Whistlestop Jackson, Legend

Return to 50 Webs

Disclaimer#1: All images, characters and material is (C) 1990/1991 Walt Disney Company and is being used without permission. The web master has made sure that no money was made in the creation of this web page and that all material used here is used with the up most affection and respect to the Walt Disney Company and the Tale Spin Team.

Disclaimer#2: The views expressed here are solely the views of the web master and no one else. The web master has no intentions to change anyone's minds about a particular subject and respects the views of the viewers. Comments about this and other editorial can be E-Mail at gweagle@eastlink.ca or signing the Cloudkicker guest book.

Whistlestop Jackson, Legend Re-Rant

Reviewed: 11/02/2010
Additional Commentary: 10/17/2021

Welcome To The Legend of Barney The Dinosaur! Oh, wait.

Original Airdate: 10/22/1990 (Syndication), Episode #29 (TaleSpin DVD, Volume 2, Disc 1), Episode #23 (Production Order).

Whistlestop Jackson, Legend Notes
Whistlestop Jackson, Legend Transcript

I think this title and the caption say it all. (2015 Gregory Weagle: Geez, you're right. Look at those teeth, dude.) This was one episode I liked because of the way that treated our guest cameo character. (The plot of this episode is that a heroic legend returns from the dead for one last hurrah of brilliance as an aviator and businessman by signing a contract with Higher For Hire. Baloo is gleefully marking out for this, until we discover that this aviator is only doing PR for the company instead of flying. Meanwhile; Shere Khan is trying to get a business contract from some country, to whom it's president is a friend of the fading aviator, to whom Khan has a personal grunge against, and thus will stop at nothing to prevent Higher For Hire from winning the contract for said country. First off; the fact that this show would do such a plot and make it entertaining is amazing in itself. However; the way this avaitor was treated throughout the episode (read: an edler that is actually humanized and has humanity and some sense to know that his time had come, but still wanted one more try before finally fading away.). It's really a noble move on Carter Crocker's part and made me smile at the end.) Does it still hold up? Let's rant on shall we?

This episode is written by Carter Crocker. The story is edited by the late Bruce Talkington. The animation is done by Sunwoo Animation.

We begin this one outside of Higher...For...Hire as Baloo is praising Rebecca for a really awesome business deal which contains an idol bigger than his own Uncle Moe (Disney Captions has it as Uncle Mo). (Baloo praising Rebecca for her business sense? Wait; that makes no sense. Why is there character development in my cartoons? You know it makes kid's heads explode and they change the channel. Dumbass writers!). It's so awesome that Kit is in Rebecca's office chair (with his feet up on the desk no less; and not once did Rebecca scold him for it.). Baloo dances with Kit and spins the chair around; allowing Kit to kick out from the wall on the rebound and bounce back towards the cabinets. (Even Kit falls victim to the dreaded whirlwind spot that Butterbear gets all the time from The Wuzzles.) Baloo then dances with Rebecca as Baloo reveals that Rebecca has signed a deal with Whistlestop Jackson and Kit does me proud by asking the obvious question: Who in the blue hell is Whistlestop Jackson?! (I'm paraphrasing here.) Baloo is SHOCKED and APPALLED; so much so that he drops Rebecca on her ass with a really good bump. HAHA! I betcha Kit intentionally pulled that one off just to see what reaction he could get out of Pop-A-Bear. The cute smile and nod on the head when Baloo questions him gives it away. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Kit Cloudkicker is such a troll that Peppa Pig has stolen the gimmick and turned it into her own character.) After all; if Kit is such an expert on pilots and flying; he certainly should know who Whistlestop Jackson is. (Come on guys! The face and the nod clearly give it away that Kit knows who Whistlestop Jackson is. He is just playing with Baloo's head again.) No WRAITH OF BECKEY comes out of it though. Baloo proclaims that Whistlestop Jackson is the greatest pilot in the world. Wow; Baloo's ego must be on a holiday today as we go to the flashback: The screen suddenly goes black & white -- without the smudges that comes with the old age of film -- as the sequence starts with something out of Newsreel films. It's called MovieToon Newsreel for anyone who wants to know and it shows a furry rolling an anicent 1930's camera in one of those looping sequences that dots Hanna-Barbera cartoon. (Only this one makes sense because this is the 1930's after all.)

Doesn't that furry look like Howard Hawks? I hear how a lot of TaleSpin fans relate TaleSpin to many movies made by this guy. I see a plane (Which look closer to the 1910's, 1920's.) where Whistlestop Jackson jump onto the top of the plane and shouts HA HA! Voiced by the late Hamilton Camp. The Gizmoduck voice on the "HA HA" gives it away. The announcer is voiced by Jim Cummings -- the Stan Blather voice gives him away -- as he tells us about Whistlestop Jackson. Whistlestop gets back into his plane and he does the figure-eight loop with the smoke (AND THAT'S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH, MOVIE RATING AND THE NEW DISNEY!). I wonder if Jymn ever watched the Snow Birds; our Canadian symbol of aviation stunt piloting?! (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: I haven't heard anything from Jymn on that front, so maybe not.) The announcer calls him a barnstormer extraordinaire as he flies right through a barn upside down and Sun Woo gets the spot right as the animated chickens fly the coup. The announcer called him a legend in his own time. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. I got to admit that Carter Crocker did an excellent job building up Jackson's character here and Sunwoo finally understands how to do a flashback properly (Remember how they screwed up the slient movie sequence in Molly Coddled?). However; Camp voicing him leaves somewhat to be desired. (Considering that Gizmo Duck and Jackson are two completely different characters personality wise, this sort of turned me off.) We head back to reality (no, not really) as Baloo calls him his personal personage. Memo to Pop-A-Bear: Complex speaking is not your forte. Get over it. Kit is in awe as Rebecca is up and proclaims that Whistlestop will bring them some good publicity. After all; Higher...For...Hire needs some good heat on itself anyway. Kit wonders when Whistlestop will appear and Rebecca check her watch to say that he should have been here about three minutes ago before a loud buzz beckons the Higher For Hire. (I don't understand why Kit Cloudkicker is even in this episode; he says literally ten lines here and does a few spots; but it wasn't much at all. Was Patrick Fraley on vacation when production of this episode happened, or was he busy?)

