TaleSpin: Difference between revisions

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Baloo the bear is a seaplane cargo-for-hire operator from the port city of Cape Suzette in a time not unlike the 1930s. His twin-engine flying boat, the ''Sea Duck'', is his most prized possession, and he favors his freedom over all else, including paying his bills. When the bank forecloses on his debts, a young entrepreneur/lady bear/single mother named Rebecca Cunningham snaps up his business, his plane, and his home, and opens the "Higher-For-Hire" air cargo service. Rather than abandon his "baby" to her and whatever low-rent pilot she may hire, he stays on, working for the day when he can buy back the ''Sea Duck'' and be rid of her.

Early on, he picks up a young stowaway, Kit Cloudkicker, who eventually earns the post of Baloo's navigator and sidekick. A daring barnstormer and aspiring pilot, Kit uses a collapsible airfoil to glide behind the ''Sea Duck'' on a line, and is responsible for much of the derring-do of the series in contrast to his overweight chum.

 

 

Allies of the crew include Louie (the orangutan monarch from ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]'') who operates a seaplane truckstop of sorts out in the ocean that is Baloo's favorite hangout; and Wildcat, a seemingly slow-witted mechanic with incredible skills.

Refer to the [[Tale Spin/Characters|Character Sheet]] for more details.

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* [[Abnormal Ammo]]: The Thembrians would use random objects to attack intruders such as bathtubs and pianos.

* [[Absent-Minded Professor]]: Baloo's friend Buzz from "Baloo Thunder" and "Bullethead Baloo" counts for this in spades.

* [[All There in the Manual]]: The short-lived comic series confirms Becky's {{spoiler|status as a widow}} and goes into some detail about Kit's life before linking up with Don Karnage.

* [[All Women Are Lustful]]: Louie's aunt, Louise in "The Ransom of Red Chimp", who is attracted to men with accents and goes after Don Karnage, and later her flying rival, a French pilot named Jacques Toujour.

** Some of the high points are in the four part pilot "Plunder And Lightning" and "Pizza Pie In The Sky", which were animated by Disney France.

* [[Anthropomorphic Shift]]: From ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]''.

** Louie can be considered an inversion of sorts. He is given an anthropomorphic role and wears a human attire, though his design and proportioning is actually more hunched over and simian-like than his original ''The Jungle Book'' counterpart.

* [[Badass Princess]]: Princess Lotta Lamour from "The Road to Macadamia". She's not afraid to confront her kingdom's [[Evil Chancellor]] ("Touch me and you're dust, buster!"), and during a fight she knocks out several of the chancellor's [[Mooks]] with a big mallet.

* [[Badass Spaniard]]: Don Karnage fancies himself as one of these, but invariably comes off as just buffoonish. (Interestingly, some fanfics based on this show not only have him play this trope straight, but also transform him into a psychologically tortured [[Anti-Villain]]). Note, though, that, while he may not be [[Badass]] per se, he's ''still'' [[Not So Harmless|very dangerous]].

* [[Beary Funny]]: Baloo, Rebecca, Molly and Kit.

* [[Beleaguered Assistant]]: Kit sometimes is this due to Baloo's occasional idiocies and [[Jerkass]] tendencies. Rebecca and Baloo himself often play this trope as well, depending on who is [[Idiot Ball|leading the madness]].

** Also part of Spigot's military uniform.

* [[Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like]]: Baloo and Kit get this a lot due to their occasionally haphazard manner of saving the day, though they're usually rather open about [[Ungrateful Bastard|what they think of the situation]].

* [[Continuity Cameo]]: A lot of supposed [[One-Scene Wonder]] characters from specific episodes make background cameos in others (even previous villains such as Kitten Caboodle and Muffy and Buffy oddly enough). Sometimes counts as an [[Early-Bird Cameo]].

* [[Control Freak]]: Rebecca plays with this. While she has a rather shrill attitude and frequently manipulates or bullies Baloo and the others into following her schemes, she fails to have much intimidation over them or take much action against their own incompetent or obnoxious habits, leading her to come off more as a bossy friend than a domineering boss.

** [[Little Miss Snarker]]: Molly at times.

* [[Death Glare]]: Despite Rebecca's appearance, she actually has given Baloo a pretty scary one from time to time.

