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Flight of The Snow Duck Re-Rant

Reviewed: 11/13/2010
Additional Commentary: 10/23/2021

The Episode I Realized How Relevant TaleSpin Really Was To Me.

Original Airdate: 11/05/1990 (Syndication), Episode #33 (TaleSpin DVD Volume 2, Disc 1), Episode #35 (Production Order).

Flight Of The Snow Duck Notes
Flight Of The Snow Duck Transcript

Yes; the caption does have some meaning because this is not only the first appearance for Molly Cunningham in a speaking role since Molly Coddled. It was also living proof that BS&P really didn't exist and it only served to bring the notes quicker into release. Plus; we return to Thembria. Cue ominous music here, folks. (2015 Gregory Weagle Says: This episode is basically the template for that episode of Spongebob Squarepants where he and Patrick spend the entire episode inside a box; much to the annoyance of Squidward. I just love the irony of Spongebob SquarePants talking about imagination and showing off his rainbow trick while inside a cardboard box, because isn't imagination simply a word for the phrase "thinking outside the box"? And yet he's doing to inside a box. Baffling to me. Anyhow; the plot of this episode is: WildCat babysits Molly and they have fun until Molly wants to know what snow is. Molly discovers that this snow is in Thembria and wants to go. WildCat foolishly accepts and they go to Thembria without realizing that playing in the snow while smiling is a crime in the country and that having an imagination is a capital offense (and after what happened in Texas a few days after I wrote the additional commentary; the gap between reality and fiction got shaved even thinner.). Yeah; they sentenced a six year old to a gulg; and now she and WildCat have to find a way out as Molly's faith for a mythical beast saving them grows.) Let's rant on shall we....?!

This episode is written by Steve Roberts. The story is edited by Duane Capizzi. The animation is done by Walt Disney Animation (Japan) Inc. and Hanho Heung Up Company Limited.

We begin this one at the docks of Higher...For...Hire and then into Rebecca's office as we see Molly in her Dangerwoman outfit with her doll Lucy. Apparently Mantis Lady is stealing secret documents and wants cover. Molly runs in with a spatula and knocks all the papers down on Rebecca's desk and wants Mantis Lady to give up. So Rebecca is Mantis Lady?! Really now, Steve. (If you ever wanted a reason to strangle the execs for treating this show like filler; look no further than the Dangerwoman angle. Molly as Dangerwoman is really fun and there was enough ideas to make it work; including a payoff of Molly seeing Dangerwoman for real and realizing that she's in a wheelchair. At least the comics gave us Dangerwoman speaking several lines, as well as a few rank and file villains to work with in "F'reeze A Jolly Good Fellow".) Rebecca is not amused as Molly looks like she's going to blush. Not a good idea there, Molly. So we head to WildCat's workshop for just the second time in the series (The first was the during the Home Is Where The Heart Is segment which Disney hacked out in Plunder and Lightning and even that was a tease since we only saw the outside part of it.) as Rebecca has Molly in her arms as Rebecca wants WildCat to babysit Molly because her imagination is running wild again. (As opposed to Kit's? Sure; Kit's dreams are rooted in reality somewhat, but he's still under the age of consent at this point. Speaking of Kit; I'm guessing Kit was with his Jungle Aces friends having milkshakes and shooting the breeze during this episode. I would have been happy with Rebecca just saying that Kit has a well deserved day off; or even at school at this point since I cannot find anyway for Kit to be in this episode and make sense. You already have WildCat as a babysitter, and putting Kit with Baloo just creates an extra character as dead weight.) WildCat is fixing a saxophone for no reason that I can think of, well one that doesn't involve me saying: "Just because he's Wildcat, of course". (WildCat is a much more lovable PG rated version of Cody Deener from TNA.) Wildcat invokes the butterfly net as he wants to catch Molly's imagination. HAHA! (WildCat has already demonstrated his desire to catch anything with a butterfly. Remember that he was using it to catch a star in A Star Is Torn?)

