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Feminine Air Re-Rant

Reviewed: 11/09/2010
Additional Commentary: 10/18/2021

Ah Yes; The Sexist Episode!


Original Airdate: 10/30/1990 (Syndication), Episode #31 (TaleSpin DVD Volume 2, Disc 1), Episode #28 (Production Order).

Feminine Air Notes
Feminine Air Transcript

Here's another episode that in my view is a really groundbreaking one in many ways (After seeing GeoX's blog on that Donald Duck comic episode that can double as a “hate crime”; can you blame Disney now for doing this episode?) as it is the perfect reflection on matters even today: sexism. (2016 Gregory Weagle Says: Well, in the 1930's anyway. The sexism today is a lot worse now and this episode is too subtle to pull off on the extent of it today. At the time; most episodes involving sexism are mostly plots involving male babyfaces versus female babyfaces in a race for whom is the better gender. Forget the disgusting implications of sexism in the plotline if one or the other wins for a moment; even if you end the thing in a tie to point out how equal they are, that is worse because no one watches races for a tie because a tie would mean "This feud must continue!". Plus; it forces us to take sides on who is the babyface and who is the heel; and having two different genders as babyfaces means that one gender is going to be the heel. That's a really dangerously bad idea. Even worse; the plot usually involves the number 1 and number two babyfaces of the show doing this; and it makes them look like heels. Again; bad idea. Gummi Bears did this along with the draw finish and it was only decent enough because of better animation and it was more subtle. However; if you want the alpha and omega of the most sexist use of the plotline; "Boys Vs. Girls" from Teen Titans Go is the perfect example of it, to the point where the Titans were literally seeing how much they can kill off animation! Thankfully; it didn't work. Anyhow; when it comes to addressing sexism; Feminine Air might be the best episode of the lot. It helps when Baloo and Rebecca are protrayed mostly as real people throughout the series (Read: Different personalities that share a similar number of flaws); but this episode doesn't pit Baloo against Rebecca. It pits Higher For Hire against sexist douchebags who are trying to doxx the company out of business; just because their boss is a woman. That makes the main characters babyfaces by default regardless of gender; and the guest characters the sexist heels. Yes; a race is involved, but the main babyfaces are not at each others throats. So the plot of this episode is basically a WASP attempts to put Higher For Hire out of business because the boss of HFH is a woman and Baloo and Rebecca must find a way to regain their business and put the sexist douchebag in his place.) I should point out that after Double or Nothing; what happens in this episode just shows how Baloo can redeem himself in the face of temptation. (Granted; Baloo's motives for defending Rebecca are that he just wants the ribbing to stop; but that's a subtle word for harrassment anyway. By the way; I decided to make this my sixty-th transcript and rant to do over Your Baloo's In The Mail because this was very easy to get through. Ponder that one for a moment.) So; let's rant on shall we...?!

This episode is written by Julia Jane Lewald and the late Bruce Talkington. The story is edited by the late Bruce Talkington. The animation is done by Sunwoo Animation.


We begin this one at the docks of Higher...For...Hire as we see Kit run in with the checkered flag as it's now time for everyone's favorite pasttime in Cape Suzette: Racing paper airplanes. Okay; maybe not. Our contestents are two ferrets (with one wearing a winged helmet), a hippo who stole Rebecca's sweater, a polar bear with a bad painted beard and green fur coat and of course Pop-A-Bear! POW! OUCH! Ummmm... (Basically; three of the non-bear pilots would return for The Sound & The Furry. Considering that they tried to tar and feather Baloo with grease and spoons in that episode, I'm surprised that Baloo would still want to be friends with them. Thankfully; their actions will give Baloo that justification later on.) Kit proclaims that it's ready, steady, GO! And the three non-bear furries throw their paper airplanes into the air; but then the polar bear throws the big ass paper airplane and it knocks the airplanes out of the air easily as they drop nose first onto the docks. Kit blows Coolhands off because this is not bumper planes see. (Kit in this episode had just eight lines in this entire episode and was completely written out midway through. Granted; Kit's role in this episode was more useful than in Whistlestop Jackson, Legend, but this wasn't much better for him considering that he was the reason why this show was approved.) Baloo then creates his brown paper airplane and flies it into the air and it does the "Baloo Barrelhouse Backwards Roll" (Kit's words; not mine.) and it flies right past the big ass paper airplane and the Higher For Hire dock sign for the easy win as Kit flicks the checkered flag. (Again; a green flag starts a race and checkered flag ends it. However; this is more forgivable because Higher For Hire probably only has one racing flag anyway. To be fair; this episode did find a way to justify having a checkered flag at the start of a race.) Coolhands (voiced by the late Ronald Feinberg for the first time since Molly Coddled) is not amused as he blows off Baloo's spitwad and takes the tuque off. (And then puts it back on for no reason.) However; when it comes to flying Baloo should stay in the hanger. Riiiiigggghhhhhttttt Coolhands.

See; he works for the best people; and Baloo works for a rookie, non-pilot female. So? What does that have to do with Baloo's super abilities to fly dear sir? Oh; that's right; Coolhands is a sexist piece of crap! (The fact that Coolhands Luke is a polar bear is no accident either; since a large chunk of the sexism comes from white, cis males. His age also reflects him as being a WASP. And remember, this show existed in 1990; about 20 plus years before these terms got completely overused due to the power of the internet.) Baloo gleefully points out the flaw in Coolhands' arguement (Rebecca handles the business side of the venture while he pilots the plane. Sounds reasonable to me.) and walks off with Kit as Coolhands taunts Baloo for being a coward more or less. Baloo calls Coolhands a deadhead (Death reference #1 + Final Fantasy II reference for the win! Deadhand actually means a boring or unenterprising person. Although like Free Birds, if the internet was as powerful in 2015 during 1990; someone would scream bloody murder over using a pop-culture reference concerning the rock group "The Grateful Dead.") because Baloo is waiting for an important client right now. His name is Robert Service and Coolhands doesn't let Baloo finish the "At Your Service Delivery Service" part. We then see Robert Service (A gray rabbit with a derby hat, red coat and blue bowtie – voiced by S. Scott Bullock) walk in and Rebecca comes in asking about the client and Robert has the Gruffi pose on as Coolhand proclaims that Robert is on his side. See Robert refuses to make a deal with Miss Cunningham because Coolhands informed him that his company is run by people with experience with pilot's licenses and with sideburns. (Which Baloo doesn't have any anyway. Neither does Coolhands for that matter. So yeah; playing the sexism card once again.) Memo to Robert: If you need to convince someone to refuse a deal with a lady business person because she doesn't have sideburns; that person is a sexist. (That would be Coolhands and that makes Robert sexist for buying such crap.) Rebecca gleefully asks what does sideburns have to do with delivering coconuts to Cucamonga. Good question Miss Cunningham.

