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Stormy Weather Re-Rant

Reviewed: 05/24/2010
Additional Commentary: 09/18/2021

The Episode That Changed DTVA Forever!

Original Airdate: 06/17/1990 (Disney Channel); 09/21/1990 (Syndication); Episode #13 (Volume #1, Disc #2); Episode #6 (Production Order).

Stormy Weather Notes
Stormy Weather Transcript

Oh yeah; the DVD doesn't symbolize this episode in anyway, no siree. I'll let this quote from the TaleSpin Animation Source Page do the talking for me on this special episode:

To be honest, I was wary of the show for some time after I saw "Stormy Weather" because it had real emotion, which I wasn't expecting in a cartoon that wasn't a feature film. I felt like I had been blindsided. There I was, watching afternoon cartoons, expecting to be entertained with lighthearted humor, when out of nowhere. WHAM! If you've seen this episode then you know what I'm talking about. That was the heaviest, most emotionally charged non-feature film cartoon/episode I had ever seen. To quote a letter from 5 Years of Cloudkicking:

Actual Name Withheld (because I lost the actual name and a few sentences near the end of the letter) wrote:

Something about the voices. I believed in the characters. Do you know what that means?! They were more real to me sometimes, not just drawings or quality time, but I felt the lives, the struggle of mortality in people I've never seen in real life. Cartoons aren't supposed to do that, they have silly voices and recycled jokes - I thought I knew everything but I never knew about this.

I think that pretty much sums up how I felt. I didn't see "Plunder and Lightning" (the TS pilot movie) until about halfway through the series' run (after I had seen "Stormy Weather"), but when I did, I finally realized/accepted that TaleSpin was/is a multifaceted show that delivers on multiple levels. - 0x7B (From the Animation Source forums on "What Makes TaleSpin Special?")

What's more amazing is that the letter also points out that a lot of kids at the time of release actually called TaleSpin gay and taunted other kids who loved the show back then. Where have I heard of this before? Oh yeah; any product made by the new Disney. It not only shows how cruel kids can be (2015 Gregory Weagle Says: And Kit does something pretty cruel in this episode later on.); but how nothing really changes.The biggest difference between TaleSpin in 1990 and now, is not quality (Although in many respects, TaleSpin is a quality show although it took years before people finally accepted that as fact.); but the internet itself which allows any hate for a show to be amplified. I should know, since I have seen it when Wii was unleashed on the world. (Here's the "full" e-mail in it's entirety: I'm put to shame. TaleSpin once meant a lot to me. Years ago when it first came out I was seven years old. God; it feels good to remember being perfect. There was nothing wrong in my seven year old world - its a bubble, seeing out and understanding but never really being exposed to the harder realities. TaleSpin was a cartoon after school. I'd do spelling homework, shoot hoops and watch the Disney Afternoon before dinner every weekday, but in my head the rhythm of my day circled a half hour, a fanastic secret I hid from my family and schoolmates with prejudice. After all; NOBODY liked TaleSpin- our older brothers called it gay, so the popular kids did too and so did I. There was a kid Michael who openly told everybody he loved the show who more or less got exiled for a few years because of it. The show enchanted me. It had a magic and a texture to it that I'd never experienced before, something innate, a soul if you will. I'm seven years old, I believe in God, but I've never been touched before. With childlike egotism; I sincerelt believed anyone who had problems was in fact the only source of all their problems, and in my nieve illusion I told myself I was a preacher and a savior. I saw "Plunder and Lightning" and the cloth-covered lamp I thought was a star fell to the floor. I saw "truth" for the first time. Heady stuff for a seven year old, but there it was. The show became a window of sorts, a painted picture of an adult worl of angst and redemption and the first tiny crack in the mirrored shields that hid my innocence. As allegory's go; that was it for me. Something about the voices. I believed in the characters. Do you know what that means?! They were more real to me sometimes, not just drawings or quality time, but I felt the lives, the struggle of mortality in people I've never seen in real life. Cartoons aren't supposed to do that, they have silly voices and recycled jokes - I thought I knew everything but I never knew about this. Baloo reminded me of my father. Until I found your page, by random chance actually, I'd forgotten all this, all the tenderness I felt for these characters and the influence it had on my life. - Name Withheld.

Relevant quotes unbolded. The old farts should be ashamed of themselves because back when the show was hot, there wasn't much of a microscope like the internet around to amplify hate. While it is true that it is the person who writes this hatred behind the whole thing; the internet is not entirely blameless since the internet is much easier to access to write down whatever we/they want and when you have a lot of people who actually agree with you, and have similar access to the internet, the hate ampifies; most so if they are brash and loud. Stormy Weather might have been the first episode in a "Saturday Morning" format to fully invoke the Disney pathos that Walt Disney was well known for. For all the crap Walt deserves; he knew that television and movies were emotional types of media, and he knew that for every laugh and smile, there must be tears and anger. DTVA would have those tears on occassion; but TaleSpin really balanced it out a lot more equally than Ducktales ever could. In fact; it's a lot more balanced than say...Gargoyles actually was, for all the ideas it had.) I betcha in five to ten years time; Phineas & Ferb will be put on the same pillar as Ducktales, TaleSpin, Gargoyles and Kim Possible as the shows in which every other Disney show will be measured by that standard. (Phineas & Ferb is high on the list; but I think Gravity Falls has reached that standard more quickly thanks to the miracle work of Mabel and Gideon. Of course; I only have seen six episodes total, so who knows where it will ultimately go. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Now it's to the point where DTVA is bringing the heat in terms of quality as seen in Ducktales 2017. However, the fact that Frank Agnones and Tanner Johnson would bring Kit Cloudkicker and Molly Cunningham back as adults was the highest point ever in the new Disney. Don Karnage wasn't a surprise, he appeared in Raw Toonage and he's popular. No one expected Kit and Molly to come back. By the way, put a pin in this episode because it will tie into a point I want to make when I get to ranting on the Lost Cargo Of Kit Cloudkicker.))

TaleSpin took four years for me and it took Steet about 18 years give or take. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: This show has evergreened on a lot of people and better access would help a lot in the long run; but Disney sees entertainment as disposable. What more can you do?) So now we rant on what I consider to be the episode that changed Disney Television Animation forever. So let's rant on shall we.?! And LET THE PATHOS HIT THE FLOOR!! (Stormy Weather's plotline was like this: Kit Cloudkicker joins an air circus and becomes the new partner of a oily, cocky white ferret with at least three different alias who as TVtropes mentions; has several subtle and creepy pedophile traits. Baloo has a meltdown that not only makes him look like a mother hen-ish heel; but also to the point where he loses the will to live. This is amazing stuff at the time in fact and if this was a two parter in the middle of the season instead of a Disney Channel preview; it would have been beyond the scope of epic.)

This episode is written by Jan Strnad. The story is edited by Karl Geurs. (Karl Geurs you know from Time Waits For No Bear.) Jan is (still) a comic book writer who debuted on TaleSpin writing this very episode in fact. Jan is the second of the four writers I admire the most. (He only wrote one other episode called Captains Outrageous which is my second most favorite episode of all times. This is the episode that put Jan on the map as a television writer and he has earned all the respect he deserves.) The animation is done by Walt Disney Animation (Japan) Inc. and Hanho Heung-Up Company Limited. (Correct actually; although in the wrong order: It's Hanho Heung-Up first actually.)

We begin this one with a sky shot of the SeaDuck over some mountains BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (sunset) and then we head into the cockpit as Baloo is fiddling over with the map like an idiot. HA! I see someone lost the bet for some reason. Baloo asks from pilot to navigator where they are while swearing in DUBBED ANIME STYLE (where the heck?). Kit even giggles under his breath just to rub it in before Kit grabs the map and folds it the right way. They are six miles south west of Cape Suzette; and right in range for some great cloudsurfing. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: By global debuts, this was the debut of Kit Cloudkicker full cloud kicking routine. Also, this is a hell of an episode to start with.) Baloo loves it as Kit is an ace and he has no idea what he would be without him. Stay tuned and you'll find out the truth Pop-A-Bear. Baloo turns the baseball cap rim to the front and pulls it down over Kit's eyes. Kit quickly turns it back in one of those magician spots and Baloo allows him to hit the mist. (Another magician spot is four growing four claw toes in one of the shots.) Kit cheers with glee as we see him go to the back jumping off the matress and grabbing the tow rope (Which now has a handle on it (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: I mention this because there was none in Plunder and Lightning until the end of the television movie.)) as he jumps outside with it and unleashes the airfoil and starts spraying cloud snow all around. Kick Buttowski should be ashamed of himself to calling himself a daredevil or even a suburban daredevil because Kit is about ten thousand feet in the air with no grips on the airfoil (Only gripping by the bottoms of his feet; showing that those soles are sticky and ticklish.) and no padding whatsoever. He slips up and he might as well be dead, cremated and his ashes spread across the ocean. (Like in that flip channel segment of Robot Chicken that was awesome.) Oh; and Kit is just getting started here as Baloo does some lever pulling (JESUS~!) and then panics as he sees a white seaplane blitz forward and miss the SeaDuck by about 12 feet or so as Baloo is forced to pull up.

We then get a shot of a white ferret in pilot's gear look amazed at the skills of the SeaDuck; or so we think as he flies up from behind like a stalker as he's amazed at Kit's skills. (And here comes the Pedoferret~! Hey; if you're going to use Pedobear as trope here, even if it's in a subtle way; have enough sense to call it by the proper spieces.) Kit waves to him as the ferret takes his goggles off and licks his chops and he an evil grin on his face. Oh; now I see why Baloo was so upset when he showed up. We then see some stunt flying from the ferret as Kit repeats his motions in response and then does some awesome full circle twists with the airfoil as Kick Buttowski is getting rightfully buried before our very eyes. We then cut to Baloo blowing Kit off for showing off. Oh can it Pop-A-Bear; let the boy demonstrate how much of a wuss Kick is. It's for the good of DTVA see. (Yeah; Kick is a wuss, but I would still choose him over Johnny Test anyday of the week because Kick can be likable and it's only because writers couldn't figure out how to write him to be likable. Johnny Test was unlikable from season two onwards just because that was his Flanderized character.) This leads to them going into a thunder/rainstorm as Kit uses his foot to grab onto the handle and does the Gruffi pose. (Guthner: Kick? He's MURDERING your creditability right now. Kick: Ah; biscuits!) Baloo yells at Kit to stop showing off and stop murdering Kick's heat. Okay; I made the last part up. And to Baloo: Screw you! It's for the GOOD OF DTVA! (Nothing says "public service" like Kit "Kicking" Kick where it really hurts. Figure of speech of course.) The rain starts and the thunder effects start as the lighting is beyond mature with redness/black tint which is a rare sight in a cartoon from Disney. Kit even does a flip off the airfoil to boot as the ferret claps his hands on that one. I see he brought the leather gloves too. Kit then calls out to the ferret to watch this one.

Kit then jumps up, releases the tow rope and does about four flips and lands on his feet on top of the back of the SeaDuck. Now THAT is INCREDIBLE~! Memo to Jackie: Watch this episode. Take notes. Dump Kick Buttowski. Stalk my website. Eat and enjoy! (Jackie won't dump Kick because then Jackie would have more than enough foresight; which she is supposed to be in short supply of.) Kit waves at the ferret with his baseball cap as the ferret salutes him and flies away stage right. We then cut to a front shot of Baloo and he absolutely panics beyond belief as Kit is nowhere in sight and the tow rope is hanging. Baloo grabs the stick and yells in total disbelief; but Kit appears from the backseat and covers his eyes and asks to guess who. Yeah; Kit is all right physically; but Baloo's health is fading fast as Baloo is parently pissed off at Kit's recklessness as he hugs him and HOLY CRAP?! Did Ed Gilbert somehow get on Ginny McSwain's bad side or something? (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: While Ed's own voice was down pant from the start and any odd acting stuff was due to the writers getting broken into the show; Ed's acting is all on Ginny's voice direction in my opinion.) Because Ed is actually ACTING here as Baloo completely stammers while Kit is sitting in the navigational seat explaining that it was only a half gainer with a flying dismount. Maybe so; but it was at ten thousand feet with no padding whatsoever. (Yeah; Kit is the craziest people person in this entire series.) Baloo blows him off because Kit was showing off for that other show off. Kit blows him off because he knew what he was doing. I'm taking Kit's side here for very good reasons. For one; Kit is the only character in the series that can cloudsurf. Two, I'm sure Kit learned those skills somewhere in his life. (Which indicates that Kit's parents were stunt people; even if Kit doesn't know a damn thing about them as per "The Long Flight Home" comic story.)

Finally three, Kit was doing a great service in showing Kick how to be a real daredevil and stop idolizing Billy Stumps who is merely a redneck who drives a monster truck. (Oh here we go; the beginning of the poisoning the well by Dan Dawson, alias etc. etc. To be fair to Baloo; Baloo had legit concerns about Dan from day one because Dan Dawson is creepy and in the end, a monster heel in every sense of the word. However; because Baloo is really not good in properly explaining why he's right and Kit is wrong that he goes for the old mother hen gimmick BEFORE blowing Kit off for showing off to Dan. Funny how Kit figured this out and calmly explained it like he has done it routinely. The other major reason why Baloo looked like a paranoid father was because at this point in the storyline, Baloo was getting more and more protective of Lil' Britches simply because Baloo pretty much cannot live without him being in his life. Baloo was a really miserable scumbag of a person before Kit literally bounced into his life and now he has grown attached to Kit; and to see Kit showing off to a show off like Dan, hurt him inside. When you have a fragile relationship like this one when both sides are merely partners with a job to do; when there is a disagreement, it can spiral out of control a lot more than if Kit and Baloo were truly best friends like Behdeuce and Sway Sway from Breadwinners (for example), and it makes for compelling television since there is a conflict there. Also; 2010 Me made some really valid points in Kit's cloudsurfing (or as Brendala would say: Secret Airfoil Tenchinques~!) and stuff; but kids cannot give informed consent, so I can see why Baloo was panicking since he almost thought his friend killed himself because some person that he had no idea existed came into their lives and he was making Kit show off. As you'll see; Dan is a great scumbag monster of a heel in this one, because he knows psychology.)

The reality here is Baloo has no argument on Kit's stunt skills whatsoever. Compare that to Daredevil Bart where Homer Simpson and company had good reason to get on Bart's case because Bart Simpson was just another skateboarder who got influnced by watching a monster truck rally. (To give The Simpsons some credit; they at least showed a scene where Bart had to see what happened to people who did stupid crap and got injured and hospitalized, including the guy who influenced Bart Simpson into doing these stunts. That is one or two moments where Daredevil Bart outshined Stormy Weather. Sadly; both points were not enough to overtake Stormy Weather on the entire body of work.) Kit didn't need influence from the ferret; he already had the stuff in him. Baloo calls Kit's actions unsafe which is true; but who cares as Kit gleefully blows him off on that one as he asks about flying two tons of dynamite through a hurricane. (I just love how Kit points out how reckless and irresponsible Baloo really is and I also love how Baloo is so angry about Kit claiming that he knew what he was doing, after the fact that Baloo said the exact same thing in I Only Have Ice On You in which Baloo taunted Don Karnage and broke the law. His reckless attitude is rubbing off of Kit now.) Baloo called it a calculated risk because there is a difference between a safe chance and a stupid chance basically. I should point out that my memories are shot; but I think that one of the school systems I went to actually ran this episode which is very gutsy considering how parents hate the use of cartoons in schools. The subject was on the differences in risks. (Okay; this one is believable at least in terms of your shot memories being correct.) By the way; the real storm has stopped; but the mental storm has only just begun. (No kidding?!)

So we head back to the docks of Higher...For...Hire as the SeaDuck has landed as Kit is still on Baloo's case about the stunts as Baloo doesn't understand. Geez; Kit is making Baloo look more and more like a heel and Baloo seems content with playing that heel fantasy out for him. (Great heels like Dan Dawson know how to sow the seeds of disarray on babyfaces to get them to do whatever the heel wants them to do.) Baloo keeps going on and on about some chances not being taken as the tailsection door of the SeaDuck opens (how symbolic is that?) as the argument continues in earnest. They walk out as we get a shot of Rebecca and Wildcat watching on in disbelief as Kit gets off this gem:

Kit: Are you writing the Kit Cloudkicker rulebook?

I love real questions that aren't supposed to be real questions. Now if Baloo wants to write the Kick Buttowski rule book; be my guest. He needs it big time. That rule book should also explain the differences between a gimmick and a character. Also Kit's last name is revealed for the first time here (In terms of air date since he reveals his full name in storyline in Plunder and Lightning. Which by "World Debut" standards; is the next episode to air several months down the roads. Yikes!) as Rebecca asks why Kit and Baloo are yelling at each other. Kit explains that Baloo is being like a mother hen. Oooooooooo; now that is fighting words, son. (Too bad it's all true.) See; he was only doing a little cloudsurfing and Rebecca stops him asking him about the dangers of those storm clouds. (I just love how Kit avoided saying that he was doing flips and show off moves here because, he knows how to lie by omission. It's a feature, not a bug in this kid. Again; see Plunder and Lightning.) WildCat grabs the clipboard and gets off this line that is too funny not to mention:

WildCat: What if you wiped out and fell down and bumped your head or something?!

I don't think bumping heads is the biggest problem with wiping out on an airfoil WildCat. Now YOU are clearly showing off by whacking the clipboard on your head with a nasty bump on your head. Man; the scene is just getting more symbolic as storm clouds enter above WildCat's head the whole time as Kit blows everyone off for being against him (Alan Robert's acting is getting even more awesome as this episode progresses. Alan was clearly trying to get on Ginny's good side in this episode; but it isn't working.). UH OH! (Uh-oh indeed! I realize that a clipboard is not a steel chair and it's a cartoon and all; but it still makes me cringe because of what I now know about concussions and their effects.) Now a lot of people claim to me that Kit is merely rebelling against authority. Try watching Plunder and Lightning first and you'll understand why I say that it's not. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Also keep in mind, even though Kit is rebelling against authority; in his mind at least, it's not just for the sake of it given his past and other stuff. Keep in mind, the "everyone is against him" line in particular.) Don't worry; I'll explain that part later. Here comes the white (yellow nose cone) seaplane as it lands on the water and splashes water on all of the adults standing. HAHA! Something tells me that this white plane is Kit's god getting it's revenge. Then we see the ferret standing on the white wing of the airplane talking to Kit the ace (as he says) as Kit is just the man (or boy) he was looking for. (I love how Dan Dawson says "man" here because Kit is twelve years old in storyline. Dan is poisoning the well further by selling himself as the babyface and by proxy making Baloo look like the biggest heel in the episode and WildCat and Rebecca look like yes-people to Baloo.) Now I know who the voice actor is (think TMNT); but I'm not going to give him away just yet because the real fun is about to start with him in general. You'll understand the humor when we get there.

