
139	* WriterOnBoard: Not as blatant as some of Winick's other works, but still obvious.
140	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre:
141	** "I get by with a little Help from my Elf" ends with a heart-to-heart between Juniper and Ah-Mah concerning the shenanigans that resulted from the episode. When June admits she fell for the "Helper" Elf's scam because of how overwhelmed she'd been feeling lately, Ah-Mah voices she doesn't need a so-called "helper elf" to get by. [[YouAreNotAlone She has her grandmother, Monroe and even Ray-Ray]]. This brings comfort to June that if she has people in her corner, juggling her normal life with her duties as the Te Xuan Ze doesn't necessarily have to be a struggle.
142	** "Adventures in Babysitting" explores how Ray-Ray came to share June's powers, despite not being the Te Xuan Ze. It's Ah-Mah who puts forth her theory on why Ray-Ray doesn't have powers like his sister: she thinks he doesn't have powers ''yet''.
143	* YouCanSeeMe: A variation of it in "Adventures in Babysitting":
144	-->'''Juniper:''' You can talk!?
145	-->'''Monroe:''' You can hear me???
146	-->'''Juniper:''' (After an exposition talk by Monroe) Are you Scottish?
147	* YouFightLikeACow: On occasion.
148	* YouJustRuinedTheShot: "Star Quality" - June interrupts a fake monster nature reality show being filmed.

Context WesternAnimation / TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee