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A Spy In The Ointment Re-Rant

Reviewed: 10/23/2010
Additional Commentary: 10/06/2021

How Ironic For The Idiot Plot To Be Noticed By The Idiot?!

Original Airdate: 10/09/1990 (Syndication), Episode #26 (TaleSpin Volume 1 DVD, Disc 3), Episode #14 (Production Order).

A Spy In The Onitment Notes
A Spy In The Onitment Transcript

This episode is actually a pretty special one because up to this point; we have seen Colonel Spigot and Dunder from Thembria; but we have never actually SEEN Thembria until now. Now we get to see how ass backwards Thembria really is as a “spy” gets involved with Baloo and Rebecca and Rebecca turns into the biggest idiot ever. (2015 Gregory Weagle Says: You pretty much explained the plot there 2010 me. Basically; it's Baloo and Rebecca helping a postal worker who pretends to be a spy under false pretense to swap presents from the High Marshal of Thembria. Hilarity ensues.) So let's rant and find out shall we...?!

This episode is written and edited by Mark Zaslove. That was easy. (Even funnier is that I got the director/producer wrong in the notes. It's not Larry Latham who worked on this episode, it was Ed Gerthner and Jamie Mitchell who were the directors/producers of this episode. That has been fixed in the notes by the way.) The animation is done by Walt Disney Animation (Japan) Inc. with additional services done by Hanho-Heung Up Company Limited.

We begin this one with a sky shot AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as Baloo is in trouble with Rebecca again! Rebecca is in full WRAITH OF BECKEY mode as we pan southeast towards the docks of Higher...For...Hire and then onto the ground in front of the office. Rebecca car is completely destroyed. Apparently; a thousand apologies will not be enough for her and then we fade cut to Rebecca accusing Baloo of giving the keys to a total stranger. Now there is something funny about this entire scene which I'll explain later on. We then see Baloo with the steering wheel claiming that the guy was dressed like a parking valet and didn't know he was a thief. (I have a sneaking thought that the parking valet wasn't a thief in pre-production and it was either a legit parking valet or it was Kit.) Rebecca proclaims that he should have asked for credentials. According to Ted Heinz -- the original creator of the Kit & Don Karnage meme -- (I'm kind of mixed on the K&K theory. On the one hand; it's understandable why Kit and Don Karnage were cool together because you had Kit, who is the smartest subordinate Don Karnage ever had; and you had Don Karnage who had a lot of chrisma and fortitude as the leader of the air pirates. I mean, he was a protege to Don Karnage, which is usually codeword for successor, which Don Karnage was grooming to be. However; on the other hand, because Kit was the smartest subordinate; it means that Kit realized that this was a really bad deal for him (and his future) and that being the successor was basically being a terrorist which he never wanted to be. All he ever wanted was to learn how to fly. Once he realized that Don Karnage didn't care about that, he was sick of them and left. That's why the K&K thing was doomed to fail. Not because it was disgusting to Kit fans, but it was not compatible with the personalities of the two subjects in question.)) stated that he has evidence that this episode originally was supposed to have Kit in briefly for one scene and then he would be gone. My guess is that in the original script; Kit Cloudkicker was supposed to be the one to park Miss Cunningham's car and then he crashed it. That would have been hilarious; but it wouldn't make much sense for the moral overall which we will see later.

I was tempted to say that BS&P wouldn't allow it; but Pizza Pie In The Sky does have a scene with Kit driving a steamroller; so that explaination of the change is out. (Don't forget that he also flew the SeaDuck in Destiny Rides Again and the Thunderyak in Flight School. Then again, driving a car is more mimickable than piloting aircraft even though we never saw the car actually being driven. I also think 2010 me is sort of wrong with the moral as well; I think it could work out with some redubbing. This is one of those Kit-less episodes that should have had a Kit appearance and I like Ted's rumored angle. Kit would only have to be available for one scene and maybe one or two lines maximum before never being seen again. He doesn't even have to appear in the final scene. Basically; Baloo and Rebecca ground Kit for trashing Rebecca's car and then Rebecca gets on Baloo for allowing him to park her car.) Then again; Mark Zaslove has already accused me of writing fiction about his profile; so maybe this the episode was always what it was on the air. (I'm pretty sure that wasn't Mark Zaslove accusing me of this since Mark didn't mention me once on DAFRadio. Probably a sock puppet pretending to be Mark Zaslove since I also stated that he worked on Happy Tree Friends and he has confirmed that credit in several interviews done later on.) Baloo gets POINTY FINGERED right into the red loveseat as Baloo calls it silly in roundabout terms since the guy parks cars see. Baloo got the car back too; but Rebecca blows him off and grabs the steering wheel since he's too gullible according to Rebecca. Rebecca would NEVER....EEEEEVVVVVEEEERRRRR be fooled like that. No way whatsoever. (So Rebecca is going to defy the first rule of basic science, eh? You know; don't fool yourself and you're the easiest to fool. This won't end well for you Miss Cunningham. Trust me on that one.) Now behold the POWER OF THE IDIOT PLOT~! (In which as mentioned in the caption: It was discovered by the actual idiot. That is one reason why this idiot plot was good actually.)

We see a rabbit in a black trenchcoat and blue sweater with red tie bust in through the side door (Also known as being out of the closet which is not quite the image we need to see since the Southern Baptists are probably watching. (Bigtory is so powerful in Wingnutta. By the way, I didn't coin the term Wingnutta. Ed Brayton either coined the phrase himself or stole it from someone else. I think Jack came out of storage next to the office since the dartboard is still on the door.)) and addresses himself as Jack Case and spying is his game. (Yeah, Disney Caption was right about it being Jack Case and not Jack Cases.) Jack Case is voiced by Brian Cummings in the only role he ever did in this series compared to his usual 50+ roles during Gummi Bears, Wuzzles and Ducktales. Jack claims it's all hush-hush as Rebecca is shocked. Jack runs stage left as Rebecca completely sells it as Jack thinks she's an enemy agent and a Mahatma Hari. He means some guru that I don't know and don't want to know. Don't this writer know that kind of dialog is something most Americans cannot understand?! (The reference he was shooting for was in fact Mahatma Gandhi who was the infamous civil rights activist and at the time (in storyline of TaleSpin) was in the struggle for India's independence. The year would be close to Gandhi coming back to politics after resigning in 1934; but before World War II started and the Quit India movement started. Disney has a tendecy to do Gandhi references, most notable was Monterey Jack's reference in Rescue Rangers. The funniest part of this is: TaleSpin's version is the one that had the most impact due to the time period TaleSpin was in.) Rebecca claims that she only runs Higher...For...Hire as Jack and Rebecca embrace. Jack needs a plane, a pilot and a mission which is totally hush-hush. I see Rebecca needs a date, a doctor and a sidebar after this one is over. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummmm... Totally hush-hush you know. (That date would be for after she apologizes for being an idiot.) He opens his trenccoat to reveal the JOKEY SURPISE OF DOOM as he needs to get it to a certain place by a certain time; or there will be certain disaster. In other words; the box will explode and thus live up to it's name. (It didn't here.)

