Animation Source Forums

I just had a little idea on my mind...I think it would be interesting to analyze what would have happened in the series, if one event or character hadn't existed.

Example : If Kit didn't exist, what would have happened in Plunder & Lightning?

- Baloo would still have trouble getting 3000$ for paying his loan, but he may have succeeded his zoo delivery (then he wouldn't have met Rebecca because she wouldn't have bought his air service)
Then again, it's probable that he would fail (not making it on time), then Rebecca would still buy Baloo's air service. Although I don't think Baloo would have agreed to work for her, and EVEN if he did, I don't think he would be very nice with her.
- The air pirates would probably never meet Baloo and would have made a successful plundering. And taken over the world?
- Wildcat would...still be Wildcat.

Looking like that, I'm not sure this would have made an interesting series pilot

Any comment, any other "what if..."?

What if Kit didn't know how to read maps?

I was expecting that YOU would answer the questions, but...

- Baloo wouldn't probably hadn't got into so much trouble in The Old Man and the Sea Duck (but he would have been "scoled" by Becky )

- He would probably not have a good reason for travelling everywhere with Kit, I don't think he would be so close to him.

- Baloo would have been captured in A Bad Reflection on You and would probably not have escaped, because he didn't believe in himself anymore

- Probably a lot more than I can think of now...Any help?

What if the Seaduck had never been rebuilt after Plunder and Lightning? What plane would Baloo fly? Would he still work for Rebecca?

Baloo probably would not work for Rebecca. Even though they are friends the main attraction to Higher for Hire is the Sea Duck, his baby. Baloo cares almost nothing for money. Ultimately at the time of Plunder and Lightening he only cares about Kit and the Sea Duck.

What if Colonel Spigot didn't have Sergent Dunder? Would he have been sent to the firing squad long ago?

I don't know, looks like he knows a lot when it comes to making "easy money", and he does appreciate being rich (remember "Double or Nothing", "The Balooest of the Blue Bloods", "Save the tiger" among others)
Of course he cares much more about his plane...

I think it would be interesting to see if he cares more about his friends than his plane though.
So if he had only the choice to save one but not the other, would he make the good choice? (I think he would, just maybe not right away ) To him, the Sea Duck is almost a real person (after he loses it at the end of P&L, he acts like if he had lost someone) Maybe that could be an idea to develop in our VS...

He doesn't mind being poor either. He want money just to flow in or be handed an easy path. It is work that Baloo avoids. Which is intersting because he goes through so much trouble to avoid work that it would have been easier if he just done the thing in the first place. It's a full-time job for him to avoid work!



I think that is a wonderful idea for the VS! He must care something for others because in "Plunder and LIghtening" when he goes to rescue Rebecca and Molly he does so under the disgues of getting back the stone. He could have left them with the Air Pirates when his plans fell through.

Really? I always thought that was for rescuing them in the first place ("I'm all for saving Molly, even old' Becky but we don't know where they are!")

Yeah, I thought so too... But it's been a while since I've watched the TS pilot so I'm not 100% positive...


I agree, that would make a good episode! It might be a little tricky to tell the story in a way that makes the audience feel what Baloo is feeling, so they can appreciate the difficulty of his decision, but I think we can pull it off. I may have an idea of how it can be done, but it's nowhere near developed enough to post it right now. But hey, don't let that stop you from posting your ideas!

Ok, here's my "what if?": What if TS was originally animated in a different style, using humans for the characters rather than anthropomorphic animals and also drawn using slightly darker colors similar to Gargoyles or Batman: The Animated Series? (Everything else would be exactly the same, the characters and their personalities, relationships, settings, era, events, plots, etc... thought any characters lifted from an existing Disney production would have different names, such as Baloo and Shere Khan.)

I ask this because sometimes it seems that TS is at odds with itself... It's hard to explain, but some episodes have a more mature plot, which almost seems at odds with the animation style. It's like the light colors and cute cartoon animals say "This cartoon is for young children, 6-11" but some of the more dramatic story lines say "This cartoon is for older kids, possibly adults too." Maybe this is why it seems so many people say they appreciate TS more as an adult than they did as a child.

So what if? Would TS have been more popular? Less popular? Or the same?

I'm a furry fan, so I liked the anthro animals. The reason I didn't watch batman and gargoils was because the animation was more attractive to me in TS. My ma didn't like batman or gargoils either, but she had no problem watching Baloo and Rebecca agrue and the Seaduck to near-impossible aeronautical stunts with me every time we got the chance to watch it. To this day I firmly believe that Disney should re-air Tale Spin. If they did I'd spend more time with my siblings watching cartoons. I just can't stand Spongebob and some of he other junk on TV today. No offence to fans of the modern cartoons, its just nothing I've seen beats Tailspin (at least animated, I'ma big fan of Leathal Weapon-type movies, but they dont count here cuz they ain't animated).
Wow.../end rant...lol

I don't know if it would have had more success. After all, the series may not be very well known nowadays, but it WAS very popular at the time.
But I prefer anthropomorphic characters over humans : they're more creative, more "cute", more fun/comical, and I think it's a shame to use ANIMATION if it's for making something REALISTIC. We already see enough humans in live action, why doing it with animation when it allows so much more?

I really don't understand why Disney seem to refuse to make any animated series without humans (except the classical Winnie the pooh / Mickey characters, I don't think they've made any series in the 2000's in which humans are not the main characters?) I KNOW they would have more success though.

I'm honestly not sure that I would like the series as much if they were humans (even though it has enough qualities to make it stand out from the other series), but I would probably still like it.

EDIT : Oh yes. I just remembered that I may be wrong after all, because they're planning to do THAT series :

Well the fish just look STUPID. They look like Nick-toons. I don't see why they don't stick with the anthro-characters. The cartoons they have now do not seem as popular as the Disney Afternoon cartoons were.
Let me go back and rewatch the series. I am probably the one that is wrong. Do you think that TS would work in a modern day setting?

perhaps, but the Seaduck would still have to be around somewhere.

I'm resurecting this topic...
By watching "The old man & the sea duck", I wonder...

What if Becky found out about Baloo being unable to fly? What if Baloo didn't recover his memory at the end?
Do you think she would have fired him, just like Kit feared?
In my mind, she wouldn't have. It's clear that despite her multiple threats of firing him, she's become too attached to do it. Also, she likes Kit and the link between her and Kit is Baloo (in "Save the tiger", after Baloo decides to leave HFH, it seems Rebecca isn't seeing much Kit)

I believe she would have offered for him to take flying lessons, in case it would help him recover. (which actually did in the episode)
But we can still wonder what she would have done if this didn't work in the end...

What do you think?

If Baloo permanently lost his ability to fly - and only then - I think Becky would have to get rid of him as a pilot. You can't employ a pilot that can't fly, and I believe Becky just doesn't have the financial backing to do this out of friendship. They'd probably try to find a new thing for him to do at Higher For Hire... how well that'd go, I have no idea~

So, yeah, though I want to believe love and friendship perseveres, if Baloo could never fly again, he'd have to go. Money IS an issue that can't be ignored...

Now, uh, you may ignore this if you wish, trying to come up with an "What if" at work quickly...

What if Baloo and Don Karnage were stuck together forever?