We've finally made it out of the pre-Disney Afternoon era of Walt Disney Television Animation. Everything we cover going forward will be programs released within the timeline of the block. It's 1990. The eighties have come to a close, though their sensibilities are still very prevalent in pop culture. Disney is riding high after the success of The Little Mermaid in 1989. However, they don't quite reach the same level of success with their films the following year with Rescuers Down Under and DuckTales: The Movie majorly under-performing in the box office. On the small screen however, things couldn't be better. Winnie the Pooh is still a hit for ABC on Saturdays, while Disney has two massive successes in the syndicated market with DuckTales and Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers. Meanwhile, Gummi Bears is also ready for a syndicated move. With all three shows ready to wind down this year, and another project in the works, Disney creates a brand new two hour animation block for the afternoon. And thus the Disney Afternoon is officially born on September 10th, 1990. So let's finally talk about that fourth show. One of their most bizarre concepts of the bunch. And yes, I'm well aware I have to eventually talk about the show with the alien superhero ducks that play hockey. But for now, let's talk about TaleSpin.
Created by Jymn Magon and Mark Zaslove, former writers for the other Disney cartoons we've covered for this series so far, they were commissioned by Disney to work on a new animated series. Around the same time, Disney had re-released The Jungle Book in theaters. And thus came the early inspiration for what would become TaleSpin. Essentially, take some of the core characters from The Jungle Book, those being Baloo, King Louie and Shere Khan, and put them in a 1930s setting in a world run by anthropomorphic animals. No Mowgli in sight. Mix that with some of the elements of Casablanca, Cheers, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, even some Hayao Miyazaki, and you have a show that's less about the bear necessities of life, and more about adventures high in the sky, dealing with air pirates and other villains. Much like Rescue Rangers and DuckTales, TaleSpin debuted first on the Disney Channel as a free preview, before getting its official run on syndication starting (again, much like DuckTales and Rescue Rangers) with a TV movie event on September 7th, three days prior to the Disney Afternoon premiere. The show would run until August 8th, 1991, lasting only one season, but still with 65 episodes overall.
The show is centered around the fictional town of Cape Suzette in the mid-1930s. Disney was weirdly celebrating that era a lot in media back then. Roger Rabbit, Dick Tracy, Newsies, The Rocketeer, and definitely TaleSpin. We follow the adventures of Baloo, a cargo pilot who flies his beloved plane the Sea Duck. He befriends Kit Cloudkicker, a young orphan who becomes Baloo's navigator. After Baloo lets his bills go way overdue, he loses his cargo business, which gets bought out by a woman named Rebecca Cunningham, who rechristens the company "Higher for Hire". Now Baloo, Kit, Rebecca, her daughter Molly, Baloo's mechanic friend Wildcat, and Baloo's best friend Louie go on many wild adventures while dealing with evil air pirates led by the cunning Don Karnage, as well as dealing with the intimidating mogul Shere Khan.
Our cast of characters starts with Baloo. Much like his Jungle Book counterpart, Baloo is a very laid back individual, still believing in the bare necessities of life. Unlike the Baloo of the Jungle Book, this one is an ace pilot. And there's no better plane for him to fly than his baby the Sea Duck. Baloo is usually very lazy, slovenly self-centered, and way too prideful. Things that usually get him into trouble (A good example is punching out arrogant inventor Martin Torque when his intelligence gets insulted). He also has a bad habit when it comes to "get rich quick" schemes. Be it not knowing when to quit when it comes to doubling his pay or cutting corners to get something done quicker (An example being when Kit, Louie and Baloo run a pizza delivery service, which leads to the most unsanitary methods imaginable). He also has a long history of educational problems as well. Be it not getting his driver's license to never actually finishing grade school. Despite those problems, he is still the truest, baloo-est hero you can ask for. Ed Gilbert provided the voice of Baloo. Gilbert doesn't have a super extensive history in the voice industry, but beside his work as Baloo, his other notable role is that of Blitzwing on Transformers. Gilbert sadly passed away on May 8th 1999 due to Lung Cancer.