The noise is so loud that some of the plaster off of the office comes down as the gang hits the deck in unison. That was either some awesome logic break; or one very loud seaplane. (It's a logic break; the SeaDuck is more likely to cause that than Jackson's bi-plane.) Starrywood (TaleSpin's take on Hollywood.) is always the liar. Anyway; the gang gets up and goes outside as they see the same seaplane in the Newsreel -- which looks like an ugly green color -- flying around and then attempts to land. However; it lands too hard and the seaplane skips the water three times and lands harshly onto the boardwalk. Amazing thing is that Sun Woo got the spot down perfectly. Rebecca is shocked; while Baloo and Kit are in awe. Not due to Sunwoo's getting the spot right, sadly. (Even better; Jackson made the landing and not once caused any damage whatsoever. He's already better than Baloo on that one, and unlike most times; Baloo doesn't care.) We then see Whistlestop Jackson jump out of the plane onto the docks and he's the exact same jaguar as we saw earlier; only he's wearing a red scarf and Chip's fur coat. For those who wonder why I hyper-reference him to Barney The Dinosaur? Check the teeth; his teeth make Adam Copeland's teeth look normal. He has thirty-two full teeth and that's just on one left side. AHHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummmm. Needless to say Jackson apologize for being three minutes late (No wonder Rebecca signed the deal with him. He's already better with being on time than Baloo is.) because the bad weather caused some problems. Apparently; a mansoon, typhoon and clouds with sharp pointy teeth did the dirty work. (Called a cumulonimbus according to Jackson. It's associated with thunderstorms and heavy rain. Funny enough; later on in the episode, there was lightning and rain. Nice little attention to detail there, guys.) Rebecca realizes that it's Whistlestop Jackson as Jackson calls himself the greatest aviator of his day. Well; he's right about that. Baloo puts his hand to Kit to say that he told him so. Rebecca and WhistleStop Jackson exchange notes as Rebecca kisses WhistleStop's hand in which Whistlestop assure Rebecca that the pleasure is his to join Rebecca and salutes her. When is the last time this gesture existed in the real world? Both of those gestures, of course.

Baloo then bumps Rebecca with his fat ass -- which would provoke the WRAITH OF BECKEY but a new client causes Rebecca to restrain -- and kisses Whistlestop's hand harshly to show just how excited he is to see him. Now that was gross. See; male on female violence is allowed in small doses in the Disney world. (If this happened today; feminists would revolt. You might call it slapstick; we call it violence in any other universe. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: The outrage would have been fine, if Kitten Kaboodle wasn't doing the same thing to Rebecca in A Star Is Torn. Okay?)) He then shakes hand so violently that he forgets his own name in which Rebecca has to tell him his own name. HAHA! (Only in this show where they point out the dangers of marking out. Wonderful.) Jackson is surprised as the handshake goes on well past it's expiry date. Baloo is gushing over it because Jackson called him a son. It doesn't mean what you think it means Pop-A-Bear. Needless to say; Rebecca is not amused as Rebecca tells Baloo to get Whistlestop Jackson to get his things and Baloo sells it without question and he's gushing over it too. STOP THE PRESSES! Baloo obeyed one of Rebecca's commands without arguing! Rebecca tells Whistlestop Jackson that this will be a profitable venture. For once she might be right since it improves Baloo's workrate by 500% already. (It won't last, trust me.) We head to the club known as the Copabanana (A play on the Barry Manalo song Copa Cabana which Johnathan Coachman tried to sing -- failed badly -- and The Rock blew him off. (Also notable for Rock nearly killing his own microphone in the process and having to repeat the spot.)) which is clear as day as we see a banana with a bowtie, top hat and wand dancing on the sign. I'm SHOCKED no one has stolen that gag for a business yet. We hear some bells ringing as we see Baloo, Rebecca and Jackson sitting down at a table while the PRESS OF FRAUD -- the same group from A Bad Reflection On You Part One; which makes sense since Sunwoo animated that episode as well -- takes pictures much to Whistlestop Jackson's delight. (What is the point of Kit being in this episode if he isn't going to show up here? If this happened today, Kit would be there and probably chirping.) We hear two different voices from reporters (Jack Angel & Hamilton Camp) talking to Rebecca as Rebecca finally gets off this gem (Sadly; Disney Captions forgets to add the nunaces I did for this quote.):

Rebecca: We are very excited to have Whistlestop Jackson work for us at Higher...For...Hire. (Goes to the female bear reporter with blond hair and a green coat who may or may not be Kit's mom.) Higher as in up and Hire as in for money!

That's where the Higher...For...Hire joke comes from. It's funnier than the STOCK FOOTAGE OF DOOM; that is for sure. One light brown hound tries for a picture but gets bumped by the bulldog in a blue suit and red/black striped tie as he asks about Jackson's position in the company. Rebecca states he will be the vice-president of Higher...For...Hire complete with winking eyelashes. Man; Sunwoo is ON today. Baloo is SHOCKED as he interupts the proceedings. So much for my theory on the increased 500% workrate. He complains because he thought that Whistlestop was going to be a pilot like he originally thought Jackson was going to be. Uh-Oh! I smell a problem with Jackson here. Rebecca of course is angry as she wants to invoke the WRAITH OF BECKEY; but since she's in public, she decides not to as Baloo cuts a wicked promo on Jackson before Rebecca covers his mouth and tells Baloo that Whistlestop is better at publicity than being a pilot. Uh-Oh #2! (I think this is the point where Rebecca assumed Baloo was jealous of Jackson, even though Baloo was not jealous of Jackson at all. He wanted Jackson to be a pilot and a team player. He was just shocked that he was used for PR purposes only. This means something because we would soon find out why Rebecca wanted him on the ground and not in the air.) However; Whistlestop CRASHES the proceedings as only he can and does the cutest pose on the table stating that he has arrived. Rebecca goes below him and states that he's arrived at Higher...For...Hire. (Jackson is really milking this moment to the hilt, as he should.) That was beautiful as the creators do another spinning newspaper sequence showing Whistlestop Jackson's mug on the cover of the Cape News. I think that's the third different newspaper TaleSpin has used. That's equal to the number of newspapers in Halifax I should note (The Coast, Chornicle Herald and Metro News – Two of them are for free by the way.). Anyhow; that logically leads to a day shot of Shere Khan's tower and office as he's talking to Finance Minister LaFong (According to Disney Captions. My notes claim either LeFong or LaFawn by the way. LaFong sounds about right.) about a contract between Klopstokia and Khan Enterprises being beneficial. (Interestingly enough; Tim Val Hal released the storyboards on eBay on this very episode and according to pieces of the storyboard; finance minister LaFong actually has a first name: Erwin. It was never mentioned once in the episode; but Erwin is canonal as far as I'm conerned.) Well; he's half right of course and you can guess which side is right here.