For those who were not kids in 1985: Jokey Smurf was a Smurf who placed explosions into presents and then gave them to his fellow Smurfs as a joke; usually at the expense of Brainy Smurf the jerkass smart Smurf. (That is the sort of thing you will probably never see again in the post 9/11 business, although I have not seen the Smurf remakes nor movies in recent years to make sure of that. I sort of blame this show for that, after what happened in Flying Dupes.) Baloo asks if he's certain and Jack states that it is and a matter of importance to the government. Rebecca is shocked and calls this all patriotic. Something children should NEVER know about until they understand how empty blind patriotism is. Also; this episode was released during the Gulf War. (I find it odd that Rebecca Cunningham would be a blind patriot while Baloo is the cynical one because it's often the roles are reversed if they were going for stereotypes.) Jack claims that he didn't hear it from me and Rebecca agrees that mum's the word. Rebecca then goes over to the red book on the desk and opens it, then closes it instantly proclaiming that she has an opening. Riiiiiiggggghhhhhttttt. (If their business is in the toilet due to Baloo's incompentence, then I wouldn't be surprised if she had an opening. So I think 2010 Me is being a little sarcastic here.) Baloo goes over to Rebecca and they have a whisper conference as Baloo calls Rebecca nuts. HA! Rebecca takes offense to that because we all know it's Kit who is the nutty one of the team. POW! OUCH! HEY... (THE FEATHERS~! You know that if this were today, CPS would be on your ass so fast that you won't be able to figure out if you should urinate, deficate or ejactuate. That one was for you Joel Gerthner, who is certainly unrelated to director Ed Gerthner.) Jack runs in the background and up the stairs the entire time as Baloo doesn't think he's a spy and Rebecca thinks he is. So Baloo wants Rebecca to spring the credentials part and Rebecca has the Gruffi pose on full blast and no sells. Rebecca blows him off because the resume is written in invisible ink which is proof of a spy. Baloo is flustered on that one. Like I said; BEHOLD THE IDIOT PLOT~! (By the way; during this entire sequence, Jack actually tries to steal something from Baloo's pocket and Baloo clearly sees it, so Jack thinks better and bails. That made me laugh.)

Jack keeps looking in everything including a red vase with a plant in it as Rebecca proclaims that Mr. Case has his airplane. We go to the scene changer as we fly into the skies near somewhere as the SeaDuck flies away from the camera. Baloo asks the hotshot spy where they are headed, Jack is in Kit's navigational seat and no sells because it's a secret see. Jack tries to push something on the control panel which we cannot make out and Baloo slaps the hand away as he wants directions since he's flying the plane. (Behold more Engrish: NW (2 hrs); NNW (1 hr); leli; SW (45 min); ther SSE (10 min). "Ther" is supposed to be then and I have no clue what "leli" means.) Jack no sells because that is on a need to know basis. Baloo blows him off for that one as Jack wants Baloo to fly him in so he can swap the present with another one just like it and then Baloo flies him out. Baloo asks where as he pulls the white note on the upper window of the plane as he claims that the directions sound mightly close to the border of Thembria. Jack proclaims that it's over the border into the Thembria and Baloo goes all Mister T on Jack and Jack no sells it. YAY! He's not worried see as we hear a huge thud on top of the SeaDuck and we hear the thud of a piano which Baloo helpfully points out to us while Rebecca covers her ears. We cut to the side shot as we see three grey Thembrian planes (one of has a rope attached to a piano which they drop on the top of the SeaDuck. (Nothing screams "whacky" like Thembria and their use of international objects that don't involve guns. Even though Thembrians do have guns in this show. This is not a BS&P decision, this is Thembria being Thembria.)) Ummmm; yeah, welcome to Thembria where being ass backwards is the UN-USLANDIAN WAY~! The craziest thing about it is that I somehow picture Thembria as becoming the future of America if things in America keep going the way they do. (I didn't have much faith in the Obama adminstration back then and still don't now, even though it's still better than almost all of the Republican party. Even Stephen Harper is on better terms and that's not saying much either.) We then cut to the Piano Welding Pilot (I think it was Alan Young doing his voice instead of Ed Gilbert.) on the transmitter of doom calling the SeaDuck out for being in restricted Thembrian airspace.

I see the normal Thembrians speak broken English; or they got their voice acting lessons from Magica Despell. AHHAHAHAHAHAHA! ZAP! OUCH! Ummmmm... (Actually, like Magica; their broken English is easy enough to understand that only a grammar bully would complain about it. Here's a tip: If the vast majority of people can understand what the person is saying in spite of the grammar, and you complain about it, you're a bully. Get over yourself and find some other track to criticize the writing for. Like if the sentence is understood, but it's a idoitic statement anyway.) He wants them to pull over immediately. How do you pull over an airplane in midair without falling?! Don't ask; I'm sure Thembrians found a magical way to do it. (He means land the airplane 2010 me. It's real simple actually.) More piano thumping as Rebecca thinks that they mean business. No, not really Miss Cunningham as Baloo guns the SeaDuck as it flies some more and then the Thembrian pilots follows and we get more piano thumping. Did I mention that Thembrians usually have bullet shortages?! Normally; that would be a BS&P decision; but with the bullets flying in this series, this is a character trait of the nation. (Nailed it! It's hilarious that people want to see realism in a show that has anthros as characters. Don't get me wrong, I love having characters who act like real human beings; but pretending that this is realism is just daring for critics to laugh at you. You can make them act like real human beings all you want, but you'll never make them realistic if they are funny animals to begin with.) We cut back to the SeaDuck cockpit as Rebecca asks what to do now and Baloo tells her to talk to Jack about it since he has all the answers. Rebecca agrees and looks around; but notices that Jack has opened the door to the back and Rebecca follows. We then see the tailsection as the wind is whipping in as we see Jack near the side door (with mature lighting I might add) with a parachute as he proclaims that he has to leave. It's for the good of the nation, you see. You know what would be good for the nation, Jack Case: Kick Buttowski being likable. (Actually; any unlikable character would do, but thanks for pointing that out.) Rebecca asks what about them and Jack responds with this gem:

Jack: Rebecca, they may capture you {May Jack?}, they may torture you. They may subject you to pain beyond human endurance {They make you watch Teamo Stupidito Jack? (No, he was saying that the Thembrians would basically make you watch the Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue PSA special that aired months before this, with a side order of Bubba's Big Brainstorm from Ducktales. It should work; I know those episodes broke me when I ranted on it.)}. But if they do, I want you to remember one thing.
Rebecca: Yes, Jack?
Jack: Mum's the word! {Jack jumps out of the side door of the SeaDuck and freefall complete with parachute release.}

Rebecca just looks like a zombie at this point. I guess so since Jack committed logic break number one for the episode with calling them humans since in this world they are anthros. A minor one; but it still annoys me. (Sadly; Wang Films killed the "Only Anthros exist in this world" angle. More on that in The Old Man & The SeaDuck additional commentary.) We hear the musical cymbals in the background which Square-Enix stole for one of the tracks in Final Fantasy VII I should note. (What the hell are you talking about 2010 Me? Oh, it's the one featuring the Turks. My mistake.) Rebecca returns to the cockpit selling the zombie look all the way. Baloo calls the bail out of Jace Case pitiful as we get more piano thumping from outside. This is more thumping than a protest about gay employees at Disney Parks by the Southern Baptists. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummmm.... (That was not cool nor funny 2010 Me! Even if what you say is true. I don't know how thumping a bible causes actual damage unless you are bashing it over the head of someone and getting a concussion as a result. Reading the bible might cause damage to your brain with all of it's contradictions frying your circuits. But even that is mostly recoverable to most people. Mostly most people.) Baloo decides that he's had enough and swoops down as the squad leader orders the attack on the transmitter. We get some dogfighting and the two Thembrian pilots crash into each other exploding their planes completely into spare parts. Ahh; true Thembrian craftsmanship. We then see the two pilots parachutting and blowing each other off with this gem:

Thembrian Pilot #1: You are swede lover!
Thembrian Pilot #2: Ahh! Your father milks chickens for a living!