Kit Cloudkicker started the series as a young member of Don Karnage's air pirates. An orphan his entire life, Kit has never known his real family. After turning on Karnage by stealing a valuable jewel, he ends up running into Baloo and soon the pair form a friendship, with Kit ("Lil' Britches" as Baloo calls him) becoming the Sea Duck's navigator. Not only does he soon strike an almost father-son relationship with Baloo (or "Papa Bear" as he calls him), but he finds a surrogate family among the rest of Higher for Hire. Kit usually serves as Baloo's conscience, trying to keep Baloo from doing something too foolish, but very rarely does he succeed. Besides being an expert navigator, Kit also loves to use a device known as an airfoil. A curved metal board which he can use to surf in the sky. R.J. Williams voiced Kit. Williams also provided the final voice of Cavin on Gummi Bears. Certain episodes also featured Alan Roberts as his voice.
Rebecca Cunningham is a young businesswoman and a single mom with her daughter Molly. When Baloo's bills lapse, she manages to buy his air cargo service and renames it "Higher for Hire." There's a touch of Scrooge McDuck in her as she's always trying to find new ways to improve the business or get rich quick. She can be the most serious member of the group, and the one who can be quick to anger when something goes wrong, often being too judgmental of others and not letting them explain what happened. But she can easily see the error of her ways. She often acts like a surrogate mother to Kit, and cares a lot for Baloo, even when she also wants to kill him for being lazy or foolish. This gives them that "will they, won't they" kind of relationship akin to Sam and Diane/Rebecca from Cheers. Becky was played by Sally Struthers. Struthers will be best remembered as Gloria Bunker-Stivic from the seventies sitcom "All in the Family." She also became the lazy go-to fat joke in the nineties, often mocking her weight gain in juxtaposition to her activism involving starving children. Regardless, she's still around, and has been well known in the 2000s for her role on Gilmore Girls as Babette Dell.
Wildcat is Higher for Hire's ace mechanic. He's a bit slow mentally when it comes to most things, and often far too blunt in his honesty, but when it comes to repairs, he's a whiz. For example, he can perfectly repair a smashed telephone in seconds. He's often a bit too trusting and gullible, quick to take what anyone says literally. Wildcat is also very optimistic, very rarely getting angry over anything. He also still believes that it's important to have an imagination, something he teaches Molly in the episode "Flight of the Snow Duck". Pat Fraley is the voice of Wildcat. Fraley's most well-remembered voice work is easily Krang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He's done hundreds of voices for plenty of shows, and is still involved in the business to this day.
Molly Cunningham is Rebecca's six-year old daughter. Much like Webby, she's often written to be a very precocious kid, who often gets herself into trouble. Be it facing off with a criminal who is after a valuable doll or being accidentally shrunk by a mad scientist's laser. More often than not while pretending to be her favorite radio superhero "Danger Woman". Janna Michaels was her voice, and appeared in a few shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation and Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. She appears to have retired acting in the mid-nineties.
Louie is Baloo's best friend (a stark contrast from their relationship in The Jungle Book) and owner of "Louie's Place", a pilots bar in the middle of the ocean, not too far from Cape Suzette. Built from the remains of a ship that crashed decades ago, it serves as a juice bar and hangout, as well as a refueling station for pilots. While he's usually laid back, he can be extremely competitive if his business is in jeopardy. Case in point in "For a Fuel Dollars More" when he loses customers because of Rebecca's mid-air refueling business, he takes his anger out on Baloo and Kit, then creates his own mid-air refueling business to try and get revenge. Jim Cummings provides Louie's voice.
And now we move forward to the rogues gallery of TaleSpin, and this show has quite a few more recurring enemies than Rescue Rangers. The main baddie is Don Karnage, the charming and most handsome leader of the air pirates, if he does say so himself. He speaks with a Spanish accent akin to Desi Arnaz. He's known to be very self absorbed and narcissistic, but also extremely dangerous. A master of the sword as well as an aircraft machine gun, he commands the air pirates from his flying base The Iron Vulture. We also meet his regular crew which includes Mad Dog (Charlie Adler), a scrawny whiny dog, Dumptruck (Chuck McCann), the more physically adept of the two who speaks with a Swedish-Dutch accent and Gibber (also McCann) who often whispers in Karnage's ear. Jim Cummings provides Karnage's voice. Boy, Jim Cummings really was the lynchpin of 90s Disney, wasn't he?
