TaleSpin

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TaleSpin is a half-hour Disney American animated television series that first aired as part of The Disney Afternoon. After a preview of The Disney Afternoon that aired on the Disney Channel in May 1990, the series began its run in September of the same year. The original concept was embodied in the introductory television movie "Plunder and Lightning", which was re-edited into four half-hour episodes for reruns. The show was often seen either on its own as a half-hour show, or as part of the two-hour syndicated series The Disney Afternoon. TaleSpin ended on its 65th episode which ran in 1991.

An interesting aspect of the series is that several of the characters are loosely based on characters from Disney's animated film version of The Jungle Book: in particular Baloo, the hot-shot pilot hero of the series; Louie, the owner of Baloo's favourite bar; and Shere Khan, a business tycoon who appears in many episodes.

TaleSpin is set in the fictional city of Cape Suzette, a harbor town protected by giant cliffs (through which only a small opening exists). The opening in the cliffs is guarded by artillery, preventing flying rabblerousers or air pirates from entering the city. Characters in the world of TaleSpin are, as a rule, anthropomorphic animals. The timeframe of the series is never specifically addressed, but appears to be in the mid to late 1930s; the helicopter and jet engine are experimental devices and most architecture is reminiscent of the art deco style of that period. Radio is the primary mass medium.

The series centered on the adventures of bush pilot Baloo the bear, whose air cargo freight business is bought out by Rebecca Cunningham, and renamed 'Higher for Hire'. An orphan boy and former air pirate, Kit Cloudkicker, attaches to Baloo and becomes his navigator. Together, they are the crew of Higher for Hire's only aircraft, a flying boat named the Sea Duck. From there, the series follows the ups and downs of Higher for Hire and its staff. Their adventures often involve encounters with a gang of air pirates led by the histrionic Don Karnage, or with representatives of Thembria, a parody of the Stalinist Soviet Union inhabited by anthropomorphic warthogs.

The relationship between Baloo and Rebecca owes something to the screwball comedy films of the 1930s. It's even more closely patterned after the later years of the television sitcom Cheers... in both shows, a buttoned-down businesswoman named Rebecca takes the reigns of a struggling company, then hires its previous owner (a fun-loving but irresponsible slacker) to do most of the work for her.

A monthly comic book based on the show was published by Disney Comics in 1991, running for seven issues (eleven, counting a four-issue mini-series based on the series premiere). Sadly, the comic's cancellation seven months later killed several planned stories that would have revealed pieces of background for the main characters. Subsequent comic stories were printed in Disney Adventures from 1990 to 1995, as well as in the Disney Afternoon comic book published by Marvel Comics.

Famed Uncle Scrooge comic writer and artist Don Rosa contributed several of the show's teleplays.

1 Controversy
2 Characters (Actors)
3 Episode list
4 External links

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Controversy

Two episodes of Talespin drew varied amounts of controversy, enough for one episode to be temporarily banned and the other to be permanently banned.

The first of these, the episode "Last Horizons" was temporarily banned and taken off the air. Investigation of the event has since revealed that the reason for its temporary removal was the alleged stereotyping of Asians. The villain in the episode is an anthropomorphic panda Emperor named Wan Lo (voiced by actor Robert Ito) living in a mock-pre-WWII Asian nation called "Panda-La", who takes Baloo into his country to exploit his naiveté and attacks Cape Suzette.

The fictitious nation may have been a take on the real-world nation of Japan; which attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. That incident ushered America's entry into the Second World War.

The second episode, titled "Flying Dupes" was aired for the first time on August 8th 1990 and was immediately pulled from the lineup afterward, not to be seen again for more than ten years. It made a brief re-appearance on Toon Disney several years ago, possibly by mistake, and has never been re-aired since. Considered by Disney to be a banned episode, the apparent reason for this episode's permanent removal from the airwaves is the terrorist theme associated with it. The general synopsis of the episode starts with Baloo being asked to deliver a goodwill present (a cuckoo clock he is told) to the High Marshall of Thembria from Cape Suzette. Baloo is unaware until the end of the episode that the package really contains a time bomb planted by munitions manufacturers who wish to provoke a war between Thembria and Cape Suzette in order to boost weapons sales.