I betcha Robert doesn't answer as Coolhands basically admits that he is a sexist. How do I know? He puts emphasis on the word man when he says Robert wants the best man for the job and that leaves Miss Cunningham out in the cold. I wonder if Paul Hayman was watching this episode and thinking: "I can top that on Madusa easily!". (Boy did he ever, by paraphasing that "The hooker I picked couldn't make it because she had a previous assignment." Which by the way; was used as an excuse for this episode later on.) And then in a pretty depressing moment; all the pilots who were in the race join Robert and Coolhands and walk out together. Symbolic indeed guys! Baloo proclaims that it's the third client they lost this week. (Yes folks; Higher For Hire is actually getting doxxed and disowned just because Rebecca is the boss of the operation and is a woman. And all the pilots just accept it and move on, except for Higher For Hire itself. That's incredible and why would even be friends with any of them is a mystery to me.) Baloo then redeems himself big time by defending Miss Cunningham by saying Coolhands is smearing her character. Good for you Poppa Bear; I just wish you redeemed yourself with Kit Cloudkicker first before this; but this will do nicely. Rebecca isn't happy and mops out stage left anyway wondering how to prove that the better business person will always prevail. (As we see in the end; she prevailed, but it didn't matter because no man other than Baloo cares about her. She's using logic and reason in an unreasonable world.) Anyhow; we go into the streets of Cape Suzette as we see the bronzed version of the same poster in A Touch Of Glass on a wall of a building near a post-office box. How about that for continuity?! Anyhow; we pan west and see Coolhands outside a motel as we see Baloo and Kit being a bear marching band. HAHA! Baloo is on drums and tuba while Kit is playing the golden ocarina. (Be jealous, Link!) They are also wearing hats that make them look both like tools as Coolhands gleefully taunts them again calling the outfit washed up. Baloo is having serious issues with the drum as he blows off Coolhands for lying about being in the skies and calling him Coldfeet. HA!

We then see logic break number one for the episode as the golden blue ribbon magically appears on Coolhands jacket (although he probably brought out while Baloo was messing with the drums. (Yeah; that's what he did.)) as he took a break so he could sign up for the Great Air Scavenger Hunt. Coolhands thinks they should retire the event because he wins it every year. Can you smell a cheater coming off his painted sideburns; or is it just the paint he uses to paint said sideburns?! You the viewer decide! (It's the paint since I don't see any notable sideburins on Coolhands. Oh; and Coolhands is basically harrassing Baloo and taunting him because he's washed up since he works for a woman. That is the whole storyline.) Baloo gleefully blows him off because he hasn't entered as he trips and bounces his face off the drums and the sidewalk with MAN-SIZED bumps. OUCH! That is going to leave a mark. On the sidewalk as Coolhands continues to taunt Baloo because the boss lady didn't give him permission see. (Yes; Coolhands believes that Baloo is so weak that he cannot threaten Rebecca (with violence of course) into giving him permission to these events. Never mind that Rebecca allowed Baloo to race in A Baloo Switcheroo. Luke is not even trying to hide the fact that he's a misogynist to the core. If it wasn't for BS&P; I swear he would call Rebecca a bitch outright.) Coolhands gets off another sexist comment while untying Baloo's drums and they roll away from him ("How are you able to fly with all those apron strings in the way?") and then Coolhands walks in the opposite direction. Baloo throws the hat down and has had enough ribbing about working for a woman and he and Kit walk stage right and he is going to punch in right in the medals where it hurts. Yes folks; he got the crap past the radar again. (Of course; Baloo meant winning the race; but he says metals instead of metal; so it sounded like he was threatening to punch him in the groin. And after seeing Kit tickled in the groin and Baloo beaked in the groin, I put nothing past this show having someone punched in the groin.)

Anyhow we head to the docks (Which double as an airshow strip with stands. It's basically the same area shown in Waiders Of The Wost Tweasure.)) as we head to Air Race Headquarters building and inside the office of a white billy goat with a trenchcoat and red bowtie as he literally eats a mattress on his left on-screen. HAHA! See; this is why these out of no where spots are funny because even though the stereotype of a billy goat eating a mattress is old as dirt; you still don't expect it since they are anthros and not full animals. That makes the spot unexpected; unlike the ADD cartoons where they just throw a spot without context and see if it sticks; and it looks so obvious. (It's also something rarely done by this show. Like the Eillot cameo in Bullethead Baloo for instance.) Baloo and Kit are reading the scroll as the Air Race Official asks them about the Great Air Scavenger Hunt (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) and then steals back the golden list as the official explains DA RULES (FAIRY GODPARENTS!) and Baloo likes them and wants to sign up. Sadly; despite having a pilot and a plane; he has no sponsor. Okay; that sounds like a big rib on TaleSpin not being supported by Disney which is wasn't. Disney seems more content with mocking Bugs Bunny and hyping the block rather than getting TaleSpin over as the next Disney showpiece. Had they done the later; they would have had a chance to beat Bugs Bunny and rightfully mock him instead of Warner Brothers rightfully mocking Disney for years after this. (I'm done driving this point to the ground; so let's move on...) They need to be sponsor by a local aviation club by three PM. Kit proclaims that they need a sponsor; but Baloo is more concerned about getting an afternoon off from Rebecca of course. (Because Rebecca rarely does that unless it is for business reason. See A Baloo Switcheroo.) We head back to Higher...For...Hire and into the office as Baloo recoils and forces himself to say Rebecca. (Because he called her Becky again.) He wants to talk to her about something and Rebecca has something to talk to him about as she wants to give Baloo the afternoon off. Don't you just love it when the Treehouse Syndrome freaks look like the sexists that they are? Stuff like this to make them look bad.

Baloo then gets the LIGHT BULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY on that one as Rebecca writes on her paper at the desk proclaiming that she is working on a really big idea to drum up more business and she needs to shut down the business for today. Baloo calls it a worthy sacrifice for the company and Rebecca proclaims that it is and wants Baloo to trust her. We then see Kit sitting on the dock as Baloo walks in and says that he got the afternoon off. (When even Rebecca is willing to take time off for the company's sake; you know that Rebecca is wanting to get back at the douchebags in her own special way.) Baloo and Kit try to get into the SeaDuck; but Rebecca storms out quickly and stops Baloo by invoking the WRAITH OF BECKEY on Baloo and pulls him down by the shirt. HAHA! Now that's amusing as Rebecca states that she needs the plane for her plan to work and Baloo states that she can't even fly it. Considering that "I Only Have Ice For You" was the first episode ever; you'd think that she learned how to fly by now. That's an annoying logic break. Oh wait; WildCat can fly the plane and he apparently does in this episode. My mistake...I guess. (We never saw WildCat in this episode at all. It's clear Rebecca flew the plane over. Which begs the question: Why was she the navigator for the rest of the episode? I guess she wanted a better pilot than her. That's actually a humble response actually.) We go to the scene changer as we we return to Air Race Headquarters as the white planes are flying around on the landing strip and we zoom down to the tents as Baloo and Kit decide to try finding a sponsor with a plane that needs flying. We then get a closeup of a door with a white sign and green letter saying Aero Cubs on it and Baloo knocks on the door. (Aero is greek for air; not Japanese 2006 me! It doesn't change your point about the whiny manchildren's reaction of naming Nintendo's console the Wii during that period; but still...Accurancy counts you know.) We then see a dog furry in navy blue captains gear opening the top half door as Baloo introduces himself and his barrelhouse backwards roll. Sadly; the captain blows him off as a wash up who works for a skirt and slams the door. OUCH! (Yeah; we have heard the word "skirt" before; but that was Dumptruck who is supposed to be the heel. This guy is supposed to be a babyface and he's a douchebag as well.)