Shere Khan may not be roaming the literal jungle, but he is the king of the corporate jungle. In TaleSpin, he's a billionaire mogul and head of Khan Industries, which is Cape Suzette's economic force. Khan also controls the navy and military, which keep the air pirates from entering Cape Suzette. He's cold, serious, and often devoid of emotion, though he does take great pleasure in intimidating others. He serves the role of either villain or ally, depending on the situation. Sometimes he'll work with the air pirates to create a fake fuel shortage, and other times he works to get rid of Karnage's crew. But for the majority of the series he is on the good side as more often than not the real antagonists of Khan Industries are his overzealous employees. Tony Jay provides the voice of Khan. Jay's very recognizable deep and powerful voice can be remembered best as the voices of Judge Claude Frollo in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame as well as the voice of Megabyte on ReBoot. He sadly passed away in 2006 from complications of surgery for removing a lung tumor.
And finally is the Soviet-Union inspired land of Thembria. Usually Higher for Hire's issues with Thembria often involve Colonel Ivanod Spigot ("Perhaps you've heard of me?"), head of their air force (despite Spigot having never taken actual flying lessons himself), and someone who has a major napoleon complex. He's often flanked by his assistant Sergeant Dunder (voiced by Lorenzo Music), who is far more friendly to Baloo and Kit than Spigot ever is. While Spigot is mostly an antagonist, there are usually occasions where he needs the help of Baloo in fear of angering the High Marshal (which could most likely result in his inevitable death). Michael Gough (no, not the one that played Alfred) provides his voice. Gough might best be remembered as the voice of Gopher in many Winnie the Pooh products including The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Before we go into the show proper, let's once again talk about the theme song. And this one is another catchy classic. Silversher and Silversher return, giving us a song rife with a thumping Samba rhythm. If that first riff with the chanting doesn't get you, the "Owee yeah! TaleSpin!" "Owee Oh! TaleSpin!" will instantly get it stuck in your head. Again, another song that feels perfect for the setting of the series, which focuses a lot on sea hopping adventures around the world while set in the thirties. While I feel Ducktales and Rescue Rangers are a bit more memorable with their lyrics, this one is sure to never be lost in your head as you listen to it.
FAVORITE EPISODES
-Plunder and Lightning Four Parter: Another series with a multi-part pilot to cover. And just like the others, it's excellent. Kit Cloudkicker steals a mysterious jewel that Don Karnage stole from Khan Industries. He ends up at Louie's and hides the jewel there. It's also there where he meets Baloo and becomes his navigator. After Baloo loses control of his air cargo service to Rebecca Cunningham, Kit tells Baloo about the jewel in hopes of helping him buy back his business. However, Don Karnage eventually manages to kidnap Rebecca and Molly, along with stealing the jewel. It's eventually revealed that the jewel is the key component to power a deadly lightning gun, which Karnage plans to use to help him invade Cape Suzette. Yes, much like Rescue Rangers, we focus on a plot involving a ruby that's used to power a laser. But TaleSpin adds enough extra twists to the plot that it keeps from feeling too much like a copy and paste job. For example, in part three, Kit turns on Baloo and the others and rejoins the air pirates. However it's quickly revealed that he only did so to save them from the air pirates.
This four parter also suffered from some cut content when it aired outside of the premiere movie format. The Sally Struthers version of "Home is Where the Heart Is" being completely removed. Which is a shame as it is an integral scene to show Kit realizing for the first time that he may have a chance at having a real family. I love that the show got all of its episodes on DVD, the only one of the bunch that did, but it's a shame that scenes like this got left on the cutting room floor.
-From Here To Machinery: An inventor named Martin Torque invents the Auto Aviator, the perfect robot pilot. Baloo challenges Torque's robot to a race, but loses, costing every pilot in Cape Suzette their jobs in the process. But when the air pirates look to commandeer Shere Khan's plane, it turns out that these Auto Aviators are perhaps a bit too perfect.