The ferret jumps off (and gets about three feet of air when he jumps) as he calls it the greatest exhibition of aerial stuntmanship he has ever seen as he shakes both of Kit's hands as Kit is shocked to hear that. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Probably because it's another male (and literally Dan's fur is lilly white as it gets) adult and he's not exactly thrilled of them in general. Especially now, all things considered.) Kit stammers on him as the ferret grabs him by the sides and twirls him around as the ferret calls him the courageous captain of the clouds (So true too!) and Kit is great. Kit guesses that he is. You do not know the half of it, ace. Baloo steps in and asks for a name and the ferret addresses himself as Dan Dawson of Daring Dan's dazzling circus of the air as he shows a poster which contains a different colored airplane (I guess he lost that one for some reason; no logic break, just odd.) which is firetruck red with a yellow nosecone. He pitches the three shows daily and matinees at the Cape Suzette Aerodrome. He then gasps and implies that Baloo and Rebecca are married and are proud parents of Kit. (Now THAT is funny considering that Baloo is supposed to be Kit's guardian in storyline.) Rebecca is not happy to hear THAT one because Baloo and Rebecca are not married. Memo to Rebecca: and Baloo by proxy The TaleSpin fans want you and Baloo to be married in canon (even me); so get used to it. (Not if Jymn Magon has anything to say about it. Because that would make the show jump the shark, you see. Never mind that most people want it as a grand finale and not in the middle of the season; unless Magon is scared that the angle would get major over and the execs would force the show to have a second season. Considering that Disney execs were too busy bashing Warner Brothers characters for being too old and aged (never mind that Mickey Mouse has been around longer than Bugs Bunny by at least a decade) methinks Magon is being paranoid here. More so than Baloo is right now. Even funnier than that; Disney didn't care about TaleSpin and wasn't going to renew it anyway regardless of how well they did, so why not have a grand finale like that? (2020 Gregory Weagle: When they get married; it's Baloo Cunningham and Kit Cunningham. It makes more sense on these two.)

Kit corrects him that they aren't his folks because in reality he is an orphan. For those who have been watching this series from the Disney Channel previews in order; this is the first vestiages into Kit's backstory. I think Len Uhley saw something in Kit that made him ultimately decide on what path Kit would be taking in Plunder and Lightning. In hindsight; in creating an original character, it came with a huge price. Dan is surpised and proclaims that he too is an orphan (The comics really saw something about Kit's past and worked it into angles like crazy.). Somehow; that quote is true and partially explains how Dan ultimately turned out to be. Dan takes Kit under his cape literally and asks him if he has ever been to an air circus and Kit states that he hasn't. Well; that eliminates one possible theory about Kit's life on the run; although with Kit reaction to the question; Kit might be lying to save himself. (Now here's where the "lying to himself" makes sense because he is lying to Dan as well. I think Kit running to an air circus would be many buys and maybe Kit was in fact part of a flying circus and his parents died bloody deaths; or so the Usenet rumors go. Again; this show relies on character reactions to create the storyline and sometimes the viewer is left to decide what really happened (which is risky because most people hate thinking (most so when it's something so trivial) . It makes it feel like playing in a sandbox instead of watching it like art. I think a lot of criticism about it not being art is another example of a "it's childish" attitude. Never mind that most trivial aspects of life could easily be constructed as childish games unless someone is doing it because it's their job.) Dan doesn't really care either way as the shadowing and lighting continues to make the scene more awesome. Remember that this is a children's cartoon I'm ranting about here. Dan gives the sky skiing boy two red tickets on the house as a personal guest of Daring Dan Dawson. Dan then salutes him and here is looking at you ace.

Baloo isn't pleased to hear that as Dan flies away in this white seaplane shooting red, white and blue smoke and then an explosion of confetti happens and Kit and Baloo are showered in colored paper as Kit is amazed while Baloo grumbles with Gruffi pose as some of the bigger chunks land right on his head. HAHA! Trust me; that is one of the few times you'll hear me laugh at a spot in this episode. (One of the greatest strengths of TaleSpin over Gargoyles is that TaleSpin has no trouble having fun even when it gets at it's most serious. Spots like these allow us to relieve the tension of watching Dan Dawson poisoning the well on Baloo and Kit without punching down. Gargoyles fans seem to forgot that too much dramatic tension usually bites shows in the ass in the long run because the show turns into a country song, and if I wanted that; I would listen to a country song from some redneck. Meaning; it's so depressing that the characters become unlikable not because the characters are unlikable to start with; but because the writers are too busy bedazzling us with their serious writing that they forget that most people do watch television to get away from this BS, not be reminded of it over and over again. Batman suffers from this problem too; but has better writing and the Joker to back themselves up. This is why I don't consider Gargoyles to be the best DTVA show of all times.) So we fade to black and then head to the Cape Suzette Aerodome as we get a shot of the place as Daring Dan is stealing the show. We know this because there is a big banner in black and red with two black stars on the banner. We also see two airplanes (one seen in the poster and a blue one) shooting white and red smoke. I guess the red plane ran out of blue smoke and wasn't in the budget. They do a figure eight as the music in the background plays.

We zoom in and go to the stands. Kit is watching the planes while Baloo is stuffing his face with enough stuff to give him a heart attack. I guess alcohol isn't being served here because ol' Poppa Bear needs it badly for the pain he must endure watching Dan Dawson being so awesome.(The whole scene here (and in the desert later on) feels empty and something modern fans would scoff at. This is where Flash/Toonboom really shows it's strengths here as they can use it to animate the background characters and make the place much more livier and full. Here; it feels 90% empty and it hurts the reputation that Dan's show is awesome and giving Kit a justification to jettison Baloo completely.) Kit's enjoying himself as Baloo calls himself one big goosebump of excitement and lying about it of course. We then hear from the PA Announcer (Pat Fraley) finally announce Dan Dawson while Kit crawls like a toddler (At least he's not a Toddler Titan, that would be disasterous.) and Baloo picks food from his teeth. (A trait he also did in Gruel & Unusual Punishment; so you cannot blame Gomer for that one.) Kit then jumps up for joy as Baloo eats red smoke confetti. HAHA! The crowd cheers as Daring Dan flies in his white airplane shooting confetti around while Kit cheers with glee. Dan Dawson dashes through the Slicing Swords of Doom easily (which is false since most of them are axes and spears- logic break #1 for the episode. (Nah; this is basically an ironic stunt and a play on scummy, false advertising which works because Dan is supposed to be the heel. ) Yes; this is the episode where I got my stupid "..of Doom" puns from. (Which were the stuff of the Superfriends cartoon which a lot of theTaleSpin cast and crew worked on. Meanwhile; back at the Legion of Doom...) Kit proclaims that he is quite a pilot as Baloo is offended by that one. Then Kit panics because he seemly is going to crash as we get a shot of the white seaplane spiraling into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHAHA!) with black smoke as the announcer then goes all wrestling on us with this crack:

Announcer: Stay calm folks; it's all part of the show.

Patrick Fraley just cracks me up when I hear that announcer sound so calm in telling us that it's all part of the show. I guess telling Eisner to screw you on not showing pathos was all part of the show too; right Jymn Magon?! (I love this because Dan Dawson is much more transparent than most wrestling promotors are when admitting that this is merely part of the entertainment. Remember this for later because it gets even funnier later on. Except for one promotor. I wonder who this guy could be?) And then the white seaplane hyperboles about five feet from the ground and we get another explosion of confetti as the announcer calls it the Dramatic Dive of Death. (Death reference #1 for the episode by the way.) The confetti plops as Kit jumps up and down and cheers. Baloo calls that nothing at all. Baloo then starts recalling the story when they lost both engines over Spango-Pango (Ironcially that is where Kit met his first and only girlfriend in The Girl of Pango-Pango in the comics which included Ermill the fish villian (I don't think they did a fish furry until Neputina in Darkwing Duck; but Neputina was more of a fish than an anthro. I think the fish furries in Mighty Ducks would be more up to speed) and Baloo taking on Sumo Wrestlers. Although the comics called it Pango-Pango. It was a really good story marred by a really sexist ending.) and went into a dive of ten thousand feet. Kit gleefully ignores him (Which means it is either a lie; or it's one Rebecca would invoke the WRAITH OF BECKEY on him.) and runs off as Baloo continues to tell the story into the next scene as they go through the Aerodome hallway as Baloo finishes the story of how the engine turned into macaroni and Rebecca was angry as hell. Oh, I see why Kit is ignoring the story now. (So yes; they have been to that country twice now in canon.)

Kit turns around and lies that he heard the story and waves at Dan as Baloo groans over that one. (Yeah; the poison in the well is working perfectly now.) Kit comes over to Dan as Dan asks if he loved the show. Dan pets his head so hard; the baseball cap goes over his eyes to boot. Kit fixes the cap and tells Dan that he was great. Dan thinks that it takes a great one to know a great one and pops the question of joining the show as a performer. Baloo coughs to give the message to Kit that there is no deal; but Kit ignores it and is in awe. Dan proclaims that he'll make him a star and gets in between Kit and Baloo. It's little things like getting in between two fragile babyfaces that got Dan Dawson monster over. The question here is; heel or babyface? (Looking like a babyface, but really a pedophile, monster heel child abuser in the end.) Dan promises name in lights, the pop of the crowd and losts of MONEY, MONEY, YEAH, YEAH. Kit asks if he's THAT damn good as Kit tries to recall Kit away as Dan explains that some guys would be making anywhere from three hundred to five hundred dollars a week which the same that I make in a month. (I think I make a little more than three hunded dollars a month now on recycling computers and repairing them. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Not anymore; this is more money; but I feel a lot more safer and secure at my job. Sometimes, money isn't the real reason to stay.)) I somehow feel a little jealous about Kit's offer since Kit is double as good as those guys. Kit is one in a million (Actually; just one since he's the ONLY one. Until recently. Now it's more in two in ten billion now.) and if Kit flies with Dan; nothing will hold him down ever again. Baloo wants Kit to go home now as Dan decides to really put the screws to the relationship and gets off this poisoning of the well line:

Dan: Except of course, the little people. Kid; don't let the little people hold you down. No matter how BIG they are.