LaFong is a weasel furry wearing a black bowtie and a red vest underneath the coat and holding a mug of coffee as he explains (Jack Angel) that only Klopstokia's (Disney Captions. My notes have it as Clopstokia) president can award exclusive delivery contracts. He must be the Surpeme Court Judge too. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (What a pointless punchline that was 2010 me?!) Also; LaFong's hair is standing straight on end and keeps screwing LaFong in the process. Khan agrees with him; but as long as President Myron doesn't know it cannot hurt him. Most pointless edit in anime: Changing coffee to soft drinks. Don't laugh; it has happened before. (I mentioned this because Erwin has a mug of hot coffee (check the steam) on his person during this. Now that I think about it; coffee was a Coleman Francis trademark, and it's not the only thing we saw in this episode.) Khan proclaims that they will be rich as LaFong laughs nerviously. Don't you just love it when twenty years later; this type of fraud no longer looks so cartoonish?! Again; happiscottsman from IMDB explains all in Flying Dupes. I need a final punchline for this series anyway. LaFong asks if Khan is sure that no one will upset his plans and Khan unleashes the finger claw as Khan proclaims that he has given him his word and then he slices the strand of black hair that straightened up on LaFong's head off-screen. Never understood the point of doing it off-screen. LaFong gulps and rubs his hair in response in relief. (It was an artistic scene tease of Khan slashing Erwin's face with the claw; but instead slices off the knife shaped hair that Erwin had on his head. Sadly; Fanboy & Chum Chum has improved on this spot when they were literally committing murder on past Lenny's hair.) So we go to the sky shot of the docks of Higher...For.....Hire as the SeaDuck lands on the docks and Baloo comes out not feeling all that great. Well; that is the consequences of being a fatass trying to be a 500% workrate god. Rebecca runs in with Jackson in tow and informs Baloo that business has increased by 500% on Jackson's name alone. Baloo puts up his hammock acting like he wants to be France: WE SURENDER! (Damn; even Jim Rome got tired of this old joke long before 2010 me used it; so what was the point of this?!) and tries to get some sleep because the 500% workrate equal minus 500% shuteye. Which Rebecca scolds him this time since he cannot sleep since he has another run to perform. (This was well before MINUS FIVE STARS~ was a meme.)

I'm amazed that she hasn't once done the WRAITH OF BECKEY in this episode. Baloo blows her off because it's bad for his image and Rebecca just walks off. Okay; explain THAT one kids?! (I just love how Baloo has just admitted that his image is of a lazy scumbag. Carter just had to add that line as a rib on Baloo.) Jackson walks in and offers to help Baloo and make some flights with him to ease the load. You just got to love a vice president who wants to get his hands dirty. If only Al Gore wasn't such a hypocrite; I could admire him. Even more so David Sazuki. (Yeah; Jackson likes flying so much that he's going to help Baloo in making deliveries and give Baloo what he always wanted: a team relation with Jackson. What's Kit's feelings about this? Oh wait; Kit isn't important in this episode. Even though he's the number two babyface of the show. Lovely!) Baloo is so giddy that he spins the hammock about ten times (and Sunwoo screws it up a bit which is actually good at this point) and get his leg caught in the hammock like a bear trap. How fitting, eh? Jackson proclaims that they will make a fine team and Jackson walks away as Baloo gets all giddy about this. I somehow think this is going to backfire in Baloo's face. We head to Mr. Khan's tower AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as Shere Khan is looking out his tall window and states that he and Whistlestop Jackson are meeting again. I guess he gets the Cape News too as a perk. Apparently Shere Khan and Whistlestop Jackson are rivals for some reason not known yet. He then sees the black & white mug of Whistlestop Jackson shouting "AHA!" (for the fourth time no less) off the full moon and Shere Khan holds back acting very bitter. As you will see; he will have every reason to be bitter later on. (Now, here's a scene where it should have been shifted to just after the spinning newspaper sequence, because it would have gotten rid of the day to night to day shot in this sequence. Put Khan watching out of the sky and dub in the radio announcement that Whistlestop Jackson has been hired by Higher For Hire. It works better that way than what they did here. Otherwise; the scene is perfectly fine on it's own.)

We go to the docks as we see the SeaDuck engines being started up and Whistlestop Jackson is in the pilot's seat while Baloo is in Kit's navigational chair. Must be school day for Kit; what a surprise. Baloo is giddy again as he wants Jackson to take a spin in the Seaduck around the harbour. Oh goody; this shall be fun to watch. We get the take off as the SeaDuck does a few harsh bumps onto the water and we go inside the cockpit as Baloo wonders if Whistlestop is having trouble and Jackson states that he hasn't. He's getting a feel for the old bird see. Okay; that was more disturbing than Carter Crocker had intended. We then see Jackson talking about getting used to the new planes towards the conviently placed warship blocking the cliff gun entrance. Baloo gets upset because the SeaDuck is twenty years old. (To wit from my first rant on this very episode: When Jackson states how new the SeaDuck is; Baloo states that the SeaDuck is twenty years old. I mention this because that brings up two interesting situations concerning his age. If the SeaDuck is turely twenty years old then Baloo cannot be twenty-nine years old as some people state since that means that he started flying at the age of seven or nine years old and I don't see that happening in the real world. If he bought the SeaDuck by himself; then he would have to be thirty-six or thirty-seven years old; and be more middle age. However; this statement does open another door; that his father (or considering TaleSpin's uncanny ability to be a watershed for original female characters; his mother) bought the plane and that something happened to him so Baloo had ownership of the plane (and maybe even Baloo's Air Service) and Baloo is turely around twenty-nine years old. Something to think about. I also have a hunch that the SeaDuck was the thing Baloo took away from the Bruinwalds (Balooest of The Bluebloods) as he was born of royalty in this canon. That the Bruinwalds had their own plane and Baloo took ownership of it and fled from the mansion because he hated the stuffy life. It would explain his free-wheeling and lazy persona.)

