Creators
Jymn Magon & Mark Zaslove
Cast
Ed Gilbert………Baloo
R.J. Williams………Kit Cloudkicker
Sally Struthers………Becky Cunningham
DVD Release Date: November 13, 2007
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 617 Minutes on 3 discs
The Show
The Disney Afternoon was a great time in my childhood and I remember looking forward to it all day while in school. Whenever school was out, it was my hope that there would be no traffic and we could get home in time for me to watch every episode of every show. Along with Darkwing Duck, Ducktales, and Chip N’ Dale’s Resuce Rangers; TaleSpin graced my screen every single day and had that lovable theme song everyone can remember. Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Baloo the bear was a pilot that had his business bought out by Rebecca “Becky” Cunningham. It was renamed to “Higher For Hire” which turned out to be a delivery service. The young and future pilot Kit Cloudkicker is a close friend of Baloo’s and goes along with him on his trips as his navigator. Together they must make their deliveries and also try to steer clear of dangerous air pirates looking to take them down and steal their cargo. High-flying adventures set the tone for every episode and make for hair-rising excitement.
TaleSpin is not so much a spin off of The Jungle Book, but simply borrows characters from it. Baloo, King Louie, and Shere Khan appear in almost every episode. Baloo even refers to Kit as “Little Britches” while Kit calls Baloo the name Mowgli called him a lot in the film, “Papa Bear.” In a way, TaleSpin seemed to try and serve two purposes. It was intended to be an entertaining animated series for children while also trying to get people more associated with The Jungle Book.
The unfortunate part of it all is that the show was overpowered by the other series’ that appeared on the Disney Afternoon. Chip and Dale were just more well known by so many people. Darkwing Duck became popular because he was a crime fighter and had Launchpad as his sidekick. That leads to the most popular show of all that trumped over all of them and that’s Ducktales. No matter how lovable Baloo and Louie were, they just couldn’t beat out the enjoyment that came from Duckburg. Rumors have it that the original star of TaleSpin was actually going to be Launchpad but got replaced by Baloo so as not to have too many shows alike.
This volume of the series has some truly great episodes like “A Baloo Switcheroo” and the two part “For Whom The Bell Klangs” that could turn any child or adult into a fan. The problem is that it no longer is on the air and may be too late to try and turn over a brand new fan base. It’s quite the shame too because so many people missed out on how good the show actually is. Other characters from other shows just had more glamour to them and were always brought into the spotlight. Sadly, the same fate fell upon The Jungle Book and quite possibly will always stay the same.
Episodes
Disc One:
A Baloo Switcheroo
Whistlestop Jackson, Legend
Double Or Nothing
Feminine Air
Last Horizons
Flight Of The Snow Duck
Save The Tiger
The Old Man And The Sea Duck
War Of The Weirds
Disc Two:
Captains Outrageous
The Time Bandit
For Whom The Bell Klangs – Part One
For Whom The Bell Klangs – Part Two
Citizen Kahn
Gruel And Unusual Punishment
A Jolly Molly Christmas
My Fair Baloo
Waiders Of The Wost Tweasure
Disc Three:
Flight School Confidential
Bringing Down Babyface
Jumping The Guns
In Search Of Ancient Blunders
Louie’s Last Stand
Sheepskin Deep
Pizza Pie In The Sky
Baloo Thunder
Bullethead Baloo
The Video
The episodes are shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and look fantastic. They have surely held up over time and bring me back many years to when I was much younger and hoping to get home in time to catch them on television. The colors are bright and the artwork is splendid.
The Audio
The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital Stereo Sound and are good enough for what it is and that’s an almost twenty year old animated series. Don’t expect much in way of big time explosions or anything like that, but there is no need for it. The job is done nicely for what is presented on screen.
Special Features
None
The Inside Pulse
While it may not have been the best show Disney could have put forth; it is still better then half the cartoon crap on television today. I urge those that knew the show back in the day or those that are at least familiar with The Jungle Book to check out either volume one or volume two of TaleSpin and at least give it a chance. Humor, adventure, excitement, and the thrill of being a kid once again are just a few of the things you’ll get from Baloo and the gang. Those who are parents of little ones and you’re sick of them checking out the trash and filth; give them the wholesome image Disney knew how to put forth with 2-D animation. As with most sets, the special features are completely bare, but that’s OK. Check it out folks, I beg you. It’s a lot better then you’d ever expect and you’re going to have a theme song to sing for life. Spin it, let’s begin it, bear and grin it when you’re in it. You can win it in a minute when you spin it, spin it, spin it!