Oooooooo...That one was pretty witty. The second one sounds like Flintheart Glomgold (I'm guessing Hal Smith in another uncredited role.) and I have no idea who voiced the first one. (I think it was Ed Gilbert doing the Swede part and the piano welding pilot may have been Alan Young, since his voice vaugely has Scrooge McDuck's accent for some reason.) We then see the Seaduck pull up into the clutch and the pilot foolishly follows him; allowing the SeaDuck to do the Loop-De-Loop for only fifteen cents; (One of those nursey rhyme promos I like to cut during these sequences.) which allows the piano to do the same and pound on the Thembrian plane as the leader cries for Mama. The pilot falls down fast and hard upside down, then he parachutes upright for logic break number two for the episode five and a half minutes in. (Not sure if this was a logic break when I was doing the transcript.) We then see the SeaDuck upside down as we do a front window shot of the cockpit as it spins around as Baloo chuckles it up. Sadly; we go to the FPS shot of the window as four Thembrian airplanes arrive with the NET OF DOOM and they get caught easily right into Thembrian airspace. Wow; I thought Walt Disney Animation (Japan) Inc. screwed up the transition; but it is clearly not screwed up here. Rebecca blows Baloo off for getting captured and Baloo gleefully answers that one for me as we go into the blizzard snow tundra of Thembria. We go to the scene changer as we head to the Thembrian Capital of Doom as there is snow and lots of wind. Very, very fitting for such a bleak place. We even get a good whiplash shot for no reason other than to show how ass-backwards Thembria is, I guess. We head inside a hallway which is longer than my life as Rebecca tells Baloo not to tell them why they are here, whisper yelling right in front of the two Thembrian guards (like all Thembrians they are light purple warthogs) wearing a metal wok on their heads and the Nazi-equse uniforms. As I stated before; the Thembrians are supposed to be Russian; but the writers made them a mix of Russian and Nazisim for some reason. (See Gruel & Unusual Punishment for the full details on the aborted Nazi angle DTVA had planned for Thembria. It is hilarious for all the wrong reasons.) Baloo naturally doesn't know what she is talking about as we logically go into the holding office.

We see them all stopping in front of Sgt. Dunder and what looks like an elevator. Then we hear THE ULTIMATE SHORT JOKE's voice calling them ignominious intruders and claims that they are trembling before him. If I was in Quack Pack's world; I WOULD be trembling in fear too. (Bubsy's world is even WORSE than Quack Pack's world now, 2010 me!) Baloo motions to Rebecca to look up as we see the soapbox of doom with Colonel Spigot's hat showing. Colonel Spigot asks if they have heard of him and Baloo sarcastically no sells. HAHA! I should note that this is Baloo's third meeting with the Spigot in this series. First time for Rebecca officially though and sadly for her; not her last. (More on that with Time Bandit which as funny as it was; I am now understanding why Mark Lungo hates it.) Spigot calls himself the tyrant of the "New Territories" and beast of the "Battle of Baldoon". See; Colonel Spigot is reliving his glory years in the Great War which doesn't really get touched until Bygones. He also calls himself a "Death Dealing Demon of Dimswipe". Remember that Nintendo wouldn't allow anyone to say demon in that context in videogames and yet here it is in a children's Disney cartoon?! Again; hostile notions towards video gaming were to blame here. Baloo sarcastically claims that he does plumbing and Spigot gleefully blows him off while papers fling around in midair. Baloo asks for another guess. HAHA! Spigot blows him off, walks down the soapbox, enters via the front door and flings it open yelling for Dunder. Dunder salutes him as Colonel Spigot wants Dunder to show off Spigot's resume. EWWWWW! GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY! Spigot does the Gruffi pose as Dunder reveals the scroll and Baloo sarcastically gets it. Come on guys! Ed Gilbert's acting clearly shows that he knows it's Colonel Spigot. He's just pissing him off like the Pop-A-Bear that he is. (I just love how TVTropes is still convinced that in The Idol Rich, he knew him right away even though Spigot is clearly so vain, that only an idiot wouldn't know him. Then TVTropes turns around and claims that Baloo now doesn't know him even though everything Baloo said with the voice infliction indicates that he does know Spigot and is just playing headgames with him.)

Colonel Spigot wants the GOOFS WITH ATTITUDE to confess that they are here to disrupt and destroy his plans for a parade. He calls it the glorious Slush Festival. HAHA! This must be where all the professional criminal fraudsters meet up. Wonder if Muffy & Buffy made the trip?! Spigot of course is in charge which is fitting for someone so brutish and short. (More likable than Lt. Pug from 101 Dalmatians: The Series by a country mile, that's for sure.) Baloo is confused and tries to convince him that this is all a big misunderstanding. He tries to explain that an idiot hired them to fly him in and of course Rebecca squashes Baloo's right foot as Baloo oversells the foot. Jeepers; this fatass has some amazing flexability as Rebecca blows him off because Jack said not to tell them anything. BEHOLD THE IDIOT PLOT~! One is acting like an idiot and one IS an idiot. Can you guess which one by the time this episode is over? (Rebecca is acting like an idiot and Colonel Spigot is the idiot. Do a win a prize for that 2010 Me?) Rebecca does the Gruffi pose claiming that she has nothing to say and then blows her cover about the present Jack was carrying. Spigot goes over and wants answers; but Rebecca's lips are sealed. Apparently; so is her brain too. Colonel Spigot thinks that it's a bomb and oh my goodness, are they foreshadowing Flying Dupes or what here?! (Nah; there is a self-contained reason why he's scared. Although, it's not all that unreasonable to say it was foreshadowing 2010 Me! TaleSpin had a fetish for killing weapons.) Rebecca no sells with Gruffi pose to boot. Colonel Spigot twirls around and then claims that he has already because by refusing to say it wasn't a bomb when he asks her if it was; she thought she would trick him into thinking that she was lying. Thus; presuming it wasn't a bomb as Dunder grabs Spigot from behind and raises him up to Rebecca's head level. Spigot calls the answer as plain as the nose on his foot. EWWWW!! GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY! Baloo is flustered as he asks even getting the word pray in for the first religious reference of the episode as Colonel Spigot deduces that it IS a bomb because they would have said otherwise! IN YOUR FACE CHIP! (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Spigot and Kit: Leaders of the end arounding to end all end arounds.) Baloo mocks that deduction out of the frozen building.