Dan looks so evil on that one that his coolness turns him babyface. Baloo gets all heelish on Kit and they walk away with Kit waving and saying that he'll be there real soon. Baloo is walking Kit home like someone doing a little too much mothering to be healthy. (And he's surprised that Kit called him a mother hen after that? Here's another example of poisoning the well as Dan showers Kit with babyface like rewards and taking advantage of Kit's love for cloudsurfing to get not only Kit to turn on Baloo; but also the audience as well. Most kids would look at Baloo and say: The kid knows what he's doing since he's the only cloudsurfer in the damn show and Dan has not done anything heelish outside of looking evil (a lot of people who see a big money making product do this too.); so you are just jealous Pop-A-Bear! And they would be right on the money, regardless of what happens down the road. It's perfect heel psychology to look like the good guy and FUD the skeptic into being a heel. Quacks do it all the time in peer reviewed medicine. This is also the point where I realized that this is not going to end well for Baloo nor Kit.) So we go to Higher...For...Hire AFTER HAPPY HOUR (After dark) and we head inside the office. (Corrected because they were in the kitchen in the office of Higher For Hire since WildCat's house is the boat house on the piers near the office since Baloo walked out of the office after Kit continued to talk about Dan for too long in his mind.) as everyone is at the dinner table with Kit playing around with the butter while Rebecca checks her briefcase. Kit explains that Dan asked him to join the airshow as Baloo fiddles around with his meat. Sadly; Rebecca doesn't yell at him to eat the damn streak like they do in those frozen veggie ads I have seen in recent months. (You just want her to say that so Disney can sue the producer of the commercial for encouraging terrible acts against veggies you PETP! (People for the Ethical Treatment of Plants. Poison Ivy from Batman is rumored to be their president because Reggie Bushroot is still too big of a geek to get the position.)

Kit is talking to WildCat that he's one in a million (Actually JUST one; but whatever...In 2016; it's more like five in ten billion. Still awesome just the same.) as Baloo is pissed off and he storms out of the office. Kit asks if Ace Cloudkicker can be his new stage name? As if Kit Cloudkicker wasn't a stage name to begin with? This is further evidence that Kit might not be his real first name. (I love how the writers of this story manage to write this figuring that we would not use our brains, and yet when we do use our brains, the writing actually makes sense. Like I said before; "stars are aligned" moments.) Rebecca says good night to "Ace Cloudkicker" and slowly leaves as Kit recaps the show where Dan does the stall and spiral down as Rebecca closes the briefcase and leaves outside. We then go to outside to the docks as Baloo is sitting on a wooden box throwing rocks as Rebecca comes to him. Rebecca tells him that he is just excited. The sad TaleSpin Victory theme plays in the background as Baloo flips a coin into the bay as he proclaims that he is losing him due to dippy Dan being a bag of hot wind and blowing Kit right out of his life. Somehow; I think Kit is doing a great job doing that himself Poppa Bear. (More like Baloo is doing a great job of it.) Remember that the gang in Kit's mind has stopped trusting him in being able to make his own destiny. This plays right into Baloo being a heel and Dan into a big babyface. This is also the point where the real reality check for this series comes into play as I explained in the quote at the beginning. Rebecca points out that Kit is talented (You don't know the half of it, Miss Cunningham...).

She wonders if Kit is better off doing something better than hauling cargo. Rebecca asks if it is right to hold him down. This is actually a moral dilemma for them as you will see later on. (Informed consent says that you ground him; however, it's funny how they are concerned about his safety now when he's working for a business at twelve years old doing dangerous stuff and getting shot at by air pirates. If this happened in the modern age, Child Protection Services gets called in easily. Heck; the comics already have CPS in Mr. Julius Witherspoon in the Long Flight Home, sort of. It's amazing how a lot of people hated the Bratz movie because the girls dressed up in sexually suggestive clothes even going as far as calling CPS on one reviewer of the show. Considering that girls are dressing up like this; this is clear victim shaming by these sexist morons who think that they are providing a public service; but completely ignore it when Kit is in legit danger with a subtle pedophile like Dan Dawson! Where CPS would be apporos just for the fact that Kit is cloudsurfing BEFORE the stuntwork came into play.) Now remember that Baloo has basically all but admit defeat on Kit's argument on knowledge. (I'm guessing Poppa Bear has realized that Kit does know how to do these crazy stunts; and now has to resort to being jealous at Dan even though Dan has not turned heel legit yet. No; having an evil look on your face doesn't make someone a heel. Okay.) Then again; Baloo never gave up without a fight before. UH OH! I think you can all guess where this is going. Baloo recoils and decides that he is going to win Kit's heart back by spending tomorrow at Louie's for some fishing and swimming in order to make Kit forget Dan ever existed. (This will not end well, I assure thee Pop-A-Bear!)

Baloo runs towards the office and closes the door. Kit will be surprised according to him. I think Baloo is going to be the one surprised and he is going to have that overdue heart attack. Rebecca greets him a good night and leaves. So we fade to black, and we head to the morning in Kit and Baloo's bedroom as we see Baloo sleeping in his shirt in a bed with green covers that don't quite fit him. Sadly; we clearly see that Kit Cloudkicker is not in his bed on the far shot since he sleeps with the red covers and the bed is much smaller. There is a lot of airplane stuff and Disney Captions for the second straight time in this series addresses a rooster crowing as a "cock crowing". Seriously; what the hell is wrong with Disney Captions?! (Oh; just wait until later. "Cock Crows" is the least of the subtitling producers problems on this show. I hope Monica Cole from One "Million" Moms doesn't buy the first volume set and set the captions on English; we'll never hear the end of it.) Baloo wakes up quickly as there is even sun effects in the background as Baloo wants Kit to hear what they are going to do today. Baloo then notices that Kit is gone from his bed and the worry music plays. Baloo runs out of the office and towards the SeaDuck on the docks as WildCat is using a pully ladder to fix the number two engine. Baloo asks WildCat what he is doing because they are supposed to be taking off in two minutes. WildCat bumps his head on the metal plate (HA! (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: More like cringe, because WildCat has a good brain. A weird brain; but still a good brain.)) and tells Baloo that Kit is at the airfield in Cape Suzette. Baloo ignores him anyway because Kit will be here any second now as Baloo has gone nuts with the acting stuff. I guess removing the pilot's hat improves Ed Gilbert's acting. Who knew. Cue the Gruffi pose on that one too. So we head into the skies as Kit is cloudsurfing on his airfoil again and is being towed by Dan's white seaplane.

Dan motions to Kit to come aboard and Kit salutes him and jumps onto the back of the white plane (There is a backseat on this thing?) as Kit almost slips and falls off; but Dan grabs his arm and Kit manages to get back into the seat. My guess is that it was to show that Kit was being too reckless; but the shiny surface and edge doesn't help the cause. Disney Captions screws up because Kit clearly said "I slipped"; not "Nice stunt" in the audio. (Remember that for later, because I'm going to really unleash a furious rant on Disney Captions here.) Dan proclaims that slight slip ups like that is what the people pay to see. Something tells me Dan was modeled after Vince McMahon as Dan shows a poster to Kit. Kit opens the poster and we see a proto-type poster of Kit Cloudkicker in one of the coolest outfits you will ever see cloudsufring behind Dan's seaplane. It says "Captain Kit – Ace of the Skies" and Kit reads it almost perfectly (Adding "Cloudkicker"which isn't seen on the poster. Nor the thunderbolt in the middle of the chest we would see later. Again; this is inexcusable even in the 1990's.). Kit is amazed by this as Dan thought he would love it and asks again if he wants to join the show. Kit at first says "yeah"; but then recoils and doesn't know. So he IS having second thoughts now. This shows that Kit does know what he is doing and it's difficult to be merely rebelling against authority when you are having indecisions. Kind of like weightlifting actually. (There is a USWA promo for a match between Jerry Lawler and Mark Henry in which Lawler points out that Mark's weightlifting are great; but the sport involving lifting and putting down the weightlifting bell which Jerry would call indecision.) See; Kit and Baloo are partners (and that plays into the next segment later on actually) and no; they are not gay. Get over it you sick freaks. (And if they are gay, they aren't having sex or anything; so this is another case of bigotry by the douchecanoes.)

Kit wants to think about it and Dan grants him about twelve hours to think about it as they leave for the airfield at dawn tomorrow. (Which one hour equals one year of Kit's life.) We then get a shot of the city from the sky as Dan wants Kit to show them the new stunt he taught him which is probably a lie since Kit probably already KNEW that one too. (I don't doubt that.) Kit is ready as he climbs up to the top wings above Dan Dawson and puts his feet into the handles on top as we see the seaplane take a nose dive. We then cut back to Baloo grumbling and swearing under his breath as WildCat just stands there holding a wrench. Rebecca walks in and tells Baloo to let WildCat finish fixing the engines if Kit isn't returning. Baloo blows off that suggestion that Kit will show up and he'll be dropping in any second. Cue the Gruffi pose as WildCat looks up and we hear an engine sound and WildCat panics because Kit is going to be literally dropping in on this one. We get a sky shot as the white seaplane does a loop-de-loop for only 15 cents and Kit freefalls on the 180 as Baloo screams badly (the pilot hat is back on again) and that ends the segment 11 minutes in. Now the real nasty stuff begins in earnest. (I do have two nitpicks about this episode: One is that the animaton for the crowds is not good. It feels completely empty in comparison to even Mighty Ducks episodes where it's usually 80% full. This is where Flash/Toon Boom really helps out a lot to correct this; but, it's 1990 so it's still five to ten years away. Two; even though the first nitpick is a technical issue that is unavoidable due to animation costs; there's no excuse not to add the thunderbolt and Kit's last name on the poster. That's bad. Thankfully; it's pretty much the only issue of the episode actually. Baloo's scream here was better than 2010 Me thinks it is because it's supposed to be shrill.)