Rebecca waves it off as she just wants Molly away from her office for the rest of the day. Molly is not happy to hear that as Rebecca wants Molly to be good and not drive Wildcat "crazy" as she walks out of the workshop. Scare quotes intentional. (Sure. How do you drive WildCat crazy?! I don't see how that can be done.) Anyhow; WildCat notices that Molly is Dangerwoman and Molly proclaims that she is. Can you sense that these two are going to have great chemistry already? That's because WildCat is a mountain lion and Molly is a bear. They will get along nicely. I like Molly/Kit's chemistry better simply because they are both bears and are supposed to have a natural distrust of each other. (In the case of Molly and WildCat; they both share a sense of innocence and playfulness that isn't seen in the other main characters. The differences are WildCat is nice to a fault while Molly is sneaky and smart to a fault in comparison to the other. It's not just their spieces that dictates the chemistry.) Anyhow; Wildcat goes to the CHEST OF DEMONS which he dubs a pirate chest. Wildcat opens it and we see various international objects which I'm SHOCKED New Jack hasn't used in hardcore matches. (You clearly don't watch enough New Jack matches 2010 me. I'm shocked New Jack was never in the Urban Wrestling Federation to be quite honest with you.) We have black olives -- which are three bowling balls -- (Considering what he says later; it comes off as WildCat believing that he's going Olive Bowling instead of bowling. Somehow; I would have loved to see that.)); an elephant comb -- which is a rake --; a flying hat -- which are red earmuffs -- which he puts on Molly's ears. She is handed a comb and we play air traffic control as Wildcat mimics buzzing noises and flies like an airplane. (I think BS&P had to step in here because they were teasing giving Molly the rusted out rake with the broken handle and then changed it to a comb. Which would have been fine if WildCat took the comb out of the chest on-screen. This lack of continuity annoys me the most.) Molly proclaims that he is not clear for landing since he's surrounded. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: You could put this in Peppa Pig and you could not even tell the difference.)

Then WildCat yells "June Day" which is recycled from I believe Top Duck from Launchpad; but wants dinner at eight o'clock. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Thus this makes WildCat's misuse of saying even more hilarious in hindsight.) Walt Disney Animation Japan screws up as WildCat was supposed to trip on the bowling balls; but misses by six inches and locks himself into the tickle trunk. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Blown spot; but it's Wildcat, so it makes it funnier as Molly laughs her ass off almost as good as Cubbi Gummi from Presto Gummo. (Need to roll on the floor laughing to equal that effort, Molly.) Wildcat opens the CHEST OF DEMONS and finds the red story book and blows on it. HAHA! Well; at least it's not the Junior Woodchuck Guide Book! POW! OUCH! Ummm...Okay; it's like the Junior Woodchuck Guide Book. POW! OUCH! Ummm...Okay; worse. Carl Bark fans (minus Chris Barat of course) do not know their place obviously. (Still don't. They still believe Don Rosa hated Ducktales when he admitted that he really didn't. Although I'm not sure if it because Ducktales 2017 exist and thus is worse, but eh.) The title is our episode title of the day: Flight of the Snowduck. Molly wants Wildcat to read it and so we get the circle scene changer and you thought the cross fade in Z-Grade movies was cheap. We see WildCat and Molly reading the book. Well; Wildcat is stumbling over any word over seven letters and Molly actually corrects him with the proper word. Jeepers; I can see where the "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" came from. Also, Molly is barely in first grade at this point. (This goes back to Molly being whip smart as a personality. WildCat does have a grip on the English language, but doesn't have enough of it to extend past him being a mechanic. I also never understood why there was a scene changer needed; unless the scene was extended in the original and they ran too long.) The girl in Flight of The Snowduck is human; although it is barely noticable. (Actually; they clearly showed her face on the opposite page and he looks very similar to Gladys from Gladys & The Gorilla from Mommy For A Day, only in different outfits.)

Then they show the actual story in motion as we see the snowduck and the human girl flying ahead of the black dragons. Apparently; the Snowduck always helps people. Remember that for later on. The Snowduck dives into a rabbit hole which causes the dragons to crash into the entrance of the rabbit hole and take a couple of decent bumps in the process. I got to admit; this sequence was animated really well which is no surprise since Walt Disney Animation Japan is animating here. WildCat cannot pronounce persue either. WildCat finishes the story and Molly asks what is snow. Okay; that is logic break number one for the episode about three minutes in because as we see later on in Jolly Molly Christmas; Rebecca relates the story on snowing in her home village to Molly and Molly would be with her so she would know about snow. (Actually; now that I think about it; I'm guessing Rebecca lived in Cape Suzette during Molly's life and never went to her biological homeland during that time. This makes sense actually; so why did 2010 me think it was a logic break?) Although to be fair; this does foreshadow the Christmas episode which would be Molly's finest hour on SO MANY LEVELS. So there you go. (Well; most of that was on the finish alone.) WildCat shows her a bowling ball and proclaims that it's completely different than snow. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh; that is just great. I could listen to Wildcat's non-sequiters all day and never be mad at him. Drake Mallard has nothing on WildCat. AND THE ROCK SAYS NOTHING! We fade to black to turn Michael Eisner on once again. (I see both sides of the scene changers are getting paid today.) We head to the docks on the sky shot as Baloo carrying boxes to the tailsection of the SeaDuck and Molly casually walks behind him. Molly asks what snow is and Baloo blows her off because he doesn't want to be reminded about it. See; Baloo has to go to Thembria this morning. Considering what happens after this episode (and A Spy In The Ointment); you would think that Rebecca would take the hint and not book shipments to Thembria. (Rebecca wants customers and business; it would be discrimination to not consider doing business with Thembria; no matter how much of a facist country it is.)