-Time Waits For No Bear: After Baloo's laziness costs them another client, Rebecca puts Baloo on the clock (literally) for a tour around town. However, when Baloo and Kit find cargo lost from their previous client, the two set out to return it and claim the money, leaving Wildcat in charge of the plane. They soon learn that the cargo is a stolen crown and now have to avoid the gangsters that are after it. Of all the episodes I've watched for all of the shows so far, this was easily one of the most enjoyable episodes ever. Great action, some really great comedic timing, and really no wasted time throughout.
-The Idol Rich: Baloo and Kit go on a treasure hunt to find a valuable idol. But their travels hit a snag when they also have to deal with Colonel Spigot, who ends up stealing the idol from them. After his attempts at brawn fails him, Baloo uses his brains to trick Spigot into thinking that the idol is cursed.
-Stormy Weather: Kit begins to show off more and more to the concern of Baloo. It's made no better when a shady air stuntman named Daring Dan Dawson shows up and offers Kit a chance to be a part of his air circus. Baloo fears he may be about to lose Kit forever, while Kit soon begins to realize that Daring Dan is putting him through stunts that may wind up costing him his life. This is an excellent episode. One I actually would love to do a separate review on. It's a great piece of character writing not just for Kit, but Baloo as well. The highest extent of the pair's somewhat "father-son" relationship that we've seen so far. One of the show's absolute finest.
-Her Chance To Dream: Baloo and Louie accidentally awaken the ghost of a sea captain in the Basement of Louie's (which we learn that Louie's Place was built from the remains of the captain's crashed ship).They take Rebecca with them to prove their story isn't phony, but the ghost captain falls for her and tries to take her with him to the afterlife. Rebecca, thinking this is all a dream due to being sleep deprived, is more than willing to leave with him, while Baloo and Louie try to find a way to stop the ghost once and for all.
-A Bad Reflection on You Two Parter: After Baloo becomes a local hero, he attracts the attention of Shere Khan, who needs a patsy to fly the master run, where planes have been mysteriously vanishing. Kit feels let down over not getting any attention for his heroics, but Baloo tells him that fame isn't important and that it'll just go to your head. Of course this then leads to Shere Khan giving Baloo a trophy for "best pilot in the world", which makes him feel famous and important, and it goes to his head. This winds up making him an insufferable jerk and a hypocrite. Regardless, Baloo and Kit fly the master run, only to learn that the air pirates have been using mirrors to make pilots think they're flying upside down and causing them to crash.
-A Star is Torn: Baloo and Rebecca's friendship is put in jeopardy when Baloo falls for Starrywood starlet Kitten Kaboodle after he saves her life. She rewards him with a role as a stunt pilot in her latest film. As more accidents happen on set, Rebecca begins to think that someone is sabotaging the film. She soon learns it's Kitten who's responsible, as she needs the publicity to revive her failing film career. Now Rebecca has to save Baloo before he becomes Kitten's next victim. This is definitely the most shipping fuel episode of them all so far, playing perfectly to my comments about Baloo and Becky's "will they, won't they" relationship. And while Baloo can be a jerk in this one (more so than usual), it's still great to see Becky stick her neck out for his well being.
-The Balooest of the Blue Bloods: Baloo learns that he is the long lost 13th baron of the Von Bruinwald family, meaning he's now super rich. However, he doesn't quite get a chance to bask in his newfound fortune as his life seems to constantly be in danger. He learns of a curse that has claimed the lives of all of the other barons and seeks the help of Rebecca and Wildcat to keep him from literally losing his head (or worse).
-The Old Man and the Sea Duck: A blow to the head causes Baloo to lose his memory, including his memories of being a pilot. While trying to kick his memories back in, Wildcat and Kit get separated from Baloo when the Sea Duck gets damaged during a storm. Before he meets his demise, Baloo is saved from a mysterious old pilot named Joe MaGee. Joe helps Baloo regain his lost memories, and get over his sudden fear of flying. This may easily go down as my favorite episode of not just this show, but of all the shows I've covered so far. It's a great character episode for Baloo, as well as having one of the most emotionally charged endings of any episode. I won't spoil it here, but I highly recommend giving this one a watch.
