Contrary to what you believe. Cable use to be free for all the same channels you could get with bunny ears. It wasn't until the tv industry became monopolized that you had to pay for cable and they made it so you couldn't use bunny ears. They they first started charging money for cable it wasn't contract only like now and it was very low. So poor families could afford it. Now they have jacked the prices up. I only have DVDs because the cost of tv is so much. I have my phone though. It is prepaid and you can get smartphones now for extremely cheap as well as second hand (which is what I did). Most people including poor people can have access to fee entertainment (Thanks for UA-cam, free apps and more.) Without having to pay for tv now. Soon people will no longer have TVs as our phones take their place just like satellite TV took cable's place which too the place of bunny ears. Also, keep in mind that back when this show was made. Our money had more value and things cost less. They were made to last and the economy was all about making things affordable to everyone regardless of their financial situation. By the way, being poor doesn't mean you have no money. It means you don't make as much as low class, who doesn't make as much as middle class who doesn't make as much as first class. Anyone who makes less that 30k a year is considered poor. You should read up on how things actually work. It might surprise you, but the poor image you are picturing in your head is not realistic and you most likely got that image from (ironically) TV and movies. In short you can afford anything even while poor if you take care to pay attention to the valu6of money and budget and save according.
Oh, same. We loved, loved, loved this show. I’ll STILL watch it with children if I can manage to get THEM to watch it hahah. My little sister said it was “too old”
“Brought to viewers like you; Thank you” actually made me so fucking emotional. I remember hearing that whenever you watched any PBS show. Damn the nostalgia hit me HARD
That's a childhood trauma for me LowKey. Nostalgic, yet terrifying to relive. Was always eerie because it felt that voice was watching mE and my sister 💀👀👀. I was a weird kid 👍👍
@@N.S0 emotions are a powerful thing, both good and bad. They can be easily swayed, both by yourself and others. What you do with said emotions is up to you.
He passed away with a small legacy, AND was able to make something of himself after his near death experience. He did a great job with what opportunities he had.
I KNOW! I was stunned when I realized about halfway through the video "Oh, Sony and their subsidiary production companies really just gave them free reign to make it how they wanted".
Well, I was 11 when they turned up on PBS-but I didn't get into the show until a few months later while we visiting my grandparents (on Dad's side) outside Washington, D.C.
I didn’t see the original run, but my mom worked at Ikea and whenever we ate lunch there the kids area always had dragon tales running on the little tv embedded in the wall. I watched it constantly every time we visited her at work.
Ron Rodecker passed away on January 25th 2021 at the age of 90. He lived a long life and helped many children including me develop social skills. He has now faded into the picture of the dragon holding a child’s hand walking into a sunny valley
When I was 23 I was in a horrific wreck that left me paralyzed. Dragontales got me through 2 years of hospitalization. I wouldn't have emotionally made it without Dragontales.
I worked on that show. There are so many of my designs featured in this it almost freaked me out. Three of the main characters as well as Captain Scallywag, Dr Booboogone, the butterfly fairy, pirate costumes, various toys, and a few other things are all designs I did for this show. I also worked on Jumanji and Project Geeker. In fact just in the brief clip from Project Geeker alone there are close to ten designs I did of Geeker transforming into random (very random) things. That was a fun time for me!
That's amazing. The animation industry is so fascinating to me, but surprisingly I never bothered with it. I did watch the Jumanji show and it's nostalgic to hear about it again.
@@Juichi Thanks for commenting Juichi. I loved animation from the time I was very small and I always wanted to work in that industry. Stop-motion was always my big thing, but those are hard gigs to get.
lol I never got a chance to watch it until well after I graduated high school because it was only ever on when I was in school. I recall loving it as a kid(the 2-3 episodes I saw in the dentists office), when I was finally an adult and watched a few episodes all I could think was "fuck I wish I could have watched it when I was younger.... oh well" and changed the channel lol
@@freshcupofangst I don't remember exactly how it happened but it's literally the only episode I remember. This was one of my favorite shows when I was really little
@@leahtheanimationfan40 I think they were building like a...music themed playground? With a slide that may or may not have been a xylophone that like, led to two bouncy drum looking things? Idk
"Dragons are with us in one form or another, but we have the choice with how we live with them. They can engender fear and helplessness, or challenge growth and risk. I choose to view and portray them as the latter" Oh that's a beautiful message that makes me happy to have grown up with the show!
I am proud to admit that for me it has been the former for most of my life until now :D I am unconventional, I better start going for the latter though.
And here I am realizing that Quetzal’s name is short for Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent of Mesoamerican mythology who used its wisdom to teach the arts and sciences to early man. Extraordinary. ❤️
The name quetzal is from Nahuatl quetzalli [keˈt͡salːi], "large brilliant tail feather" (American Audubon Dictionary) or "tail coverts of the quetzal" (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary), from the Nahuatl root quetz = "stand up" used to refer to an upstanding plume of feathers. The word entered English through Spanish. The word quetzal was originally used for just the resplendent quetzal, the long-tailed quetzal of Guatemala,
Yup! As a child coming from Aztec and Mayan descendants and my mother and grandma speaks Nahuatl this was a joy. Little things like this made me feel safe from the hardships of public schools.
@@hzzzzz1 That’s wonderful to hear! While I’m FAR from any expert, I did have a phase in grade school where I was passionately learning about Mesoamerican history/culture (was one of my autistic interests). I found out the Maya from an adventure game based on Nancy Drew, got to go to the ruins of Uxmal in summer vacation, and even built a diorama of the city for a grade school project. Those were good, fun times. ^-^
K T "Si, soy de México." I think in Dragon Tales, there is an alerternative version of the world where he United States colonizes everything. The United States then forces American accents and English down everyone's throats. Also, they make robotic dragons to maintain children, as everyone's parents died.