Colonel Spigot thanks him for it and orders the guards to send them to the dungeons. We then see Rebecca and Baloo forced out into the hallway as Rebecca claims that she said nothing. Riiiiiiiggggghhhhhhhttttt, Miss Cunningham. I'm sure you didn't. NOT! Scene changer as we see the capital again without the snow storm blowing as we zoom into an office where the Thembrian officers are invoking hammers to crush the presents on the table and soak them in buckets of water. Sadly; none of them explode to enforce Darwinism on them. (Which would be fitting for this country actually.) Then they are stamped with black letters of "O+K" and placed in a pile which are the same color scheme (orange with blue ribbons). Three of them are blue with white ribbons and one of them is in the same color scheme as Jokey Smurf's presents in the background on the far left pan shot. Also, the blue ones disappear for logic break number three for the episode. We then go to the window as we see Jack Case watching from the window and I ask how did he get there without a boat since he parachuted on an island? (He probably swam to Thembria like Kit could probably do in Time Waits For No Bear. Although that is pushing it.)) He still has the original package in his coat of course. He then hides down as we see Colonel Spigot and Sgt Dunder enter the room as he orders the men to inspect the gifts like their lives depend on it because they do see. After all; if you don't inspect the gifts like your life depends on it in Thembria; YOU CAN BE SHOT! Colonel Spigot believes one of the presents is the JOKEY SURPRISE OF DOOM legit and then he panics and the entire gang salutes as we see the High Marshal enter with his thin Thembrian Aide officer (the one with the normal Nazi uniform in front of the trophy wife) and his trophy wife in a black dress literally eating cake and licking her lips. I don't think she ever speaks in this series by the way. (Actually she said about ten words in this episode.) The High Marshal is wearing purple with medals and a red town ribbon across his chest with a flower seal. The High Marshal is voiced by Jack Angel and his aide is voiced by Danny Mann by the way. (Already done in The Bigger They Are, The Louder They Oink and A Touch Of Glass.)

High Marshal asks his aide about Spigot and he whisper yells to him that he's the head of the air force. Then the High Marshal then asks about why he hasn't been shot yet. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The aide states that it hasn't happened yet. I'm guessing that it's for the Idol Rich Incident. I guess the flogging for the Golden Sporcket one has been executed already if you know what I mean. Wink! Wink! Nudge! Nudge! Spigot and Dunder run in and salute the high Marshall as the high Marshall calls him a Nozzle. HAHA! Spigot corrects him; but recoils about the thought about changing his name to Nozzle. HAHA! The high Marshall then introduces his trophy wide who has braided black hair and is eating noodles with her hands. All she does is snort which indicates that she is deaf mute. (No; she can speak normal English.) This adds evidence that that Mouseo was censored due to copyright issues and not offensive issues. Oh wait; Colonel Spigot kisses her hand to suck up and she speaks for real. I forgot about that scene for some reason. (You forgot to take copious notes during the first rant you need before you started the Rant Shack in 2007.) The High Marshal's wife is voiced by Sheryl Bernstein. Spigot has green slime all over his face as he recoils about the beauty part and she hisses and walks out stage right. We then get to the real business at hand as the High Marshall wants no incidents at the Slush Festival and nothing like the bomb from last year as the High Marshall and his aide walk out. (Thus justifying Spigot's sense of panic that had nothing to do with Flying Dupes.) Colonel Spigot insists that nothing will go wrong as both he and Dunder leave as Spigot better make sure. After all; if there is a bomb incident happening this year; HE WILL BE SHOT! We go back to the window as Jack realizes that this is going to be tough. NO?! REALLY?! We head inside a prison bell with a light and some cobwebs as Rebecca whines about this because she has an MBA. Does that mean Major Bitch Ass? AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH ! Ummmm... (Oh lord, that was a horrible and sexist docture to follow there 2010 me.) We zoom out to a far shot of Rebecca sitting on the bottom of the bunk bed while Baloo eats from a helmet of slime with a spoon. Baloo calls her out for following into the POWER OF THE IDIOT PLOT~!

Baloo even remembers to violate ANIME DUB CONDUCT RULE #12 twice as Rebecca claims that Jack is on a mission from the government and Baloo doesn't get it. Baloo proclaims that he doesn't believe that Jack is a real spy and Rebecca stands up and calls him out because her evidence is that he wears a trenchcoat. Ed Brayton would have a field day with Miss Cunningham. She's Sara Palin's grandmother. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummmm... Baloo calls it dazzling logic and asks if she goes to the same school as Spigot. I wonder if that's the school Mad Dog saw a picture of? Hmmmmm... Anyhow; we then see a Thembrian Guard sleeping on the job on a stool (NOT THAT ONE!) as he wakes up and goes to the door. He's voiced by Ed Gilbert by the way as Rebecca continues to yell and defend Jack with those wacky spy gadgets like an exploding pen or the invisible screwdriver. Rebecca needs to stop watching spy movies and try a western once in a while. (Spy movies didn't exist until 1954; although spy fiction has been around since the 1800's.) The guard is seen banging on the door (with anime banging lines on the door I should point out) and demands them to shut up so he can get some sleep. Then he makes the fatal error of turning around and yawning as Baloo invokes the SPOON OF DEATH on his helmet and that is enough to knock the guard out. Oh lord; that was LAME! Baloo even shows off the handy-dandy spoon (so says him) as Rebecca just rolls her eyes just to show that it was lame. So we go to the jump cut of doom to the Thembrian city (I guess) as we pan over to the captial and see a guard saluting Baloo with his hands up and Rebecca in the Nazi suit. Oh lord; that is so apporos isn't it? That'll show them treehouse syndrome fans. NOT! (Yeah; this does not help feminism in anyway.) Ironically; Disney Captions claims she did the hut two three four; but the audio clearly indicates that she didn't say that at all. (Wrong 2010 Me! She did say that, along with an extra hut that I missed in the transcript! It was just that the volume on the promo got softer and softer and was barely audiable when she said it.)

We go to a shot of a alarm bell ringing (with a red bell) as we see shadows marching in goosestep (I think, and if so; shudder...). We zoom in with Rebecca and Baloo hiding behind a snowbank. Ummm; yeah that was pretty illogical (How is that illogical? The guard saw it clear as day and then ran in and rang the bell. This makes sense because he couldn't buy a woman being a guard since in Thembria, no women are allowed to take up government positions, except for the High Marshal's wife. It's very sexist, but it's Thembria and it makes sense from a man-soaked country that they call their mommy land even if the head of state is a male.) as they run into the alleyway with the bell ringing in the background as they hold steady against a concrete wall. Baloo wants to get the SeaDuck to get the hell out of here. Rebecca is sharp; but says someone is coming though as they run for a bit and then they see a dead end (death reference #1 for the episode). Rebecca and Baloo turn around and we clearly see Jack Cases -- in his angry voice which sounds different from his spy voice -- in shadow running towards them. Logic break number four for the episode right there as Rebecca and Baloo put their hands up and that ends the segment eleven minutes in. (How is this a logic break? Sure, it hurts the suspense; but it's hardly illogical since Jack is already in the capital at this point. Man; you are looking for logic breaks in the wrong place, dood.) Man; this would be great if not for the bad logic in the last minute or so. (Most critics would have written off this episode by now simply because the whole episode is so contrived since Baloo has already sprang the credential part and Rebecca has to force herself into idiot levels that are almost never seen in her. Personally; it's not nearly as contrived as they say. Rebecca acts like this because she thinks Baloo is so wrong in Jack not being a spy, even though Jack has done nothing to indicate that he's not a spy. Considering the storyline and time period; this is pop culture gone awry.)