Anyway; Baloo goes to the next one which are the Cloudhoppers which I'm surprised that no one used that as an insult to Kit's good name yet. (It doesn't work as an insult because cloud hopping would be an even bigger compliment to Kit's abilities.) A cat furry comes out and then Baloo has the door slammed in his face yet again. That was cold; at least the Aero Cubs allowed Baloo to explain himself before slamming the door in his face. The same result comes from the Sky Vikings and The Knights of Air -- a word play on the Knights of Columbus for those who care -- as Baloo is reduced to one sponsor left. Coolhands appears once again to admit that he was the one who told those sponsors about Baloo's relationship with Rebecca. What a scumbag?! (Yes folks; the doxxing powers of Coolhands Luke has struck again! There was a moment where Kit is literally saying that this is all happening just because Baloo works for a girl. Personally; I wish that word was changed to woman; because girl is considered a sexist slight against older woman, implying that Rebecca is a child. No one calls Baloo a boy; even if we call him a manchild a lot. Kit is called boy because he's the age of one anyway. It's an easy change and it doesn't change the context of the line at all other than remove the slight. So why not change it?!) Coolhands continues to mock him as Baloo is forced to knock on the door of the Daughters of Aviation which only allow woman to attend. REVERSE DISCRIMATION RULES!! (Had to get that line in. (I should note that it was Luke who claims that only women could enter. Considering that Mary Lamb didn't even notice that Tan Margaret was Baloo in disguise despite all the clues pointing to her; I'm guessing that she knew about this since she's supposed to be friends with Rebecca Cunningham. So that indicates to me that she knew Baloo was in disguise and just played along like Rebecca did later on.)) Coolhands mock him one more time about fitting in with a girl (more sexist comments) laughing his ass off as he leaves with Kit watching on. Almost looks like stock footage doesn't it? (Almost since Kit was a lot less amused by this doxxing. I wish Kit would slug Coolhands just once for this.)

At least Sun Woo isn't screwing up spots so far. By the way; DOA also stands for Dead On Arrival which has got to be the death knel for Baloo in general since Jungle Book 2 was his last appearance and it wasn't good either. Neither was Jungle Cubs. Baloo states that he is going to enter the race and Kit wonders how. Baloo leaves the scene with Kit as he tells Kit to check all of his seams. Anyway; we return to Higher For Hire with the clock continuing to tick on our defender of all female business ladies everywhere. (BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's difficult to take that seriously after The Time Bandit and his escapdes with Louie in certain episodes; but here we are.) Kit THE MIRACLE WORKER finally getting some work to do as he puts a scarf on Baloo who is wearing a blue coat on now. Kit then goes to the makeup brush and splatters on the makeup onto Baloo's face. Kit then grabs the cute female-style pilot's cap and put it on Baloo's head as the animators go into the first-person shot. Kit calls Baloo awesome as he is finished. I call that animation pretty awesome as well. Take a picture Ted; that's the last work he does in this episode. (He has exactly one line and a few spots left before he is written out for good.) Anyway; we now see Baloo dressed up as a obese woman with some cute makeup as Baloo proclaims himself from this day forward as Tan Margaret. Now that's pretty awesome; but still I don't think the D.O.A. is going to buy it. (Mary Lamb bought it all right; but not Rebecca for some reason.) Nice to also see Baloo actually try to mimic a girls' voice which was missing in A Spy In The Ointment by the way. (Not very good though as he was slipping out of the female and male voice throughout; leading me to suspect that Mary and Rebecca knew all along Baloo would join the Daughters of Aviation and this was their plan to get back at Coolhands.)

Blink & Miss Moment#1: The hula lamp in this scene is actually a Hawaii human women. Is is a bad omen to Lilo & Stitch TV Series? (Okay; that's wrong. I checked the scene again and the Hula Woman Lamp has now changed to a bear anthro with a green bra and no breasts compared to Sheepskin Deep when it was a human woman with a red bra that sags below that you can see her big breasts and half of them have skin. How 2010 me came to the conclusion he did mystifies me. Plus; what bad omen? What the hell are you talking about 2010 me? Lilo & Stitch was a perfectly fine series.)

We return to the airfield and we head to the tent of the Daughters of Aviation as a lamb furry dressed up in a pink dress, sunglasses with a sunflower hat walks out and greets Tan and Kit as the previous pilot couldn't find a babysitter. Anyhow; Tan does the dreaded HANDSHAKE OF DOOM and she wobbles and is in the air about five feet complete with Hanna Barbara wobble sound effect. Now you know you are watching a classic! D.O.A. Indeed! HAHA! That was pretty funny. (I dare Teddy Ruxpin to shake Baloo's hand. I triple cheeseburger dare him. Oh, and speaking of man on woman violence, Kit wasn't amused as he elbows Tan in the ribs for good measure.) Mary comments on Tan's grip in which she responds in a cute voice that it's as a result of doing a man's work. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. Not to mention that Baloo is doing a makeup spot which is even more funny for some reason. Kit ribs Tan to warn him not to blow her cover. Kit attacked a...oh never mind! (Kit touched the purple purse Tan was carrying also. By the way; Kit's last line of the episode said that Coolhands was coming at three o'clock which is the time for the race to start.) Kit then points to the east as Coolhands has entered the scene mocking Tan once again as Mary shows her disgust and tells Tan to ignore the meanie. (That's a bad idea Mary. You might think you are taking the high road; but sexist douchebags will drag anyone down the low road and unless they respond to the low road; the ones who choose the high road are at the dead end they cannot turn back. You need to feed a troll until he explodes and commits illegality; not ignore it since sexist trolls typically have no life.) She should show more disgust when Coolhands comments on the silk stocking joke since it's an obvious sexist crack at her. (Coolhands is much more sexist than Chargeman Ken; but at least Coolhands is supposed to be the heel.) That becomes important for later.