-For Whom the Bell Klangs Two-Parter: While on vacation, Baloo and Louie come to the aid of archaeologist Katie Dodd, who is trying to uncover the lost city of Tinambula. But this unlikely trio also have to deal with the deadly Thaddeus E. Klang, who seeks a powerful weapon from the city that can destroy anything in its path. I liked this two parter a lot more than I thought going in. It's a well paced adventure story, gives us a great pair of guest characters in Klang and Katie, but what really makes this work is the pairing of Baloo and Louie. This episode is paced a lot like an old Hollywood buddy comedy, like that of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. And while maybe not as great as those pairings, both Baloo and Louie play off each other amazingly, giving us a great pair of episodes.
-Jolly Molly Christmas: Baloo and kit take Molly to the North Pole (Actually Louie's) to visit Santa (Louie). However, when they learn that Molly has one wish for Christmas, for it to snow for Rebecca, Baloo and the gang try to do whatever they can to make Molly's wish come true. Oh, and the air pirates get involved for a minute or two.
-Flight School Confidential: Kit's ambition to fly a plane leads him to signing up with a Thembrian flight school for 12 year old pilots, only to learn that Spigot doesn't intend to actually teach any kids to fly. But Kit's head is too deep in the clouds to leave him grounded. This is the first episode in a while to give Kit major focus, and also feels like the last one to really focus on Kit's ambition in being a pilot like Baloo. And what we get is still a really solid Kit-focused episode.
-Bullethead Baloo: With all the kids now being enamored by the comic book superhero Bullethead, Baloo dresses up as him in an attempt to be a hero in Kit's eyes again. However, his attempt to be a fake suuperhero ends up with him becoming the real deal when a deranged inventor and his robot are out to get revenge on Shere Khan. I'm a sucker for the superhero episodes, and so far I've enjoyed most of them (with exception to "It's Absurd! It's Insane! It's Dale!" because they wrote Dale to be a bit too much of a jerk), and this one comes in second as my favorite that I've covered so far. The animation in this episode is some of the best, using the Japan division of Disney Television Animation to give us some really exciting action scenes. Plus, this episode is reminiscent of The Rocketeer (which would see release in theaters not long after this episode) and that's always a plus for me.
-Stuck On You: A confrontation between Baloo and Don Karnage leads to the pair being glued together. Now they have to make their way to the glue factory to remove the adhesive, or they'll be stuck together forever. And to make things worse, Karnage's crew have mutinied and are out for his head. Now, if you do look past the fact that the two are only glued together by their clothing and they could just work around that to free themselves, you still get a generally fun episode with Baloo and Karnage playing off each other to an entertaining degree. I also like that while we have a somewhat better take on the "latched together" plot that we saw done in the Gummi Bears' episode "For a Few Sovreigns More". But what sets that apart is that while in that episode, we see that Igthorn generally has no sense of honor, in this episode we see that Karnage, while evil and ruthless, is still a man of honor, not just outright killing Baloo when he has the chance, and even letting Baloo go free after they separate. It adds more dimension to Karnage's character and really makes this episode more memorable.
-Paradise Lost: Baloo and Wildcat end up working for a supposed explorer who is out to bring a land of dinosaurs back to life. However, it isn't long until they learn the explorer is really a hunter who wants to bag the ancient creatures. Meanwhile Wildcat, who is a big fan of dinosaurs, finally gets to meet the creatures. I think this episode is the one that made me a fan of Wildcat more than other episodes. His character is often too childlike, and this episode is no exception, but that childlike nature of him also comes with a lot of heart. And his sacrifice of having to let the lost land disappear again is an amazing character moment for him. Easily one of the show's last great episodes.
-Bygones: Baloo rescues a man who claims to be Rick Sky, an air force commander who vanished twenty years ago with his men. However, everyone believes Rick to be an impostor and a thief who disappeared with the delivery of silver he was supposed to make. Eventually Baloo discovers that Rick is the real deal and helps him and his crew in one last air battle with Don Karnage and his air pirates. Another really good episode that contains one of the best dogfights in the entire series. There is one more episode after this (the controversial "Flying Dupes", which was briefly removed from air due to its plot of Baloo unknowlingly bringing a bomb to Thembria to start a war with Cape Suzette), but in my eyes, you couldn't find a better series finale for TaleSpin than this episode.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
I Only Have Ice For You: When Baloo's pilot's license is revoked, Rebecca takes lessons to learn how to fly the Sea Duck. But her adherence to stick to the book almost gets the pair in trouble.