After the commercial break; we get the shadow engulfing our GOOFS WITH ATTITUDE with their backs against the wall and their hands up and then Rebecca makes DTVA history with this gem of a sequence:

Rebecca: Hold it buster! I'm packing a pistol {Rebecca grabs a pistol from the "v" of her sweater and aims it right at her face! TOTAL MARKUP CITY FOR THAT ONE!} and I'm not afraid to use it!
Baloo: Give me that! {Baloo grabs the pistol.}

The last time I have seen anyone in Disney try something that crazy -- other than Kit of course -- was Mickey Mouse in his really early years when he could be suicidal. Nice to see Mr. Zaslove not forget that. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: In the immortal words of Lollytea: She's a dumbass, but she's my favorite dumbass!) Sadly; Disney wanted to forget it as the Toon Disney had this scene cut completely. Only the hold it part was kept before they went to the shot with Jack Cases introducing himself. Sadly; they didn't edit out Baloo holding the pistol when he blows off Rebecca and Jack on the big fat hug and then throws it away. (Toon Disney's editing practices are laughable, what a shock?) Anyhow; Jack appears and gets a big hug from Miss Cunningham and this leads to one of the funniest violations of the anime conduct rule #12 I have seen:

Rebecca: Jack! What a guy! What a spy!
Baloo: {Holding the pistol by the way.} What a lie! Goodbye.

Even scarier is that the present is hanging on his trenchcoat like a makeshift bomb. (Which Toon Disney didn't even bother to edit; because they are dumber than a box of hammers.) Baloo throws the pistol away as Jack get in front of him as he leaves as Jack admits that he has to revise the Krackpotkin plan much to Baloo wishing that he didn't tell him that. Jack pulls on the shirt as he needs Baloo's help and it's all hush-hush. Baloo blows him off because he's out of help right now. Baloo grabs the trenchcoat as Jack pleads for the mission; but Baloo points out that he doesn't believe that there is such a mission at all; Rebecca runs in and blows him off because this isn't a debate. (How PETA-ish of you Miss Cunningham.) Rebecca still believes that Jack is a spy because he said so see. And since she says they are going to finish the mission, Baloo is flustered once again. Probably because he's supposed to be the idiot of this show. POW! OUCH! Ummm... Anyhow; we go to the sky shot of the streets in front of the Thembrian capital and then zoom in towards the top as we then cut into the stairs. Rebecca complains about someone sticking an accordian on her foot. We then get some shadows as it was Baloo's fault with Baloo apologizing (Which Disney Captions misses.). Jack tells them to be more secretive as they walk very slowly down the hallway complete with a shot of a wall containing the High Marshall saluting picture just to be a dick...(And that is one big one I'm telling ya.))... AS GYPSIES!! TOTAL MARKUP CITY for that moment and this episode is becoming fun now. Rebecca and Jack approach the door slowly as Baloo is the dancer girl of this outfit and he's forced to take off his boots, which are clearly too small for his size fourteens. (Nope; they are clearly size 21's.)) to relieve his sore feet using his fake hair to fan them. Rebecca and Jack are mad because that might blow their cover and Baloo blushes. Great spot there, Baloo. Rebecca blows off the clothes as absurd; but Jack insists that disguise is a mainstay for spies. (And you though TUFF Puppy was a disgrace to the spy genre?! At least you can blame inexperience for these characters, I don't see one for TUFF Puppy forthcoming though, outside of the "kids just want comedy" excuse.)

We head to the door as Jack listens in and then we head inside with the scene changer as we see Colonel Spigot showing the parade route (With lots of black lines for added notice to Thembria being so ass-backwards.) to the High Marshal as he looks very bored and if your High Marshall is bored in Thembria: YOU CAN BE SHOT! Both the High Marshal and his trophy wife are eating doughnuts to continue being TOO FAT. See; the High Marshal wants to go ice fishing. (Oh come on! Outside of eating, the wife is useless. How can she not be the High Marshal's wife?) He decides to cancel the festival as Spigot climbs onto the desk with the pointer whining because he worked so damn hard to make this happen. He's using Dunder as a stepping stone, if you catch my drift here. The High Marshal calls him Nozzle of course and Spigot corrects him in response. The High Marshal grabs the stick and breaks it blowing the parade off because it's boring in both presents, parades and he gets nothing but bomb threats as a response. (The High Marshal broke the stick in half, twice; so you know he's pissed off.) He wants more see as his aide tsks Spigot good. Colonel Spigot pleads for mercy because if the High Marshall breaks your parade stick: YOU CAN BE SHOT!! THE ULTIMATE SHORT JOKE finally buys a break as the door slams open and here come the THREE GOOFS WITH ATTITUDES dancing like a bunch of fools. Yeah; way to show that animals can kick ass guys. (They kick ass in dancing and in this show, use guns and generally being awesome. So; I don't get why you are so upset 2010 Me.) Colonel Spigot is SHOCKED as SHE-BALOO (Gidget...will...kill... me...) grabs Colonel Spigot and explains that they are the special entertainment for the SLUSH PARADE OF FRAUD. Colonel Spigot sells it despite the fact that Baloo doesn't go into his girly voice to cover for him. Bad logic break there, guys. Spigot tries to sells it as special to the High Marshal and then acts a bit suspious as he looks at SHE-BALOO. SHE-BALOO puts Spigot back onto the desk and the THREE GOOFS WITH ATTITUDES start their dance number (Also, they doesn't need a pistol near the feet to make them dance either. Like with the nephews in Ducktales.). The spots are as follows:

[1.] SHE-BALOO rubs the aide's chin and gets off a rude comment. That causes the General to leave.
[2.] The High Marshal's wife dance with sweet treats in a cute spot. Man; the music is cute too.
[3.] The High Marshal's eyes pop up as SHE-BALOO begins to dance in a sexy way while clapping his hands. The High Marshal gets onto the desk looking like a pervert.
[4.] Rebecca and Jack follow up with nothing. Baloo looks and sees the present on the desk (behind Dunder) and gives Jack the signal.
[5.] Jack sells and goes towards the desk as Baloo grabs Dunder and DANCING WITH DUNDER ensues. HAHA!
[6.] Jack invokes the accordion and grabs the present and replaces with the other present -- all in one motion -- in a great spot. Baloo and Dunder continue to dance.
[7.] Baloo spins Dunder and goes into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHA!) and squashes Jack in a decent off-screen bump. That causes the present to drop onto the floor. Dunder apologizes and Rebecca starts DANCING WITH DUNDER. Jack panics and replaces the presents in their proper place. Walt Disney Animation Japan Inc. doesn't animate Colonel Spigot or the High Marshal's wife in this scene. (On the other paw, at least we discover how big the desk is and that prevented the logic break of them disappearing in one of those shots.)
[8.] Baloo then does the towel-on-the-ass spot and dances with it. Baloo then rubs the towel around the High Marshal's neck which finally ticks off the High Marshal's wife. (Speaking of gross out spots...)
[9.] Baloo ends the dance with a flourish with Rebecca dumping Dunder on his ass. The THREE GOOFS WITH ATTITUDE exit dancing.
[10.] The High Marshal continues to clap and wolf whistle at SHE-BALOO; which is officially the last straw for his wife. The High Marshal's wife ends the dance number; giving the High Marshal the POWER OF THE PUNCH which makes him go flying stage left. (There's your crowning moment of awesome from her right there, folks.) That was one funny dance segment; so those "I hate dancing animals!" people can kiss my ass for all I care! (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Someone needs to set this dance to the Chrono Cross Battle 1 music.)

We go outside the building with Baloo and Jack Cases exchanging notes on the situation as they run out of the building. They run left as Rebecca tries to call a taxi with a cute dance. Baloo of course grabs her and runs stage left in a funny moment. Sadly; Disney Captions ruins it having her say Patsy! OH GOD... (I think Disney Captions assumed that she was being self-aware that she's an idiot in this episode; but knowing Rebecca that she is supposed to act like she's not wrong, that makes no sense. My theory of her calling a taxi makes sense and it's hilarious, so Disney Captions is out to lunch. As usual.) We head to the scene changer as we head to the bakery. In Thembria?! We see a Thembrian Officer in his jeep (a small little tyke) with goggles on trying to eat a turnip on a stick which is pink and steaming. Almost thought that was a smoking scene eh?! In America; we smoke. In Thembria; they _turnip_. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (It was actually a shop which sells turnips.) Of course, Baloo steals it from behind; but gives him back the stick as the guy turns around says two words before Baloo grabs him from behind and throws him away into the snowbank with a decent bump on his head as the snow entombs him. I have no clue who voices him; so don't ask. Probably one of the writers. Jack and Rebecca climb in as Baloo asks if he has driven a jeep and Jack states no; but he's a spy so he gets to drive and Rebecca gives the approval. I see the idiot is the backseat driver in this one, too. So he starts it up and goes ass backwards through the street. HAHA! (Well; if you are in Thembria, do what the Thembrians do, I guess.) We go into the S-curves as Baloo is forced to hang onto the back of the truck. Why is there country music playing in the background?! I thought Russia hate anything American; but loves it when America is stupid?! The truck does a Scooby-Doo door spot as the truck drives forwards, backward and in a loop which results in them crashing into buildings and taking MAN-SIZED bumps in the process. Great stuff as they drive right through a stuffy line of tanks. The tanks crash into two perfect lines of course; and they take wussy bumps in the process. Enough of the bad bumps, guys! The Army Truck continues to drive backwards on top of the bridge and then inside the tunnel of the bridge as the army truck delivers another MAN-SIZED bump on the bridge.

The army truck manages to make it out as the bridge completely crumbles to the ground. That's Thembrian craftsmanship for ya as Baloo is angry at Jack. (Actually; Thembrian's craftsmanship is not terrible and their stuff is sort of durable. However; their machinery is way too complicated to be used by the average person.) Jack responds that he is in complete control. Then again; that's what most drunk drivers say when they get behind the wheel. Jack gets the award as the best backwards driver with Baloo getting the worst backseat driver in history. You may both collect your fake awards at the door. The army truck takes one more decent bump right next to the Thembrian hanger and it stops. That was a great bump because the SeaDuck is right inside the hanger. Jack Case is simply amazing. Too bad Rebecca is going to get hurt. We head inside with more mature lighting as the hanger opens as we see the SeaDuck in full profile as Baloo runs in and embraces it like a human being. Sigh. (I just love how the petitioners of Diablo 3 talk about cartoon lighting, even when this show did the lighting that they demanded in this cartoon! I could go on about how stupid it is to hate colors; but that would go on all day. Like a lot of defenders of Ash's face for the Pokemon Sun/Moon anime series. Geez; look at that face!) We then see Jack throwing the present into the SeaDuck on the right side door as Rebecca demands an apology from Baloo for being such a traitor. Baloo doesn't want to apologize for nothing as Rebecca blows him off because they helped Jack on a secret mission. Then we hear Jack yelling like crazy as we go inside the SeaDuck, and we see Jack sitting on the CHEST OF DEMONS; in tears because it's not fair to him. Rebecca asks what's wrong and Jack proclaims that they got the wrong present as Jack pulls on his ears. Rebecca is shocked and Baloo is appalled -- in that order -- as the segment ends nearly seventeen minutes in. This is just great folks. (Nope, just very good.)

After the commercial break; we head back inside as Jack is wiping his tears with a white cloth and blowing his nose. Sorry; but Oscar Vandersnoot is cooler than you when he does that spot. (Mostly because he did it on curtains and then delivered the money line of not inviting himself if he made his own club.) Rebecca insures him that secret agents have their small setbacks as Jack proclaims that his boss is going to kill him (death reference #2 for the episode) and Baloo is more than happy to help him on the rebound. Rebecca blows him off and even questions Baloo's patriotism which Baloo gleefully answers back that it's on vacation. Rebecca claims that they contain vital secret as she pulls on the present and they have a lame tug of war. The present finally opens and Rebecca takes a good bump on her ass with the cover open. Finally; we get to see the goodies that Jack was hiding. Rebecca takes a good look, she's no longer bulletproof as she screams and jump up onto the roof of the SeaDuck. That was an awesome spot. (Yeah; she jumped higher than Huey in Send In The Clones. That is amazing coming out of her.) The present is loaded with the...wait for it...NINJA WORMS ~! (See Double or Nothing for the reference.) Okay; they are not; that is for Double Or Nothing. Still, those worms have eyes. THEY HAVE PEEPERS!! (Worms generally do not have eyes; at least plain worms don't.) Jack tries hard to get all the worms into the present and manages to succeed as Rebecca lands into Baloo's arms in a disturbing moment. Jack tells them to be hush-hush as Rebecca cannot believe what she's seeing:

Rebecca: They're trained worms right?! They carry microfilms?! They explode?! {She is like Scooby to Baloo's Shaggy sitting on the pilot's seat and Rebecca even slaps Baloo right on the mouth to boot!} Jack, tell me they're not just plain worms?!
Jack: They're not just plain worms. They are very expensive fishing worms!!