Tan comes forward to defend her honor telling Coolhands that she's going to win the race as Kit tries to restrain her. I think Kit's blowing Baloo's cover if you ask me. (Even more hilarious considering that Kit's last act on this episode was to hide underneath the SeaDuck at the end of this act, despite the fact that Rebecca pretty much figure out Baloo from the start.) Coolhands tells Tan to take her best shot. I guess I figured out where Stone Cold Steve Austin got his idea from when he was co-GM of WWE Raw. Sadly for Coolhands; that is a big mistake (since it's Baloo playing Tan) as Tan invokes the POWER OF THE PUNCH knocking Coolhands to ground complete with knockout angels (in diapers looking like cupid versions of Coolhands) circling around Coolhands' head. HAHA! That's the third time that has happened in the series. Oh; and then Coolhands does a complete 180 degree turn when it comes to woman by commenting that that was one powerful woman and gets up. (Actually; he does a 360 degree turn in this case because his sexism continues unbated.) He goes towards a stunned Tan and offers to escort Tan to her plane in a really funny spot. Tan is not amused as I see he found boots that fit him for a change. I didn't know the POWER OF THE PUNCH could invoke that kind of effect on SEXISM. Maybe one of the writers decided to soften Coolhand's SEXIST character after all. Riiiigggghhhhtttttt. What was I thinking?! (Nope.) We then see Tan being dragged as Coolhands calls him an angel as Mary proclaims that they lined up a special plane for the contest, we see that it's the SeaDuck and Tan is shocked and drops the girly voice as Mary is oblivious to the tone. Mary then addresses her self as Mary Lamb (because Baloo called her a deer, in the context of "dear". Of course!) who is voiced by Susan Silo.

Anyhow; Coolhands kisses Tan's hand before letting him go and this is getting a wee bit creepy here for my liking. No, it isn't because this makes Baloo and Coolhands gay either. Tan is not amused as he leaves just as Mary then gives Tan the clipboard with the clues and tells Tan to say hello to her navigator (Because kids aren't allowed to enter, I guess. Plus, it would be better in the long run anyway...). The SeaDuck door opens to reveal Rebecca Cunningham who happens to be Mary's friend. Whoa! Didn't see that one coming. I guess the "Economy of Characters" doesn't have an effect on me today. That would explain Mary's mannerisms towards pet names. (How could anyone not see this coming? The second the SeaDuck was shown; it had to be Rebecca. Also, by showing it; this proved that Rebecca and Mary knew about Baloo entering this race with them.) Rebecca is excited to be having a pilot who can kick Coolhand's butt and Tan responds doing the ONE PAW SHAKE OF DOOM on the clipboard complete with Hanna Barbera Wobble sound effect. HAHA! That ends the segment ten minutes in. That is the last time we in fact see Kit Cloudkicker in the entire episode too. I never understood that decision to write him off; when showing him in the stands watching the event would have made more sense and he wouldn't have to speak. It's not like he was blowing Baloo's cover or anything. (Considering that Rebecca saw through his disguise and admitting it so at the end implies that she knew Baloo would enter the race and probably even informed Mary about it. So, Kit's hilarious attempts to maintain cover throughout this final scene meant absolutely nothing since Rebecca clearly knew it was Baloo as Tan (and probably Mary knew too because she never reacted to it otherwise) and she simply played along. He might as well have in the stands and then run in and celebrated with Rebecca. At least it would have given him a few more lines.)

After the commercial break; we head back to the airfield as the planes take their places and apparently the SeaDuck has switched to the front middle and one of the planes have changed from white to black with yellow wings. I'm guessing logic break number two for the episode; plus it's Coolhands plane beside the SeaDuck. What a shock?! We see that the race is about to start (Race music is from From Here To Machinery and Stormy Weather I do believe.) as Tan is trying too hard not to act like Baloo as Rebecca sits in the navigator's chair reading the flight plan. I see that Kit has been teaching her a thing or two about navigating. Who says that Kit is a neopist?! Anyway; we then see the hippo pilot from the first act with the checkered flag and he waves it to begin the race. Kit is better at this for anyone who wants to know. (Yeah; because he's not a sexist douchebag like that pilot was at the beginning of the episode.) Anyway; the SeaDuck flies into the air in the lead easily (what a shock?) as Tan and Rebecca get to know each other their own way. Tan is acting like Baloo with the cockiness as Rebecca explains that she entered the race to gain public support for her company and Tan's there to show Coolhands that he's a SEXIST polar bear. (Clue #1 that Rebecca was in on Baloo's disguise: Baloo's cockiness and his feet are near the flight stick.) Rebecca proclaims that Higher For Hire will be last if they don't figure out those clues quickly. The first clue talks about something that makes the morning less rough as Tan cannot think. He then states that he needs that morning cup of coffee as we see the conveniently placed out of nowhere coffee pot (orange of course and mug on the table) for logic break number three for the episode. (Actually; the table with the coffee was there during the entire scene. Although calling it morning coffee is hilarious since it's three o'clock in the afternoon. Another line that could have been changed slightly.) Rebecca gets the LIGHTBLUB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY as coffee is the first clue.

Rebecca looks at the map and states that coffee beans are grown on the island of...wait for it...Crackyertoa (the island looks like a broken toe for those who want to know and Disney Captions gets it perfectly as I did. (The map says Crackye Rota with a space in between. Why there is a space there is unclear. Was Rebecca supposed to say "Crackye Rota" or something?)) which is east of Java (Another word for coffee (And a name for a crappy plug-in for websites that no one cares about anymore.). They agree to split up and find that first item while thinking about coffee as the SeaDuck lands on the island of bad toes. (There is a logic break here and really the first one of the episode: The map shows two lakes at the toes; like they are toenails. When they land on the island; there are no lakes. Very, very obvious mistake there Sunwoo.) That used to funny before I took the job at Safe Communities. (Considering my boil in the asshole and I nearly died from it; cracking your toe is much funnier. Don't get me wrong; most injuries are not funny at all. But by orders of magnitude, merely cracking your toe is extremely low on the list of injuries, let along life threatening.) I should point out on the maps that the stars look like Hexagrams or more to the point: Star of David's. So there you have it: religious symbols are still allowed at this point. (Yes, but those stars were not Star of Davids nor Hexagrams. They did allow a Hexagram in Gravity Falls for one episode; but that is about it.) We head on the beach just below the SeaDuck, which is on the grass plains above the beach, and Baloo walks on the beach as he is having trouble with the girdle since it's cutting off his blood to the brain. 4Kids would have it as cutting off his energy to the head or something more absurd than even that. (Yeah; because if you say blood on the show, kids will bleed out of nowhere. Of course; it's just an excuse for more degrading women since it implies that bleeding is considered a form of menstruation, even though it's not. )

