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Always thought it was 'Weazell' myself...

I have to agree with every point already made. There is nothing like TaleSpin and there probably never will be again.

Also, TaleSpin's grownup-ness becomes most apparent when contrasted with other Disney Afternoon series. DuckTales was a little tamer, perhaps a notch below. Rescue Rangers was a real kid's show, and Darkwing Duck was just for laughs. Nevertheless, all of them are great in their own distinct ways.

Personally; I didn't see it as a surprise when I was watching it at first because Disney was supposed to be the master of pathos. However; after watching DTVA for quite some time I realized why some were blindsided by Stormy Weather. I think Michael Eisner wanted out of DTVA was adventure, comedy out of the ears and lots of moralizing. The writers just simply wanted to entertain and for the shows previous to TaleSpin; and the first four or five episodes; it was like that. I Only Have Ice For You introduced us to the three characters that most make up the family dynmanic (Baloo, Kit, Rebecca); and the main villain (Don Karnage). It was mostly what I expect from DTVA; but there was concern about Rebecca's attitude at that time. Time Waits For No Bear introduced WildCat and Trader Moe. Ironically; this one showed that Baloo and Rebecca were pretty much alike in being jerks. A Touch of Glass introduced Louie and the first of the one shot characters (Muffy and Buffy) which got over but never came back. It Came From Beneath the SeaDuck introduced Molly and in my view gave the best babysitting episode in animation. The Idol Rich introduced us to Colonel Spigot and Sgt. Dunder; and it featured the Warner Brother side of DTVA. I don't know why The Bigger They Are; The Louder They Oink was shown on Disney Channel as I saw this as Rebecca Cunningham at her worst and most unjustified attitude in the entire series. The other five episodes featuring her had her jerkiness being justified in some way. Although Hogzilla was a riot.

These six episodes were cut from the same cloth: Adventure/Comedy balance; little pathos. Pretty much like DTVA; only more stable animation which I believe was done stiff on purpose to compenstate for Sun Woo and Wang Films' bad animating skills. And then came Stormy Weather and it made Down & Out In Duckberg look like a rookie in comparison. I still talk about this episode at great length (next to Plunder and Lightning) because this was the episode that changed everything about TaleSpin and DTVA in general. Now DTVA was no longer about "being about entertainment"; now it was "This is the Disney I remember!". The one that made you cry and made you smile at the same time. This episode foreshadowed Kit Cloudkicker's past and teased us to what would become Plunder and Lightning and at first I thought Kit was rebelling against authority and nothing more. Then P&L came in and hearing Kit proclaim that he was an Air Pirate for one year made me realize that what happened in Stormy Weather changed. It was no longer Kit rebelling against authority; it was Kit trying to prove himself that he wasn't just a navigator with a cute face. That his rebellion was feeling like Baloo had turned into everyone else he saw before meeting him: an adult waiting to hurt him, kill him, or worse. Violence and constant betrayal. How Kit ever trusted Baloo again shows how much they need each other. Baloo and Kit put on an act of valor; but they are really quite miserable without being together as a whole piece.

Once Plunder and Lightning aired; there was no turning back for DTVA and Disney in general. DTVA became as awesome as feature did and it destroyed feature slowly until Disney bought PIXAR to save their lives and still to this day; feature is still trying to regain it's voice (Princess & The Frog is one example). No wonder some people hated TaleSpin so much. It basically gave us the real Disney on free television instead of spending $7 to see it. Imagine that indeed.

True Mr. Weagle, how right you are!

Err...I don't think the DA series "destroyed" the features. Talespin is 1990, and there have been very good feature films until the end of the 90's, with their most popular and acclaimed (The lion king) being released in 1994.
I think that, on the contrary, the DA series helped the features to get a better image of Disney in general. (while the opposite happens currently...)

It's a shame that they've compltely forgotten them now, because they deserve recognition just as much as their feature films.
It's clear that many episodes of Talespin have the same quality or even better than many animated films. (if you except the technical side of course)

Yeah; I noticed that. I just don't see how an adult can pick up on that attention to detail. R.J. was in my view the best kid talent Disney could get and the writers took full advantage of him when he was voicing Kit. Some people seriously wonder how R.J. Williams managed to muster enough to do the tickling scene in Polly Wants A Treasure and make it as if Kit was seriously being tormented to death. That takes a special kind of child acting to pull it off. I mean; I cannot watch Ducktales anymore with the nephews and Webby and not think that I'm being cheated now listening to Kit and Molly speak in TaleSpin. By the way Eclipse; I was hoping you have that report; because that would be an interesting read. I am for one the guy who states that Kit is nutty at times. I think the all ages speaks for itself: It was a job of entertainment and the show pulled it off perfectly. I'm still waiting for new Disney to try to top that offering. Or even come close to Kim Possible's level for that matter.

TaleSpin's environment is heavily influenced by the 30s (especially all the Art Deco and golden age of flying) but I wouldn't call it a glimpse at the 30s. To me it's in the same vein as the steampunk cartoons from Japan. It revolves around the concept of a certain period of our time but it isn't actually that period.

TaleSpin owes more to pulp comics from the 30s more than anything.



I dunno about that. From a creative standpoint that encompasses all mediums, there will be. From a TV animated cartoon, not in the near future with the current state of animation. Animation is so ***** expensive.