I met Wesley Eure in 2019 and he was extremely proud of Dragon Tales. I told him how much the show had meant to me as a kid and we sang the theme song together. A lot of really great kind people worked on this beautiful show.
It would be a lot worse if he just went "THIS VIDEO IS SPONSORED BY RAID SHADOW LEGENDS! IF YOU DOWNLOAD NOW YOU WILL GET 10000 FREE SILVER AND A NEW CHAMPION, whatever that means HAAZUUUUUU!!!!!". XD
I love that they included a disabled character and didn't make the disability the focus of that character. It represents that us disabled folk are just like you and we can enjoy the same things you enjoy.
The fact that it’s never focused on is really nice, because typically when I go out my wheelchair/brace seems to be what everyone sees first, then me. It can make you feel terrible. Sometimes it makes you feel so horrible you almost feel less than human. But the fact that there are people willing to look past the braces and the wheelchairs and the medical equipment and to the person that is inside is really comforting.
My earliest memory is watching Dragon Tales and eating macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. I described this to my mom along with my surroundings and she concluded I was 3 years old. I’m 22 now. Man does time fly.
I think the closest memory I had of watching Dragon Tales was I was in the living room eating pancakes and sausages with my mom and brother and I’m guessing it was on the TV. I would say I remember the theme song more than I remember watching the actual show to be honest. I need to start paying more attention to it when the kid that I babysit is watching it in the living room
I’m 24 and I have a super vauge memory of dragon tales. I must have watched it when I was 3 to 5 years old because there’s no way I had access to it when I turned 6. The place I was living at the time didn’t have pbs on tv, just Cartoon Network.
honestly! i completely forgot that character was disabled until watching this video, same for the hispanic culture. but now that i look back, it definitely changed my perspective as a kid
Much like another Columbia/Tri-Star show airing in the late '90's, _Extreme Ghostbusters_ (the character of Garret was wheelchair bound, but what he was wheelchair bound for was never a factor, and he even used to play basketball sometimes.)
I'm fairly certain that this show was some of the first exposure to disibilties I ever got as a child. I remember the way that Lorca would get through the forest by swinging on the vines in spots he couldn't use his chair. As a kid that was genuinly game changing. I remember seeing that and sudenly understanding that Lorca (and by extention people) could have the same fun as the others, he just sometimes had to do it in a diferent way. Thank you Dragon Tales.
I’m so happy that Ron’s time on the show was a positive experience. I was so worried this would be a case of an artist in it for his passion would have all his energy and creative rights sapped away by a giant corporation. So glad that wasn’t the case.
I was genuinely bracing myself for the part in the video where the corporation took control of his idea and muscled him out of it. I'm thanking God right now that it was the opposite of that and he's had positive things that came out of making a beloved preschool show with his beautiful and comforting artwork.
This show really helped me a lot, growing up with neglectful parents and all that. This show taught me a lot of stuff that the adults around me wouldn't. Thank you, Ron. You could have died that day, never having been an artist, but because you didn't a whole generation of children grew up with your beautiful show and wonderful writing. You are now in your own dragon land, but you are even still effecting so many children and adults alike on earth. Thank you.
I was familiar with the show, but I NEVER knew about the artist behind the whole thing... and the ending with his friend passing away, feeling comforted by that picture, has me tearing up. Ron seems like such a humble and genuine person, and his artwork is so lovely and sweet-- I'm so glad this is a happy story for him, where he found success and was able to touch so many people with his artwork. It's so great when good people who deserve good things actually get them.
Hearing the theme song really just melted my heart. I didn’t even realize how pure this was and how it probably helped me so much growing up in a chaotic childhood.
Dragon Tales premiered when I was hospitalized as a kid. I had a special, if brief, connection with it. Hearing that Ron Rodecker was inspired to create his Dragon Land universe after his own hospital stay makes it feel even more special somehow.
hearing that there was no fallout from the creator of the dragons and producers of the show, that it all ended on a good note is extremely heartwarming
As a child, I loved dragon tales. And when they brought Enrique into the show. I loved it. As a Latino, I never saw any representation in cartoons or shows for children, not including Sesame Street, it filled me with joy. Because I saw someone like me on TV. Thank you DragonTales.
You right about that..besides Dora the explorer...Dragon tales was one of the few cartoons that had Latinos in it.I'm Mexicano and I remember I could connect more to this show because of it
That ending made me cry. I can only imagine having that kind of impact as an artist. I pray that my works can affect someone that deeply and bring them peace.
I'm a seamstress and designer. I had a client in Australia who commissioned a couple big-dollar gowns from me. She ended up with cancer, and commissioned her burial gown from me. It hits hard and feels like a huge responsibility when you're a positive part of someone's death, and it hits hard.
Even though I was above the targeted demographic at the time (I think I was nine or ten) but because of my autism I had trouble socializing with kids closer to my age emotionally. I think Dragon Tales genuinely helped me better socialize with other kids.
This was a very wholesome video. I was born in the mid 90s and didnt have cable so I grew up on dragon tales but haven't thought about it in ages. I somehow still remembered the words to the dragon tales theme song when you started playing it. I used to love watching this and between the lions
I remember in Pre-K trying to explain to my teacher that kangaroos were not the only animals that had pouches as dragons also had pouches. It was the first time I ever got a wrong answer and made Quetzal out of yellow snapping block we used for math to help me feel better.
I'm not even old enough to have beer in the US and I feel ancient compared to teenagers nowadays. It's amazing how much difference a single decade makes.
I really liked how the creator used dragons for symbolism, I wouldn't have ever thought there was such philosophical reasoning for the original creation of the Dragon Tales characters.
@@alexiscervantes5774 Who in Aztec culture was the patron of learning and the arts and apparently one of the oldest gods in that mythos, so.... Quetzal surprisingly lore accurate.
