Jackie Chan has returned to the small screen on the Kids' WB this season for Jackie Chan Adventures. The series follows the adventures of Jackie and his 11-year-old niece, Jade, as they travel around the globe to stop seven demons from taking over the world. TFK kid reporter J.T. Larsen sat down with Jackie to ask him about the series, his movies and his cool martial arts moves. (To get J.T.'s scoop on what it was like to meet the international action hero, click here.)
TFK: Whose idea was it to make Jackie Chan Adventures?
JC: I always wanted to make a cartoon, but I just didn't know how to do it. In Hong Kong, we don't have the budget and the technology. One day Columbia TriStar Pictures called my manager. Then Warner Bros. wanted to pick up the show. And I said "Good! That's a good idea!"
People always think, action star -- no, for kids it's too violent. It's not good for families. Then suddenly, they called and wanted to make a cartoon. I'm really thankful they gave me a big chance by doing that.
TFK: How will the second season of Jackie Chan Adventures be different from the first season?
JC: Right now they are thinking about a lot of different ideas. You know the big guy? Now he’s on my team and helps me fight all the bad guys. And, I think, I get all the Talismans but now I fight all the bad guys. We tried to get all the bad guys to become good guys.
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Recognize any of these characters from the J-Team?
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TFK: What is the J-team Initiative all about?
JC: I want kids to really learn from me that it is not just about martial arts. It is about mental exercises helping people. I hope people watch my cartoon not just for "We love Jackie!" No, it's about the J-Team group together and everybody helping everybody. Communication is more important when everybody understands everybody and everybody is helping everybody.
When I give, I am more happy than when I receive. So this is why I give -- helping the elderly, helping people who really need help. If I had an education today my English would be very, very good. This is why I started the Jackie Chan Foundation in 1980, a special foundation to help children who want to attend school but don't have the money. That's one of my dreams. Because, myself, I don't have an education. I try to help other people to have an education.
TFK: How long did it take you to learn all your cool moves?
JC: Wow! It's everyday, it's not like you learn after 10 years and finish when you finish school. Even now, I train everyday. Training is nonstop. Martial arts for me is exercise. It's not like I want to learn martial arts to beat somebody. No! I know martial arts so I can protect myself. I can help people. I also like sports. I go swimming; I bowl. Because those kinds of things can really, really train your mind. I'm not just talking training martial arts. I tell all the children, "Don't just sit there and watch the TV or computer." Every half-hour or one-hour you have to stand up and go out jogging or exercise. Go play ping-pong or badminton.
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J.T. listens as Jackie talks about the J-Team
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TFK: Who has been a role model for you? Who has really inspired you?
JC: Oh, so many people. Besides Steven Spielberg and George Lucas there's the old ones like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. They do everything real. Right now when you look at some other American movies they use a lot of special effects. I'd rather give the audience the real thing.
Sometimes I get really scared that children will learn from me. So I put the outtakes in my behind-the-scenes. "Look! I'm not Superman. I am just a normal person." In the end, you see the outtakes: "Oh! Jackie is not Superman. He can get hurt." That's how I bring out my message.
But I want success. I want to train again and again and again. No matter how many times I fall down, I come back until the whole sequence is finished.
TFK: What was your favorite movie to make?
JC: Shanghai Noon. Why? Because I've been making the police story for so many years. Suddenly, the countryside, cowboys, Indians -- something really different. I'm from Hong Kong. Hong Kong is like New York. How can you ride horses? That's a very interesting thing for me.
TFK: You’ve made movies both in Hong Kong and America. What is the difference in terms of what the audience likes?
JC: I love the American audiences. They are really into it. For every movie I make, when I go into the theater, I hear, "Go Jackie go!" They are yelling and when they see scary movies, they are screaming, "yaaaaaaaaaaaa!” The box office in America is like nowhere else in the world. So many children go into the theater to see it.
Coming to America and making a film was one of my dreams. I really learned a lot of things from American directors and the special effects people and the technical people. They really helped me upgrade my movies.
In Asian films we don't have the money to make good movies.
TFK: If you weren’t an actor what would you want to be instead?
JC: I really want to be a police officer. That's why I always write scripts about being a policeman because policemen can really help people. Or I'd be in the army and protect my country.