UH OH!! I smell Jack's case of hush-hush falling apart here as Rebecca ask the question we all want to know and Jack admits that he is not a spy at all. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT~?! (I can just see 2010 Me attempting to channel The Hurricane from WWE and only being taken slightly more seriously that the "Super Hero In Training" Rosey.) Rebecca is shocked as Jack confesses that he's a mailman. Now that was gutsy; but he's really going to experience what the WRAITH OF BECKEY is all about and she doesn't disappoint me at all as she lays it to his trench coat. Jack tries the lame excuse; but there's no stopping Rebecca when she gets on a roll and Baloo eggs on both of them. Well, Jack asked for it (nay, daring to) as Rebecca demands answers. Jack explains that he had to deliver two packages; one for the Post Master General's wife and one for the High Marshal. (It couldn't be the High Marshal's wife because Jack would have said the High Marshal's name first.) The High Marshal loves to fish, thus explaining the High Marshal's boredom. (Which we already knew in Act II.) and apparently the presents looked the same and Jack delivered the Post Master General's wife gift to the High Marshall which is a jewelry box. Rebecca is fed up and slams Jack against the door invoking the WRAITH OF BECKEY in the process. Walt Disney Animation Japan Inc. animates Jack's feet wrong; which is minor; but annoying. (Nothing compared to the finish's wonky logic, so I think your annoyance is misplaced 2010 me.) Baloo continues to egg on Rebecca and Rebecca tells Baloo to start the engines. (Okay Pop-A-Bear; it's one thing to say that you told her so (over and over again), but this is the wrong time to be saying it. Rebecca is right in you not helping, Baloo. Get home and then you can taunt her all you want for being an idiot. Doing it now does you no favors and only puts you at risk of being caught again.) Baloo decides to sell as Rebecca opens the door and drags Jack into the back. She proceeds to open the green porthole and struggles to push Jack into it as Jack pleads for mercy because the High Marshal will be insulted and if you insult the High Marshal; USLAND CAN BE SHOT!!

Rebecca don't care of course as she blows him off and the porthole is sealed up. I also noticed the Horta Sound Group is doing the sound effects since the Hanna Barbara teeth chattering sound effect is in full effect, so to speak. Rebecca walks into the cockpit telling Baloo it's time to leave; but Baloo asks how as he sits in his seat proclaiming that the Slush Parade going on; the SeaDuck is now a sitting duck. Unless she has a Krackpotkin plan to get them in secretly. Rebecca has the Gruffi pose on and in fact she does have a Krackpotkin plan while snapping her fingers. Oy vey. Baloo ponders it over and doesn't look all that amused about it either. Hmmm; there seems to be a lot of closeups of Baloo's kisser in that sequence, too. We go to the scene changer as we get a sky shot of the parade route on the frozen streets of Thembria complete with the same music from Stormy Weather and From Here To Machinery. We then see on top a Thembrian in the press box wearing a sports coat and green tie welcoming everyone to the Slush Festival as he gives coverage to the radio fans in Thembria. Or those who couldn't make it and are being forced to listen to it because if you don't listen to the radio if you cannot make it to an event: YOU CAN BE SHOT! (It's the Thembrian's number one law on the law books you know.) The announcer is voiced by Danny Mann by the way. The crowd is predictably dead of course as they wave white flags for a symbolic surrender, of course. HAHA! (That was a great spot.) We then see a back shot of the announcer as he proclaims that the High Marshal is feeling good and naturally he is bored to the gills. HAHA! The trophy wife in her white fur coat seems more interested than he is right now. (Thankfully; she has stopped eating because I shudder to think if she was a rib on Sally Struthers herself after Jim Henson's death.) The parade floats come down the street as the Thembrian announce tries to excite the crowd and having absolutely no luck. Even the High Marshal is falling asleep and I sense that Colonel Spigot will be shot for real this time. (I think that might be one public excutation that most people would want to see; and then feel shame and guilt after discovering that you can only do it once.) There's also a floating containing a dancer in a black dress and a bowl of ice cubes. Wow; how dashing?!

The final float is a statue of a Macho Thembrian and it's apparently a tribute to frost bite complete with somewhat sexy Thembrian dancers. (Actually; it's a romancized version of the High Marshal. Very rich. Anyhow; despite completely covering her front and back; she is showing much more skin on her legs than Rebecca Cunningham is right now.) Is that a rib on the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show?! Well; that was a waste of time and the agony must continue because there is still one float remaining. It appears and it looks like Colonel Spigot's face; complete with yellow paint, fake glasses and nose. Where have I seen this before?! Oh; never mind. (It looks like something out of Probopass from Pokemon actually.) We then see Baloo and Rebecca in the cockpit as Rebecca is cocky beyond belief much to Baloo's disgust as all they have to do is keep a low profile and they escape. Sadly; Rebecca rests her feet onto the control panel which manages to turn on the engines and the disguise is thrown off the SeaDuck and they are SO FREAKING BUSTED~! (Damn; she does need to park that cocky attitude. Baloo really is rubbing off on her.) We get a shot of the porthole as Jack pleads for them not to go since he needs to switch the packages. The crowd is still dead as zombies. Rebecca is shocked and Baloo gleefully blows her off for blowing their cover, literally. Rebecca asks what to do and Baloo decides to go for the obvious fly away as fast as they can trick. With two minutes left; that sounds like a sound idea to me. We get a shot on the street of a dozen Thembrians with rifles set to profits as Baloo yells tanks while looking right and then looking left as we see the tanks. Huh? That made no sense to me as Baloo proclaims that they are dead now. (It seems Walt Disney Animation Japan just gave up trying to give the Thembrians different looks because all of them look like clones of Sgt. Dunder.) Baloo wants a diversion while Rebecca proclaims that they need a secret agent and Baloo rightfully blows her off for that one. However; Rebecca points out that THEY don't know that Jack is a “secret agent”. Okay; that is pretty cruel as the tanks come in fast and furious as we cut back to the High Marshal blowing Spigot off as Scnozzle. HAHA! Spigot stammers on that one.

We head back to the porthole as Jack is still banging and pleading for the CRUEL GOOFS WITH ATTITUDE to let him go and then we cut to the tail section of the SeaDuck as Jack falls out. WHAT THE HELL?! How?! That's logic break number six for the episode and there goes the thumbs up episode right there. (Yeah; how did Jack get from being underneath the floor to above the floor going out of the back of the SeaDuck. This is a Chargeman Ken-equse logic break.) Jack takes a good bump off-screen on his face in the snow to make up for it, feels freedom and then runs in front of the tanks towards the High Marshal as the SeaDuck comes in front of the High Marshal's sitting place. Rebecca points out Jack as the spy. Koosh was right; this is really cruel and heartless. (No it isn't 2010 Me. Listen, Rebecca was an idiot in this episode and she played it to the hilt to the point where even Baloo spotted the idiot plot minutes before everyone else did. Yes; Jack didn't really do anything criminal by Usland standards, but he still lied to Rebecca about his credentials. Sure; Rebecca was gullible in a very contrived matter and she fooled herself (and you are the easiest to fool.); but Jack was never upfront about anything. Worse; as you'll see later, it didn't make a difference if the High Marshal got the wrong present because he didn't care. Jack Case was a headcase and pretty much got what he deserved for being stupid at his job as a postal worker. Yes, this plan was sort of mean, but you cannot say that Jack didn't have it coming to him. On the other hand; it did make a fantastic fanfic from Koosh in which Jack comes back and burns down Higher For Hire and makes Baloo, Rebecca and Molly fly to Thembria as revenge for him being on Bedeviled Island. Kit made the save, sort of and killed someone in the process. It's a lovely story, so as much as Jack is a horrible worker at his job, he was a really good character in his role.) The crowd is in shock and they bail away as we cut back to the High Marshal warning him that it better not be a bomb; remembering to call him Nozzle in the process. Colonel Spigot orders his officers to stop Jack as Jack tries to talk to the High Marshal but gets football tackled by the officers. (Even funnier; Spigot cut the promo with authority and then pleads for help when he said please. That was hilarious.)