Been to Mexico numerous amounts of time. And can confirm that Mexico is indeed the homeland of the dragons however they were all forced out when the Dragonborn returned which explains why only the oldest dragon knows Spanish. : p
The textures and aesthetics that were shown just captured my imagination as a child. I recently rewatched some episodes when I was sick and wow, it held up.
As a little Mexican boy with poor social skills and literally no friends I fucking LOVED Quetzal! I always imagined him as my dragon friend because seeing a character in a show I loved speak my language AND mention my country by name was mind blowing! Learning that the creator died recently made me as sad as when I found out Mr. Rogers died 🥺 he and Dragon Tales practicaly raised me growing up. Hell! All of PBS Kids raised and I wouldn't change a damn thing ❤
Oh this hit HARD. I immediately started singing along to the 'Hum' song. DragonTales was my FAVE next to Cyberchase and Between the Lions on PBS. What a nice reminder.
Omg,soo true🥺..that nostalgia hits hard, cuz when you think of it as a relative, and all the good times you had as a kid wit them..but years go by, you grow up & you haven't seen them in a long time..til recently you just randomly thinking about them,and how much they meant to you growing up..only to find out they already passed away 🥲🙏🏻🕊
I remember as a child wishing with my whole soul that I had a dragon scale. All I wanted was to to go to Dragon Land, a safe world with friends. It was also the first show I ever saw with Mexican characters, which also meant the world (my parents couldn’t afford Nickelodeon). Between the Lions and Dragon Tales were the only shows I was interested in watching as a toddler.
All the PBS Kids whose parents couldn't afford cable TV got recommended this video.
Im in this and i dont like it
+theodd1sout
Bruh PBS is all I ever watched
David Boucard aye that was me never had cable till I was 12 but by then i was put on Netflix and hulu and amazon so there wasn’t no need for cable
Shout out to channel 18
This video pulled a repressed memory out of my head and beat me to death with it
that had to hurt
This show was weird
Yo same. When those dragons peeled off the wall I just :O
I actually forget about this show before this video.
Same
This show was my childhood, as poor kid with no cable PBS Kids was amazing
cbc bunny ears? did u have bunny ears? cable is a luxury
Contrary to what you believe. Cable use to be free for all the same channels you could get with bunny ears. It wasn't until the tv industry became monopolized that you had to pay for cable and they made it so you couldn't use bunny ears. They they first started charging money for cable it wasn't contract only like now and it was very low. So poor families could afford it. Now they have jacked the prices up. I only have DVDs because the cost of tv is so much. I have my phone though. It is prepaid and you can get smartphones now for extremely cheap as well as second hand (which is what I did). Most people including poor people can have access to fee entertainment (Thanks for UA-cam, free apps and more.) Without having to pay for tv now. Soon people will no longer have TVs as our phones take their place just like satellite TV took cable's place which too the place of bunny ears.
Also, keep in mind that back when this show was made. Our money had more value and things cost less. They were made to last and the economy was all about making things affordable to everyone regardless of their financial situation.
By the way, being poor doesn't mean you have no money. It means you don't make as much as low class, who doesn't make as much as middle class who doesn't make as much as first class. Anyone who makes less that 30k a year is considered poor. You should read up on how things actually work. It might surprise you, but the poor image you are picturing in your head is not realistic and you most likely got that image from (ironically) TV and movies.
In short you can afford anything even while poor if you take care to pay attention to the valu6of money and budget and save according.
Channel 6 for PBS. Channel 3 for the N64.
Oh, same. We loved, loved, loved this show. I’ll STILL watch it with children if I can manage to get THEM to watch it hahah. My little sister said it was “too old”
Quba CBS kids PBS EspanolA 😢suck sweet memories
“Brought to viewers like you; Thank you” actually made me so fucking emotional. I remember hearing that whenever you watched any PBS show. Damn the nostalgia hit me HARD
PBS be hosting weather advisory’s 😢
Ikr
That's a childhood trauma for me LowKey. Nostalgic, yet terrifying to relive. Was always eerie because it felt that voice was watching mE and my sister 💀👀👀.
I was a weird kid 👍👍
Right? Soooo nostalgic
I felt so bad I couldn't contribute even though I was 7 years old 😔
>Dragon designs were based off his golden retriever.
I'm gonna fucking cry that's so sweet.
Watching mine play fight right now, I can see why he used them as inspiration hahahah
Get a grip. The show was trying to teach y’all to manage emotions not pander them
@@CoercedJab and clearly you learned nothing
@@N.S0 emotions are a powerful thing, both good and bad. They can be easily swayed, both by yourself and others. What you do with said emotions is up to you.
SAME
"...and viewers like you." God, it's like I'm 10 years old again and watching PBS.
Shenaldrac omg I know! I’m tearing up a little remembering. Especially the dragon badges.
Don't forget the:
Thank You!
I remember playing with the VHS boxes
@@TreeBranchStudios GOD. It's in my head now too.
So true
that theme song was a semi truck full of nostalgia that destroyed me
it was a full blown freight train for me...…..
Don’t forget the awesome background pictures in the credits. Those I remember quite vividly.
*ROAD ROLLA DA!*
Same
Didnt evem remember the theme til i watched this. great kids show but its obvious why i forgot the theme. Its completely forgettable
Knowing Ron passed away in 2021 makes seeing all of his art so bittersweet. He was a truly talented creator
He drew good but the show was awful
He passed away with a small legacy, AND was able to make something of himself after his near death experience. He did a great job with what opportunities he had.
How dare you say such blasphemy!!!!!
Pleasantly refreshing to hear that the behind-the-scenes of a calm and nice TV show was... pretty much calm and nice.
*Agreed..!* 💜
Yup
A surprise, to be sure, but an outdated meme can't express how welcome it is.
I KNOW! I was stunned when I realized about halfway through the video "Oh, Sony and their subsidiary production companies really just gave them free reign to make it how they wanted".