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Characters (Actors)

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Higher for Hire

Baloo (Ed Gilbert), drawn largely as the bear from Disney's The Jungle Book, but with a flight cap and a yellow vest (and four-fingered hands instead of his Jungle Book counterpart's claws). Although lazy and unreliable, he is also an excellent pilot capable of the most daring maneuvers in the air and the courage to do them. Some of his mannerisms survive from The Jungle Book, including his nickname of "Papa Bear" by Kit, which Mowgli gave him. He also calls Kit "Little Britches," as he did Mowgli.
Kit Cloudkicker (R.J. Williams, Alan Roberts), an orphan brown bear and former member of the air pirates, who stands roughly half Baloo's size. He typically wears a blue baseball cap with red rim and a green sweater. He is skilled at cloud surfing. Kit looks to Baloo as a father figure, and usually flies as the navigator of the Sea Duck. His rather mysterious persona and surprisingly dark background made him a rather popular character amongst the show's fans.
Rebecca Cunningham (Sally Struthers), a tall thin brown bear with long brown hair, who usually wears slacks, a white shirt, and a pink-red jacket. A shrewd businesswoman with a penchant for recklessness, she buys 'Baloo's Air Service' and his plane, creating the air cargo company Higher For Hire. Can also have quite a temper at times; usually it is Baloo's laziness and carefree attitude towards his responsibilities that sets it off.
Molly Cunningham (Janna Michaels), Rebecca's daughter. A real spitfire who's not afraid to speak her mind. Molly has golden fur and sometimes pretends she is 'Danger Woman' (the hero of a popular kids radio program) while seeking adventure along with Kit and Baloo.
Louie (Jim Cummings), also from The Jungle Book, is an ape who wears a hawaiian shirt and owns the island restaurant 'Louie's', located near but outside the protection of Cape Suzette.
Wildcat (Pat Fraley), a clueless and gangly lion who typically wears a mechanic's outfit. Officially the Higher for Hire mechanic, pure intelligence is not his forte, but he's extremely adept at fixing devices. His brilliance at anything mechanical allows him to fix smashed telephones in three seconds and is one of the few people in the entire Talespin universe who can build an "overdrive" for airplanes.

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Air Pirates

Don Karnage (Jim Cummings), the leader of the air pirates, and the master of the massive pirate airship 'Iron Vulture'. He is some sort of canine, but it's not clear exactly what species he is; jackal, dingo, fox and coyote are all popular theories. Some have even suggested that he is a wolf /fox hybrid, although the writers have stated that he is a wolf. He has a strong accent, but again, precisely which country is difficult to tell. Voice actor Jim Cummings has cited Ricky Ricardo as an inspiration, but there are numerous influences present.
Mad Dog (Charlie Adler), scrawny canine with a "Fu Manchu" style mustache, usually seen in the company of Dumptruck. Has a whiny, nasal voice. Due to his puny, slender build, some believe he is actually a ferret or weasel. Not a very threatening presence.
Dumptruck (Chuck McCann), appearing to be second in command to Don Karnage since he was made captain of the Iron Vulture by Don Karnage in his absence in one episode, he is a dog who speaks with a Swedish accent and wears a top hat. While being among one of the most ruthless of the air pirates, he is also one of the most stupid. Has a habit of exclaiming "Yumpin' Yimminy!" when surprised or in a crisis.
Gibber (Chuck McCann), the pirate who wispers advice and such into Karnage's ear. He has never spoken a word louder than his mumbles.
Hacksaw (Charlie Adler), the big yellowish colored pirate who has sticks of dynamite strapped around his arms and has his ears tied together. He isn't one of the smartest pirates, and is a bit on the twitchy side.
Ratchet (Rob Paulsen), the mechanic of the group who helped put together the lightning gun in Plunder & Lightning.
Hal (Frank Welker), large (rivals Dumptruck in size), overweight, tan cat; possibly the only feline member of Karnage's crew. Seen in only a few episodes, his only major role in the series (and probably the only one where he spoke) was when he accompanied Dumptruck and Mad Dog on their mission to take over the cliff guns.
Sadie (Chuck McCann), the short, fat, brown pirate who has a grey moustach and wears a viking helmet.
Jacques ("Scottie"), the main pilot of the Iron Vulture. Despite being a scottish terrier, he's actually French.
Will, Don Karnage's second mate, seen briefly in the episode "In Search of Ancient Blunders" as part of a single gag: Don Karnage ordered his crew to 'fire at will', but they began shooting at Will instead of the Sea Duck. The exact lines went something like this: "FIRE AT WILL!!" *shots and ricochets* "No, no, no, do not fire at WILL, he is my second mate. FIRE AT THE SEA DUCK!!"