Tan walks like a penguin for a bit and then trips on some branches which Sunwoo screws up (It makes it like Tan stepped on the branches and tripped instead of actually tripping on them.) and Tan takes a MAN-SIZED bump into the sand. Even the sand bumps are MAN-SIZED. Thankfully; that was off-screen unlike the sick bump to the head Baloo took in Polly Wants A Treasure. (I will give the animators credit here; they at least stopped the blows to the head outside of Baloo's punch to the face early on for this episode at least.) Anyhow; Tan spits sand as Coolhands arrives (Called Coolhands Luke by Disney Captions which is correct; unlike the Coolhands Fluke moniker we have been giving to him for obvious reasons.) and calls him glamour gums. Tan wonders why he's here and he was waiting for her so they could have a few minutes alone. Tan backs up like a coward as she reminds Coolhands that there is a race to win and Coolhands wants some kissy-kissy. (Why is Tan a coward? Coolhands is now showing some ultra creepy stalker tendences. At least when he's doing it; he is supposed to be the heel. I don't blame Baloo one bit for backing up and I betcha Baloo is regretting punching this man in the kisser now.) Where is Hoppo when you REALLY need her?! AHHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummmmm... (Because she's in love with Bumblelion. She doesn't care about Baloo and she shouldn't like Luke at all.) Coolhands then admits that he won't lose because they will tie the race and then tie the knot. HOLY CRAP!! Coolhands wants to marry Tan who is Baloo a cross-dressing bear. And Disney is surprised when the Southern Baptists were boycotting them?! They are still vile bigots; but really was that a surprise to Disney?! Baloo trips and takes a wussy bump on the sand on his back as Coolhands has a secret, see. Tan nearly blows her cover on that response. (Baloo basically proclaims that Luke is not the only one with a secret. I realize that Baloo is saying that in the context of him being Tan. However; considering the secrets Kit, Rebecca and even himself have; that amused me to no end.)

See; he steals the answers to get to the clues first; but he waited for Tan this time. (His plan was to have Tan and him tie the race and then win on the amount of items found since that is the stips. You can come first; but you need to have the most items first as well. So they would get the same amount of items and then come home together. So basically Luke is trying to manipulate a woman into doing his bidding and become subservent to him in marriage. As 2010 me would say...) So, he's a sexist, a scumbag, a vile bigot and a dirty rotten cheater. Also, he's a polar bear. Is Coolhands Luke a nickname for Sara Palin's grandfather? AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummmm..... Oh wait; he would have to be a quitter too and that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon. My mistake as usual. (You forgot white, cis male and a WASP. I'm shocked that he wasn't a polar bear fused with a wasp; although that would make him more suitable in the Wuzzles world than in this one.) Tan pushes Coolhands on his back with a good bump and Coolhands questions her cold as he grabs Tan's hands and asks if he would marry her? Tan refuses, of course! HOMOPHOBE~! Or not as Coolhands blows off Tan for having a conscience. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! She sure does and sadly; Kit Cloudkicker has been written out of this episode so you are ROOM FEED Mr. Bigotheart Luke. (I think at this point; Kit would let Baloo get his kicks in at this point. When Baloo gets pissed off, things happen.) Coolhands understands and proclaims that she doesn't have to hit him over the head and then he get whacked out of nowhere with COFFEE BEAN TREE OF DEATH! (Sadly; bigots have a tendency to forget that and have to be hit over the head with it because they don't think of women as human beings.) A good shot to the head too. (That coffee bean plant had to be made of concrete in order for that shot to connect the way it did. That made me cringe more than the head shot actually.)

The bird sounds are chirping as Coolhands gets the picture and drops dead into the bushes. No, not really but close enough. We then see Rebecca on the grass plains with the coffee bean tree showing her spoils. HAHA! Nice to see them booking Rebecca Cunningham strong here. Also, just to show that she is resourceful; she used the nail file to cut it down. Yeah; it's a BS&P decision because chainsaws are dangerous; but Rebecca did show off her Gadget skills; so screw the critics. (Nail files are not usually gender based, which makes one of later lines feel like an insult. More on that at the finish. Rebecca using a chainsaw would have been impressive either way; but this will do.) Rebecca helps Tan climb up the grass plain hill and they bail as Tan wants out of here as we see Coolhands pop from the bushes and then looks like he is about to cry as no one makes an idiot out of Coolhands Luke. Sir; because you are a vile sexist who cheats; you are already an idiot and a bigot. (That's true.) Coolhands walks out of the bushes and rolls up his sleeves as they are going to do the dirty work and then he'll show them who the best man is. (Ah; the old "cheat the system" gag which shows that he wins life with the easiest level setting. I just love how this show has no problem demonstrating white male entitlement in a show which is done by white cis males. Sorry; but it's true TaleSpin fans. This show doesn't win enough equality points in 2016 now.) Some people have called him Coolhands Fluke. It's Coolhands Luke; he said so himself in this scene in both the audio and Disney Captions. I wouldn't mind calling him Cheathands Luke myself; but to say Fluke is wrong because a fluke is a win that he isn't supposed to earn; but he won fairly. Just to clear that up. (It's clear everyone uses it as an insult; but a fluke implies that he won fair and square despite being outmatched. He's not outmatched; he is a cheater and a misogynist to the core.)

We head back into the skies as the SeaDuck is flying in the sky. There is a lot of stuff inside the box which I will leave as an excercise to the reader on the floor inside the cargo hold. The team of Tan and Rebecca have one more clue item to find which talks about quick and something about timeless sand in which Rebecca states that the answer is quicksand and this quicksand can be found on an island called The Geraldo Riviera. If you don't know which talk show host is being poked fun at; then you have no business reading this. It's funny now considering how disgraced the talk show host is right now. (No crap Sherlock! He has been reduced to a joke now. By the way...) Interestly enough; for the second time in as many episodes; they play "Kit's Chase" music in the background. Man; that song is popular as the SeaDuck lands onto the island. (I'm guessing this song was played to throw a bone to Kit fans out of fear of them changing the channel. Here's some advice: If you want Kit fans to not change the channel; have him run in at the end to celebrate, which you didn't do in the end. Okay? Don't bother with the music because most Kit fans didn't know the music is called "Kit's Chase" until they discovered the name from the Christopher L. Stone demo CD.) We then see a shot of the SeaDuck on the beach and then pan west to see them near a large pile of quicksand with a cliff and a palm tree as Baloo and Rebecca are doing the human ladder chain spot. Even funnier: Baloo is trying to grab the object on a tree branch above the quicksand; which leads to the obvious question: Who is sick enough to place the item on a tree branch in quicksand? (Yeah; I would to see how the officials of this event pulled this one off!) Even more obvious: Rebecca is holding onto Baloo's ankles where having her legs wrapped around the palm tree and therefore is doing all the work. (Granted; Baloo struggled to grab the watch himself so it's not like he was lazy here or anything. Luke is much much lazier than Baloo is.)