* [[Did Not Do the Bloody Research]]: In "Bygones", the English pilot Rick Sky actually says the word "Bloody".

* [[Dirty Communists]]: Not explicitly said to be communist, but Thembria is obviously meant to be a stand in for the Soviet Union.

** In one episode, Baloo actually refers to the Thembrians as "commies."

** This is the main reason that Baloo won't listen to Rebecca {{spoiler|when she tells Baloo that Kitten Kaboodle is responsible for the "accidents" that have been happening on the movie set}} in the episode "A Star Is Torn".

** "Cool Hands" Luke is obviously smitten by "[[Wholesome Crossdresser|Tan-Margaret]]" (aka Baloo) in "Feminine Air", even though they are competitors in an air race.

** Also Katie Dodd when she is kidnapped.

* [[Ditzy Genius]]: Rebecca.

* [[Ear Notch]]: Don Karnage has one.

* [[Easy Amnesia]]: In "The Old Man and the Sea Duck", with a dose of [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]] too; it only affects Baloo's piloting skills, forcing him to re-learn them. However, the cliche of the second blow is avoided as Baloo's memory returns when he {{spoiler|re-experiences the joy of flying again.}}

* [[Elmuh Fudd Syndwome]]: Played with in "Waiders of the Wost Tweasure". {{spoiler|"Wuby Wings" wasn't a mispronunciation of "Ruby ''Rings''", rather, it was "Ruby ''Wings''".}}

* [[Enemy Eats Your Lunch]]: In "Plunder and Lighting", Don Karnage intimidates the customers of Louie's through drinking someone's drink.

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Shere Khan has several moments of this. He is at the very least [[Genre Savvy]] enough to know the consequences of [[Kick the Dog|Kicking The Dog]] too many times.

** A particularly good example of this is in the end of the episode "Citizen Khan".

'''Shere Khan:''' My dear, I desire only money and power. Unpresentable employees provide me with neither. }}

** Don Karnage as well [[Depending on the Writer|on occasion]].

* [[Fanfare]]: For the heroic moments.

* [[Fan of the Underdog]]: Baloo, for all his faults, is idolized greatly by Kit.

* [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]]: Thembria is the Soviet Union with boars.

* [[Fat Bastard]]: The High Marshall, no question about it.

* [[George Lucas Throwback]]: This show is like watching a Republic Pictures serial film...except everyone is a [[Funny Animal]].

* [[Get It Over With]]: In "The Time Bandit", Rebecca eventually finds [[Cool and Unusual Punishment|the long drawn execution ceremony]] more torturous than death itself.

* [[Girl of the Week]]: This was a standard theme in the show, and many of them have pretty generous fan bases.

* [[Girls with Moustaches]]: Rebecca disguises herself with a moustache and beard in both "Plunder and Lightning" and "The Balooest of the Bluebloods".

* [[Green Eyed Red Head]]: Katie Dodd.

* [[The Grinch]]: In "Jolly Molly Christmas", Don Karnage decides the Sky Pirates will show the true spirit of giving; by making others give presents to them.

* [[Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal]]: Baloo, Kit and Louie, among others. Baloo calls Kit "Little Britches" (breeches) in spite of neither of them wearing pants at all, presumably as a [[Shout-Out]] to the ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|Jungle Book]]'' Baloo calling Mowgli by the same nickname.

** This even applies to the one episode where Baloo has to wear a tuxedo. Said tuxedo consists of a jacket, shirt, tie, and cummerbund...and that's it.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: Baloo does this in the end of "Plunder And Lightning" where he {{spoiler|rams the Sea Duck into Don Karnage's lightning gun and destroys it along with his plane that he had just reclaimed ownership for.}}

** Rebecca also attempts this in "A Star Is Torn" by {{spoiler|driving an booby trapped plane that Baloo was intended to fly for a stunt. However, Baloo saves her in time}}. She also does so in "Save The Tiger" by {{spoiler|selling Higher For Hire to pay for ransom money after Baloo is supposedly kidnapped in Shere Khan's [[Xanatos Gambit]].}}

* [[Homage]]: Thembria, the USSR [[Expy]], is populated by warthogs. Anyone remember ''[[Animal Farm]]?''

