TaleSpin is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series reimagines characters from Disney's 1967 film The Jungle Book in an aviation-themed setting. The premise centers on laid-back pilot Baloo and his ambitious young navigator Kit Cloudkicker, who fly deliveries for Rebecca Cunningham's small cargo business Higher for Hire, using their seaplane the Sea Duck. They operate from the fortified coastal city of Cape Suzette while contending with air pirates, corrupt businessmen, and exotic locales.
The series premiered as a preview-run on The Disney Channel in 1990 before entering syndication as part of The Disney Afternoon programming block later that year. The show is one of nine Disney Afternoon shows to use established Disney characters as the main characters, with the other eight being: Darkwing Duck, DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Goof Troop, Bonkers, Quack Pack, Aladdin, and Timon & Pumbaa. It is also one of two Disney animated television series based on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, the second being Jungle Cubs.
Background Development The series was largely developed by writers Jymn Magon and Mark Zaslove, who were also the supervising producers on the series as well as story editors. There were four production teams, each one headed by a producer/director: Robert Taylor, Larry Latham, Jamie Mitchell, and Ed Ghertner.
Initially, Disney simply commissioned Magon and Zaslove with creating a thirty-minute animated program for them, with no requirements as to what the show should be about. Nearing the deadline for a pitch without having come up with anything, Magon hit upon the idea of making the story about Baloo, one of the central characters of Disney's The Jungle Book, which had recently been theatrically rereleased. The show Tales of the Gold Monkey was an inspiration according to creator/supervising producer, Jymn Magon. Similar to the main character in that show, they decided to have Baloo work for an air cargo delivery service, a concept also occasionally featured on Disney's successful DuckTales. In order to add dramatic tension, they decided to maintain the impressionable son/bad father dynamic which had driven part of the plot of The Jungle Book, replacing the human Mowgli with the anthropomorphic bear Kit. Inspired by Cheers — then one of the most popular programs on television — Magon and Zaslove created the character Rebecca (voiced by actress Sally Struthers), basing her on the character Rebecca Howe and giving her that character's arc of being an intelligent and headstrong yet inexperienced manager put in charge of a fledgling business. Deciding to make the show a period piece, the pair lastly decided to make one of the show's primary locations a neutral zone inspired by Rick Blaine's bar in Casablanca, where they inserted the character of Louie in place of Rick. The decision to add Shere Khan to the cast was not made until later in the show's development. Magon and Zaslove also took inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki's 1989 manga Hikōtei Jidai, about a pig-headed man who flies a seaplane and fights air pirates. Two years after TaleSpin premiered, Miyazaki released an anime adaptation called Porco Rosso, which Zaslove felt took cues from TaleSpin. Phil Harris, who voiced Baloo for the film, was initially hired to reprise the role; at age 85, however, Harris had lost some of his comic timing and had to be chauffeured from his home in Palm Springs for each recording session. His work was discarded and Ed Gilbert took over the role for the rest of the series.Voice actor decisions – Baloo and Kit Jymn Magon, co-creator of TaleSpin who initially cast Harris for the role of Baloo: "his age was a factor. He didn't have the slick, con man timing anymore. I loved working with Phil, so I was distraught to inform management that he just wasn't going to work out for 65 episodes. (Besides, we had to chauffeur him to and from Palm Springs for the recording sessions – a 4 hour round trip!!)" According to Magon, the relationship between Baloo and Rebecca was fashioned after Sam Malone and Rebecca Howe from the then-popular sitcom Cheers.
Famed Uncle Scrooge comic writer and artist Don Rosa wrote episode 6, "It Came from Beneath the Sea Duck", and episode 9, "I Only Have Ice for You".
The series was animated by Walt Disney Animation (Japan) Inc., Hanho Heung-Up Co., Ltd., Jade Animation, Tama Productions, Walt Disney Animation (France) S.A., Sunwoo Entertainment, and Wang Film Productions.
Broadcast After a preview-run of TaleSpin aired on The Disney Channel from May 5 to July 15, 1990,The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 8, no. 2 (typo in magazine: should be "no. 3"), May/June 1990: pp. 22, 34, 37, 46, 49–53, 57–59.The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 8, no. 3 (typo in magazine: should be "no. 4"), July/August 1990: pp. 45–47. the series began its main syndicated run in September of the same year. The original concept was embodied in the pilot episode and introductory television movie Plunder & Lightning which was the sole nominee for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming More Than One Hour) in 1991. After its premiere on September 7, 1990, Plunder & Lightning 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 programming block The Disney Afternoon. TaleSpin ended on its 65th episode which aired on August 8, 1991, but reruns continued to be shown on The Disney Afternoon until September 1994. On October 2, 1995, TaleSpin began reruns on The Disney Channel as part of a two-hour programming block called "Block Party" which aired on weekdays in the late-afternoon/early-evening and which also included Darkwing Duck, DuckTales, and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers."Block Party: Four Disney Animated Series". The Disney Channel Magazine, Vol. 13, no. 5, October/November 1995: p. 36. Later, the show was aired on Toon Disney, where it was first aired from April 1998 until January 2006 (with a hiatus between 2001 and 2002) and later from January 2007 until May 2008. Throughout its broadcast history, the series has been subjected to numerous edits.
Synopsis TaleSpin is set in a fictional world populated entirely by anthropomorphic animals and characterized by early aviation technology. The primary locale is Cape Suzette, a harbor city safeguarded by towering cliffs armed with anti-aircraft artillery to repel invaders.