For A Fuel Dollars More: Higher For Hire starts a fuel station in the sky, but when Louie competes with them, it's a battle between rivals with Baloo and Kit caught in the middle.
Whistlestop Jackson, Legend: Legendary pilot Whistlestop Jackson helps Hire for Higher in a cargo mission.
Flight of the Snow Duck: When Molly accompanies Baloo and Wildcat to Thembria, she manages to use her big imagination to save them.
In Search of Ancient Blunders: A delivery to Egypt sends Baloo and Wildcat on a treasure hunt.
Louie's Last Stand: Douglas Benson, an overzealous employee of Shere Khan, tries to buy out Louie's, but Louie won't go down without a fight.
Mach One For the Gipper: Baloo accidentally gets the wrong package belonging to another pilot.
The Road to Macadamia: Baloo and Louie have to work together to save the land of Macadamia from an evil vizier.
-A Touch of Glass: Rebecca tries to class up Higher for Hire by accepting a job for a pair of shady socialites named Buffy and Muffy. She even puts the Sea Duck's deed on the line in the process. When they stop at Louie's, their belongings begin to disappear, and Louie winds up framed. This episode has its moments, And isn't a bad episode per se, but part of me is kind of turned off with how unlikable the characters can get. From Rebecca generally being written as too much of a snob, to even Baloo being quick to blame Louie as well. I get that's part of the lesson in that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I don't know. I don't think anyone (even Louie with his creepy advances on Rebecca) come off looking good in this episode. The third act is good, but other than that it's not one I'd personally go back to.
-Last Horizons: Annoyed that he's not famous enough to get a parade, Baloo tries to prove himself by finding the mysterious Panda-La. He finds the place and the people seem kindly and unassuming. But little does Baloo know that they're actually planning to follow him back to Cape Suzette with intent of invading. Now, I don't hate this episode on some of its structure. In fact, there are things to enjoy. I like its moral about how you don't need a parade to prove how important you are to people, and the final act is actually pretty fun. But this is also a rather controversial episode in its depiction of Asian people (though not to the point of needing to be re-dubbed like Puffed Rangers), and it does feel like a poorly executed satire on the Pearl Harbor attacks. Which considering the era that TaleSpin is set in, wasn't that well executed. The episode did get banned from Disney Channel for a brief period, but returned in 2002. Plus the episode is intact in Volume two of the DVD set.
-The Time Bandit: In order to get his payday a day earlier, Baloo tricks Rebecca into thinking Friday is really Saturday. However, this prank makes its way to Thembria, which leads to Rebecca almost being killed by firing squad. This was easily my least favorite episode for a number of reasons. The animation is kinda lackluster in comparison to other episodes of the show. There are some weird editing problems throughout.
But the biggest glaring issue is that the episode feels like it's copied beat for beat from the DuckTales episode "Allowance Day". In that episode, in order to get their allowances a day earlier, the nephews trick Scrooge to thinking Friday is really Saturday. However this prank makes its way to a foreign country, which leads to Scrooge and Fenton almost being killed by firing squad. Even the resolution is copy/paste. In DuckTales, the nephews and Launchpad have to clear the sky so everyone can see an eclipse that will prove it's Friday. In TaleSpin, it's a comet, but the same outcome. Now you could think this is just a coincidence, since most of the Disney shows usually used similar cliches (the amnesia episode, the shrinking episode, etc), but upon further inspection, both episodes were even written by the same writers. Yikes. In the end, while there are some fun moments, its lack of originality really left me feeling short changed.
Much like its predecessors DuckTales and Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin also got featured in several video games. Though none to the level of high quality that the previous two had. While the NES is a fine enough scrolling shooter, the games for Sega systems and the Turbografix 16 are more mediocre platformers. Other than that though, much like Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin ended its run and stayed retired. Baloo, Khan and Louie returned to being used specifically as Jungle Book characters. This included a later nineties animated series called Jungle Cubs, and The Jungle Book 2 (though Louie would be exempt from that movie due to being considered a racial stereotype, and even watching TaleSpin, I can see reasoning for that). Despite that, TaleSpin has been a bit more celebrated than most Disney Afternoon shows. It's the only one to have gotten a full series set on DVD from Disney and Cape Suzette got a shout out on the new DuckTales series, meaning that you never know. With this new era of revivals, maybe Baloo and the Sea Duck will fly again.
