One of the highlights of NBC’s “Qubo” children’s educational program schedule is Jane and the Dragon, created by author Martin Baynton and Oscar-winning animator Richard Taylor, visual effects designer for the The Lord of the Rings
series. Jane and the Dragon is a CGI series about a medieval girl and her friend, a vegetarian dragon. Jane does not want to be a lady-in-waiting. She wants to be a knight. I spoke to Martin and Richard about the show as they visited Los Angeles to attend the Annie Awards; the show has been nominated for the most prestigious honor in animation.
How did the show come about?
MB: I wrote the books
over twenty years ago when my children were both very young, and they’ve been in print ever since. It’s always a book I’ve been extremely fond of and you get so attached to them you want to see them grow and flourish. In the literary field you hear horror stories about having books made into film. But meeting Richard it was clear he wanted to honor what the book was trying to do.
RT: Martin sat with us for an hour and a half at a picnic table in our back courtyard, and that’s all it took. We shook hands and had a deal.
Great interview Nell! It’s been two years since the interview and I’ve read on Wikipedia that a second season of the Jane and the Dragon show was ordered and possibly in production but, alas, we have not yet seen the episodes air in the US. Would you happen to know the current status of the second season or the full-length novel mentioned by Martin Baynton on the Qubo website? (http://www.qubo.com/jane_ask_archive.asp)
Also, if you have any method of contacting Mr. Baynton, please let him know that there is still a demand for Jane and the Dragon here in the US as evidenced by the fact that Jane and the Dragon still airs every Saturday as part of NBC’s Qubo lineup and also daily on the Qubo network (where available). I know I, for one, can not wait for new episodes/stories.
You can contact Martin Baynton c/o his representatives: Kathryn Rawlings Actors Agency,
4/28 Williamson Ave, Grey Lynn, Auckland NZ. I haven’t heard anything from them since the interview and hope to see the new season here, too.
I was getting tired of seeing the same episodes of Jane and the Dragon but they’re good but we, meaning the fans, want to see something different on Jane and the Dragon and see what happens in the story in season 2. I have read that 3 second season episodes of Jane and the dragon were aired on West Coast in the United States.
Great to hear, Joshua! It’s a wonderful show.
I agree, I’m a fan of Jane And The Dragon as well since jane and the dragon is one of my favourite of all the kids show I watched.
Thanks, Ryan!
boy, what an interview!