(2020 Gregory Weagle Says: About the first nitpick, 2015 Me forgot that a scene that was created for this episode was snipped for time later on where Kit was bringing in crowds and his cloudsurfing was bringing in the big bucks. (See the Review Line update for more details). This would actually explain why Dan Dawson was so desperate to charm Kit into this life in the first place: Dan Dawson was so full of himself that the crowd no longer were interested in watching him, thus explaining the empty crowds when Kit saw the show at the Aero Dome. When Kit took the job, the crowds were increasing because Kit was such a star. So, the 80% empty crowds was not an animation problem; it was all part of the story of Dan Dawson's psychopathy. It's actually brilliant. The second nitpick on the other hand was correct.)

After the commercial break; we see Kit continues to free fall doing enough flips to cause serious damage to your health. Man; Kit is THAT insane folks. Get used to it. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: If the pre-production sketches were any indication, Molly Cunningham would have been the insane, crazy one of the family.) He does some flips and then stops the scared selling and smiles as he takes out his airfoil and we get the victory theme as Kit circles around with the foil and then splashes onto the water; skis on water and then jumps up and flips right over the Higher...For...Hire sign and lands on his feet with foil in hand after about four revolutions. Take that one Tony Hawk! (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: The fact that Kit could kick clouds would automatically be a take that to Tony Hawk. Everything else is just punching down on the poor skateboarder at this point.) Kick Buttowski just died and went to daredevil hell. (Imagine Kick as Kit without the humanity and you're almost there in terms of personality.) WildCat is in awe over this awesome stunt as Kit calls it pretty slick. Baloo stammers in anger and fear (Kit is insane; what did you expect, Pop-A-Bear?) as Kit calls it with Dan's blessing the "Cloudkicker Dive To Doom". Kit also wants to try it out with the real audience and even Rebecca is mad over this one as Kit has clearly gone over the edge for either one to be healthy as Kit's arrogance is on full display here. Kit actually gets the LIGHT BULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY as he literally hides behind his airfoil asking if scared them.

Geez Kit; you scare the shit out of everyone at BS&P and you didn't need to do crazy Jackass level stunts to pull it off. This is merely icing on the cake. (The touch of Kit hiding behind his airfoil is a non-verbal cue by Kit that "Uh oh; here comes the shitstorm!". It's a real nice touch too, and something a lot of modern cartoons wouldn't consider because they think kids are morons who don't use their brains.) Now Baloo is PISSED as he literally steals Kit's airfoil and walks off blowing Kit off. Major heel heat from Baloo there. Kit yells at Baloo to give it back and runs after Baloo as WildCat watches with surprise. So we go to the scene changer as it is AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as we pan south to a shot of the SeaDuck from the back end as we see WildCat fixing the engines and the argument ensues. WildCat just merely shakes his head over the whole ordeal. (You know this is serious when even WildCat is not liking what he hears. Usually; he's too goofy to understand this, but here he acts like he knows all along. This tells me that WildCat might be autistic instead of merely being a moron; and if that was planned, they did a hell of a good job of making him into a star.) Now we have come to the high point of this immortality to this entire episode as we head inside the bedroom of Baloo and Kit. Instead of explaining the scene; I'm going to release the entire exchange of dialog and I'll explain the whole thing afterwards. Note the S-class acting here as this is without a doubt; Alan Robert's "Crowning Moment of Awesome". Sadly; it would prove to be his last, too:

Kit: Look; I wasn't in any danger. I knew what I was doing.
Baloo: And I'm telling ya; there's no point in taking chances that shouldn't be took!
Kit: How's $500 a week? How's that for a point? I'm going to be rich!
Baloo: (In bed as Kit slams the poster in his face) Oh kid. Wake up. (Logic break number two as the poster is completely different from the one Dan gave to him earlier. Although he might have added that poster with it just to rub salt into the wound. Which would be a nice touch.) You'll never see a dime. That phony is all baloney.
Kit: He is not! Dan was right. You're just one of those little people holding me down. (OUCH! It's true too!)
Baloo: Now, look. He's filling your head with guava. He's a....Oh....You just stay away from that guy! (He crumbles the poster as implying that Kit has been banned from seeing him. Major, major heel heat for Baloo there.)
Kit: NO! YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT YOU DO! YOU'RE NOT MY DAD! (Kit throws the hat right between Baloo's eyes. And then he recoils, runs away and goes face first right into the bed.)
Baloo: Now, Kit. Don't go and take it like that. I was just...I mean....I...Kit? (Kit ignores him and cries in the pillow looking at the camera. Baloo turns the lights off.) Oh. Good night Lil' Britches. (Kit stares into the camera and sheds two tears in a really iconic moment and we fade to black.)

There my friends is the scene that changed Walt Disney Television forever. This is one of the nastiest scenes in DTVA history. Almost no violence whatsoever physically; but the verbal and mental violence was at eleven so to speak. I have written a lot about this episode and this scene in particular; even going as far as to explain the differences between why "Daredevil Bart" was just another cog in the wheels of the Simpsons machine; while this was the crowning jewel in turning DTVA into a Disney product rather than a Disney product "by name only". You can clearly see that Kit won this argument easily as Baloo was soundly defeated in the taking chances part since Kit clearly knows what he is doing because he's the only one who can cloudsurf and use the airfoil. Baloo looks like an idiot trying to play that line. Thankfully for Baloo; Kit walked him into the second argument with Dan Dawson himself as Baloo is on more stable ground with attacking Dan. However; it always seems to me that Kit was trying to force Baloo to admit that he was wrong on the first argument and Baloo wouldn't bite; ignoring it and going with the more stable strawman. Kit clearly caught him on that one. Then there is the iconic Kit screaming in Baloo's face and throwing the hat between his eyes. Alan Roberts' crowning moment of awesome is that Kit said it with passion in his voice and not like a "my body, my life" kind of thing. That tone of voice makes the difference between merely rebelling against authority and what really occured here. In Kit's mind; Kit really said "I cannot believe you betrayed me, you are just like everyone else!" To add another great touch; a split second after Kit made contact with Baloo's face with the hat, Kit ran to the bed in with that "Oh my god; I'm dead!" look on his face. As if he thought Baloo was going to MURDER him right there and of course Baloo didn't go for it. Kit knew Baloo has a temper that is easy to lose. He didn't try to challenge him to kill him. It was like "Go away, traitor!" the whole time. Kit was trying to prove to Baloo that they are legit partners; not father and son because Kit isn't Baloo's son. And Baloo knows it because he stammers the rest of the way and turns off the lights. Kit has already won the argument on that account alone. I'm not surprised that Strnad went this route because a Disney product is a product in which pathos are encouraged. It's just that no one watching this as a Saturday morning cartoon was expecting it. The scariest part is that the pathos are FAR FROM DONE!

(I remember Bart Simpson's line in Daredevil Bart (basically he says "You cannot watch me 24 hours a day. The second you turn your back; I'm jumping that gorge!") and it sounded so phony and contrived. It's easy to say that it's because Nancy Cartwright is voicing Bart, but the line is easily the problem here. It sounds like they were going for the cheap "lampshade" move to make Bart say what Kit really said, even though it's very rare for a child to say that line and look believable, even if a child is voicing Bart. Plus; this was the climax of Dan's poisoning of the well. Lance Murdock never intended to influence Bart, Bart did that himself when Homer took him to the monster truck rally (which sounds like something Kick Buttowski would do and be in the main event rather than sitting in the stands.). I know a lot of people were expecting a large response to what 2010 Me said about this scene; but 2010 Me is dead on here. I should note that Matt Groening has claimed that Daredevil Bart is his most favorite episode of all time. Keep in mind that Daredevil Bart aired on December 6th, 1990; while Stormy Weather debuted in syndication on September 21st, 1990. Huh. Notice that everyone accuses Family Guy of being a crappy knockoff of The Simpsons, so why didn't everyone crap on Matt for knocking off TaleSpin in Stormy Weather? Probably because (a) they are different episodes altogether and (b) history is written by the winners. The Simpsons are still going on strong, TaleSpin faded into obscurity, only known by people like me because we just want comedy. We complain about children's comedy all the time and wanting something serious and never considering that adults want the exact same thing, only in adult speak.)

Morning arises as we see the drawer and the alarm clock rings (in the background there is a human hula girl light; which is a running joke about the lack of humans in this series and the fact that Baloo has treehouse syndrome. She's also partially nude with only a green bra and skirt (Just wait until Sheepskin Deep when that hula girl has the incredible talent of being "topless". Well; almost topless anyway...) and Baloo shows the gentle touch. Another sign you are not watching the New Disney: The stuff is UP TO CODE. (Plus; it's not a money mark claiming that smashing things without consequence is cool, too.) Baloo wakes up and he notices that Kit is gone again. We then go to the outside shot of Higher...For...Hire as Baloo runs out calling for the police with Kit's baseball cap (Which would have made more sense if we saw the baseball cap somewhere during the scene where Baloo was waking up.). He screams loudly as Rebecca just stands there as Baloo grabs a rope thinking Kit has been kidnapped; but Rebecca tells him in a sad voice that Kit wasn't kidnapped and that he left. In other words; Kit gave Rebecca his notice that he's not coming back. (I state this because if he didn't give his notice; Rebecca would have probably thought he was kidnapped too; so nice non-verbal way of saying that Kit gave his notice to Rebecca. Although in this world; you can give someone their notice that they're quitting at anytime.) Baloo scappers back as Rebecca tells him that he knows where Kit is and Baloo squeezes the cap in frustration (Like he did in Plunder and Lightning part III.). So we go to the scene changer at the airfield WAY BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (sunrise (Which indicates that the place takes place in another time zone which would be a neat touch as well.)) as the SeaDuck flies towards the gates of the airfield as red smoke fills the air from the plane flying in the distance.