"the show was for pre-schoolers" when it came on i was like 12, and i fcking loved it
At the time I thought I was the only 12 years old on Earth who liked the show.
Well, I was 11 when they turned up on PBS-but I didn't get into the show until a few months later while we visiting my grandparents (on Dad's side) outside Washington, D.C.
I didn’t see the original run, but my mom worked at Ikea and whenever we ate lunch there the kids area always had dragon tales running on the little tv embedded in the wall. I watched it constantly every time we visited her at work.
I watched it from around 5 to 8.
8 was when I felt myself getting too old for it.
I'm 24 and I'd still watch it.
Ron Rodecker passed away on January 25th 2021 at the age of 90. He lived a long life and helped many children including me develop social skills. He has now faded into the picture of the dragon holding a child’s hand walking into a sunny valley
90 is a blessed age to make it to.
Dang a day before my birthday.
damn....at least he didn't die in the dark days of 2020 or they would've blame dhis death on Covid
Yeah…..
F
When I was 23 I was in a horrific wreck that left me paralyzed. Dragontales got me through 2 years of hospitalization. I wouldn't have emotionally made it without Dragontales.
I’m so happy you are okay
❤
Dang. In America? How much was the bill?
@@alecwhatshisname5170 i paid nothing. Disability covers everything.
@@loverlei79 thank the lord. Glad you got a little silver lining. Have a good life. 🤜
Dragon Tales, Arthur and Cyberchase basically raised me. 😭
That's actually not a bad selection of influences on a kid.
I'm 25 I watched those as a kid
Rachel Hart *right in the nostalgia*
Rachel Hart and Between the Lions!!!
Oh no I forgot about cyberchase😩 I loved that show
I worked on that show. There are so many of my designs featured in this it almost freaked me out. Three of the main characters as well as Captain Scallywag, Dr Booboogone, the butterfly fairy, pirate costumes, various toys, and a few other things are all designs I did for this show. I also worked on Jumanji and Project Geeker. In fact just in the brief clip from Project Geeker alone there are close to ten designs I did of Geeker transforming into random (very random) things. That was a fun time for me!
That's amazing. The animation industry is so fascinating to me, but surprisingly I never bothered with it. I did watch the Jumanji show and it's nostalgic to hear about it again.
@@Juichi Thanks for commenting Juichi. I loved animation from the time I was very small and I always wanted to work in that industry. Stop-motion was always my big thing, but those are hard gigs to get.
You did good. You really did
Thank you for those parts of my childhood.
Wow! I know this is weird, but I have a very good memory and I remember seeing your name in the credits. Thanks for your work!
"...becoming PBS's number one Preschool program..."
*Me, a kid who watched it well into junior high:* Only the cowards stop watching it at preschool.
Lol
Lazy C lmao fr! I used to watch it when they added shows like Martha Speaks and that dinosaur show
@@Lostinmyhead23 martha speaks was the shit
Preach dude!
Lazy C it was a really good show.
I have fond memories of me and my sister wishing on the soap bar as if it were a dragon scale and pretending we were going to Dragon Land.
Me and my sister did the same thing😊
I tried to do that too,.but with a big stone.
That’s so cute 🥺
That is absolutely adorable.
My mom made me a “dragon scale” out of cardboard, and some glue and glitter
ME: no way is this one gonna make me cry.
Defunctland: "Im fading into that picture"
ME:*sobbing
Rose Erin I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO CRIED WATCHING THIS
@@amandawilliams8433 same..tears
Way to gut me right at the end
I cried and I’m not afraid to admit it!
Man, I almost cried when they said the rhyme.
"I'm fading into that picture" hits a lot harder today...
Indeed, it does. RIP Ron. Your contribution to so many people's childhoods will never be forgotten.
That line actually made be cry.....
@@Kafj302 it came out of fucking no where and i started tearing up lmfao
that shit BROUGHT ME BACK
And here i am just 😭😭
"I'm fading into that picture..."
You didn't need to hurt me like that, man.
"Demographic between 2 and 7"
10 year old me feels personally attacked
There's 20 year olds that still watch it...
lol I never got a chance to watch it until well after I graduated high school because it was only ever on when I was in school.
I recall loving it as a kid(the 2-3 episodes I saw in the dentists office), when I was finally an adult and watched a few episodes all I could think was "fuck I wish I could have watched it when I was younger.... oh well" and changed the channel lol
I watched it from like 4-11
Same here! I never knew or cared that it was for preschoolers. I was a simple tween, it had dragons, I'm watching :=)
Likewise haha.
“I wish I wish, with all my heart to fly with dragons in a land apart..”
When I was a kid I always thought that it was "in a land of heart"
Close.
Cooper Minion me too.
is it bad i want to see a parody of this show?
Cooper Minion I like your version better 😁
I remember at one point Zack and Weezy split into two. Blew my mind as a kid.
Holyshit I forgot about that, but as soon as i read your comment i remember that sceen clear as day.
That's like the only episode I remember super clearly
@@freshcupofangst I don't remember exactly how it happened but it's literally the only episode I remember. This was one of my favorite shows when I was really little
@@leahtheanimationfan40 The only episode I remember is when they have to cartwheel across a bridge
@@leahtheanimationfan40 I think they were building like a...music themed playground? With a slide that may or may not have been a xylophone that like, led to two bouncy drum looking things? Idk
"Each show featured an original song"
"Funny I don't remember that."
-ten seconds later'
"Humma, Humma, Humma, Humma, c'mon le the here ya hum."
Same
I will always remember the one that went
“Get up on your feet, and to everyone you meet, say hello, hello, hello, hello”
i started tearing up :'0
it's weird...that song is the only one I remember
This is exactly what happened to me too!!
"Dragons are with us in one form or another, but we have the choice with how we live with them. They can engender fear and helplessness, or challenge growth and risk. I choose to view and portray them as the latter"
Oh that's a beautiful message that makes me happy to have grown up with the show!