Anyhow; Jackson manages to push the stick up and misses the warship by about three inches. Wow; the artwork is better than I thought and Sunwoo nailed the spot just fine. The SeaDuck hyperboles up and it chokes out like a CT-37. To quote Wade: "Whoa! Didn't see that one coming." Then we do a gentle nosedive down with the engines coughing like a bad smoker as Jackson proclaims that it takes more than that to stall out his old bi-plane. Funny how Jackson is an elder and yet he acts really genrous and doesn't sound cranky. He's a hundred percent the opposite of Cranky Kong which suits me just fine thank you very much. The cranky old man stereotype is OLD to pardon the pun. (This is where I felt Jackson was redeeming himself as a character: He's flying a new piece of equipment and having trouble with it. He doesn't blame technology for this either; he actually blames himself for this. This plays into the climax later on.) Baloo proclaims that it's high-strung sometimes. So yeah; Baloo didn't say hellstrung after all. Funny how Baloo cannot swear; but Kit can take God's name in vain. (Must be something of a leftover from the first rant I did of this episode. Ironically, Baloo did say "God" in A Jolly Molly Christmas later in the series.) Jackson decides that he needs to put the smoke out so he dives towards the water (after talking about how a little loop makes it catch fire) and sadly; is forced to dodge an orange plane and then does the Loop-De-Loop for only fifteen cents around a green helicopter. This is why Buzz is a goofball inventor right there. (The fact that he invents things already been invented should have been a clue to Buzz's naiveness in Baloo Thunder.)) and it spins around and then the SeaDuck bounces off the blimp (As shown with the other airplanes to begin the sequence...). Jackson blows off the pilots for missing the fire as Baloo panics and runs stage left for no reason that I can think off as the SeaDuck dodges more planes. This is pretty "haha" funny and to a certain extent sad at the same time. Now both adults in the SeaDuck are at the stick as we get a blurry shot of the window and more diving and more shots of the blurry outside. Wow; the CGI effects are better here and they aren't using CGI here to the best of my knowledge. Baloo is panic-striken on getting the SeaDuck down as we get a shot of the SeaDuck diving again. That officially ends the segment eight and a half minutes in.

After the commercial break; we cut to the cockpit shot of Baloo in the chair as he no longer has control of the stick and he cuts a promo about stuff he will miss doing: Missing those flapjacks in the morning; taking Kit fly fishing (this episode must have took place before All's Whale That's Ends Whale) when WildCat could do it. Damn, this bear must be having a serious heart attack right now as WhistleStop looks at Baloo and comments about him being polar as Baloo body is as white as a sheet. HAHA! (Now infecting Kit in my fanfics when THE FEATHERS~ is involved.) Baloo recovers and asks about the hyperconglometer and Jackson has zero clue what that is. (As he shouldn't; since there is no such thing as a hyperconglometer in real life.) Baloo gently decides to take the second stick and pulls up enough to land the SeaDuck near the docks with a resounding splash allowing Rebecca to get swamped again in a funny spot. HAHA! Rebecca looks down as the SeaDuck floats in and lands near the docks. We then see Jackson jump out of the SeaDuck via the pilot's door as Rebecca runs in and asks if he's all right. Jackson sells that he is as Baloo comes out. Rebecca and Jackson shake hands and feel great as Baloo tries to walk stage left; but Rebecca blows him off for endangering Whistlestop Jackson. Baloo is confused as hell over that as Rebecca thinks Baloo is jealous of him and Baloo is PISSED off. Rebecca then calls him out as someone acting like a big baby because Whistlestop Jackson means something and Baloo means Baloo complete with POINTY FINGER OF DEATH. Finally; she does the WRAITH OF BECKEY on Baloo and Jackson stops it before she turns into bitchjerk mode. (Stop it 2010 Me!) Nice to see Jackson admit that it wasn't Baloo's fault. Baloo proclaims that he'll kiss a warthog before it's his fault. (Oh sure Pop-A-Bear; act like your jealous now after being accused of such by Rebecca. You don't think Rebecca noticed your outburst in the club earlier in the episode?) Jackson then completely does an end around and proclaims that he's young and he'll grow out of it. Baloo is SHOCKED and APPALLED. Too funny. (Whistlestop Jackson of all people calls out Baloo for being a manchild. That is funny, considering that Jackson was having trouble with the SeaDuck as well.)

Jackson and Rebecca hold arms together and walk out towards the office as Jackson relates to the relationship he has with President Myron and Klopstokia. Baloo squeezes tha pilot's cap in both hands as he blows off Jackson as he whinces at the notion that he used to idolize him. (That's even funnier and shows that Baloo is now realizing that he was wearing rose colored glasses all this time. Watch this episode and compare it to The Return of Slade from Teen Titans GO. Which one handled the rose colored glasses angle better? I think the answer is obvious as the nose on my face. And I have one giant nose, on par with HHH.) The basic story in all this is basically about idolizing a person who was your childhood hero and then realize that he isn't really all that special considering now that Baloo is more of a legend now. I should also point out that Rebecca's hair remained in prestine condition during that splash down if you catch my drift. We go to a poorly drawn still drawing of a newstand as the radio announcer (Jim Cummings in his Stan Blather voice and was the same guy who introduced Jackson earlier.) announces that the famed aviator Whistlestop Jackson has negotiated an exclusive delivery agreement between Higher...For...Hire and the entire country of Klopstokia. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: This was basically a way to tell the audience that Whistlestop Jackson can be a good business negotiator. Kind of makes Kit Cloudkicker look dumb in The Lost Cargo Of Kit Cloudkicker in hindsight as well.) We pan up towards the Twin Towers (ZOINKS! Wonder if Toon Disney snipped this out after 9/11? (Nope; it wasn't. Which makes Toon Disney's editing practices even more laughable considering the match edit that takes place later on in this episode alone.)) as the announcer calls President Myron a crony as we see Mr. Khan watching out from his office window. If Higher...For...Hire can prove itself by delivering the fireworks to Klopstokia for their Independence Day on June 13^th, then Higher...For...Hire wins the contract for life. We pan over to LaFong sitting down on a table near the radio. Khan comes over and turns off the radio as Khan is not amused; even more than usual.

LaFong asks Khan what they are going to do now. Khan then grabs the magically out of nowhere placed model of a blue airplane and talks about them as he spins the props and drops it allwing LaFong to drop down and grab it on the way down with a MAN-SIZED bump. Khan proclaims that if anything happens to Jackson ("heaven forbid", religious reference #1) then the agreement could be reinstated. Khan heads to the window and this sounds like a corperate murder plot which begs the question: Why didn't this episode join Flying Dupes in being blackballed? (Probably because no bombs were involved and Russia wasn't the country; and it's merely a business man Khan wants to off instead of a head of state like the High Marshal was in this show.) Shere Khan then explains that he has been in a rivalry with WhistleStop Jackson since he was pretty young as the scene shifts to a black & white city hall flashback where they show Whistlestop Jackson and Shere Khan (a young Khan with brown hair (I guess the stip for losing the mail deal was to have his head shaved. That would have been funny if true actually.).) eye-to-eye as a Warner Brothers type frog wearing a top hat rips up a contract given to him by Shere Khan causing Shere Khan to whince. The announcer then explains that the government had cancelled it's mail contract with Mr. Khan. Then the frog takes out a new contract and pen to give to Jackson as the announcer states that the government has signed the mail contract to Whistlestop Jackson. The MOVIETOONS NEWSREEL OF FRAUD then cuts another promo about him before Jackson says "AHA!" again, probably to rub it in. Khan just stand there with his arms folded as the sence returns to the present with this phrase (and still folding the arms the entire time):

Khan: I believe in letting bygones being bygones. But this is business.