Baloo bumps the crate into the tailsection as Thembria has nothing but snow. Ironically enough; Thembrians would contradict that statement nicely in the final 1990 episode before the Christmas special: Gruel & Unusual Punishment. Molly jumps up as she wants to see snow and Baloo refuses because Thembria is no place for her. She doesn't know the half of it dude. You can tell Walt Disney Animation Japan is animating since you can sometimes see the manga lines in some of the movements when Baloo bumps all over the place and knocks into the SeaDuck with the box off-screen with decent bumps. WildCat asks if Baloo needs help with that and Baloo groans. Molly grabs WildCat's hand as she wants to go to Thembria and Wildcat isn't sure about that. Molly asks please and WildCat realizes what Rebecca wanted him to do with Molly so he agrees with her. (At least she didn't stoop to Johnny Ass...ERR..Test's level of invoking the dreaded puppy eyes of brainwashing! Because no one in that show can resist saying yes to that.) We go to the scene changer as the engines start and begin to roar on the docks of Higher...For...Hire. We then cut to a shot behind the crates (The bane of First Person Shooters the world over and still is...) as we see Molly in her pink furcoat as they make a break for it stage right on the sky shot and enter the side door of the SeaDuck as WildCat proclaims that they almost didn't make it. HAHA! (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: I was extremely disappointed when the Halloween PSA featuring the TaleSpin and Darkwing Duck characters were in costumes because Honker's costume was racist, Kit was a cowboy when his pirate outfit from Captains Outrageous was many buys and Molly was in this pink coat when her Dangerwoman outfit was dead on perfect for Halloween.) We see the SeaDuck fly and we logically go to Thembria as the SeaDuck has already landed on the lake which for some reason isn't frozen so it must be the coast of Thembria. We pan east to hear some Thembrian from the Ministry of Law & Ornaments to state Baloo's business. (Yes folks; because there is no real order in Thembria; only fake objects.) We head to the desk as we see the Thembrian has Colonel Spigot goading stick and he has a beard. He's such a rebel BABEE! Or maybe not.

Even scarier is that if you look at him at 4:15 of the DVD; notice his tusk are shaped like a Nazi symbol?! (Well; half of one anyway. It's also similar to the rug on the floor of Higher for Hire in From Here To Machinery. Considering what creative had planned for the Thembrians before Disney stopped them at the pass...Oh lord...) Baloo of course is merely delivering pink flamingos from Cape Suzette. Not the real flamingos; because that would be animal cruelty; right BS&P?! Even though the anthros are half animal to begin with?! The Thembrian official then uncorks the paperwork of doom to fill out which is less than most IRS tax forms back in those days. Who says Thembria isn't efficient?! (EVERYBODY~!) Baloo asks why and they are for a formal apology because he parked six inches too close to the docks. If you park too close to the dock and not sign a formal apology: YOU CAN BE SHOT! Baloo proclaims that it's a little boo-boo and wants the official to shoot him. Don Karnage's version from Stuck On You is cooler, Steve; since he nearly got his head shot off while Baloo only gets his hand whipped. Just not the same effect. (I was disappointed that the official didn't just bring a gun out to take up his offer. It's not like this episode doesn't have guns being used and abused here (and frankly; this show in general.).) Baloo takes the FORMAL APOLOGIES OF DOOM and asks for a pen. We head to the SeaDuck as the side door opens and out pops Molly seeing snow for the first time in her life. Man; in hindsight, this sets up Jolly Molly Christmas perfectly as even WildCat is wearing a grey fur coat. WildCat gleefully proclaims that the snow has no artifical colors or ingredients. Which is true since snow is just shaved ice; which is frozen water. Nothing man made indeed. I'm guessing that some people are confusing WildCat's art-i-fical with that one person claiming Louie said about the Sub-Electron Power Amplifier in Plunder and Lightning Act II. (I wondered where that person got that nonsense from.) WildCat and Molly have a race on the docks as both laugh; WildCat sounds cartoonish while Molly sounds like a girl giggling. Which makes perfect sense since Janna Michaels who is about seven years ago was doing Molly's voice at the time. Wildcat then shocks the hell out of me by doing a shooting star press (!) and lands on his feet and doesn't slip up. (Well; that was interesting.)