I am proud to admit that for me it has been the former for most of my life until now :D
I am unconventional, I better start going for the latter though.
y❤nL😊
And here I am realizing that Quetzal’s name is short for Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent of Mesoamerican mythology who used its wisdom to teach the arts and sciences to early man. Extraordinary. ❤️
The name quetzal is from Nahuatl quetzalli [keˈt͡salːi], "large brilliant tail feather" (American Audubon Dictionary) or "tail coverts of the quetzal" (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary), from the Nahuatl root quetz = "stand up" used to refer to an upstanding plume of feathers. The word entered English through Spanish.
The word quetzal was originally used for just the resplendent quetzal, the long-tailed quetzal of Guatemala,
(Stunned Silence...)
"ITS BRILLIANT"
DUDE same
Yup! As a child coming from Aztec and Mayan descendants and my mother and grandma speaks Nahuatl this was a joy. Little things like this made me feel safe from the hardships of public schools.
@@hzzzzz1 That’s wonderful to hear! While I’m FAR from any expert, I did have a phase in grade school where I was passionately learning about Mesoamerican history/culture (was one of my autistic interests). I found out the Maya from an adventure game based on Nancy Drew, got to go to the ruins of Uxmal in summer vacation, and even built a diorama of the city for a grade school project. Those were good, fun times. ^-^
"I'm fading into that picture."
Ok I did not expect to cry on my lunch break today but here we are.
bruh moment
Same here as well, stranger from the past
A year later... that finishing line clobbered my ice cold heart to pieces.
Same here *Ohh good lord*
1.1k like
It’s kinda sad that shows like this (aka shows that started as just passion projects) are getting rarer and rarer :(
Weird thinking the same shows from when we were kids dont play anymore
@@natedog69420 yeah but some of them get cool reboots like she-ra!
Bro what about coco melon 😳 lmaoooo
Helluva boss might prove to break the mold
@@afkfromawake hopefully!! Love that little demon show
Wasn't expecting to get teary eyed this morning listening to a dragon tails video but that ending really hit me.
The ending really got me too. It's amazing how deeply connected and special someone's art can be to others.
Ngl, I teared up by the end of the video
I miss this show
Same 😭
"...Dragons can engender fear and hopelessness. Or challenge growth and risk"
His friend met death with child-like enthusiasm.
Same, did not expect it but still loved it.
Wow, never expected to be hit with a truckload of nostalgia while browsing through my subscriptions.
This is why I want him to do a video on wishbone! Lol
I know. I grew up with Playhouse Disney, so I would love to see "Out of the Box" or "Rolie Polie Ollie". Those were my childhood.
@@zachdavis5854 What about Zoom?
@@davidbosco652 YES PLEASE!!!
DragonTales was the best introduction to the Fantasy genre I could've had, man.
Sam Hyde Same
Sam Hyde Indeed!~
Same here
Hear, hear!
Hyde, the bomb you planted in my daughter's elementary school was not a fantasy.
“You speak Spanish?!”
“Sí, I came from Mexico.”
I don’t know what but that was hilarious
It just raises some questions. Like, is he from real world Mexico? Or does Dragonland have its own Mexico?
K T "Si, soy de México."
I think in Dragon Tales, there is an alerternative version of the world where he United States colonizes everything. The United States then forces American accents and English down everyone's throats. Also, they make robotic dragons to maintain children, as everyone's parents died.
@@StarlightPrism I thought the same thing!
He’s named after an Aztec dragon , that’s why 😅
@@sinfulrose1822 I didn't know that, what a great fact!
I met Wesley Eure in 2019 and he was extremely proud of Dragon Tales. I told him how much the show had meant to me as a kid and we sang the theme song together. A lot of really great kind people worked on this beautiful show.
That is one of the most wholesome things I've ever heard
Awww!!!
Crying while all you can hear is,”this video is sponsored by nordvpn”
And viewers like you thank you
It would be a lot worse if he just went "THIS VIDEO IS SPONSORED BY RAID SHADOW LEGENDS! IF YOU DOWNLOAD NOW YOU WILL GET 10000 FREE SILVER AND A NEW CHAMPION, whatever that means HAAZUUUUUU!!!!!". XD
I read this only a minute before it happened...Now I'm cry-laughing and very confused x,D
"He's wasn't the only one."
That ending was very ominous. Are you okay Defunctland?
😂😂😂😂😂😂
here comes kevin back at it with the grim endings
it didnt seem very ominous it seemed very sad honestly
I think he was referring to people's childhoods :(
Somebody's gonna die.....
I love that they included a disabled character and didn't make the disability the focus of that character. It represents that us disabled folk are just like you and we can enjoy the same things you enjoy.
Iris I love that they showed that even with dragons not all of them can fly, like Zak and Weezy, and not all of them could walk too
The fact that it’s never focused on is really nice, because typically when I go out my wheelchair/brace seems to be what everyone sees first, then me. It can make you feel terrible. Sometimes it makes you feel so horrible you almost feel less than human. But the fact that there are people willing to look past the braces and the wheelchairs and the medical equipment and to the person that is inside is really comforting.
And then there's a third approach with Extreme Ghostbusters, make the disabled guy a jerk jock.
Idk why this made me smile..:,)
@Robbie Morgan Well... you should see how Sesame Street did their representation of autism with Julia.
My earliest memory is watching Dragon Tales and eating macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. I described this to my mom along with my surroundings and she concluded I was 3 years old. I’m 22 now.
Man does time fly.
That was a good show. I’m 21. Yes, Time does indeed fly. All of these kids shows today are just getting worse.