Now that was strong; and it makes you think about Shere Khan. Considering that the mail is one of the toughest tasks to manage; even I was questioning the wisdom of giving the contract to Jackson. Khan Industries had the manpower and the money to pull it off and yet Jackson had nothing but his name and his successes as a solo pilot. This pretty much exposes Jackson as a guy who wins on his name and has little business sense. Ironically; this becomes an important factor later on and really sets up this episode well. What really impresses me is that Shere Khan was able to keep his cool (it is his character after all) for all these years and that he didn't want to murder Jackson until now. This scene is evidence of a side of Shere Khan that we don't see very often; that Shere Khan has had his failures before and he was able to lick his wounds and go on; without a sign of panic. It ultimately makes me feel sorry for Shere Khan; even a little bit. With that said; I still think Khan is going too far with trying to kill Jackson anyway; although with all the scandals going on; it does show that Disney writers have no problems slapping capitalism around. It makes sense since they are often the first to get screwed regardless of success or failure instead of the higher ups who made the decisions in the first place. Great scene otherwise. We head to Higher...For...Hire as it is raining hard like it seems to do when friendships are strained. (And wouldn't you know it; the bad weather Jackson was talking about actually happened. Again; good attention to detail there.). We go to Baloo's bedroom and see him in bed with bandages on his leg and in a blue sling which is clearly fake (the blue sling gets that away) as Rebecca and Kit apologize for Baloo. Baloo calls it terrifying as we see that his arm is in a sling and he has his head wrapped in bandages. Baloo then cuts this BS story about getting injuried as limbs fly everywhere, he twisted his arm and charlyed his horse. HAHA! (Even in spite of those "injuries", Baloo was saying this is funny; charlying your legs (aka horse) is extremely painful and if it's really bad, it can take a half hour before you muscles return to normal. I speak from experience here.) Monty wishes he could make up obvious BS stories like THAT one. Probably because Monty is a fatass Aussie stereotype and Baloo's just a fatass. POW! POW! OUCH! OUCH! Ummmmm... Rebecca motions to Kit in a cute bit and Kit walks out as Rebecca decides to play along this time. (Why is Kit still in this episode? Why can't WildCat do this? Don't get me wrong; Kit is awesome and should be in every episode. But he's only getting token spots in this episode.)

Rebecca tells Baloo in her cute voice that Jackson would take over the run. Baloo feel relived that Jackson is going; but wondering if he's going to be able to fit anything in that small bi-plane of his. Now Baloo; don't you think that it's pretty crystal clear which plane Jackson is taking as Rebecca leaves the bedroom saying offhand that Jackson is taking the SeaDuck. She closes the door as Baloo thinks he's had her fooled if she thinks that Jackson is doing the actual work. So much for Baloo's workrate until the LIGHTBLUB OF BLOODY CLAIRITY shuts me up again and Baloo panics. HEE HEE! Time for another heart attack as he wraps more bandages on his head in a panic. We head to the docks as we see Whistlestop starting the engines again as Kit puts the last of the cargo with Rebecca holding a pink/purple umbrella in the process as Kit tells Jackson that the cargo is in the SeaDuck. (Sun Woo's method of Kit pushing the crate of fireworks in the SeaDuck looks like some moving model from an amusement park.) Jackson tells him that he'll return in the morning as apparently; we see the cargo door closed on the next far shot as the SeaDuck leaves without incident; but no slamming door present. That's the first logic break of the episode nearly thirteen minutes in. Then we cut to one of the most Z-Gradish sequences ever as the background is still and it shakes as Baloo frails around like a big baby and crashing and smashing everything off-screen. (There are a lot of static background shots in this episode.) Then the scene goes back to normal as Baloo runs out with bandages on his leg remembering to get off another kill word and death reference #2 for the episode. I need to do a running talley on how many times you could say die in TaleSpin; just to make anime purists madder than they already are. See; he only wanted to show Jackson up. (Hell of a way to show him up there Pop-A-Bear.) Then he trips on the stairs and takes a MAN-SIZED bump on his mid-section on the floor as the pilot's cap comes off. Sadly; the engines indicate that the plane is gone and Baloo is horrified as we end the segment thriteen minutes in. Which means we have nine minutes left of action. (Huh; personally, I would have moved the commercial break to just before we start heading to Klopstokia, so it would be the first thing kids see after the break, instead of having two more scenes play out before they went to the country. It's little things like this that prevent awesome episodes and render them to merely good. The pitfalls of rushed products, I guess.)

After the commercial break; we see Jackson's bi-plane in the stormy skies as Baloo is flying it to Kit's Chase background music. Okay; that makes sense since it is a chase scene but it's supposed to be Kit being chased and not Whistlestop Jackson. Baloo is flying the plane and I'm SHOCKED that he can get into the plane without destroying it before takeoff since he weighs about six hundred pounds give or take. I should also point out that this is the first time Baloo is wearing the leather bomber jacket from the TaleSpin logo (and goggles. He'll take the thing off when they make it to Klopstokia though, rendering the moment pointless.). The thunder claps on the far and near shots as Baloo is struggling to keep it from flying. HAHA! Nice to see karma strike back after Baloo blew Jackson off for flying the SeaDuck. Baloo calls Jackson and the bi-plane an antique that belongs in the museum. BOO! HISS! Jackson is so over that Baloo is now jealous. This is where respecting your elders is a GOOD idea. Particually if they are considered legends in their own time. Baloo also blames himself for this ordeal. Maybe so; but it doesn't help when Jackson seemly refuses to admit that he hasn't be responsible either. Great parallax scrolling into the clouds by Sunwoo when Baloo flies into them and in the next sequence as the sun break through and Baloo looks down and notices that the SeaDuck has landed on an deserted island with a few palm trees as Baloo feels relief as in sight. Although I'm a bit offended that Baloo would call his plane a needle and the island a haystack. (They're also playing Kit Chase 1 & 2 for no reason because that's Kit's theme song.) The bi-plane lands and we see Whistlestop Jackson filling the SeaDuck (which is ridden with bulletholes) with glue. Baloo demands answers as to why his..ERR.. Rebecca's property is filled with bullet holes. Jackson admits that it was Shere Khan that ordered his pilots to shoot him down. He managed to lose them in the clouds to think that he has been shot down. How does that work?! (Baloo does this all the time; sometimes it fails.) Baloo wants to know why Khan is in a knot over Jackson's mere presence and Jackson admits that it is over a personal grudge in the mail contract. Kudos to Jackson for admitting that he was responsible for Khan's anger.