The series bible makes its apparent that the development of the show revolved entirely around the relationship of the characters and what makes them unique. I also find it interesting that ***** near all the influences on the show were not other cartoons but rather contemporary entertainment (movies, TV shows, etc.) aimed at adults and not necessarily kids.

It feels like they developed a live action TV show but converted to animation. That's not true but it's what it feels like.



What's ironic is that Kit was pretty much based on just three other characters. Then add in cloudsurfing, obsession with flight, and his relationship with Baloo and you have Kit.

Is that bible available somewhere? Or do we just know some of its content?

I agree with the points that have been made. But I feel like I can appreciate and enjoy the series a lot more now that I'm older - obviously because now I can understand the parodies and inside jokes that kids really wouldn't get. Of course, I loved the series as a child, but I love it even more today. =)
Not only that,but there's something really enchanting about a world populated by anthropomorphic animals (I've always felt weird calling them that, seeing as how they could just as easily be considered human - for how human they are - even though it's obvious what species most of them are. But I won't rant about that now.)
In my opinion, it's a show that adults could easily enjoy (if they have the imagination to make connections to the real world.) My brother and I watch it all the time (me more than him), and we're in our twenties.
The episode plots (most of them) are clever and entertaining. A lot of them are downright whimsical, but still plausible. What was Disney's saying? About making the impossible plausible?
I just love that so many things could happen on the show and, while they're unbelievable, they're still, in a way, believable when you're watching them. For me, TaleSpin is a world I love going into.

Adding to the "this show is holding up much better than most kids animated series", someone posted a review of some episodes. He just rewatched them yeeeeeeears later, and :

http://norvendae.com/?p=998




Now I have to say TaleSpin is the ONLY kids show I know for which I have ever seen such comments, from EVERYONE. Even when compared to the other Disney Afternoon shows, which were very good but don't have that exact same effect.

At the same time, that great strength may also be its greatest weakness : some kids didn't like Talespin as much as the others (see that review for an example!), they didn't understand some of the show's dynamics - and this may explain why, even up to this day, the show seems to be less remembered. Even if, in the end, it was vastly superior to the others...Sad destiny. We can only hope "something" will come and "break" these assumptions, otherwise the day the Disney Afternoon revival will truly happen, it may end up unfairly left behind.

Hi there!
I've been following this TaleSpin site since a while, and figured that was time to register.
So I will start by saying why I love TaleSpin!

I love it because it has great characters. As you can guess, my fave is that lovable pirate Don Karnage! I don't need any explanation, yes/no?

The show is a lot more serious and complex than the other Disney shows (save for "Gargoyles"), but also emotion-filled. It has a heart! Yet it also has funny episodes, and everything works perfectly.
Overall, it's the cartoon that made my childhood. I've always liked aviation so the show made me even more interested!

I also love Jungle Book pretty much, so it was only natural that I would get to love TaleSpin as well (even if the two are very different!)

Cool Welcome! And I fully agree with you.

I think the intention with the Jungle Book was the start of Disney making a consistantly whimsical and humourous vibe to their films. The earlier works, while still family oriented, were somewhat darker and serious in tone, the poignancy or terror in some scenes and messages can hit a rather large mood whiplash. While The Jungle Book has emotion and drama, it is more balanced in it's whimsy and playfulness, even the villains are rather humourous and likeable (even if Shere Khan is rather different in depiction from his Talespin counterpart). What's more this whimsy is focused throughout the majority of cast and setup. I think one reviewer pointed out that while The Jungle Book doesn't have the most depth of the Disney films, it has the most character (seen in both voices, dialogue, designs, animation and music). Talespin takes a step higher, it uses a similar amount of character and adds more genuine character development. It takes new directions with it's cast yet fails to come off as pretentious or alienating to it's target fanbase. There are rarely any writing follies like Flanderization that apparent (though a few traits come and go due to different writers as usual) and there never really seems to be this token undeveloped character that never really gets distinct characterization like in so many other shows at the time. Like any other 90s Disney show, it's REALLY corny at times, but in an charming deliberate sense.

It's a shame other Jungle Book spin offs such as Cubs or the sequel didn't have that same amount of quality put into it (though I'll give Cubs credit for trying to combine more depths from the original novels with the Disney interpretation).



I think it may stem from the fact that kids don't appreciate character flaws as much. It's only when you're older that you come to appreciate complexities, the amusing baddies comes off as less horrific evil-doers and more charming and sympathetic and that charming ace you used to adore suddenly comes off as bland and insufferably perfect.

Talespin as mentioned has consistantly likeable yet highly flawed characters, in both a serious and comical sense (eg. Rebecca's temperament and pompousness with her insecurities and underconfidence about running the business hidden underneath). This was rare for shows at this point, especially regarding female characters (another rare plus for Disney cartoons, which were making equally complex and entertaining girl characters while many other cartoons were becoming overwelmed by the PC 'Girl Power' at the time and making generic gratingly perfect female role models).

I think you have a point. It's true that many people didn't like the show so much, but appreciate it a lot more now. It's probably one of the reasons this show may not be as popular as deserved : adults consider it as "kiddy" stuff because of the way it looks (colorful and with animal characters), and kids don't appreciate it as much because they don't understand the characters and/or the plot, or just can't understand why "the jungle book characters suddenly became pilots"...(I often heared that!)

It's a shame that most people (kids or adults) are not giving it a chance and prefer to watch shows they're more accustomed of (and which all look the same...) Because TaleSpin is still an all-ages show which is one-of-a-kind and has a lot to offer.