TaleSpin
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Wikipedia-Article "TaleSpin"
Disney's TaleSpin is a half-hour Disney animated 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 its 65 episode run 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.
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). 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.
As of 2005, TaleSpin is currently among the few classic Disney television cartoons to still be shown in reruns on Toon Disney.
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Characters (Actors)
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.
- Molly Cunningham (Janna Michaels), Rebecca's daughter.
- 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.
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, wolf and coyote are all popular theories, although a fox is the most probable.
- Mad Dog (Charlie Adler)
- 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 Dutch 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.
- Gibber (Chuck McCann)
- Hacksaw (Charlie Adler)
- Ratchet (Rob Paulsen)
- Hal (Frank Welker)
Thembrians
- Colonel Ivanod Spigot (Michael Gough)
- Sergeant Dunder (Lorenzo Music)
- The High Marshal
- Professor Crackpotkin
- Warden Slammer
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 shew.
- 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) and flagrant mis-use of Khan's private Air Force for personal gain.
- 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.
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.
- Howard Huge (Charlie Adler), a maniacal hippo airplane designer.
- Jack Case (Brian Cummmings), a semi-villainous rabbit and would-be spy.
- 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.
External links
- TaleSpin.co.uk
- SoCalSpinner
- Talespin Sourcepage
- Talespin Community on Live Journal
- Talespin HighFlight unofficial message board
- TaleSpin at the Internet Movie Database
- Unofficial Kit Cloudkicker Homepage
- The TaleSpin Headquarters
- TaleSpin: the Card Game (fourhman.com) - A free card game (you print out the cardset yourself) based on the series.