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Thembrians

Col. Ivanod Spigot (Michael Gough), an unnaturally short warthog with a Napoleon complex who is the head of Thembria's military forces. He consider himself to be highly infamous, and always introduces himself thusly: "Perhaps you've heard of me?"
Sgt. Dunder (Lorenzo Music), Spigot's second-in-command. He is gregarious and somewhat dense, and nowhere near as evil and ruthless as Spigot is. In fact, he is close friends with Baloo and Kit.
The High Marshal, the highest-ranking military official in Thembria, he appears to serve as the country's strongman; vaguely resembles Leonid Brezhnev, with his bushy eyebrows. He is dour and humorless and dislikes Spigot. He is married to an equally humourless unnamed female Thembrian who is strong enough to knock him out with a single punch.
Prof. Crackpotkin, a mad scientist interred at Bedevilled Island Maximum Security Prison for terrorist acts. He hates gruel, and has been shown to be willing to commit suicide in order to destroy Thembria's gruel reserves with no regard for the resultant collateral damage.
Warden Slammer, the stern warden of Bedevilled Island Maximum Security Prison. Although at first he seems ruthless, he is eventually revealed to be a more-or-less fair and levelheaded individual (certainly he was right about what a ruthless maniac Crackpotkin was).

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Khan Industries

Shere Khan (Tony Jay), a tiger who also appeared in The Jungle Book, but here stands upright and wears a business suit. Khan is a ruthless and extremely wealthy businessman who is the dominant economic force in Cape Suzette.
Buzz (Kenneth Mars), a short purple-haired bird of indeterminate species who is Khan's in-house inventor as well as an old friend of Baloo's.
Mrs. Snarly (Jennifer Darling), Khan's ruthless and loyal elderly secretary. She is (apparently) a shrew.
Dr. Debolt (Rob Paulsen), Khan's head mad scientist, a very insane rabbit who created the sub-electron amplifier.
Douglas "Dougie" Benson (Mark L. Taylor), a tabby cat and an investor in the company who lost his job as a result of a combination of bad investments (like glow-in-the-dark sunglasses), forging Khan's signature and flagrant mis-use of Khan's private Air Force for personal gain. His quick temper and somewhat clumsy antics were a constant source of laughs for those around him (especially Khan's elite pilots), something he could absolutely not stand. Was constantly heard shouting "STOP THAT LAUGHING!!" at the top of his lungs.
Mr. Perry (Michael Bell), a scheming and sharply-dressed cheetah who was cooperating with Khan's rival, the Miniversal Corp., to steal a top-secret helicopter.
Walters (Phil Crowley), a panther investor who was Douglas Benson's aide and confidant.
Garth and Gus (Patric Zimmerman and Tony Pope), Khan's well-dressed tiger and panther goons who he sent to teach Baloo a lesson after the bear foolishly took advantage of Khan.

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Others

Trader Moe (Jim Cummings), an international criminal alligator who is always accompanied by a hulking rhinoceros and gorilla who are known only as "The Goons".
Covington (Jim Cummings), a smooth-talking jaguar con-artist who attempted to take advantage of Rebecca. Was trying to recover an ancient figurine from Molly, which pointed the way to a rich treasure.
Howard Huge (Charlie Adler), a maniacal hippo airplane designer.
Jack Case (Brian Cummings), a semi-villainous rabbit and would-be spy, currently imprisoned in Thembria.
Dr. Axolotl (Rodger Bumpass), a psychotic lizard inventor who sought revenge against Shere Khan with his killer robot, M.E.L.
Dr. Zibaldo (Dan Castellaneta), a short fox scientist who invented a shrink ray for the purpose of fitting his clothes into luggage easier. After a mishap in which Molly Cunningham was accidently shrunk, he abandoned his research in favor of a new idea: television.
Prof. Martin Torque, a doberman inventor who sought to put Higher For Hire out of business.
Detective Thursday, a hardboiled canine detective who apparently runs the Cape Suzette police force. His main underlings are Officer Malarky and Gertalin.
Heimlech Menudo (Kenneth Mars), a leopard criminal with diamonds for teeth. He and his henchman Weazell (David L. Lander) tried to steal all the diamonds in Cape Suzette.
Mr. Sultan, the president of Shere Khan's rival, the Miniserval Corp. He is an elderly tiger.
Katie Dodd (Ellen Gerstell), a fox archaeologist who discovered the lost city of Tinabula. This feisty redhead has as much attitude as she does looks and intellgence; not afraid to tell any man to go jump in a lake. However, this did not stop Baloo and Louie from showing off and competing, futily, for her attention.
Myra (Liz Georges), the State Archaeologist and Minister of Culture in the tiny desert country of Aridia. She is a fox. Though not canon, many fans believe that her last name is Foxworthy. A genuinely nice, albeit somewhat absentminded woman, her sunny disposition is nearly the exact polar opposite of Katie Dodd. Normally slow to anger, but not afraid to stand up and show some backbone when it really counts.