We then cut to see Baloo running in with Kit's baseball cap yelling for Kit. We then cut to the public address system as the PA announcer introduces the star of the show Daring Dan and his new partner Kit Cloudkicker. We see the nasty weapon pillars from earlier and a large set of balloons (About ten thousand of them at least which is far more than the attendance to this airshow for some reason.) which will probably be used before this segment is over. We then see the white seaplane fly in from the east on the east pan shot as Kit is on top of the top wing above Dan Dawson again. Man; the announcer must be gutsy to address Kit without laughing over the Cloudkicker part. Baloo slides in safe into the arena as he is confused by the partner part. We then see Dan in the plane with his goggles on as the crowd pops for him and Kit. Dan proclaims that they love him as Kit waves to them. Kit isn't so happy as he wishes Baloo could see him. To some Youtube critics: If Kit was "merely rebelling"; then why would he WANT Baloo to see him? The answer is because he's trying to prove to Baloo that he's more than just a navigator with a cute face and that he can be trusted in making adult decisions. He wasn't rebelling merely for the sake of rebellioning. If you want to see characters like that; watch Bart Simpson in Daredevil Bart (which is probably a parody of this very episode and one of the few times the parody didn't work out); or in the new Disney Phineas & Ferb. (This is what happens when defenders of the show are ordering us to stop using our brains. Screw you! There is an old saying: It's okay to be open minded as long as you're not so open minded that your brains fall out.) Dan starts the engines and flies up into the skies as Baloo chases him as Dan sees Baloo and decides to break off the last of the friendship real good by acting like Kit cannot let his fans wait for him as the white seaplane takes off in a blast of red and blue smoke. Simple and effective as this is a non-verbal cue to Kit that Baloo doesn't give a damn about him anymore. (And now the well poisoning has been complete as Kit is now Dan's partner and Baloo is the fat bear holding the baseball cap wondering where it went so wrong. Maybe looking the mirror would be a fine start.)

Baloo eats their dust literally coughing all the way as Baloo has basically been squashed and so have the friendship. So the white plane spirals into the air with colored smoke and then drops into a downward spiral as Kit hangs onto the wire without the grabbers this time around. Kick Buttowski has got to be the most jealous kid in history right now because Kit is making him look weak and REALLY STUPID at this point. Did I mention that Kit is wearing the blue suit which contains the thunderbolt design in the middle of his chest? That's like striking a symbolic thunderbolt blow to Baloo's heart. (Dan Dawson is the best heel of the show in terms of effectiveness as a heel. Don Karnage is the best heel of the show period since he's effective enough as a serious heel; but his comedy heel value is so over the top that no one can touch him. Dan was more effective in breaking up Baloo and Kit than Don Karnage ever could. And Don Karnage did a great job poisoning the well in A Bad Reflection On You Part II.) Kit then drops back and grabs onto the tailsection of the plane quickly. He misjudges that by a spilt second; he could easily die from the fall. Dan pushes the red button (The staple of all TaleSpin buttons...) and that releases the tow rope. Kit lets go of the tailsection and then grabs onto the tow rope white handle as Baloo watches on in shock. And then the rope snaps and Kit gets flunged complete with backflips as Kit freefalls towards the ground as Baloo on the ground appears like he is going to have a stroke. Kit then grabs his airfoil and then steps on it and acts like a plane rider (!!!) defying gravity as he slices through a cloud in the process with the TaleSpin victory theme. Kit dives down and slides onto the ramp balloons as the PA announcer proclaims that it is all part of the show. Did I mention that Pat Fraley cracks me up when he says that? I did? Okay; let's move on. Kit is so light that he only pops about three balloons total as Kit grabs the real tow rope (No logic break since Dan probably has a spare in the white plane).

We then see Kit do his awesome cocky pose (IN YOUR FACE KICK BUTTOWSKI~!). We then cut to an elephant conductor (in red) playing with the band as the crowd pops loudly for that one and the graffiti and hat fly. Baloo sulks in defeat and admits that they love him (HA!) as Disney Captions screws up again as Baloo said in the audio "Whom am I kiddin?"; not "He ain't my kid". I swear to god that Disney Captions hates hearing impaired people! (Disney Captions was really bad in this episode in general (and later on it becomes obvious that no one working on them had any idea what they were doing and rushed through like this show can be. Someone bashed me for ranting on Disney Captions and being responsible for having the idea of Disney removing the captions from other DVD sets in the future. Listen, if you are not going to do the job well; don't do it. Also; listen to the audio carefully and if you have to rewind dozens of times to get it right, rewind a dozen times. Do a rought draft and then listen to the audio again and edit the transcript. That is what I'm doing for the transcripts on this website, because Disney Caption's work is horrible. Also; doing crappy work is also making you look like an ablest too. See the final line of the second act. Baloo clearly said: "So long Kit. I knew you'd win" instead of "So long kid. I'd know when." Does that make ANY sense to the average person? If it doesn't and it makes the final cut; then Disney Captions should be fired and either replaced, or removed altogether. Again, hearing impaired people is the audience for the captions. To do a crappy job is to insult them.) We get a shot of Kit grabbing the towrope with his foot (the right one) while doing the Gruffi pose as the white plane flies around and then Kit really shows how insane he is by actually using some flaming flares to create red smoke. (Kick: Ah, biscuits!) Baloo walks away from the airfield (Near Boomstone it seems. judging by the CACTUS JACK OF DOOM in the background.) as Baloo ends the segment with this:

Baloo: Maybe Becky was right. Maybe the kid is cut out for something special. Something better than hauling cargo with a fat, stupid, old bear like me. (Baloo waves goodbye to Kit with the baseball cap.) So long Kit. I knew you'd win. (Baloo walks to the SeaDuck as the red smoke is above the SeaDuck and that ends the segment fifteen and a half minutes in. Remember Baloo's feelings for later on because it plays into the next important part of the character development between Baloo and Kit. This was the most compelling five minutes in the series and it didn't warm out it's welcome like a lot of Gargoyles episodes do. That is the difference between being a "great idea for this show" and being a great idea period.)

After the commercial break; we go to Kit's trailer BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (sunset) which has a yellow star on it too. We head inside as Dan is putting the MONEY, MONEY, YEAH, YEAH on the drawer in front of the mirror with an oil lamp. Dan looks in the mirror talking about the big bucks. Now watch Dan Dawson go from evil looking babyface to downright scummy monster heel in matter of seven minutes. He breaks the ice by proclaiming giving Kit just a dollar which means Baloo lied all along about Dan never giving him a dime. Dan gave ten times that. It's still fraud all the same since Kit was promised five hundred dollars week up front at least. Kit blows him off as Dan grabs him and explains that the new uniform and dressing room were part of the payment see. Even though those should have (and probably HAVE been) paid off beforehand. Dan proclaims that it all adds up and I agree. It adds up to fraud and child abuse and exploitation! (Listen; this is fraud even if Kit was an adult; most so when it's a dangerous situation like stuntwork. If this is wrong to do to an adult, doing it to a child is even more so wrong. I don't care if Kit thinks he's a small adult, he cannot give informed consent; so pay him what you promised Dan. Unless of course; Dan's a slimy heel.) Like I said; we aren't thirty seconds in and Dan is turning into a scumbag. Dan proclaims that Kit could pay it off sooner if they give something the rubes would really pay for as he wants Kit to do a new stunt and Kit yells loudly on a new stunt which Dan calls a great idea. And he keeps calling Kit, "Ace" by the way. He then waltzes over and shows Kit a poster of "The Flaming Tunnel of Fear" and it shows Kit surfing through flaming hoops. (Kick: Ah! Biscuits!) Clearly, Dan Dawson has never watched Backdraft, although BackDraft probably didn't exist this world. Kit gulps in fear as he realizes just how dangerous that really is as he doesn't mind taking chances; but he is having some second thoughts about it now.

Dan wraps it up and calls Kit a coward more or less as he flips the poster near the oil lamp as Kit calls him out for calling him a coward because he's Kit F'N Cloudkicker see. (Even funnier is Alan Robert stumbles on saying Kit Cloudkicker's name; which is something R.J. Williams never does; nor Alan Oppenheimer later on.) However; if anything goes wrong; he's dead toast. Kit's right since fire lives to consume! Kit takes off the suit and he is still wearing the green sweater. Now you know Kit is a god when he's not dying from the heat caused by wearing that thing in hot climates. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Even in Ducktales 2017 where Kit wears the bomber jacket as per Tanner Johnson's request. Ironically, Baloo did wear the same jacket in Bygones which was the final episode on Disney+. Also, Kit wears the green sweater underneath, just to make thing even hellish for him! All because of reducing cost and taboos about kids being shirtless despite being shirtless when at the beach.) Dan insists that nothing will go wrong and that he is in control see. Dan goes over and takes the poster which is burning and dumps it into a conveniently placed glass of water telling Kit about the big bucks. Kit decides to accept the stunt and tries to get another word across; but he gets his hair playfully messed up and Dan says good night to him and slams the trailer door shut. (Another sign of Dan's subtle and yet so creepy pedophile traits.) Kit doesn't look happy at all as he has the suit halfway in a symbolic moment of wondering at the crossroads of his life. (I just love this show for it's non-verbal cues because they tell a much bigger story than what the characters say. It's something I wish I saw more of it and more subtle cues of it to boot.) He walks towards the box and sits down in front of a green table and stares at a picture of him and Baloo (A B&W photograph) and wonder what Baloo is up too; still believing that Baloo really is having the time of his life and doesn't give a damn about him anymore.

