Dragon Tales is one of my favorites out of the PBS Kids bunch and preschool shows in general! It was made by Sesame Workshop, previously called Children's Television Workshop, which happens to be the same company that made Sesame Street, another one of my favorites. For a few years, I lost interest in Dragon Tales, hated it, and didn't give it a chance, but I finally gave it a chance a couple years ago and became neutral to it for a while, and I now officially like it again! I watched it on VHS a lot when I was little, and I still own and watch those videotapes to this day. The animation looks similar to a few other cartoons I grew up with, which makes me like it even more! My favorite episode is To Kingdom Come.
The idea of a dragon scale transporting two kids to Dragon Land is original! It gives the illusion that the dragon world is an alternate dimension and separate from the human world, which explains why mythical creatures like dragons aren't known to exist in the human world. Dragon Land looks like a fun place to visit! It has bright colors everywhere, magic crystals, colorful characters (with Ord being blue, Cassie being pink, Zak being green, Wheezie being purple, Quetzal being yellow, and more), and surreal locations (Singing Springs, Kingdom Come, etc.). Most of its residents are dragons, hence its name, and humans are rare, exotic creatures there. Unlike most dragons, Ord, Cassie, Zak and Wheezie are friendly, and they don't breathe fire on people, eat them, or kidnap princesses. Some of the backgrounds look similar to the backgrounds from Teddy Ruxpin, which makes me like the series even more! However, I used to think this was a rip-off of Teddy Ruxpin because of that, and that was part of the reason why I used to hate it, but other than that, the two shows have nothing in common, so this can't be a Teddy Ruxpin rip-off. This isn't your typical preschool show that teaches healthy eating, the alphabet, and how to count and has characters who break the fourth wall and sing every 5 minutes or so. Instead, it's a cartoon about two kids socializing with their dragon friends in a fantasy world, and the characters never speak directly to the audience. It's not as likely to annoy or bore older audiences as much as some other preschool shows. Thankfully, I haven't come across a whole lot of anti-Dragon Tales humor!
Dragon Tales tackles a number of useful challenges, social skills, and solutions to everyday problems. Many of the main characters' problems require teamwork in order to be solved, and they rely on each other for emotional support. Now those are important lessons for all! Some of the topics that are tackled here are also tackled in some other preschool shows, like sharing, and of course, teamwork, as well as some that are tackled in little to no other shows I've seen, like facing your fears, anger management, and best of all, standing up to a bully. There's an episode that has a moral about not giving up, and Quetzal tells his class, Emmy, and Max to try their tasks again in another way after failing their first attempts. For example, after trying to fly like dragons, Emmy and Max swing on swings to create an illusion that they're flying, and when they discover they can't breathe fire, they eat chips with hot and spicy salsa, which makes their breath visible and makes them look somewhat like they're breathing fire. Like the characters keep saying, "Don't give up, try something new." That's an original description of the importance of not giving up! In To Kingdom Come, Ord didn't like to share at first, but he gives half of his cupcake to Mr. Marmadune (the owner of Kingdom Come, a place where the main characters get trapped in) and eats the other half, which causes the latter to share his key in return and get the main cast out of Kingdom Come and back to Dragon Land, and Ord learns that sharing can make any wish come true. I wouldn't want to share a whole cupcake with anybody either, only half of it, which eliminates the need to make a huge sacrifice and allows two characters to compromise and eat one cupcake. The episode stays away from the "It is more fun when everyone works and plays together than by themselves" and "Sharing is caring" cliches. Those are unoriginal descriptions of the importance of sharing, as true as they are.
The characters are some of the best things about the show, aside from what I mentioned above. They're all quirky and have their own unique personalities. My favorite character is Ord, partly because he is so big and strong that he can lift a piano. Despite this, he can be easily frightened at times, like me. Like Winnie the Pooh, one of my lifelong favorite fictional characters, he is extremely sweet and kind in nature, is always hungry (or almost), and brings along food to various places just in case. His voice sounds a lot like Patrick Star, one of my favorite SpongeBob characters. Zak and Wheezie are my second favorite character(s). I don't know if it'd be safe to say they're one character or two because they're conjoined twins who have the same body. They're a great example of foils and show that twins aren't always the same; Zak is quiet, organized, worrisome, and hates loud noises, and Wheezie is loud, happy-go-lucky, and has a tendency to get messy. I especially love the latter's catchphrase, "Loooove it!" (I might start quoting it soon). Her laugh is funny, but I'd have to agree with Zak; she can be too noisy and messy at times, and the two of them argue constantly (in fact, they argue too much). That's why I give the show a 9/10 instead of a 10/10. Even though they do argue, they still love each other at the end of the day, just like a number of real-life siblings. Same story with Emmy and Max. Long story short, their personalities are very realistic and accurate to real kids their ages, especially Max's. I especially love Emmy's catchphrase, "Definitely!" Cassie loves to read and is probably one of the smartest members of the group. Like me, she has a tendency to get shy or unsettled when she meets new people and puts up with dramatic changes, but the more she gets to know them, the more comfortable she feels around them.
This is one of many musical preschool shows I've seen, but 90% of the songs are sung by off screen singers and in their own separate segment called Dragon Tunes. Most of teach life lessons in a fun way. They are catchy, groovy, and jazzy. My favorite Dragon Tunes segment/song is Hum because it explains that all you have to do to help yourself get through a hardship or a fear is hum (though this may not always be the case), and the music and vocals are both beautiful and relaxing. When You Make a New Friend is my second favorite. It explains the joy of making new friends, hence the title, which I find relatable. Not all the songs teach something, but I don't have a problem with that. There are some fun dance songs that encourage movement and are sure to get the audience up and dancing, like Shake Your Dragon Tail, Stretch, Wiggle Song, and more. The theme song is awesome too. It is very soft, pretty, relaxing, and has a good beat.
Some people say the show went downhill when a new character named Enrique came along in the third and final season, and I agree. Don't get me wrong, I like Enrique, and the show was still good during his presence, but he was an unnecessary character, and I like the first and second seasons better. I highly recommend Dragon Tales! It is a wholesome, whimsical, nicely animated, and sweet series overall!
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