The Life & Times
of Juniper Lee

Monsters, magic and little brothers—Juniper Lee has to survive them all ... and do her homework

	The Life & Times of Juniper Lee
	"It's Your Party and I'll Whine If I Want To" and "I've Got My Mind on My Mummy and My Mummy on My Mind"
	Voices of Lara Jill Miller, Kath Soucie and Carlos Alazraqui
	Created by Judd Winick
	Cartoon Network
	Premieres Monday, May 30, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT), then airs regularly on Sunday nights at 7:30 p.m.

By Kathie Huddleston

ife isn't easy for 11-year-old Juniper Lee (Miller). Not only does she have the busy life of any girl her age, what with after-school activities, making good grades and dealing with her annoying little brother; she also has to maintain the equilibrium between the world of magic and humanity. Of course, humanity can't know anything about the magical creatures that occasionally threaten it.

Juniper is the Te Xuan Ze, The Protector. She possesses magical abilities and the strength of 10 people. For generations, someone in her family has had the responsibility of maintaining the balance between the real and magical worlds.

While Juniper's secret identity must stay secret, causing her to run off to save the day at any moment, there are a few who know about it. Juniper's little brother, Ray Ray (Soucie), tags along on her adventures as often as he can manage, and her talking dog, Monroe (Alazraqui), has helped educate generations of Te Xuan Ze. And when times get especially tough, Juniper turns to her grandmother, Ah-Mah (Amy Hill), who was Te Xuan Ze before her.

In "It's Your Party and I'll Whine If I Want To," Juniper wants nothing more than to go to her best friend Jody's party. Unfortunately, a leprechaun arrives, unbeknownst to the rest of the people at the party, and before she knows it Juniper is being pressed into action. It seems there's trouble in the magic realm, and she soon finds herself facing a really nasty demon.

And in "I've Got My Mind on My Mummy and My Mummy on My Mind," Juniper has to write a report for school on an ancient mummy with Marcus (Phil LaMarr), the boy she has a not-so-secret crush on. However, when the mummy goes missing, Juniper has to spring into action. The mummy has been woken up and has gone off to open up a chain of fast food rib and waffle joints using zombies as cheap labor. Now it's up to Juniper to save the world from fast food and the zombies from overtime. But can she do it without looking like an idiot to a clueless Marcus?

Funny and smartly written

The Life & Times of Juniper Lee is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the kids. From the idea of one person in each generation being chosen to protect the world to Juniper's modern-day environment, it's awfully familiar. Fortunately, much like Buffy, Juniper Lee is funny and smartly written.

Like the best animated series out today, Juniper Lee has a touch of anime in its look. It's filled with colorful monsters and a distinctive-looking heroine. Much like Buffy before her, Juniper would really rather be hanging out with her friends than kicking monster butt, and she doesn't mind whining about it. She comes off feeling very three-dimensional, largely because she's written as if she were a real 11-year-old girl who just happens to have to save the universe now and then.

Beyond the Buffy analogies, the talking dog, Mason, is a pug right out of Men in Black. Many of the characters start out as stereotypes. There's not a lot of originality here. But even so, somehow Juniper Lee comes off as fresh material because the stories take unexpected turns. Creator Judd Winick manages to make Juniper and her friends funny and interesting.

What starts off as an unoriginal concept is fleshed out with stories that focus as much on Juniper's non-magical life as it does on Juniper Lee's action hero. The thorn in her side is her little brother, Ray Ray. Like the other characters, Ray Ray starts off as the pesky brother, but turns into a real character through the well-written stories and dialogue. While Juniper Lee may not have started off in a very unique place, it's very entertaining.

The Life & Times of Juniper Lee is something a lot of cartoons aren't these days. Funny. While it would be nice if the concept were a bit more original, Juniper Lee at least only borrows from the best. —Kathie

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Also in this issue: Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist and Spaceballs Collector's-Edition DVD

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