The premise follows Baloo, a laid-back but skilled bush pilot who flies the Sea Duck, a modified seaplane, for Higher for Hire, a small cargo delivery service based in Cape Suzette. Baloo takes the position after falling on hard times, putting himself under the employ of determined entrepreneur Rebecca Cunningham, a single mother to her precocious young daughter Molly. Joined by his eager young navigator, Kit Cloudkicker, an orphaned former air pirate, and the quirky mechanic Wildcat, Baloo undertakes perilous cargo runs across treacherous skies and exotic locales. These missions frequently pit the crew against such antagonists as the theatrical air pirate Don Karnage, the ruthless corporate magnate Shere Khan, and the authoritarian state of Thembria.
Characters
Episodes
Home media VHS releases Eight VHS cassettes containing 15 episodes of the series were released in the United States. VHS name Episode titles Release date True Baloo "From Here to Machinery" & "The Balooest of the Bluebloods" August 9, 1991 That's Show Biz! "Stormy Weather" & "Mommy for a Day" Jackpots & Crackpots "A Touch of Glass" & "Her Chance to Dream" Fearless Flyers "Jumping the Guns" & "Mach One for the Gipper" Treasure Trap "The Idol Rich" & "Polly Wants a Treasure" February 28, 1992 Imagine That! "Flight of the Snow Duck" & "Flight School Confidential" Wise Up! "Molly Coddled" & "The Sound and the Furry" Search for the Lost City "For Whom the Bell Klangs" (Parts 1 & 2)
Australia and New Zealand releases Eleven VHS cassettes containing 21 episodes of the series were released in Australia and New Zealand. VHS name Episode titles Release date TaleSpin (Volume 1): Fearless Flyers "From Here to Machinery" & "The Balooest of the Bluebloods" September 11, 1991 TaleSpin (Volume 2): Baloo Skies "Stormy Weather" & "For a Fuel Dollars More" TaleSpin (Volume 3): Dare-Devil Bears "Mommy for a Day" & "The Idol Rich" September 11, 1992 TaleSpin (Volume 4): Hot Shot Heroes "Jumping the Guns" & "Mach One for the Gipper" TaleSpin (Volume 5): Imagine That "Flight of the Snow Duck" & "Flight School Confidential" TaleSpin (Volume 6): Treasure Trap "Polly Wants a Treasure" & "The Bigger They Are, the Louder They Oink" April 2, 1993 TaleSpin (Volume 7): True Baloo "The Time Bandit" & "Louie's Last Stand" TaleSpin (Volume 8): Jackpots & Crackpots "Her Chance to Dream" & "A Touch of Glass" September 10, 1993 TaleSpin (Volume 9): That's Show Biz! "I Only Have Ice for You" & "It Came from Beneath the Sea Duck" TaleSpin (Volume 10): Wise Up! "Molly Coddled" & "The Sound and the Furry" TaleSpin (Volume 11): Search for the Lost City "For Whom the Bell Klangs" (Parts 1 & 2)
DVD releases Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has released the complete series on DVD; three volumes have been released in Region 1 featuring all 65 episodes of the series. The first volume was released on August 29, 2006 (containing episodes 1–27) and the second on November 13, 2007 (containing episodes 28–54). Volume 2 includes the controversial episode "Last Horizons", which never re-aired on broadcast syndication although it did re-air on The Disney Channel and Toon Disney. On June 25, 2013, the third and final volume was released on DVD via the Disney Movie Club Exclusives. TaleSpin: Volume 3 is also for sale on DisneyStore.com.
TaleSpin: Volume 3 received a wide retail DVD release on January 13, 2015, and has been seen as a Wal-Mart Exclusive in Canada since October 12, 2014. It was also available in Southeast Asia and in the United States since October 14, 2014.
DVD name Ep# Release date TaleSpin: Volume 1 1-27 August 29, 2006 TaleSpin: Volume 2 28-54 November 13, 2007 TaleSpin: Volume 3 55-65 June 25, 2013 (Disney Movie Club)October 12, 2014 (retail)
International releases The series has been released into several volumes in different countries, each containing only 4 episodes each.
Germany In Germany, the series of 3-disc sets, starting with Collection 1, was released on December 5, 2012, in Region 2, PAL format. The sets contain the episodes in the same order as the US releases, as well as a Fastplay feature and 6 language tracks: English, Danish, German, Italian, Norwegian and Swedish, but no subtitles have been added. the first collection has only 17 episodes. A second collection, containing 16 episodes, was released on March 7, 2013. A third collection, containing 17 episodes, was released on May 29 of the same year.
A few episodes have been removed from the original list. The 1st collection does not include "From Here to Machinery" and "Vowel Play". The 2nd set excludes "A Touch of Glass", while the 3rd set misses out "Jumping the Guns". There is no confirmation on whether these episodes will be released, along with the final 11 episodes of the series. DVD name Ep# Release date Käpt'n Balu und seine tollkühne Crew Collection 1 17 December 5, 2012 Käpt'n Balu und seine tollkühne Crew Collection 2 16 March 7, 2013 Käpt'n Balu und seine tollkühne Crew Collection 3 17 May 29, 2013 Käpt'n Balu und seine tollkühne Crew Collection 4 15 N/A
United Kingdom The United Kingdom had only two releases, each containing 3 discs per set, the sets do skip over episodes that were present on the North American sets. The first collection came out on February 11, 2013 and the second collection was released on May 20 of the same year.