When I started this blog project, I mainly did it as an excuse to look back at TaleSpin specifically. It was the show of the early bunch that I hadn't seen in years, Gummi Bears aside, that I had the most foggy memories of it. And, much like the others, I ended up remembering more episodes than I thought. And after watching the show in full, I can finally say that this may have been my favorite show of all the shows I've covered. Maybe it's because I was slower on the rewatch, or that I just loved the setting and characters more, but I really feel this show was well executed. Not perfect as they do spin their gears in the middle of the series with similar plots and a lot of cliche stories that were covered in other Disney shows, but in some cases I think they did them better. The best show to compare this to is DuckTales, but honestly, I think TaleSpin is best described as DuckTales with more consistency and less shark jumping. I could also see some characters being problematic (Louie, and in certain ways Wildcat), but that is more a case of your mileage may vary. Favorite characters were Rebecca, Baloo, Kit, Don Karnage, Shere Khan, Wildcat and Katie Dodd.
The animation isn't as up to snuff from DuckTales or early Rescue Rangers (though the episodes provided by Disney's Japan division still look amazing), but they still managed to represent the action and excitement that a show like TaleSpin needed, with lots of exciting sky high thrills. In the end, this became a show that, for me at least, topped DuckTales from its spot. Like I said earlier, DuckTales was amazing, but the later seasons felt like it lost a lot of what made Ducktales so good. TaleSpin remained consistent throughout, being a show that was part globetrotting adventure, and part silly slice of life show. and it blends both really well, giving us some great character moments and memorable adventures. If you haven't watched TaleSpin in a while, I'd recommend it. The show is available in full on DVD, so it's not impossible to find. And with that, this edition of All in a Disney Afternoon is solid gone!
War of the Weirds: To get some time off, Baloo, Kit and Wildcat try to fake an alien invasion. However, while Rebecca doesn't fall for it, a soldier does.
Bringing Down Babyface: Baloo has to deal with not only the cops after him, but a group of gangsters.
Bringing Down Babyface: Baloo has to deal with not only the cops after him, but a group of gangsters.
In Search of Ancient Blunders: A delivery to Egypt sends Baloo and Wildcat on a treasure hunt.
Louie's Last Stand: Douglas Benson, an overzealous employee of Shere Khan, tries to buy out Louie's, but Louie won't go down without a fight.
Mach One For the Gipper: Baloo accidentally gets the wrong package belonging to another pilot.
The Road to Macadamia: Baloo and Louie have to work together to save the land of Macadamia from an evil vizier.
LEAST FAVORITE EPISODES
-A Touch of Glass: Rebecca tries to class up Higher for Hire by accepting a job for a pair of shady socialites named Buffy and Muffy. She even puts the Sea Duck's deed on the line in the process. When they stop at Louie's, their belongings begin to disappear, and Louie winds up framed. This episode has its moments, And isn't a bad episode per se, but part of me is kind of turned off with how unlikable the characters can get. From Rebecca generally being written as too much of a snob, to even Baloo being quick to blame Louie as well. I get that's part of the lesson in that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I don't know. I don't think anyone (even Louie with his creepy advances on Rebecca) come off looking good in this episode. The third act is good, but other than that it's not one I'd personally go back to.
-Last Horizons: Annoyed that he's not famous enough to get a parade, Baloo tries to prove himself by finding the mysterious Panda-La. He finds the place and the people seem kindly and unassuming. But little does Baloo know that they're actually planning to follow him back to Cape Suzette with intent of invading. Now, I don't hate this episode on some of its structure. In fact, there are things to enjoy. I like its moral about how you don't need a parade to prove how important you are to people, and the final act is actually pretty fun. But this is also a rather controversial episode in its depiction of Asian people (though not to the point of needing to be re-dubbed like Puffed Rangers), and it does feel like a poorly executed satire on the Pearl Harbor attacks. Which considering the era that TaleSpin is set in, wasn't that well executed. The episode did get banned from Disney Channel for a brief period, but returned in 2002. Plus the episode is intact in Volume two of the DVD set.