In other words; Dan has succeeded in breaking them up forever in Kit's mind; if he leaves (or gets betrayed again), he's on the streets again as Baloo would never accept him back. (Oh, how wrong Kit was in this aspect. Again; even if you don't believe in consent, the one you don't want to fool is yourself, and you are the easiest to fool. We are seeing a prime example of it from Kit and soon enough, we'll see it from Dan later on.) However; we head to the docks and a much different story unfolds as Baloo is fishing and feeling absolutely miserable about all this. We pan over to the office as Rebecca has her clipboard and they have been unable to ship anything in a week and something must be done. Sadly; this event just shows how important Kit Cloudkicker really IS to Higher...For...Hire. Kit does almost ALL of this work and he used to do it with pride. (Well; you did say almost 2010 Me. He does more than Baloo does, yeah.) It also shows that without Kit; Baloo is a miserable shell of his former self. Baloo and Kit really hate themselves more than they could ever hate each other. When they are together; they are whole and happy. This just makes Plunder and Lightning make more sense and it also shows just how bad it ultimately was for Kit before he met Baloo. (And vice versa. Sure; Baloo is not his father, but it shows that Baloo has empathy for Kit in spite of their argument and now seeing him gone to the circus has verified his worst fears as a father and parent. Considering that bears rarely bond in the wild, this makes the whole incident extremely harsh in hindsight, along with the fact that Kit calls him Poppa Bear.) We then see a brown dog police officer (I'm guessing Ed Gilbert or Pat Fraley) as he is looking for a pilot named Baloo. Rebecca points to the docks and the officer goes over to Baloo and Baloo throws the fishing pole away and surrenders since he has nothing to live for now that Kit is gone. (You know you have lost everything when you are willing to turn yourself in for no reason at all.)

The police officer is baffled as Baloo asks if it was about the parking tickets. I don't think they automatically send you to jail on parking violation Poppa Bear. (Parking violations aren't high enough on the actionable scale. Now piloting while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs would be a whole different matter.) In an amazing twist; someone actually paid off this joke in a later episode. (I would love to know how Ellen Svaco and Colieen Taber knew about this throwaway angle because somehow they paid it off in Bringing Down Babyface despite this being their only TaleSpin episode appearance.) Anyhow; the officer is gathering information on someone as he shows a picture of Dan Dawson in B&W holding a prison number sign (This is where I think a lot of people suspected that he was a pedopohile. He does give off certain traits of one; but he doesn't give off the one that does make him an actual pedophile which is actually having sex with the kids. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: I lot of pedo traits can be easily cross-references to having psychopathic traits, which Dan being at least a psychopath would makes a lot more sense and is almost as scary.)) and we finally get to one of the funniest in jokes in the series:

Officer: Dan Dawson, alias Dan Dubronke, alias Daring Dan, alias......

Dan Dawson is voiced by Cam Clarke, alias Jimmy Flanders, alias James Flinders, alias Cameron Arthur Clarke, alias Kelly Brewster etc, etc. Now you understand where the in-joke comes from and it's a nice touch too. (It's one of those jokes that worked from a storyline prespective and was probably the main reason why Cam Clarke was picked since the in joke works in this case. The in joke doesn't quite work if they had gone with their original pick which was the late Phil Hartman, believe it or not.) Baloo asks what he wants him for besides shooting his mouth off. (Which is considered a capital offense in many modern cartoon critic's jursidications.) The officer proclaims that he has been hearing rumors about people getting injuried doing those crazy stunts of his. I'm thinking that is a BS&P decision since those stunts are in the air and the chances of injury are smaller than the chances of DEATH. (Which is odd considering that "kill" and "die" can be said freely in this series.) The officer cannot prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt as Baloo pumps his fist and is pissed off now. The officer is going to watch him tomorrow at New Fedora (That sounds like New Burnswick to me.) to catch him in the act as he panics because Baloo runs into the SeaDuck and even Rebecca yelling at him not to do it and ruin everything. Baloo doesn't give a damn as he's in the pilot seat starting the engines and he gets off this awesome line:

Baloo: When I get through with him; he'll be able to count all his teeth on one finger!

OUCH! Dan is now officially a heel and he hasn't even got started on the nasty stuff on Kit yet. Baloo flies the SeaDuck away towards the cliffs as we head to the air field in New Fedora as the balloons with flaming hoops are already set up and there is a thunderstorm brewing. SYMBOLISM BABEE~! We zoom in as Kit and Dan are having an argument about the storm as Kit wants to wait until after the storm is over while Dan wants to do it NOW and paid off the rubes with a show. And now Kit has had enough of Dan's recklessness; which is funny considering that Kit went through a storm no problem in the beginning of the episode. I see Baloo still has some influence left in him. One of few moments Kit looked like a hypocrite. (Yeah; because Kit is not allowed to learn his lesson 2010 Me. That's crazy talk and kids will change the channel if you do that. Which is hilarious considering that there is an episode of Johnny Test while Johnny Test did in fact learn his lesson. The episode was basically 11 minutes of getting the other person to say "uncle" and Johnny and Dukey decide after about three minutes of this that this is stupid and pointless. And Susan and Mary agree with him; and then Susan claims that she's better than Mary and they start trying to make the other one say "uncle". Then after destroying the house, Dad and Mom punish the kids and then Mom claims that she's better than Dad and they get into a submission match while the kids walk off. That's the entire episode of Johnny Test. If I ranted on this; it would be less paragraphs than a Chargeman Ken episode which are half the running time this episode was. I gave it a * because it was basically "no heat for heat". (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: I just learned that hypocrisy doesn't refute an argument. I wasn't refuting the argument, I was making an observation.)) Dan threatens to fire him if he refuses the stunt and calls him a fly boy. Dan calls THAT a point (of being a heel) as Kit cannot believe this.

Dan goes to his plane and wants to hit the clouds because the fans cannot be kept waiting. Kit does the Gruffi pose and yells at him that he cannot be fired because he quits. He even throws the dollar bill down like a girl and storms off to the right. (On come on now 2010 Me! When Kit throws like a girl; it's a girl who has had enough of this bullcrap.) Dan now realizes that he made the big mistake by doing that (since Kit is the reason for the fans being in the seats in the first place. (Don't you just love how Kit was able to outsmart Dan there? Because watch what Dan does to outsmart Kit here...)) and he goes over and tries to calm him down and even slaps himself in the face in a hilarious matter. He yells at his crew to stop the stunt as it is cancelled and finito. He pleads and begs for Kit not to be angry at him and Kit does the Gruffi pose and stammers. Dan takes that as a sign that Kit is the greatest. He ushers Kit over to the white seaplane playing this really hilarious routine as Kit is still sore as hell over it. Dan proclaims that now that the stunt is cancelled; he'll take him home on one last flight for old time sake. Kit agrees to it and Dan uses the goggles to mess up Kit's hair again. (I realize that Kit is fooling himself again; but really, Kit doesn't have much of a choice since it appears that Dan flying him home is the only way he's leaving at this point.) UH OH! DAN IS GOING TO KILL HIM~! No, not really. Kit walks away stage left as Dan rubs his hands in evilness. He's lying you see. (Of course he is. Dan knows that he has to fool Kit into this since Kit is the only one who can rake in the big bucks and Kit is not going along with it.) So we head into the skies as the rainstorm continues on in full blast. The thunder claps as Baloo messes with the map and cannot read it to save his life. He wants his navigator so bad now. So we head back to New Fedora at the air field as Dan flies his white seaplane into the sky and we cut to the front seat (a bad sign that Dan is lying) as Kit takes off the goggles and proclaims that he is going to give the stuff back to him.

Dan tells him to keep it as a souvenir for his next stunt and Kit is SHOCKED and APPALLED (in that order). Kit thought he was taking him home. (He lied because he's a creepy monster heel.) Dan gets on the transmitter and orders his crew to light the hoops. Dan is now in full oily heel mode here as we see the flaming hoops lit on fire from below. Then we see a shot of Kit sitting down as Dan has a dagger and he cuts Kit's seatbelt (!!!). He then turns the white seaplane down and Dan orders Kit to fly or fall; all the same to the crowd as Kit freefalls out of the plane. What an evil scumbag this Dan Dawson, alias etc etc fellow is. (And this is why Dan Dawson is an awesome heel because he made Kit turn on Baloo and now that his meal ticket has basically turned on him because Kit by himself deduced; Dan now is cutting his losses and making it look like it was unintentional.) Kit freefalls with his airfoil as the announcer cracks me up again with it all being a part of the show. (And this one was completely inapporos and makes the announcer sound like a scoiopath; which is fitting because Dan Dawson is also one too.) We get a shot of the flaming tunnel of doom (I guess Dan changed the pun at the last minute. Go figure; I expected this from a lying scumbag heel like Dan.) as Kit gets on the airfoil and looks up to the clouds as the thunder is clapping. Here comes the SeaDuck out of the clouds as Kit cannot believe this. Baloo pulls on the stick and the tailsection of the SeaDuck opens to reveal the tow rope and Kit catches it right on perfect time. Baloo then hyperboles the plane up as Kit manages to miss the flamming hoops by about three inches. He was that close to realizing the reality of Backdraft. Dan is PISSED off as he shakes his fist at the SeaDuck and then panics as Baloo is coming after him because Dan's death is all part of the show. And you DON'T PISS OFF POPPA BEAR OR COME IN BETWEEN HIS KID! Read the fanfic "Thicker Than Water" from Fanfiction.net and see why.

