Production Under Way on New Playhouse Disney Series

BURBANK: Disney Television Animation has started production on Jake and the Never Land Pirates, an interactive 2D and CG animated preschool series that features the classic characters Captain Hook and Smee, which will air on Playhouse Disney-branded blocks and channels around the world.

Each episode features two music-filled stories of a crew of kid pirates led by Jake. All are aboard the ship Bucky, sailing from their Pirate Island hideout on a lost treasure hunt throughout Never Land. The group must always work together, emphasizing the value of teamwork for its preschool audience, as they try to outsmart Captain Hook and Smee.

Playhouse Disney is seen as a daily programming block on Disney Channel U.S. and on 21 Playhouse Disney channels around the world.

Nancy Kanter, the senior VP of Playhouse Disney worldwide, said: "Jake and the Never Land Pirates will introduce preschoolers to the excitement of Never Land, an imaginative, engaging pirate world for kids and a wonderfully memorable one for their parents. Comedic foils Captain Hook and his well-meaning sidekick, Smee, will continue to amuse young kids, as the enthusiastic Jake leads his team of kid pirates on adventures that model teamwork for our young viewers."