Anyway; Jackson then admits that the real reason why he joined Higher for Hire was to be able to fade away from the world as the greatest legend in his own time. Baloo is surprised as we all are at this point. I personally thought at first that Jackson was doing this just to expand his own ego and was being selfish and jealous because he was fading in a time of new technology. Now that I see him; he really did know that his time was officially up; but he wanted to be remembered as a hero to millions; instead of a washed up old legend who couldn't compete with the new kids now. Jackson seems ready to give up hope because Khan has finally forced him to fade for good. Baloo thinks Jackson is expressing a self-defeatist attitude and that Jackson should prove himself; not just for him, but to save Rebecca's business from sudden embrassment. Baloo then explains to Jackson that he still believed that he was a hero to millions and that he was throwing away his own reputation if he gave up. Jackson realized that Baloo was right and orders Baloo to fix up the SeaDuck and get ready to deliever those supplies to Klopstopia. Baloo is so happy as the scene shifts to the big finish. Now that's the spirit, Jackson! This folks is why WhistleStop Jackson is great and why Cheddarhead Charlie; isn't. (It's great to see Baloo standing up for Jackson as a hero to remind him that he can have that one time in the sun before he leaves for good. Baloo wasn't jealous of Jackson, even though he came off as jealous since Baloo is not good at controlling his non-verbal cues. TaleSpin did something most modern cartoons don't do (and we all know why: Kids just want comedy.): humanize an old fart. Jackson really didn't mind the new technology and knew his time was up. He only wanted one more moment in the sun before leaving the business in the hands of the children. He admitting that Khan's anger was the result of a younger Jackson using his name to get the contract instead of business sense caused Khan's anger humanizes the character even more. This felt like a breath of fresh air and continues to show that in TaleSpin: Characters who show character do matter. Again; no matter how much comedy is in a show; a viewer still has to care about the characters on some level, otherwise; they will change the channel. That's how it works. If kids just want comedy; draw a joke machine and put it on camera. It's cheap, cost you nothing and it does the job it is supposed to.)

Baloo's voice segues into the next scene as we are at Klopstokia AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as the wooden sign says it all ; meaning another one Disney Captions gets right over us fans. (Grasping at straws again 2010 me?). The president's head with the top hat on looks like a beaver/chipmunk I guess. (It's a beaver. The almond fur gives it away.) We pan over from the lamp lit gate as we see windmills, bridges and a stadium that looks eeerly similar to Montreal's Olympic Stadium minus the roof. I should have said 1976 Olympic Summer Games in Montreal and not 1936's Olympic Games in Berlin Germany. Then again; the inside looks like the Berlin Olympic Stadium; which makes more sense in this world. I should point out the Klopstokia sounds like Czechoslovkia which was still a full country before the Slovak republic part broke off in 1992 and gave Canadians panic that Quebec would do the same thing in 1995. It didn't thank the lord for small favors. Problem is; this looks like the Netherlands in style. Then again; the TaleSpin world is supposed to be stereotypical since it dated automatically forty years and thus the rule of kid claims that no child should like it to begin it. (But the adults, oh lord; those smelly stinky non-toy buying adults...) So there you go. We zoom in towards the platform with red carpet as we see that most of the denizens are elephants who look like they are wearing German clothes. We then pan over left to the President on top who looks like a chipmunk, and I see a turtle (another one?) and a vulture and even the Warner Brothers frog has made an appearance sitting above Minister LaFong and Khan. Did I mention that a lot of Disney employees used to work for the WB before this show? (Yes, yes you did.) Khan calls this all a pity as the SeaDuck has not shown up yet to display the fireworks. Geez; I wonder why Mr. Khan. You didn't plan this "accident/murder" plot for nothing now didn't ya?! Anyhow; LaFong likes it too as Khan wiggles his paws and proclaims that he has settled his rivialry with Jackson and make that MONEY, MONEY, YEAH, YEAH. However; Khan's Yes-Man comes in from the left side and whispers into Khan's ear from two feet away which indicates that Khan has supersonic hearing. Khan is not amused as he calls Jackson a persistent nuisance.

LaFong panics as Jackson is alive and LaFong feels threatened as hell. (He should be even though he should lower the volume so President Myron doesn't hear him. I mean; LaFong basically did the Jane Stewart way of acquiring contracts. Allegedly.) Khan tells him not to worry since the SeaDuck needs to arrive by 8:00pm or the contract will be null and void as Khan's Yes-Man nods and salutes him while Khan salutes back. I smell a Krackpotkin hatching. The nod exchange gives it away. See this is why I love this show: no jackhammering here and the writers don't look like they think kids are morons when they watch said program; which is the biggest, most offensive insult you can hurl at said children. Khan smiles with a wicked evil smile and we go to the scene changer as we see the SeaDuck with the headlights on towing Whistlestop Jackson's bi-plane. It's nice to see Carter not forget that like so many writers today probably would to save on a few bucks. We head to the cockpit as Baloo asks Whistlestop about the time and Jackson uses a pocket watch (Which is as big as Andre The Giant's hand I should note...) which the hands are the same length so we have zero idea if the five by eight time is correct or not. It could be 11:35 pm for all I know; although by logic; Jackson's time makes more sense. Another slight Sunwoo screwup. Baloo looks down and he can see the lights of the capital as they have made it to the stadium (Nice reflection of the ground to show that instead of the usual jump cut to the sky shot of the ground.). Nothing can go wrong now; except for the fact that the CLONES OF ABOMINATION appear in their own modern bi-planes and they basically have orders to shoot to kill. (Shere Khan employs a lot of black panthers as pilots. As Kevin Johnston would say: That was racist. Also of note: We have yet another episode where the guns are pulled out so as of this writing we are 23/28 episodes.) So that was Khan's plan to stop Jackson from winning. This looks too obvious to me; but considering that Myron has no air force of his own; he really cannot do anything about it. The panther pilots in the blue SK planes do a double thumbs up spot as they get behind the Jackson bi-plane and then into the invisible formation of doom -- helpfully pointed out by Baloo asking where they went -- and they shoot and swiss cheese the SeaDuck some more. Heh.