I think the closest memory I had of watching Dragon Tales was I was in the living room eating pancakes and sausages with my mom and brother and I’m guessing it was on the TV. I would say I remember the theme song more than I remember watching the actual show to be honest. I need to start paying more attention to it when the kid that I babysit is watching it in the living room
"I’m 22 now." I read that as "I was 22 back then. " and assumed it was a punchline XD
I’m 24 and I have a super vauge memory of dragon tales. I must have watched it when I was 3 to 5 years old because there’s no way I had access to it when I turned 6. The place I was living at the time didn’t have pbs on tv, just Cartoon Network.
Especially with dragons
Zoboomafoo, Between the Lions, and now Dragon Tales. You're just gut punching me with nostalgia
Same. That’s my childhood right there.
well, that is the function of DefunctTV
This used to be the stuff growing up for me as a kid!
OW! Right in the childhood feels!
It hurts so good I'm crying
just came from Mr. Rogers video
"and in most episodes, her disability was irrelevant to the plot"
THAT is how you normalize it! Good stuff.
honestly! i completely forgot that character was disabled until watching this video, same for the hispanic culture. but now that i look back, it definitely changed my perspective as a kid
I didn't even know that character was a girl! I always assumed she was a boy. xD
@@kellieangotti1049 Yeah, I'm also like "Dorcas was a GIRL?!?!?"
Much like another Columbia/Tri-Star show airing in the late '90's, _Extreme Ghostbusters_ (the character of Garret was wheelchair bound, but what he was wheelchair bound for was never a factor, and he even used to play basketball sometimes.)
Honestly, how could they do it so well in the early 2000s yet people act like it's hard nowadays?
Its so cool how Ron followed his dream to be an artist and then was able to use his art to help create a show that many kids learned from!
Don't think he could've asked for a better legacy.
I'm fairly certain that this show was some of the first exposure to disibilties I ever got as a child. I remember the way that Lorca would get through the forest by swinging on the vines in spots he couldn't use his chair. As a kid that was genuinly game changing. I remember seeing that and sudenly understanding that Lorca (and by extention people) could have the same fun as the others, he just sometimes had to do it in a diferent way. Thank you Dragon Tales.
I’m so happy that Ron’s time on the show was a positive experience. I was so worried this would be a case of an artist in it for his passion would have all his energy and creative rights sapped away by a giant corporation. So glad that wasn’t the case.
Whatever happened to him.
@@disneyboy3030 according to Google he is still alive, just retired.
I was genuinely bracing myself for the part in the video where the corporation took control of his idea and muscled him out of it. I'm thanking God right now that it was the opposite of that and he's had positive things that came out of making a beloved preschool show with his beautiful and comforting artwork.
The story about Ron’s friend passing really hit me hard. Catch me crying over Dragontales
Yeah that hit me hard as well, just kinda the acceptance of death is beautiful in a way.
It was beatiful...i was left pondering...but suddenly got interrupted by the Nord VPN ad... damn sponsored content!
(Still very touching)
“I’m fading... into that picture “
I think my heart shattered when hearing that.
Amazing video dude!
This show really helped me a lot, growing up with neglectful parents and all that. This show taught me a lot of stuff that the adults around me wouldn't. Thank you, Ron. You could have died that day, never having been an artist, but because you didn't a whole generation of children grew up with your beautiful show and wonderful writing. You are now in your own dragon land, but you are even still effecting so many children and adults alike on earth. Thank you.
Beautiful comment, brought tears to my eyes
I was familiar with the show, but I NEVER knew about the artist behind the whole thing... and the ending with his friend passing away, feeling comforted by that picture, has me tearing up. Ron seems like such a humble and genuine person, and his artwork is so lovely and sweet-- I'm so glad this is a happy story for him, where he found success and was able to touch so many people with his artwork. It's so great when good people who deserve good things actually get them.
That ending had me tearing up and I didn’t even know of the guy until this video. Bless his kind soul 😭😭😭
The friend saying he was fading into that picture choked me up as well.
Request: The History of Clifford the Big Red Dog
That would be really cool
why doesn't he do all the PBS Kids cartoons from the late 90s to early 2000s while we wait for season 3 then?
Just in time for the reboot.
I know a live action movie is coming but I didn't know a CtBRD reboot was coming.
Ans Barney and Friends
Hearing the theme song really just melted my heart. I didn’t even realize how pure this was and how it probably helped me so much growing up in a chaotic childhood.
And helped me get interested in dragons 🐉.
Exactly
Yep it sure was was especially when I by myself not wit my sibs
Yep I teared up a little 😪
Yeah, I was not ready for that wave of nostalgia and feels.
Dragon Tales premiered when I was hospitalized as a kid. I had a special, if brief, connection with it. Hearing that Ron Rodecker was inspired to create his Dragon Land universe after his own hospital stay makes it feel even more special somehow.
Who else grew up with this PBS kids classic?
Nathaniel Foga me
Me
I did
I did! Such a good show. So many happy memories from just watching it.
Me
hearing that there was no fallout from the creator of the dragons and producers of the show, that it all ended on a good note is extremely heartwarming
Remember that time when Zach and Wheezie finally got their own bodies. It was weird seeing them seperarted.
Reverse fusion
Lol ikr
Yep
watching this show on Acid is amazing
I remember this episode vividly
As a child, I loved dragon tales. And when they brought Enrique into the show. I loved it. As a Latino, I never saw any representation in cartoons or shows for children, not including Sesame Street, it filled me with joy. Because I saw someone like me on TV. Thank you DragonTales.
You right about that..besides Dora the explorer...Dragon tales was one of the few cartoons that had Latinos in it.I'm Mexicano and I remember I could connect more to this show because of it
Oh my gosh when she started saying “I wish I wish with all my heart...” so many memories came back to me
"I am fading into that picture." IM NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING
YOU'RE RIGHT!
