TaleSpin (1990–1991)

Baloo the Bear from the Jungle Book is cast as a 1930's Pacific Islands bush pilot

Stars:

Jim Cummings, Ed Gilbert, Sally Struthers

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Jim Cummings	...	Don Karnage (43 episodes, 1990-1991)
Ed Gilbert	...	Baloo (36 episodes, 1990-1991)
Sally Struthers	...	Rebecca Cunningham (29 episodes, 1990-1991)

Storyline

This casts key characters from the Jungle Book into a 1930's pacific setting where Baloo is a bush pilot who finds himself as part of a struggling courier company.

---

Plot Keywords:

bush pilot | bear | 1930s | mechanic | pirate | 

---

Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Mystery

---

Certificate:

TV-Y

Details

Official Sites:

Toon Disney

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Aventureros del aire

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Television Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (65 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the main characters in the series (Louie, Baloo, Shere Khan, etc.) are taken from Disney's "The Jungle Book" (1967) with some updating (wearing clothes for example).

---

Goofs

On some episodes, the front door to Hire for Higher opens the opposite way the front door normally opens.

---

Quotes

Baloo: If it's got wings I can fly it! Sometimes even if it doesn't.

---

Connections

Referenced in Troldspejlet: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

---

Soundtracks

"Spin It"
Words and Music by Michael Silversher and Patty Silversher
Produced by Robert Kraft

User Reviews

One of the best and last

I was born in '83 so I was lucky enough to be old enough to love and appreciate the old incredible Disney Cartoons from the nineties.

The nineties were truly the best decade for animated series. Darkwing Duck, Gargoyles, Duck Tales, and Tale Spin were only a few of some of the best cartoons ever made.

While today's animated series are derivative, fluffy, shallow, and pretty dumb, these shows were epic, fun, entertaining, adventurous, funny, and exciting.

Suffice to say they were three-dimensional cartoons. They never talked down to kids and always took them on one incredible adventure after another. Disney has never been able to re-capture such imagination.

In this spin off from "The Jungle Book"'s most popular character Baloo, he stars as a lazy, self-centered but adventurous pilot who unwittingly gains responsibility stumbling upon Kit, an orphan. He teams up with Kit, a young cub who calls Baloo "papa bear". Their relationship is one of the main reasons to watch this show.

Baloo's airplane is then lost and is then bought back by small business woman Rebecca Cunningham and her daughter Molly who buys the plane and hires Baloo as a cargo pilot setting up the cargo business "Higher for Hire". They all form an uneasy relationship but grow fond of one another as they go from one exciting adventure to another.

Watch for an excellent cast of supporting characters including wildkat the odd mechanic, Shere Khan another Jungle Book character as an intimidating and powerful business mogul, and the pirate Don Karnage who's a mix of Blackbeard the pirate and Ricky Ricardo.

Inspired by "Indiana Jones" and old time adventure serials, this swashbuckling, episodic, animated serial show gave me some of the best memories of my childhood and truly took kids on memorable adventures.

Check it out if you get the chance, it's a can't miss.