* [[Horrible Judge of Character]]: Rebecca occasionally takes deals from rather shifty clients to say the least.

'''Rebecca:''' Oh? Then how do you explain the trenchcoat, huh? That's a spy's trenchcoat! }}

* [[Hot Scientist|Hot Archeologist]]: Myra and Katie Dodd.

* [[Huge Guy, Tiny Girl]]: Considering Baloo's size, this is a given with most females on the show, but he and Rebecca are the most common example.

* [[Humanoid Female Animal]]: Kitten Kaboodle and Clementine Clevenger.

* [[If I Can't Have You]]: Done rather ridiculously in "Feminine Air", an episode where Baloo [[Wholesome Crossdresser|dresses as a woman]] in order to enter a females-only flying contest. One of his rivals is [[Sweet on Polly Oliver|so besotted with his female persona that he proposes]] and, when he's turned down, invokes this trope and starts trying to kill "her".

* [[Improbable Piloting Skills]]: Baloo is so good a pilot he can pilot a plane even if he has to resort to directly manipulating the control cables to a craft's flaps and rudder when the yoke was broke. Furthermore, in one episode, he was able to quickly learn how to fly a prototype helicopter, despite the fact that operating that kind of vehicle is a completely different (not to mention ''revolutionary'' for the 1930s) concept in aviation. And don't forget, he was able to successfully "pilot" a prototype ''jet engine'' merely by hanging on to it and tugging on it real hard. No wings, no rudder, no ''plane''. Just the engine. He even broke the sound barrier while riding it.

* [[Incredible Shrinking Man]]: Molly (and later Baloo and Rebecca) in "The Incredible Shrinking Molly".

* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: This Troper remembers the following exchange from "In Search of Ancient Blunders" being a childhood favorite:

'''Don Karnage:''' No, no, no, don't fire at Will, he is my second mate. ''Fire at the Sea Duck!'' }}

** And of course, [[wikipedia:Crepe suzette|Cape Suzette]].

* [[Knight in Shining Armor]]: An amusing literal example in "The Balooest of the Blue Bloods". Paranoid about inheriting a bad-luck curse, Baloo protects himself with medieval armor. This later becomes pivotal in saving Rebecca after [[You Know Too Much|she learns the truth behind]] [[Murder the Hypotenuse|the supposed curse]].

* [[Knight in Sour Armor]]: Baloo on occasion acts as this. In "My Fair Baloo", for example, he is chastised for acting like a "buffoon" at a high class ball in the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Spruce Moose]]. Almost immediately following this, he saves the guests from ''two'' attempted hijackings, a plane crash and being stranded on an isolated island.

'''Baloo:''' ...Hmm, good answer. Let's go. }}

** He and Rebecca often trade this role with each other. For all they suffer from each other, [[Determinator|they will go to great lengths]] to keep the other safe.

** About half the cast fits this trope to an extent, even some of the more [[Closer to Earth]] characters can't help hamming it up at times.

* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: "The Old Man and the Sea Duck".

** The show's entire [[Rogues Gallery]] counts to an extent, with the arguable exception of Shere Khan, (arguable due to the occasionally over-the-top extent his [[Comically Serious]] role is taken, as well as [[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|being based on a rather valid example]]).

* [[Leitmotif]]: Wildcat frequently has a quirky flute melody accompany many of his appearances. The ''[[Disney Afternoon]]'' OST disk also includes numerous one shot tracks that signalled different characters and locations.

* [[Poor Communication Kills]]: The entire episode "Your Baloo's In The Mail" proves this.

* [[Positive Discrimination]]: Subverted. Despite being a female character of the strong independent business woman variety, Rebecca makes her fair share of mistakes, with her and Baloo getting roughly equal opportunities to play the [[Straight Man]] for each other.

* [[Putting on the Reich]]: The nation of Thembria resembles the Soviet Union.

* [[Ramming Always Works]]: How the {{spoiler|Lightning Gun from "Plunder and Lightning"}} was destroyed.