I'm guessing that they are the same guys who tried to murder Jackson legit. (You know what should have been added in this episode: A full scene where Whistlestop Jackon was dogfighting with the airplanes and was finally able to handle the SeaDuck as well as Baloo did. That was what was missing from this episode.) One of the planes shoot directly at the front door of the SeaDuck and breaks the glass window. Boy; the SeaDuck got to have some sort of stopper because Baloo's all right otherwise along Baloo apparently ducked since he pops up from the door. I'm calling that one logic break number two for the episode; but BS&P had to put it in otherwise; it would have been better to book a different kind of spot. (There's no way Baloo could have not been hit by the bullets during that sequence.) Like using dynamite for instance. Baloo then starts his usual razzle-dazzle loops as we get the DOGFIGHT OF DOOM~! Now this is why we spent thirty minutes a day watching this damn show; just for that on free television. Like I said; imagine a Disney-like budget to go along with Plunder and Lightning and Walt would have been proud to have his name attached to something that wasn't totally watered down from the public domain. Well; almost anyway. The ATTACK OF THE CLONES are still on his ass as Baloo feels like there's no way out now as we hear more gunfire; but don't see it. Huh? That was pretty sloppy guys. Oh wait; it's Sunwoo; why should I be surprised?! (Sun Woo does show legit bullets from time to time. So no; it wasn't a BS&P decision to not show bullets; it's because it's too difficult for animators to animate it properly.) However; the infection of not giving up has transferred to Jackson from Baloo as as see bullets zing by the front as we are at 0.6 Trigun already and Baloo and Jackson duck despite not even being close to their heads. That's the first major screw up by Sunwoo by the way in this episode. Jackson undoes his seatbelt and Baloo is confused. We now go to ground level as we see Shere Khan and LaFong smiling at their big victory as President Myron -- whom I'm still not sure if it's a chipmunk or beaver -- (It's a beaver due to the color.)) is gulping at the thought of actually having celebrations cancelled. I guess he is a cronie to Jackson now that I think about it now.

Apparently; the dogfight has lasted three minutes so far because Khan looks at his watch and it's a ROARLEX on the closeup shot; a play on rolex watches, natch. (Rolex watches have been around since 1905.) Khan tells LaFong that it's think to announce that the Independence Day celebrations are cancelled; just to be a dirty cheater. LaFong adjusts his bowtie (which sadly doesn't take a picture) and walks to the stage slowly. We now return to the night sky as Whistlestop Jackson does the typical horizonal rope climb which looks very well animated. Sun Woo is pretty much on in this episode and let's face it; good artwork can usually cover mistakes in the spots most of the time. Anyway; One of Khan's pilots spot Jackson and gets him within his sights and tries to shoot to kill, so to speak. Well; you just have to show that they were trying to murder him in cold, hard bullets of blood, eh? The prespective is amazing as the bullet snaps the rope and Jackson's expression is priceless on that one. That one forces Jackson to swing like Tarzan from the bottom of the seaplane and he lands into the seat of the bi-plane complete with victory theme music and he bounces up, salutes himself and goes HA HA! Oooookkkkayyyyyy. Now that his plane is free (he probably planned that too.) he can now use it and sadly for Khan; his CLONES have no hope in hell of winning now. Anyway; the CLONES fire at Jackson's bi-plane as Jackson loses them in the clouds and finally gets behind them . Jackson proceeds to fire at them using his hidden machine gun. I think this is one of the few times the SeaDuck had an actual weapon backing them up. (Wow; Jackson might as well be Coleman Francis or even Tailgunner Joe since that is both their trademark.) Which makes Baloo look kind of stupid for not installing one. It's a writer trait to have the SeaDuck weaponless I should point out because it makes for the exciting question of how the hell does Baloo and gang get out of this one? It works better in practice than in theory entertainment wise of course; so the new Disney doesn't consider it. (There is enough adult entertainment in the world that has characters dropping like flies to fill a void. It's not like the weaponless thing has been overserved or anything.) HOLY CRAP! Jackson almost got shot in the left arm by a bullet as that one was about an inch away. Didn't Sunwoo get the damn memo not to go within two inches with the bullets?

We are up to 1.0 Trigun now as Jackson flies low on the SeaDuck in order to give Baloo some time to think about an actual plan. Then the LIGHTBLUB OF BLOODY CLAIRITY pops into Baloo as he puts the SeaDuck on auto-pilot (The crowbar for those who don't know. Also known as Crow B. according to Kit.) and he goes into the back looking for some weapon to counter those three ATTACK OF THE CLONES. He opens the side door of the SeaDuck and pulls out the fireworks -- which actually states DANGER! FIREWORKS and yes I know that fireworks are dangerous -- opens up the box and pulls out a TNT stick. I smell a lawsuit from Warner Brothers coming; okay I don't. Baloo then pulls out a match and strikes the side of the SeaDuck to set light to the dynamite:

Baloo: Time to light up some lives here!

I should point out that the entire lighting sequence and that quote Baloo says is cut from the Toon Disney edit and it signalled the beginning of Disney cutting match striking sequences by adults. I find these edits silly since the shooting of Jackson was kept and later on a certain child character literally blows down a wall with dynamite. Seriously; that happened in this show! Also, can you believe it WASN'T Kit who did it?! Stay tuned as they say! (Also; it's not like they didn't show Baloo handling a lit firework as well. Only the match striking was cut. I would think that holding lit dynamite would be more dangerous, but that's just me.) We return to ground level as Minister LaFong speaks at the platform rubbing it in (Not the least bit subtle on his involvement in corruption isn't he?) that due to Higher For Hire's failure to deliver the Independence fireworks at 8:00 pm ; the fireworks display is...Baloo then throws the stick of dynamite down into the sky and it explodes into a set of blue fireworks as Khan and LaFong stand in shock and shame. Ooops. Khan's plan is dead, done, toe-tagged and Khan knows it judging by his face. Baloo continues to throw lighted dynamite sticks into the sky and the fireworks show up one after the other. All done with less than ten seconds to spare as the elephant are in awe. Man; that is pretty silly considering that they are just fireworks. This sounds a lot more American than Dutch to me with the use of fireworks. Anyway; now in is time to finish the job as Jackson dodges the first plane and finally shoots the plane down as the Khan pilot ejects from his plane complete with parachute as the plane explodes into a blue firework display which causes the crowd to stare in awe. Now that's more like it! Baloo continues to throw fireworks down into the sky as one of them lands right into the second Khan pilot's lap and that pilot's forced to bail with parachute as the plane explodes into another firework display. At least they actually showed the parachutes unlike in Dragon Ball Z. Wait; they died in the original Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z; my mistake! Baloo lights a big stick of dynamite as the last Khan plane was below the SeaDuck with Whistlestop coming up close behind and Baloo throws the stick (a big ass version of one too) a little too late because it's going to land right on top of Jackson. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Sometimes, Baloo is dumb as Daddy Pig. I'm just saying.)