-The Time Bandit: In order to get his payday a day earlier, Baloo tricks Rebecca into thinking Friday is really Saturday. However, this prank makes its way to Thembria, which leads to Rebecca almost being killed by firing squad. This was easily my least favorite episode for a number of reasons. The animation is kinda lackluster in comparison to other episodes of the show. There are some weird editing problems throughout.
But the biggest glaring issue is that the episode feels like it's copied beat for beat from the DuckTales episode "Allowance Day". In that episode, in order to get their allowances a day earlier, the nephews trick Scrooge to thinking Friday is really Saturday. However this prank makes its way to a foreign country, which leads to Scrooge and Fenton almost being killed by firing squad. Even the resolution is copy/paste. In DuckTales, the nephews and Launchpad have to clear the sky so everyone can see an eclipse that will prove it's Friday. In TaleSpin, it's a comet, but the same outcome. Now you could think this is just a coincidence, since most of the Disney shows usually used similar cliches (the amnesia episode, the shrinking episode, etc), but upon further inspection, both episodes were even written by the same writers. Yikes. In the end, while there are some fun moments, its lack of originality really left me feeling short changed.
LEGACY
Much like its predecessors DuckTales and Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin also got featured in several video games. Though none to the level of high quality that the previous two had. While the NES is a fine enough scrolling shooter, the games for Sega systems and the Turbografix 16 are more mediocre platformers. Other than that though, much like Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin ended its run and stayed retired. Baloo, Khan and Louie returned to being used specifically as Jungle Book characters. This included a later nineties animated series called Jungle Cubs, and The Jungle Book 2 (though Louie would be exempt from that movie due to being considered a racial stereotype, and even watching TaleSpin, I can see reasoning for that). Despite that, TaleSpin has been a bit more celebrated than most Disney Afternoon shows. It's the only one to have gotten a full series set on DVD from Disney and Cape Suzette got a shout out on the new DuckTales series, meaning that you never know. With this new era of revivals, maybe Baloo and the Sea Duck will fly again.
FINAL THOUGHTS
When I started this blog project, I mainly did it as an excuse to look back at TaleSpin specifically. It was the show of the early bunch that I hadn't seen in years, Gummi Bears aside, that I had the most foggy memories of it. And, much like the others, I ended up remembering more episodes than I thought. And after watching the show in full, I can finally say that this may have been my favorite show of all the shows I've covered. Maybe it's because I was slower on the rewatch, or that I just loved the setting and characters more, but I really feel this show was well executed. Not perfect as they do spin their gears in the middle of the series with similar plots and a lot of cliche stories that were covered in other Disney shows, but in some cases I think they did them better. The best show to compare this to is DuckTales, but honestly, I think TaleSpin is best described as DuckTales with more consistency and less shark jumping. I could also see some characters being problematic (Louie, and in certain ways Wildcat), but that is more a case of your mileage may vary. Favorite characters were Rebecca, Baloo, Kit, Don Karnage, Shere Khan, Wildcat and Katie Dodd.
The animation isn't as up to snuff from DuckTales or early Rescue Rangers (though the episodes provided by Disney's Japan division still look amazing), but they still managed to represent the action and excitement that a show like TaleSpin needed, with lots of exciting sky high thrills. In the end, this became a show that, for me at least, topped DuckTales from its spot. Like I said earlier, DuckTales was amazing, but the later seasons felt like it lost a lot of what made Ducktales so good. TaleSpin remained consistent throughout, being a show that was part globetrotting adventure, and part silly slice of life show. and it blends both really well, giving us some great character moments and memorable adventures. If you haven't watched TaleSpin in a while, I'd recommend it. The show is available in full on DVD, so it's not impossible to find. And with that, this edition of All in a Disney Afternoon is solid gone!
FINAL RATING: A
OFFICIAL SHOW RANKING:
#1. TaleSpin
#2. Disney's DuckTales
#3. Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers
#4. Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears
That wraps things up for our TaleSpin recap, but here's what coming up next on All in a Disney Afternoon...
It's finally time to get dangerous. He is the terror that flaps in the night. He is the nostalgia blog that recaps thirty year old programs. He is Darkwing Duck!
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