”This video is sponsored by nordvpn”
@@KairuSan1 For when you want your journey to the other side to be protected from judgment. 😉
I never realized that Dragon Tales had such a deep backstory behind its creation. R.I.P. Ron Rodecker's friend. That actually made me cry. 😢
Ron Rodecker art is so good, the way he does foreground to background just by changing the texture is ao simple but effective.
For kids 2 to 7?? I watched it way into my pre-adolescence lol
Me too 😂
That's the great thing about target demographics... the content may be *designed* to appeal to a certain group, but anyone else can still enjoy it!
I watched it well into my early teens. I think it was just my obsession with anything that had dragons in general that helped keep my interest, lol.
I just turned 18 and I binged watch it a few days ago 😂😂😂
I still watch the episodes I find here on UA-cam lol
Oh man, when he said "Between the Lions" my memory got flooded...
"Cliff hanger, hanging from a cliff...and THAT'S why he's called cliff hanger!"
Can’t.
Hold.
On.
Much.
*LONGER!*
Oh yeah. My favorite was that hippie-ass dad lion
God, I remember Between the Lions! Augh, so many memories... ;w;
Ugh
@Jack Black I had a idea where Heath finds a girlfriend they get married and Have a baby
That ending made me cry. I can only imagine having that kind of impact as an artist. I pray that my works can affect someone that deeply and bring them peace.
I'm a seamstress and designer. I had a client in Australia who commissioned a couple big-dollar gowns from me. She ended up with cancer, and commissioned her burial gown from me. It hits hard and feels like a huge responsibility when you're a positive part of someone's death, and it hits hard.
Even though I was above the targeted demographic at the time (I think I was nine or ten) but because of my autism I had trouble socializing with kids closer to my age emotionally. I think Dragon Tales genuinely helped me better socialize with other kids.
I had a similar experience
Hearing that "hum" song brought back memories I didn't even know I still had.
Same o.o
As someone who's seen Dragon Tales as a child, I may or may not have picked up Emmy's habit of saying "definitely!"
OMG hahah yes definitely same
So that’s where I got that habit…. At 22 I finally know why 😂👏🏻
I did and it annoyed tf outta me back then lol
My sister and i are 30 and we still say "Me first!" In that weird characters voice
omg i say definitely! to almost everything still and i’m 20 loll you made me remember a lost memory
Request: DefunctlandTV: The History of Clifford the Big Red Dog
Aspen Karch YES YES
It’s actually coming back this fall! (Granted in a reboot but still exciting!)
This show is coming back as a reboot of it.
@@1Soniccool Guess I better set my DVR then because you are never too old for nostalgia.
Emily-Elizabeth was getting it from her dog
I love that the focus was emotional readiness. You pick up more than you think as a kid.
Do Fetch with Ruff Ruffman. The most underrated PBS Kids show of all time.
Fetch was one of my shows when I was younger!!!! Yessss
Was going to comment the same thing!! I wanted to go on the show so badly as a kid 😂
I actually think PBS Kids still airs re-runs of Fetch, or maybe still new seasons?
finally taste
I see you are a man of culture..
Me: *hears “between the lions”*
Me again: CLIIFFFHAAANGEEEEEERRR
🎶🎵 Cliffhanger, hanging from a cliff and that's why he's called Cliffhanger
CAN'T. HOLD. ON. MUCH. LONGERRRRR
"I came from Mexico"
I spit my drink I forgotten about that and it was so left field
But There Is No Mexico In Dragon Land
@@sydneyhamilton2575 or is there 👀?
@@itspricila Dragonland Mexico is Méxifuego :trole:
This was a very wholesome video. I was born in the mid 90s and didnt have cable so I grew up on dragon tales but haven't thought about it in ages. I somehow still remembered the words to the dragon tales theme song when you started playing it. I used to love watching this and between the lions
I love how no one, including me, ever questioned that Quetzal, a DRAGON, from the land of DRAGONS...was somehow from Mexico.
I think the dragons originate from the different lands but live in dragonland.
quetzal is a Quetzalcoatl a Aztec dragon
😂
He's from MEXICAN dragon land....the one we see in the show is american dragon land
@@purplehorseneigh So there was a dragon land for each country? O.O That's amazecrazeballs.
“Wow this Ron Rodecker guy has some amazing art, let’s see what he’s doing these days”
*unimaginable sadness ensues*
This show really does need to come back in some way.
On an unrelated note, you should talk about Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat in a later video.
If they can't bring it back in good taste I'd rather it stay as a nice childhood memory.
@@KawaiiBabyTragon By "in some way" I actually mean "either bring it back in a GOOD way or air reruns of it." Honestly, I'd go with the latter.
It'd actually be neat if it was a next generation sort of thing. They're grown up, and their kids go to Dragon Land.
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! SAGWA FOR THE WIN!!!!!
Apparently Cinar is planning on doing a revival for Sagwa in the future.
I remember in Pre-K trying to explain to my teacher that kangaroos were not the only animals that had pouches as dragons also had pouches. It was the first time I ever got a wrong answer and made Quetzal out of yellow snapping block we used for math to help me feel better.
Christ I feel old. Is this how my dad feels all the time?
Yes😂😂😂
I'm not even old enough to have beer in the US and I feel ancient compared to teenagers nowadays. It's amazing how much difference a single decade makes.
If it makes you feel better, I watched all of these shows and I’m only 18
I really liked how the creator used dragons for symbolism, I wouldn't have ever thought there was such philosophical reasoning for the original creation of the Dragon Tales characters.
Yeah!!
“I came from Mexico”
-says the dragon
Gosh it just kills me 🤣🤣🤣
There's mexican mythology involving dragons, most notably quetzel's namesake, the Aztec deity quetzelcoatl
@@alexiscervantes5774 Who in Aztec culture was the patron of learning and the arts and apparently one of the oldest gods in that mythos, so.... Quetzal surprisingly lore accurate.