Baloo uses the number two engine and slices and dices half of the white seaplane. So THAT'S why WildCat was working on the engine then? Kit flies into the SeaDuck as the white seaplane goes into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHAHA!). We then see Kit walk into the cockpit with a tear in his eye (which he rubs out) and he jumps into Baloo's arms and they embrace. It's just warms my heart to see that after Dan came so damn close to killing the relationship for good. (That's why you build the whole thing up; because once they reunite and realized how foolish they were, they could forgive each other for it. That's called paying off the whole angle and making their relationship stronger. It feels real even when it's not real; which is how you are supposed to view entertainment. That's how shows become great.) Now the best part is yet to come as we have one more minute left in the show so to speak. We then see Dan Dawson freefall (I guess he did when Baloo sliced the plane with the propeller.) and he opens his chute; but he comes too close to the flamming hoops and he runs on air like mad; but the embers catch fire on the parachute and Dan tries to blow out the fire; but it stays lit and gets worse as the entire parachute burns to ashes and he freefalls right into the arms of the police officer. The officer gets the LIGHTBULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY and drops Dan on his ass with a MAN-SIZED bump onto the ground. He does the alias joke again as Dan is under arrest for child exploitation, fraud, dangerous use of flares, and criminal neligence to cause bodily harm (And maybe even death; although the death part is unlikely to stick. Yeah; we never heard the actual charges, but we don't have to. I can figure out what crimes Dan did just by watching the entire episode.). Dan tries to run away; but the SeaDuck drives straight at him and he is forced to run back and he takes the funniest bump off the nose cone of the SeaDuck. (DOINK~!) He does a face first faceplant right in front of the police officer.

We then get a shot of Kit throwing the blue suit he wore right in Dan's face and he rightfully blows him off for trying to MURDER him and his friendship with Papa Bear. (Speaking of Ironic Echos; Kit says the same thing Dan Dawson said as his catchphrase before throwing the blue bodysuit in his face. I love the blue suit; but I can understand why Kit doesn't want any part of it now. I mentioned Petey Williams in the Chargeman Ken episode "The Cuckoo Clock Strikes Three" in that after Caron's piano teacher (disguised as an evil alien) brainwashed Caron into trying to kill Chargeman Ken and failed; and then Caron proceeds to play the piano the exact way the piano teacher did at the end of the episode is the same thing as Petey Williams dressing up and acting like Scott Steiner months after getting beat up and left for dead by Scott Steiner. Yeah.) In the Stormy Weather novelization; Kit actually recoils after and cries in Baloo's arms in a real symbolic moment which time constraints prevented. So we head to the scene changer as we head into the skies as Kit apologizes for leaving him and he looks so afraid of doing this. He cannot believe that Baloo would want him back at this point after all the nasty stuff he said and did to him.

Even after Plunder and Lightning; Kit is still afraid to trust male adults. I mean after all; Don Karnage betrayed him and now Dan has betrayed him (and both almost got Kit killed I might add), and Kit thinks Baloo betrayed him; how could he trust anyone again? (Susan C. Mitchell puts it in such an elegant way that 1998 Me couldn't help but steal it for his own.) However; Baloo basically forgives him as he is still an idiot with the map and he needs a good navigator anyway. (Somethings will never change with those bears.) Kit sees it as Baloo trusting him again as Kit takes the map and folds it. He brings out his compass and points that Cape Suzette is straight ahead as the clouds clear up in a symbolic moment and Baloo welcome Kit back for good until Flight School Confidential. That welcome home made my eyes mist up inside. (That's the kind of greeting that I was hoping to see when Kit meets his real parents; but it never happened because Eisner cared more about milking Baloo instead of building up new stars like Kit F'N Cloudkicker and Don F'N Karnage. And even Rebecca and Molly Cunningham for that matter. I also love Baloo's unconditional forgiveness here because it's an unspoken way of saying that he didn't doubt Kit's skills as a cloudsurfer, he just hated Dan Dawson. And really; Baloo was right about Dan in the end, but Dan did an amazing job of poisoning the well and making us turn on Baloo. That's why this episode deserves it's full monty status even now.) That ends the episode and the Disney Channel Previews at 21:18. You know what this episode is getting. ***** (100%).

THE REVIEW LINE

Well; we end the Disney Channel preview episodes with a perfect episode that I expected it to be from the start. From a quality angle; it was perfect and it was also perfect from a historic angle as well. This began the foreshadowing of Kit Cloudkicker's character in earnest. Watching it again doesn't change my opinion on it's importance one bit as it was a pathos fest from start to finish. Plus; it was mostly subtle pathos in the non-verbal cues that Kit and Baloo were showing. This is the Disney I remembered. DTVA was before this episode about roll licking adventures, comedy and morals. We saw some flashes of it in Ducktales with Scrooge losing his fortune to a nasty weasel (all just a dream mostly) and Scrooge going to prison; but we never saw it in this much of a degree and with a child no less, as the focus character. There are also little cues in the episode where I could tell that Kit wasn't merely rebelling against authority; but had a cause to prove to Baloo that he was more than a cute navigator. Of course it doesn't make as much sense until you watch Plunder and Lightning which came three months later and Kit reveals that he was more than just a mere runaway orphan. When Kit proclaimed that he was an Air Pirate; Stormy Weather and The Idol Rich to a much lesser extent were changed. It turned from a rebel Pollyanna story to a betrayal of trust Pollyanna story. This is the kind of nasty stuff that the new Disney would never allow today because the pathos are too strong for the kids to take. I mean; look at how they treated Plunder and Lightning six weeks after it aired on the Disney Channel. Disney tried to feign time constraints; but sleep with the fleas Disney, you know the real story was because it was too close to being an actual Disney feature that was on free television while two movies were being shown for seven dollars. (TESTIFY~! And I'm not changing anything about that paragraph unless it's for clairty reasons.)

(2020 Gregory Weagle Says: BrahmaBear, aka Ted Heinz has a DeviantArt post on Stormy Weather itself, including a lot of changes made from what the final product was going to be. The original story from reading Ted's notes on the matters seems to be written before they changed the Kit/Rebecca relationship from mother/son to guardian/employee since Rebecca was far more pro-active and acted a lot more like the mother hen Baloo was playing in the final product, using Baloo as a surrogate to ground Kit from cloudsurfing. Themberia was going to be involved in some form before getting nixed. There are even two scenes that would have been in the final product, but got axed for time reasons, including one headcanon of mine on this episode that was actually true: (Edited to change the line that was in the subtitles instead of the audio):

"This cut hurts, and I surmise it had to do with time limitations: Immediately following the powerful "You're not my dad" scene, as Kit clutched his pillow all teary eyed, the camera was supposed to move down to the torn poster (Kit Cloudkicker: Ace of the Skies!) on the floor. Dan and Kit's face are separated by the tear. There is the imaginary sound of music fanfare and a cheering crowd (it doesn't specify, but... as if Kit is dreaming about it? Baloo of course finds Kit gone the next morning). Another cut that hurts, following Baloo's "I knew you'd win." line, and he sulks back home solo, there was a montage written that showed Kit's rise to fame: an air circus poster of him and Daring Dan go up on a wall, followed by a scene of one of the cloudsurfing stunts they perform for a crowd, rinsed and repeated a few times. It really underscored that Kit was becoming popular and bringing in big crowds."

I think a lot of writers bought into the mini-movies line; but execs wanted episodes to be completed in 22 minutes because of attention spans of the audience. A fair decision considering that you were doing a block and it wouldn't be fair to the other shows who didn't have that mentality.)

It brings a tear to my eye that a 22 minute episode like this was more effective in pathos than anything in feature not named The Lion King. Great job Magon; I'm sadden that it ultimately cost you your job at Disney because if this were the Disney we knew; Kit Cloudkicker would have been ran with until parents got sick of it. (TESTIFY~! Heck; rebooting TaleSpin with Kit and Molly as the main characters would be awesome and Disney doesn't have to worry about kids turning on it. Heck; Kit and Molly's character would be a refreshing change of pace for Disney XD as well. Then again; didn't care about it in 1990; they don't care about it now. Even if Ducktales 2017 becomes the biggest success story of all time; TaleSpin will never come back. I've accepted it. I'm tired of saying it; but I have to because someone out there have hopes and dreams that I'm wrong. Trust me everyone: Ducktales getting rebooted is a miracle. Rescue Rangers as a CGI/Live Action movie is a miracle. Darkwing Duck in the comics was a small miracle. No chance in hell TaleSpin is getting the miracle treatment; unless there is a secret video game in development from some 3rd party developer like Bandai-Namco or Capcom. Not counting on it to happen.) So this ends the Disney Channel previews and we have six thumbs up and one in the middle. While that is good news by any measure; only one episode actually increased in value, two stayed the same and five other went down as much as 3/4*. Then again; I might have been biased when I did those episodes in the past; so there you go. So that is all until September 9^th, 2010 when I unleash Plunder and Lightning again on the world. (Oh lord; that messy animated, well written and amazingly historic television movie that cemented TaleSpin as the greatest DTVA production ever. It changes everything I knew about the characters and suddenly, those attitudes and stories in the previous episodes not only make sense; but become even more compelling. That's no small feat for a show that was a rush job.) So...

Thumbs way up for this episode and I'll see you next time. (I slot this as the second greatest TaleSpin episode of all time; and in the top three or four best DTVA shows of all time as well.)

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