These hundred pound bears have some awesome strength as we will see in the next re-rant Last Horizons. (And it's not like Rebecca's the only one who get the "do a headscissors on the base of a pole in order to hold onto a bear that weighs four times as much as you" spot. Kit got this spot several times as well.) Anyway; Tan tries to grab the watch; but no dice. Rebecca then throws her silk stockings (even though she doesn't wear any) down onto Tan's nose as Tan wonders why. Rebecca states that she should use it to scoop up the watch because they need it to win. Tan does what she says (By tying the silk stocking into a makeshift LASSO OF BANE TO ALL ACTION CARTOONS EVERYWHERE~!) and manages to grab the pocket watch as Rebecca is so happy. I wouldn't be because she's a hundred twenty pounds soaking wet and the one that must lift the four hundred pound plus Tan up after the fact. That requires a huge amount of suspension of disbelief to work. I think the reason this scene was shown the way it way was to show Rebecca's side of being a clear-headed women which hasn't been present since the beginning of this series. I don't mind the logic break; but it is certainly absurd and like I stated earlier; I'd rather see this then see such forced humor that is present in many cartoon shows in the new Disney; or the Nick shows in the past ten years even though the early ones were quite hilarious; even for the wrong reasons. (I believe that they did it this way because Baloo's legs are too short to do the headscissors on a pole spot anyway; but that's the fault of his character designer, not the writers.) Anyhow; we return to a sky shot of the SeaDuck as Coolhands is underneath the belly of the SeaDuck and he invokes the saw on it. Huh? A metal plane and he's sawing with an ordinary rip saw. Logic break number four for the episode and there goes the perfect episode right there. (There is no way you can cut through metal with a rip saw in 1937. Maybe in 2016 since diamond saws have come a long way; but not here. If he used tin snips; this would have worked better as logic. So there's #2 for the episode.)

He saws through the metal where the box is as he proclaims that if he cannot have Tan; then he'll MURDER her in roundabout terms. Oooooooo... (Like the sexist that he is; he thinks of Tan as property now and not her own person. How can anyone not want to see Baloo kick this guys' ass after this?!) He stops sawing as he's almost ninty percent of the way as Tan and Rebecca return. Now THAT is a great spot to see because it makes Coolhands look smart and the babyfaces look the other way. Today; Coolhands would continue sawing and they would be oblivious to it because stupid equals funny in the ADD world see. (Not only that; they used a wooden ramp in a position where Baloo and Rebecca couldn't see Luke; but we could.) Rebecca goes into the cargo hold and checks the box as Tan comes in and asks why she is checking and she proclaims that one of her earrings got trapped in the box. Tan tells her to look for it after they win see as they head to the cockpit. Remember that one for later too. Coolhands continues to saw as the GOOFS WITH ATTITUDE sit in the cockpit seats and the engines start. We also get logic break number five as Coolhands saw goes inside the box rather than outside the box this time and the contents drop out from the bottom into a white box Coolhands has. (Actually; this is perfect because the finish requires that the box itself remain intact; but the contents are gone into the box of Luke. This actually works so it isn't an logic break.) Coolhands goes to his plane off-screen just as the SeaDuck takes off and then we see the black plane flies into the air with Coolhands piloting. Memo to Coolhands: Using black colors on your plane do not make you a badass; nor does your painted sideburns. (Yeah; it makes you look like a racist as well. Intersectivty and all that...) Man; it must be fall in these parts; since the bushes near the palm trees on the right seem brown. We then head into the sky with the side shot of the SeaDuck flying as Tan proclaims that Rebecca is going to get her publicity. Then Rebecca notices Coolhands' plane flying to the pilot's left and she eggs on Tan claiming that Coolhands is her secret admirer. What's funny is that her reaction makes perfect sense since the SeaDuck was RIGHT THERE and Rebecca was in it when Tan was being dragged and kissed on the hand by Coolhands earlier in the episode! How about THAT for unspoken continuity?!

Tan almost blows him cover asking her not to encourage him. (I hate to defend Baloo and yell at Rebecca; but Rebecca taunting Tan was bad because the person who has a crush on Tan is the same guy who has been trying to destroy her business. I would not be defending Luke there Rebecca, you'll only cause splash damage on your self.) Coolhands then throws the ROSE MAGNETS OF DOOM onto the SeaDuck and they stick. (Yes folks; Luke wants to kill Rebecca with Tan because Luke thinks Rebecca is stealing Tan from him (implying a lesiban relationship making him a homophobe as well. Talk about crank bigotry there, dood!); but shows his "gentle" side by giving Tan roses with the magnet device designed to cause his plane to crash. What a scoiopath Luke is?!) Doesn't this just contradict the fuzzy logic of the SeaDuck being made of wood earlier guys? (Nope; because the SeaDuck is made of metal. The saw was the logic break; not the SeaDuck itself.) Anyhow; Rebecca keeps egging on Tan claiming that she has a crush on Tan. HAHA! I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. (Yes; it's a real comment...BUT IT'S WRONG~!) Tan then panics (and thus blows his cover) as the SeaDuck starts to rumble and they go into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!). Coolhands have booby-trapped his baby and then we nosedive with bad screaming to end the segment sixteen minutes in. (Well; Rebecca's screams like a chain smoking seagull, so that was to be expected. I love the booking here because it's precisely what makes this episode different from the usual "Boys Vs. Girls" episodes you see on television. The focus is not on the woman against the men; it's Baloo and Rebecca wanting to get back at Luke for trying to destroy their business through his clear cut sexism. And it makes you want to see Luke get his ass kicked and handed to him in the end because Luke's character is of all the trappings of a disgusting bigot. Still; there are a few minor problems with the episode, but they are booking this as well as I could have hoped they could book it.)

After the commercial break; we see the SeaDuck go into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!) as we get an extended shot of Coolhands looking smug like the sexist that he is and the airplane flies away stage left. Then we go to a shot of the roses as they fly off and Baloo swears in DUBBED ANIME STYLE (Oh my gosh! How funny that Baloo cannot take God's name in vain; but Kit did in A Baloo Switcheroo. (Oh, don't worry; Baloo says "Oh God" in A Jolly Molly Christmas. Geez; that doesn't give away the ending to that episode, no siree.)) as he states the obvious while the SeaDuck takes a nosedive. Baloo tries the controls on the FPS shots; but no go as we nosedive and tailspin some more (BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!). Anyway; the broomstick (which Kit used from Plunder and Lightning Part One) falls down and the life preserver attached to a rope bounces around and lands sqaure on Tan's head in a cute spot. (That life preserver looks like something from a Lifesavers candy commercial.) Rebecca gets the LIGHT BLUB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY as she goes towards the broomstick as Tan removes the inner tube from her head and nearing blowing her cover physically as Rebecca ties a rope around her body and around something solid as Tan is panicking about spring cleaning as Rebecca states that it is time to clean house. Yes; folks it's Mommy For A Day all over again as Rebecca goes to the side door and kicks it open as Tan panics again. Rebecca falls out and floats for a bit before stepping onto the door and getting to the front of the plane. OH MY GOD! SHE'S EVEN MORE OF A RISK TAKER THAN KIT IS~! I wonder where she got that idea from? Bad Reflection On You Part Two anyone? Does Kit THE MIRACLE WORKER and Rebecca secretly exchange notes on how to get each other over? I SMELL A FANFIC COMING! (Which I will never write of course because I suck at writing fanfics. Kind of like Brendala trying to draw Rebecca's hair.) Rebecca crawls towards the magnets with broomstick in hand and makes it there. Rebecca then proceeds to stick the wooden broomstick into the magnet and removes it easily. She stands up and proclaims victory; except that she makes the mistake that Kit THE MIRACLE WORKER never makes, falls backwards and flies out as inside the SeaDuck. The so-called solid meat hook snaps off and it does a cute spot where the rope (with the life preserver) continued to fall as Rebecca continues to fall. The life preserver hangs on to the back of Baloo's pilot chair as Rebecca stops falling and loses the broom while getting off this gem.:

