Jana of the Jungle

Overview

Jana (voiced by B.J. Ward) is essentially a female version of Tarzan who traveled to the rain forests of South America in search of her lost father (whom she never finds). Her father vanished in a boating accident when she was still a child, but the introduction shows that he survived. She has long blonde hair, wears a dress made of unspecified animal skin and a necklace which doubles as a throwable weapon and makes a high-pitched resonating sound when thrown (somewhat similar to the chakram that would be the weapon of choice for the later, live-action Xena, Warrior Princess) given to her by her father.

Besides her animal friends (Ghost, a sleek white panther and Tico, a pesty water opossum), Jana has two human friends: Dr. Ben Cooper (voiced by Michael Bell), a young wildlife biologist who maintained the preserve started by Jana's father and helped in her continuing search for her father; and Montaro (voiced by Ted Cassidy), a descendant of a lost warrior tribe armed with a supernatural weapon known as the Staff of Power that can cause earthquake shockwaves when it strikes the ground. Montaro rescued Jana from the boating accident in which her father disappeared.

These are some of the jungle animals Jana called to, many for help:

Opening-credits narration

The opening title narration provided by the Jana character consisted of the following:

The last thing I remember was traveling up the Great River with my father. He had just given me my special necklace when [boat hitting rocks and capsizing]. I was rescued by Montaro, a noble descendant of a lost warrior tribe. Endlessly searching for my lost father, Montaro, Tico and my jaguar, Ghost, help me guard the jungle from those who dwell within it. I grew up by the laws of nature and the animals of the jungle became my friends. I am...Jana of the Jungle.

Broadcast history

Jana of the Jungle was originally broadcast in these following formats on NBC:

A total of 13 original episodes of Jana of the Jungle were produced in 1978, with the first eight broadcast as part of the second half of The Godzilla Power Hour from September 9 to October 28. In November 1978, when The Godzilla Power Hour was expanded to 90 minutes (with the addition of Jonny Quest reruns) and re-titled The Godzilla Super 90, the five remaining episodes of Jana of the Jungle continued on this new format until December 2. The Jana character also made a cameo appearance piloting a rocket-car in an episode of Yogi's Space Race in 1978.

Jana of the Jungle resurfaced in 1985 as part of USA Cartoon Express which is the last time any of the original 13 episodes were shown on television. This is one of the very few Hanna-Barbera series that is yet to be seen on Cartoon Network or Boomerang, however, one of the episodes, "The Cordillera Volcano", was available for a limited time on WB's Hanna-Barbera online stream. To date, the series has yet to be released on DVD.

Production credits

Jana in comic books

In January 2007, Dynamite Entertainment launched a comic book, with plot by Frank Cho and script by Doug Murray, called Jungle Girl, featuring a blond female character called Jana. She is a Tarzanesque heroine that lives in some kind of "Lost World", a jungle inhabited by strange creatures including dinosaurs and cavemen. While bearing the same name and taking place in a jungle setting, the Cho/Murray comic character is not really connected with the TV series.