Official Synopsis:
Available for the first time ever on DVD, Talespin features beloved Jungle Book star Baloo the bear in his very own series. Happy-go-lucky pilot Baloo and his navigator Kit Cloudkicker are the intrepid flight crew for a cargo company owned by expert businesswoman Rebecca Cunningham. Throughout their travels, Baloo and Kit encounter familiar characters like the tree-swinging nightclub manager King Louie and corporate big shot Shere Khan. There's excitement at every turn as our heroes face off against Don Karnage and his band of evil Air Pirates, with only Baloo's skills and Kit's wits to save them. With three discs packed with laughs and thrills, the sky's the limit with Talespin!
Our Take:
When I was a kid, I had this weird snob thing going on with my movie and television properties. I can't quite explain it, but a good example of it is that I never watched TaleSpin because it wasn't "pure." What I mean by that is that since the characters from The Jungle Book never flew planes and fought pirates in the original movie, that meant that a cartoon of that nature would clearly be ridiculous. I know, it’s stupid, but I was a kid; what the heck did I know?
So watching TaleSpin for effectively the first time (I did catch a few episodes back in the day), I found it to be a pretty fun show. Taking some of the Jungle Book characters and putting them in an Indiana Jones high-adventure-style setting makes perfect sense, and it works well. Disney added some new characters, such as the impetuous young Kit Cloudkicker and the bumbling pirate Don Karnage. They're fun characters, and the show goes lots of places you wouldn't see in The Jungle Book. I was a huge DuckTales fan, and TaleSpin has a lot of the feel of the more globetrotting adventures from that show.
Unfortunately, the three-disc DVD set is lacking any extras, but with 27 episodes total included, this is still a pretty solid collection that should please fans both old and new.
Overall Picture:
Show: B+
DVD: C
- Mike Spring
Editor
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