Must be rugby players there as Baloo sees his opening, he gives it the gas and flies high into the sky; taking out the frostbite ice statue's head in the process (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! It was icy licking good too!). The tank destroys the statue completely into snow as the crowd scatters and the SeaDuck flies high into the sky. We then see the crowd see the made up snow and they cheer and clap as the High Marshal looks to MURDER Spigot; but the cheers stop him and he takes them in. Oh those wacky Thembrians! It takes nothing...AND THE ROCK SAYS NOTHING to amuse them. (Even better; the High Marshal waves to the crowd as if the denizens were cheering at him when it was really the snow falling. Great spot.) The High Marshal thanks Nozzle for his efforts and Spigot is happy to hear that one as he is off the shooting list. For now. We then cut to the street as Jack is being handled by two Nazi Thembrian guards as Jack pleads for mercy and wants the officers to ask the SeaDuck flying away from Thembria out of sight. Another bad coloring mistake: The right Nazi Thembrian guard's hat changes from the Nazi version to the Thembrian version in the next couple of frames right on camera. Bad form there WD-Japan. We go to the scene changer as we see a newspaper B&W picture of the High Marshal's aide giving the High Marshal the jewelry box which he mistakes as a tackle box. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (This is where I stopped having any sympathy for Jack Case. I mean, if the High Marshal wasn't insulted by this gaffe, then you deserve what you get for your lying and your stupidity at your job. Not to say Rebecca is blameless in this whole thing...) Baloo is sitting on the desk with his feet up laughing it up. Rebecca sees this as everything turning out fine; but Baloo blows her off because she became a victim of THE IDIOT PLOT~! The idiot plot is one where the episode would end in five minutes if the idiot known as Rebecca just did what she was condemning Baloo about in the beginning of the episode. Such a lofty blind hypocrite, she might be a Tea Party Republican. AHHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummmmm...

Rebecca plead for mercy and asks how many times she has to say that magical word no (scoiopathic) defendant would actually say and Baloo states that it is six hundred and seventy two times. Wow! Baloo is so generous. Baloo needed to say sorry one thousand and one times to be forgiven. (I think Rebecca already said sorry three hundred and twenty-eight times before this and then the newspaper arrived and Baloo wanted her to stop so he can read it. It's certainly not out of being generous.) Rebecca decides to get it over with and says I'm sorry as if she was writing it many times on the blackboard. At least she had the guts to apologize unlike Baloo who complained about it. (Also, Baloo only said sorry once basically. So it makes Baloo look like a jerk and Rebecca look weak. Then again, now that Libby Hinson is writing Rebecca to make her strong, I'm not so upset about the others being difficult with her.) Baloo absorbs it like a fatass to end the episode at 21:17. Bad animation mistakes and logic breaks prevented and otherwise really fun Kit/Karnage-less episode. No; having Kit crash Miss Cunningham's car wouldn't have made it make any more sense; albeit it would make it more hilarious. (Nope; I'm going to lower it to *** 1/2 (70%). The whole thing felt contrived at the beginning with Baloo already telling her to ask for credentials and Rebecca blowing it off. Personally; I would have booked it to have Jack give out false credentials at first that he is a legit spy, and then when they find out that he really is not, it's a big surprise. Having Rebecca just dismiss Baloo right there hurt the episode, along with the usual problems. It's a fun episode and the Thembrians bring out the funny; but it could be better.)

THE REVIEW LINE

Well; this is the first TaleSpin episode that actually lost it's thumbs up status. It wasn't by much; but the number of animation mistakes were more than I thought it would be and several lame spots near the end of the first act hurt this episode. I still thought this episode was fun to watch for seeing Rebecca play the idiot plot to the hilt with Jack Cases who was a really good sad babyface who just acted like a crazy idiot for being so stupid for misplacing a package. (Yes, but it felt contrived when Rebecca kept dismissing Baloo's suggestion and it made her look weak. At least if Jack gave her false credentials, she would still look like a fool without giving the climax away.) Baloo looked like a million bucks out there with his cross-dressing dancing sequence which was so funny that it literally turned an average episode into a great episode. (Actually; a fun episode, but it was funny.) Jack Case was pretty good; although the animators didn't always give him enough cover to keep people guessing. Still; the biggest story of this episode was Rebecca and Baloo playing the political role-playing in this episode. Baloo was playing a liberal who was suspicious of the government (and believes in gun control) while Rebecca was playing the conservative who was a capitalist who believed in patriotism and a bad role model for handling guns. It really showed in the scene that Disney cut out in 1995 with Rebecca's lame attempt to work a pistol. I was very surprised by that revelation considering that Baloo had the flare gun in A Touch Of Glass. I guess Zaslove wanted to get rid of stereotypes of the two sides. Who knows. (I should note that when I wrote all this in 2010; I had not seen the episodes where Webby was twirling a pistol and Honker firing a rifle, so it was a shock to 2010 me at the time.)

All in all; a good episode with a lot of blown animation spots and a slow start that really started to get good once we find out that Colonel Spigot would be involved and of course; this episode shows that sometimes Dancing Animals can be good; most so if one of the non- dancers acts like a pervert and gets smoked by his wife. The dancing scene was hilarious and over the top; most so at the end with the High Marshal's wife getting the best spot of the episode. Sadly; the finish was the right booking decision despite the fact that it made Rebecca and Baloo look like cruel heartless pieces of trash. (Yeah on the booking decisions; but it wasn't all that cruel considering that as much as Rebecca was a complete fool; Jack was an idiot at his job for getting two packages mixed up and then tried to cover his ass by using Higher For Hire and then pretending to be a spy under false pretenses to get them to do your dirty work.) Sadly; Jack never got his come-upperence on the goofs in canon; (What come-upperence did they deserve? Jack fell on his own sword in this case, even with Rebecca's stupidity.) but he did in the fanfics which including Kit Cloudkicker unintentionally killing someone for real and becoming the very object to stop Jack from carrying out his evil plans. Koosh wrote that fanfic by the way called "Jack Is Back" and it's an awesome read; most so towards the end when Kit becomes the hero. As Rebecca would say: “You would dare murder an innocent child in cold blood?! Just because you made a petty mistake that you yourself caused?!”. (She's right. Most of this is on Jack Case. Most of it. Rebecca deserves some blame too, but not nearly as much as Baloo thinks.) But enough of the fans; we march on to the final episode of volume one which the murder mystery known as the Balooest of Bluebloods. So...

Thumbs in the middle for this episode and I'll see you next time.

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