WildCat wants Molly to watch as he makes a snowball and throws it up into the air and where it lands it must be WildCat's head. And that's exactly what happens. HAHA! Molly giggles on cue as WildCat rolls a big ass snowball as they make a snowman as Wildcat runs down all the favorites like snowmen (What, no women? THAT'S SEXIST!), snow angels (What no snow devils? THAT'S RELIGIONIST! Yeah; I probably spelt it wrong too.), forts, castles, apple pies, igloos; although the apple pie one might be suspect. Well; sure it is Wildcat; because apple pie is an AmeriKKKan value, see?! That would be suspect enough. Yeah; I stole that one from either Raging Bee or demmocommie from Dispatches From The Culture Wars and Ed Brayton; so shoot me. So we head to the desk as Baloo is writing down his formal apology to Thembria with a pencil and looking annoyed. I'm hoping the official makes him write another one for using a pencil instead of a pen; just for a laugh. (Geez; I guess in 1990, overkilling the joke is grounds for termination. If it were done today; Steve would get a raise. Triple if it makes no sense to overkill the joke.) Baloo then asks what they do with the flamingos. The official proclaims that they buy them for a dollar each; paint them blue and sells them back to Cape Suzette for fifty cents. Or as we call it in AmeriKKKa: Walmart. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Come on guys; this whole scene just reeks of Walmart jokes. (Says the me who years later bought TaleSpin Volume 3 on DVD at Walmart. For $10. After it sold on Disney's Movie Club for over $30.) Baloo points out the obvious and the official proclaims that it's a power struggle. We see several Thembrians dressed in different fur coats (This must be the capitalist part of Thembria; not unlike the section of China (It's similar in Quebec with Montreal being more akin to English than the usual French cities in the rest of Quebec.).). One of the Thembrians invokes the stamp on the wing of the SeaDuck as Baloo asks why not leave them pink. The official proclaims that no one has heard of a pink flamingo. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ummm; reality has heard and seen such a thing and they also appear in white and even darker shades of red/orange. Hey; it's Thembria, don't ask. (I believe that it's the American flamingo; which is so great since Usland is supposed to be their version of America and anything with "America" in it, Thembria must deface to maintain their vigor towards the Mommyland. Who's head of state is a male.)

Baloo points out that not everything has to look frozen. You never heard of Business 101 Pop-A-Bear?! (Yes, but not the Thembrian edition, oh no.) He then runs over to the SeaDuck and panics because the SeaDuck is being painted blue. HAHA! The official goes up and points out the conveniently placed stamp on the bottom of the right wing that it is a bird according to "Thembrian Law and Ornaments." We see Baloo and the official aruging like a bunch of people thinking that they have seen Superman. (I'm guessing 2010 me was making an analogy about kids killing themselves trying to fly like Superman and showing how dumb the argument was. Otherwise; I have zero clue what 2010 me was talking about.) Baloo then wipes off the stamp and that is defacement of state property. That's a no-no Pop-A-Bear. (In Thembria of course; that's a heinous crime on par with murder.) The official blows the whistle (HA! What an ironic whistleblower?!) and we see three midget Thembrians in sweaters detain Baloo. One of them (the red one) flashes his badge and he's Sgt. Grumpy. So I missed two voices in this episode already. Don't ask me who they are; I have no idea. (Yeah; the sargeant has a name; but the official only has his title. This has to be a motif; there's no other explaination for it.) Anyhow; we return outside to see Molly and WildCat finish their snowman who has ears as Molly proclaims that he can hear them. She even asks if he wants to come home and see her mother. HAHA! WildCat cups his ear to him and it said yes. HAHA! Only WildCat and Molly could get away with this and NOT look like idiots. (Although Kit would be able to get away with it even if it made him look like an idiot; because burials of cynical Kit by Molly will never fail to make me laugh.) Molly giggles and then asks how WildCat can pretend so good and WildCat proclaims that he does it with Emagination with a captial E. Sadly; Disney Captions missed that naunce. Which is still a million times better than anything made after Spongebob Squarepants. Once Spongebob started making rainbows; you knew that cartoons were going to be forced to jackhammer the point home because of the ADD crowd. (Not to mention the fact that they were using their imaginations while still inside the box.)