Been to Mexico numerous amounts of time. And can confirm that Mexico is indeed the homeland of the dragons however they were all forced out when the Dragonborn returned which explains why only the oldest dragon knows Spanish. : p
@@alexiscervantes5774 Technically, Quetzalcoatl isn't a dragon.
I find it funny that quetzal and Lucoa from Miss Kobayashi’s dragon maid we’re inspired by the same being from mythology
The textures and aesthetics that were shown just captured my imagination as a child. I recently rewatched some episodes when I was sick and wow, it held up.
I used to be ADDICTED to this show, along with in between the lions, 😭😭
Same. Those two were my favs
Gawains word!
The chicken Jane part was my favourite of between the lion lol.
Omg yes!!!!!
I LOVED IN BETWEEN THE LIONS!
"Before he passed he told Ron I am fading into that picture"
My heart.
As a little Mexican boy with poor social skills and literally no friends I fucking LOVED Quetzal! I always imagined him as my dragon friend because seeing a character in a show I loved speak my language AND mention my country by name was mind blowing! Learning that the creator died recently made me as sad as when I found out Mr. Rogers died 🥺 he and Dragon Tales practicaly raised me growing up. Hell! All of PBS Kids raised and I wouldn't change a damn thing ❤
Y'know I'm pretty sure this show started my lifelong love of dragons 🐉
This show had a Mexican dragon grandpa?
I completely forgot that.
You mean Quetzal? Nice!
To be perfectly honest with you I thought the kids were Asian
He's Quetzalcoatl.
The kids were Mexican right? I loved that part of the show. I grew up in a farming community so it was nice seeing the Hispanic eliment.
I remembered him, but forgot he was Mexican lmao
The nostalgia hit me really hard. I'd love to watch all the Dragon Tales episodes again.
Oh this hit HARD. I immediately started singing along to the 'Hum' song. DragonTales was my FAVE next to Cyberchase and Between the Lions on PBS. What a nice reminder.
I remember when Cyber Chase had a plot
Singing ... “it’s c-y-b-e-r chase...”
why were you me
OMG SAME!!!!!!
God, I loved this show as a kid. It's definitely a classic.
me: *sobbing*
video: "THIS VIDEO IS SPONSORED BY NORD VPN"
"How the hiatus of dragon tales caused 9/11 an 11 page essay"
a 9-to-11 page essay
Dragon fire can't melt steel beams...
I mean Sony did edit out the twin towers for the DVD cover of the Spider-Man movie. I'm sure that could thrown into the conspiracy mix.
I give it a 9 out of 11.
Coincidence? I think NOT!
I never knew about the artist behind the series. I really love how beautiful his artwork is. Thanks for the video spotlighting this wonderful show.
May Ron rest in eternal peace. His creations have helped thousands of kids all over the world.
I'd love an episode on Zoom! That was my SHOW growing up.
Me too.
Yessss
Mine too and I remember the first season of it.
Same but I'll admit it lost steam after Season 3. But I would say that was because the early seasons had really memorable kids.
COME ON AND ZOOM
For some reason, I can’t stop picturing Han Solo from the Star Wars Kinect game dancing to the Dragontales theme.
I could see it...
God damn it, you're spreading it. Now I'm thinking it
Someone needs to meme this
han solo from sw kinect defaulting in front of a green screen to the dragon tales theme
100% it goes viral
*It's almost time for Dragon Tales*
*Come along and take my hand*
*Let's all go to Dragon Land*
There's Ord he's the biggest not so brave of heart
There's Cassie so shy, also very smart.
There Zak and Weesie and the tails of fun cause you know two heads are better than one
@@samdance7388 Dragon tales, Dragon Tales.
Ricardo Saucedo I wish, I wish with all my heart, to fly with dragons in a land apart!~😄😄😄💙💖💚💜
Dragon Tales is probably the biggest reason why so many kids love dragons. I feel old now curse you nostalgia
Idk why but this one actually made me tear up a bit. Dragon Tales is like a relative you only gain more appreciation for as you grow up.
idk why this sentiment hits so hard but it does, especially when it's a relative who's passed
Omg,soo true🥺..that nostalgia hits hard, cuz when you think of it as a relative, and all the good times you had as a kid wit them..but years go by, you grow up & you haven't seen them in a long time..til recently you just randomly thinking about them,and how much they meant to you growing up..only to find out they already passed away 🥲🙏🏻🕊
I only had vague memories of this show, but hearing cassie's voice just unlocked a vault of my childhood!
Same I thought I imagined this whole show that was on pbs bout dragons when I was a kid😂
I remember being sad when I couldn’t find any airings of Dragon Tales when I was younger.
5:39 I just got the BIGGEST chill down my spine hearing this after over a decade...
Jacob Miller same
You're not alone
I remember as a child wishing with my whole soul that I had a dragon scale. All I wanted was to to go to Dragon Land, a safe world with friends. It was also the first show I ever saw with Mexican characters, which also meant the world (my parents couldn’t afford Nickelodeon). Between the Lions and Dragon Tales were the only shows I was interested in watching as a toddler.
Bruh I’m almost 20 and I’d still watch a Dragon Tales marathon, that show was bad ass😂😂
I'm 17 and still fucking love this show
I’m 26 annnnnddd.. yea
I'm 29 and yes lol
where do you watch it?
I'm 36 and I'd still gladly watch Dragon Tales over most of the stuff on TV now
Dragon Tales Used to be 1 of my Favorite Cartoons as a Kid
Me too and my 5 year old niece loves Dragon Tales
@@DukeofArtz Cool
@@cjhs2006 thank you.
@@DukeofArtz You’re Welcome
I loved dragon tales as a kid
I used to be OBSESSED with Dragon Tales! I’ve been waiting for this episode for so long
me too everyday i came home and watched it when i was growing up i loved it the dragon tales show
what a touching story. I love when people are motivated to create art that helps other people grow and deal with the difficult parts of life.