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.

* [[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.

** [[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".

* [[Dieselpunk]]

* [[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.

* [[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.

** 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.

* [[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.

* [[Punishment Box]]: Baloo stays at a Thembrian penal colony which he has mistaken for a fitness camp. He is frequently sent to what he calls a "solar powered sauna."

* [[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.

[[Category:Western Animation]]

[[Category:The Disney Afternoon]]