Rebecca: My superior business sense can be dangerous!

Yeah; I thought that it could be too Miss Cunningham; but hey, it gets you over and you can thank Kit THE MIRACLE WORKER for that. Sadly; he's not around since the writers wrote him out about eight minutes ago. Anyway; Rebecca luck is about to run out as the life preserver loses its life and it lands right onto Baloo's lap as the rope becomes too slack and it cuts onto the rope (not that spot again!) as Rebecca falls back and hangs onto the wing. Man; this is like Stormy Weather and Mommy for a Day all rolled into one as Rebecca tries to recall what to do from her business school days. At least we now know that she didn't go to an all-purpose college or university. Sounds a lot like a 1990's thing doesn't it? (I'm pretty sure business schools exist in the 1930's. Just not anywhere like it was today.) Rebecca then realizes that she only knows how to fall and she does fall into the clear sky. Let's add Plunder and Lightning Part Four now; as Tan panics once again and has to blow her cover (again) as she flies the SeaDuck towards Rebecca as she screams (which was lame) and falls to her death. It doesn't have the same panche as Molly and Kit free falling; but it's dramatic and that's what counts. However; Tan invokes Baloo's trademark move number two which is the Baloo Barrelhouse Backwards Roll and Rebecca manages to land right into the SeaDuck safe using the same side door she exited. Rebecca breathes a sigh of relief, then she realizes that move and states that only Baloo can pull it off. Tan is SO BUSTED now! However; Rebecca -- with a smirk on her face to show that she's onto Baloo's plan now -- decides to play with Baloo's mind as she states that she's glad that Tan can do it since it would provide competition for that greedy, fat, irresponsible bear. (Now that was funny because she's decided to play along and that busting him now would mean nothing. I got a feeling Rebecca knew it was Baloo and it makes all those times when Baloo is talking in a normal voice trying to whisper make even more sense. Julia and Bruce are in fact writing their best episode here and they are for the most part doing a hell of a job with it.) That was funny as Tan is angry now; however, he realizes (oh my gosh again) that Coolhands has distracted them enough to take the lead and the SeaDuck flies towards the finish line. I am so digging this episode like I did last time.

So we go to the scene changer of doom we go to a small mountain island where we see Coolhands' seaplane on top of it as Cheathands Luke is sitting in his seaplane with his feet up waiting for the SeaDuck so that his cheating doesn't become too obvious. So not only is he a sexist cheat (...etc., etc., etc....) ; he's lazy as well. Yeap folks; he is a polar bear version of Fred Flintstone and quite frankly; I'm getting tired of it as the SeaDuck finally approches and passes Coolhands without incident. (Well; you know what they say: "This racist shit is getting old.") Coolhands is ticked off now (Jumping gyroscopes! (Invented in 1852.)) as he has underestimated Rebecca Cunningham again which is a trait all sexists share. He flies in his seaplane as the two planes approach the finish line. We return to the finish line (which is the airfield of course) where the goat judge (from earlier in the episode) is in a hot-air baloon which is quite dangerous. Anyway; he takes out the old standby binoculars and sees that the two remaining seaplane are neck and neck. The goat judge pumps his fist as he realizes that he's got a successful race after all. Nice to see him acting netural in this sexist episode. Anyway; the two planes are neck and neck as Coolhands states no woman is going to beat him. However; Tan shows no mercy as ladies are first. That was cute as Tan pushes for more power and the SeaDuck flies past Coolhands for good as the SeaDuck pasts the finish line; cutting the rope on the hot-air balloon (second same spot in the episode) as the SeaDuck lands as the victors. At least that's what they think anyway. (Remember that the stipulation is that the winner is the one who gets the most items. If there is a tie of most items; the one who gets there first wins.) Tan and Rebecca walk out of the SeaDuck as the hot-air balloon lands and they celebrate. The goat judge is pretty happy as he is about to give the tiara; but Coolhands steals it to inform the judge that he should check the cargo to make sure that they actually got the stuff. UH OH! (Yeah; the stipulations must be upheld, even if a rotten sexist (not you in this case, Huey Duck) cheated to win.)

Rebecca and Tan decide that they will show their stuff as they go into the SeaDuck and shows them the empty box which the judge is unimpressed. (And that's why he cut into the box; not outside of it.) Tan & Rebecca are shocked as Coolhands puts the tiara on his head and jumps into his seaplane as he tells the goat judge to check his cargo in the winner circle. Tan calls him a cheater and is ready to MURDER him. Good for you Tan as Coolhands flies the plane towards the winner circle. Anyway; Coolhands thinks he has won; but Tan manages to get on his seaplane, punks him out and then they fight inside the seaplane. Nice to see Sunwoo not make this look so cheap. The makeup of the crowd in the shot is dogs, pigs, a crow, a bird, a warthog and the walrus and blue trenchcoat dog from other episodes. Sadly; Kit is not there because he's been; you know. (Although there is an adult version of him in the crowd gasping for horror.) Rebecca is pleading for Tan not to do this since he won't get away with it anyway. (This line was spoken by Rebecca before Baloo went after Luke; telegraphing the finish even though it was obvious the moment she lost her earring.)) No dice as the two scuffle together inside the seaplane. The seaplane spins around and nearly goes into the drink. However; the seaplane turns around, spins around towards Rebecca and the judge as they scatter. The cargo box flies out and get smashed around a bit. Then the seaplane finally is laid to rest into a pile of boxed hay which Sun Woo gets right. Hey; when you are not saying that Sun Woo is screwing up, then they have done their job. Rebecca goes towards the smashed up box and waves to the official. The goat official sells it as we to cut to Tan who grabs Coolhands by the collar and calls him a cheat as she is ready to MURDER him. (And really; who doesn't want to see Baloo kick Luke's ass. Luke tried to kill Rebecca earlier out of jealousy that Baloo refused to bite on the marriage deal.) However; Rebecca calms her down to state that they are going to solve this by using their brains. (My only complaint about this is that she said she wants to win it like ladies. Implying that all men are stupid. I would have changed that line to: "We're going to win this the right way. With our brains.")