However; Jackson was quick on his head as Jackson throws the dynamite at point-blank range apparently both planes to explode into yellow fireworks as the elephant shout in awe once again. However; since the hero doesn't die in a Disney cartoon; he actually flies out and the final Khan pilot bails out afterwards. Look; I don't mind the parachute thing at all; but that is a logic break that I just cannot accept which is the fourth one of the episode. Still the scene is breathtaking; so Sunwoo is trying really hard today. (Yeah; that looked fake considering that there was a lot of fire in that sequence.) Baloo and Jackson declare victory as Baloo continues to throw sticks of dynamite into the sky as the fireworks display continues. Man; President Myron killed two birds with one stone. Not only did Higher for Hire deliver the fireworks on time; they basically did the fireworks display for them and a lot better too judging by the pops in the crowd. (They are so easily amused.) Minister LaFong goes to Khan in painful shock (and dodging fireballs from the fireworks exploding in the process) asking what happened as Shere Khan states that it was Jackson screwing him once again. Poor Mr. Khan; so close and yet so far. However; I've got to give credit to Whistlestop Jackson; once he finally got his confidence back and when his self-defeatist attitude was gone he actually started to fly like an ace. This what I wanted to see: an elder actually show that he still had it left; that he was still something and not just mere hype. Great to see that Carter Crocker getting this episode right on. By the way; the total Trigun for this episode is 1.2. Anyway; the scene finally ends when fireworks explode way too close to Shere Khan and the dangerous lights fall right on top of Shere Khan and Minister LaFong which would killed them in real life; but since this is a cartoon; it will probably not happen here. We go to the office of Higher...for....Hire as confetti is falling down on Baloo, Rebecca, and Jackson as Kit was throwing the confetti at them in a cute spot. They are celebrating the fact that Rebecca made a lot of money on this contract. Good for her; and I guess even Higher for Hire does stand a chance againest Khan after all. Rebecca actually kisses Whistlestop Jackson in order to thank him. I smell a romance here; okay maybe not.

However; Jackson states that it was Baloo who deserves the credit for this job and Baloo acts all modest calling himself a protoge. Kit THE MIRACLE WORKER then slides down the railing and doesn't want Whistlestop Jackson to leave. (Poor Kit; he was a token character in this episode.) Jackson states that he's done and he can leave into the sunset and be remembered as the legend he was and die a happy man more or less. He also proclaims that the legend of pilots is officially safe in Baloo and Kit's hands and I can only smile because this is the correct booking decision. As I stated in the previous rant on this: I'm very impressed with Jackson as he was able to shed off that chessy voice of his to prove that he was more than just mere hype; not to mention that he was well aware that he must retire -- and makes a proper exit -- in order to let those who are young to expand the world and make it better. That was the lesson of this episode and I'm happy that the Disney writers pulled it off so well since most elders are protrayed very poorly in media (Fanboy & Chum Chum for a really poor one and the teacher in that one is barely middle age. (Mufflin started to grow on me in later episodes; although he's still really bad.)). It's too bad that TaleSpin wasn't popular in 1990 because it was very PC without being PC at all (It's based in its own world so the creators make the rules; instead of the real world where the rules are made by God for instance. (God?! 2010 me was stupid here for mentioning it in that matter. The PC stuff was bad, but mentioning God is even worse.)). No wonder Carter Crocker (FAIRY GODPARENTS~!) is still with Disney today. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Carter's last credit was in 2019 by the way with the Care Bears. So, she's been gone since 2014.) We head back to Khan's office for one last time and see Khan's Yes-Man wrap a couple of banadages around Khan's hand (And we get a shot of the Red Cross symbol again on the first aid kit. No coloring changes done there either.) as he's pretty happy for some reason.

Although he had failed to win the contract from Klopstopia; he feels like he had actually won because he did manage to force WhistleStop Jackson into retirement. I would like to say that the bad guys won in this case because Khan's mission was to retire Whistlestop Jackson; which Jackson did in the end. However; since they aren't rich as a result; Khan didn't really win at all. It's the case of the Bittersweet Ending which separates TaleSpin from any other Disney cartoon. (Here's another reason why Gargoyles is overrated: The Xanatos gambit. It's amazing how this is given to David Xanatos when Khan was doing this four years before Xanatos kept using it as a gimmick; rather than a quirk of character like with Khan.) They then show LaFong injuried even worse (from the fireworks, of course) than Khan smiling and feeling relieved. How fitting that the government guy gets the worst of it and he deserved it too. I guess the public couldn't blow the whistle on the corruption either. Lucky bastard! They show the black & white (which looks golden) scene once again as Whistlestop Jackson rides his bi-plane off into the sunset as the announcer explains it all. Then they show the Howard Hawks'ish cameramen rolling the camera on the globe with the words THE END on it (I wonder where those Warner Borthers/Nick cartoons got that idea from?). They could not have done a better more fitting ending to this episode if they tried. That shot officially ends the episode at 21:15. Yeap; it still holds up and only the BS&P decision prevented a full monty that this episode should have gotten. This I think is probably Carter's best written episode ever too. (I'm downgrading this episode to **** (80%); if only because the dogfight with Jackson and the pilots and losing them in the clouds is not in evidence. Everything else is spot on as it should be.)

THE REVIEW LINE

I like this episode because it proves that Kit doesn't have to preform miracles in order to make an episode excellent. (Yeah; Kit had like ten lines and three spots in the episode and all of it was token moments. You can easily put WildCat in this and outside of Kit sliding down the rail; there would be no difference.) The animation was pretty good in this one (despite a lot of static shots) and I liked the finish where Whistlestop got to prove himself again that he was worth something; not to mention that I like the fact that Jackson was able to admit that his time is over and that he felt confident that the world would be safe in the hands of Baloo. Baloo also learned a lesson of his own; that heroes can fall from grace without warning and sometimes can fall hard. Shere Khan's personal grudge against Whistlestop was pretty detailed for a twenty-two minute cartoon and to a certain extent; I was impressed that Shere Khan showed restraint for all those years. That made him a heel that you could feel a little sorry for. LaFong was pretty good for the little time he had and Klopstokia was interesting as a little backwater country. The only problems I found were Jackson's voice sounding too much like Gizmoduck (although Camp to his credit toned it down as the episode moved on) and the BS&P dogfight to keep people from actually dying; plus a few minor animation mistakes from Sunwoo. Overall; Carter Crocker made her solo episode debut count and Sunwoo redeemed themselves quite a bit after Polly Wants A Treasure. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Wow, I missed the fact that Carter Crocker is a woman writer. Damn, I suck.) Sadly; the next episode to re-rant is Double Or Nothing which is considered in my view the lowest point for Baloo in the entire series. (That episode was not very good to say the least.) So...

Thumbs up for this episode and I'll see you next time.

Back to TaleSpin Rants!
Return to the Rant Shack!
Return to the Unofficial Kit Cloudkicker Homepage!