* [[Reset Button]]: Baloo managed to save up enough money to buy back his plane a few times, but events would always conspire to put him back to work for Becky. On the other hand, after an early episode where Rebecca has trouble learning how to pilot a plane, a later story shows that she's learned a lot from Baloo and is now a capable pilot on her own.

* [[The Rival]]: Plane Jane and Ace London to Baloo.

* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]: Princess Lotta Lamour helps Baloo and Louie save her kingdom from [[Evil Chancellor|Chancellor Trample.]]

* [[Ruritania]]: Thembria.

* [[Sanity Ball]]: Thrown around frequently, usually between Baloo, Rebecca or Kit for a [[Straight Man and Wise Guy]] scenario.

** A frequent scruple for Shere Khan, his moral code preventing him from doing anything truly irredeemable.

* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]: This is the basis behind several of his more petty schemes however.

* [[She Cleans Up Nicely]]: Rebecca looks disturbingly good in a fancy dress.

** Also Katie Dodd when she is having dinner at the restaurant in "For Whom The Bell Klangs".

** In "For Whom The Bell Klangs, Part 1", the restaurant Baloo and Louie visit bears a strong resemblance to [[Casablanca|Rick's Café Américain]].

* [[Show Within a Show]]: ''Danger Woman'', Molly's favorite radio series.

* [[Sky Pirates]]: Don Karnage and his crew.

* [[Sky Surfing]]: Hence "[[Meaningful Name|Cloudkicker]]".

* [[Those Wacky Nazis]]: In one [[Disney Adventures]] comic story, "The Dogs of War", Baloo and Kit were briefly held hostage by a zeppelin full of smug, militaristic, German-accented dogs who kept mixing up their "v's" and their "w's".

* [[Tickle Torture]]: Don Karnage does it to Kit in "Polly Wants a Treasure".

* [[TV Genius]]: Rebecca, in contrast to [[Book Dumb]] but streetwise Baloo, has an MBA and is refined in terms of social inequity, but is a borderline [[The Ditz|Ditz]] in terms of the outside world.

* [[The Unfair Sex]]: The show plays a variation of sorts, with a recurring plotline involving either Baloo or Rebecca falling in love with [[Romantic False Lead|a new cast member]] and generally disregarding the other character's attempts to bail them out of the problems their "[[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|love interest]]" is causing them. Despite the similar tone and extent for many of these instances, Rebecca tends to be played as a lot more sympathetic in her cases (eg. [[Tear Jerker|"Her Chance To Dream"]], "Molly Coddled") than Baloo (eg. [[What an Idiot!|"A Star Is Torn"]]).

*** [[Word of God]] claims they intended to show infatuation between the two, though the creators admit it may have ultimately came out "lop-sided" in Rebecca's favor, who is occasionally shown to take bigger extremes in her devotion to Baloo.

* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: Baloo and Louie, who even have a have a fairly catchy tune dedicated to their status as such in "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFgg2sfmkf0 Friends for Life]." Unfortunately, it never made it into the show, just the soundtrack.

Friends for life [etc.] }}

** Even more so Baloo and Rebecca, even if some episodes [[Ship Tease|hint to it going further]].

* [[Well, Excuse Me, Princess!]]: Arguably happens in multiple scenarios between Baloo and Rebecca. Kit and Molly actually have a brief similar moment in "Mommy For A Day".

* [[Who Would Be Stupid Enough...?]]:

** Also in "Polly Wants a Treasure"

'''Ignatz:''' ''([[Insufferable Genius|Long-suffering sigh]])'' Right again, Baloo. }}

* [[Wholesome Crossdresser]]: Baloo as "[[Punny Name|Tan-Margaret]]" in "Feminine Air".

* [[With Friends Like These...]]: Used a fair few times, usually with [[Loveable Rogue|Baloo]] or [[Control Freak|Rebecca]].

* [[World of Funny Animals]]

* [[Wronski Feint]] / [[Aerial Canyon Chase]]: Baloo's main defense against attackers in the air since his cargo plane is unarmed.

* [[Xanatos Gambit]]: Shere Khan always finds some measure of victory even in defeat - even in plots ''that don't involve him''.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:The Nineties]]

[[Category:The Renaissance Age of Animation]]

[[Category:The Great Depression]]

[[Category:Western Animation]]