Actually; that's a great idea as Rebecca states that Coolhands has her nailfile (I would have her say "my nailfile" instead of a "woman's nailfile" because it still implies that it's a woman's nailfile anyway.), her silk stockings and her earrings. Those are three things that were placed in the box earlier as proof that it's their stuff because no sexist would ever keep these things. Coolhands is so busted! Coolhands tries to defend himself; but there is no way out. (Coolhands claimed that the silk stockings were used to cure his so called varicose veins. Kevin Johnston couldn't believe that they went there; but it wasn't a joke. It was a poor excuse for him to Luke that he has this condition when he's middle age. Coolhands stole those things and tried to steal their stuff like Swiper because all Rebecca had to do was call on for the official and tell him to check Luke's gear. Luke assumed he won; but the official never declared Coolhands the winner at any point during this. The thing is; Baloo was pissed off that he wanted to go after Luke before Rebecca could go to the official. Rebecca knew she won because she knew her earring was somewhere inside the box along with the nailfile she used to cut the coffee bean plant and the silk stockings used to grab the pocket watch. She put them in there as evidence that they did the work. That is great foresight on Rebecca's part.) See how those little details make the whole episode make sense and pay into the finish and expose Luke as the cheater?! Although I think the earrings were the cake while the stocking were the icing; but that's a minor quibble on their part. Tan takes the tiara and puts it on Rebecca's head as the judge disqualifys Coolhands, causing Coolhands to grumble and leave the scene. Man; Coolhands has restraint, I'll give him that much. (If this were today; Luke goes on the most sexist tirade ever allowed by BS&P and Baloo punches him in the face to shut him up. As violent as it sounds; orders of magnitude suggest that Luke would get off easy after that.)

The goat judge is asked to leave them to their thoughts (powder their noses) as he leave. Rebecca then admits that she knew it was Baloo all the time as they exchange notes about what they learned. As I stated in my first rant: Now; most people would say that Higher for Hire was cheating in this race because Baloo was playing as a female. However; it's not really cheating at all because Baloo was allowed to enter the race as long as he had a sponsor. Since that sponsor only allowed women; Baloo decided to become a woman to aid Rebecca. Not to mention that the D.O.A. had to get a new pilot because the previous pilot couldn't find a babysitter; Mary need someone and Baloo dressed up as Tan was a great idea. The only cheating was done on D.O.A.; not on the actual race itself. That's why Higher For Hire did win the race fair and square. (It's much better than you make it sound. In order for Baloo to cheat the D.O.A.; you have to assume that Rebecca never knew that it was Baloo in the disguise from the start which she admitted that she knew all along. Also remember that the SeaDuck was sponsored by the D.O.A.; so Rebecca and Mary were fully expecting Baloo to fly this plane. The whole babysitting thing was probably a ruse by them in over to not blow their cover. I betcha Rebecca told Mary everything about Baloo and his cross dressing tendenices. They obviously didn't care about Baloo blowing his cover so many times in the episode. Plus; as mentioned before, as long as Baloo and Higher For Hire had a local air club sponsor, a plane and a pilot; everything was legal and straight. All conditions were met. Once that happened; Rebecca basically won and let Coolhands cheat himself into an easy defeat. Brilliant!) Rebecca then admits that she knew Baloo was Tan all along because only a fool wouldn't notice that it was their best friend and they do a handshake which goes into an iconic hug to end the episode at 21:18. In the historic context; this episode deserves perfect marks; but the wacky logic breaks hurt that. Sadly; Daisy Duck didn't take the hint until it was too late. **** 1/2 (90%). (Same rating as before.)


THE REVIEW LINE

While the stereotypes of woman being unable to do business as men could were apparent in this show and some people may not like that. However; in order to expose the stereotypes for what they are which are stupid then they must be there. While Coolhands Luke came off as a 2D character that was not redeemable in the very leasy; he did serve the purpose of getting Rebecca over as something more than just an annoying business lady. While I like this episode; it wasn't without a few annoying flaws where just a few extra seconds could have pushed this episode much higher than the final score. The few logic breaks weren't a factor compared to the writers decision to leave Kit Cloudkicker out of the picture for the second half of the episode. A few seconds for Kit to say that he would watch the air show from the stands or something like that would have been enough. It makes it seem like Kit doesn't care about Rebecca Cunningham and that goes against his character. Kit is an important character and he was also part of Baloo's plan to show that women are just as good at a job as men are; and to just ignore him for the rest of the episode was really a low point for the episode at large. (Actually; the reason Kit left was that Kit felt that if he showed himself to Rebecca, Rebecca would figure out Baloo is Tan. Which proved to be absolutely pointless since Rebecca knew all along. Might as well have Kit jump from the stand and hug Rebecca for the victory.) Luckly; the good outweigh the bad by a sizable margin here as there were a few very funny moments and Rebecca showed her stuff in that she can put that temper and anger aside to solve a problem. Notice that Rebecca basically carried the episode on her back in the second half?! Baloo in essence got over (at Coolhand's expense) over his cross-dressing and the POWER OF THE PUNCH on Coolhands was priceless indeed. Kit was THE MIRACLE WORKER when the writers gave him the chance to do it of course. Also; it's nice to see someone write an honest episode about sexism that made sense and a finish that makes sense making Rebecca look strong without making her into a super FemiNazi. (Holy Godwinning there, dood!) Sadly; BS&P notes went into effect in later shows to the point that in Quack Pack; every female character turned out bland except for Daisy Duck who needed the change since she was turning into the punching bag and an allegory of people accusing Disney of a hate crime as I saw a couple of reviews from GeoX. (And here's his review: Link.) To the point where even the writers went on Usenet to apologize for writing such terrible episodes such as Ducks By Nature as the most heinous example. But that is for another time. (Thankfully; BS&P has grown out of it in 2016. Hopefully; Webby 2017 in the Ducktales 2017 reboot will be much more respectful than 1989 Webby was in Ducktales 1989.) Overall; Juila Jane Lewald and Bruce Talkington did a really good groundbreaking episode here. Sadly; the next episode is basically one of the scariest episodes in the entire series and this one got blackballed and in my view rightfully so: Last Horizons. And it's not because the heels are pandas either. Even scarier; I'm doing the re-rant on November 11th. Lest we forget the racism... (The next two episodes I'm transcribing are Citizen Khan and The Time Bandit (speaking of sexism...) as I'm leaving Your Baloo's In The Mail third last. We are down to the final five episodes now and I can finally put this chapter of TaleSpin to bed.) So...

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

 

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