We then see WildCat run stage right off-screen and then he returns with a large metal cone which looks like a big ass nose cone for a missile. Molly likes the metal thing as WildCat tries to correct her but stumbles before Molly corrects him as it's a toboggan. Did I mention how good the chemistry is between these two? I'm SHOCKED they didn't do a Kit/WildCat and/or a Kit/Molly/WildCat focused episode in the series. (The Long Flight Home in the comic was basically a Molly/Kit/WildCat focused episode in a certain way, although most of the interactions were with Kit/Molly.) WildCat gets confused and then gets it as he puts Molly in the nosecone and Molly wants WildCat to bring their snowman along. How sweet of them? Normally; it's the snowman that gets clobbered at this point. WildCat slides the cone and gets in getting off another cute promo ("Start your motor" which is funny since only anthro motors (muscles) are involved.). The cone slides down the hill; which looks like one of those paths found in a bobsled or skeleton hill. Molly and WildCat collide into a snowbank and WildCat gets all the snow as expected. Molly's giggling is pretty cute as we see a police snowmobile with monster truck tires and it looks like a makeshift car. HAHA! Wacky Thembrian craftsmanship; what will they think of next?! (You really do not want to know 2010 me. Seriously; there are enough episodes in this series to show how wacky this show can be.) Apparently; they see the cone going UNDER the speed limit (Thirty in a Thirty-five zone which the second officer blows off. Considering how assbackwards Thembria is; this makes a hell lot more sense for the first officer to react that way.) and they were...SMILING!! BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Only in Thembria can you be charged with a crime if you are seen smiling and playing in the snow. (I would have thought the joke would be funnier if they charged them with going under the speed limit because Thembria is so Orwelian in nature compared to the land of Wuz where they did the inverted version of the same joke and it wasn't funny. Yeah; Thembrians have more knowledge on how speed limits work than Wuzzles. Now; smiling? That's a heinous crime on par with genocide.)

The police snowmobile chases after them complete with the siren. They actually catch up with WildCat and order them to pull over. They are also the "Slush Police"; which probably means that they are corrupt cops too. Molly shows her respect to the police and asks WildCat to stop but the cone has no brakes. (As Super Dave once said before he crashed his car: "Brakes are important, kid.") The cone veers left and collides into the snowbank as the police snowmobile veers right and smacks into the snowbanks with wussy bumps; although they make up for it somewhat by ejecting from the snowmobile and smacking into the snow. Bah; Molly and WildCat took the better bump here. Then we get logic break number two for the episode as they use the exact same background from earlier when WildCat grabs Molly. How do I know? The snowman should have been destroyed along when they hit the snowbank. Bad form there Walt Disney Japan. (All right; there was your first logic break there 2010 me.) WildCat puts Molly down as he proclaims that snow is soft as we see Officer #1 (Jack Angel) come in pointing a long ass pistol which indicates that this guy is over-compensating for something. Although; he's from Thembria; it's quite understandable. (I don't think he's overcompenstating here; I think he really loves the thrill of shooting hapless people dead. We are now 22 for 27 in the guns being pulled out for this series as of this writing.) WildCat raises his arms as we cut to the officer clicking his tongue for them playing in the snow. That leads to one of those scenes that scares the living crap out of me as Molly and WildCat are arrested. WildCat proclaims that they were just out of town. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, indeed. WildCat gets cuffed which doesn't surprise me; but they also handcuff Molly Cunningham! Now THAT'S a gutsy move on Steve Roberts part because Molly is no older than six years old. For those who wonder why I thought "Duck In The Iron Mask" sucked; well keep reading and you'll understand why. (Okay; Duck In The Iron Mask was underrated by me; but it's still not a ****+ classic like many Ducktales fans think. It's more at the ** 1/2 to *** range. Mostly due to me seeing this episode before Duck In The Iron Mask which had this similar angle.) WildCat and Molly are lead out as they have to explain it to the judge according to officer #2 (Ed Gilbert).

We head to a dark courtroom inside the CITADEL OF BLEAK DISPAIR which is for some reason perfectly suited for the Thembrian culture. A spotlight is shined on Molly and WildCat as the Thembrian People's Court is now in session. Yeap; they are using mature lighting here which is a staple of Walt Disney Animation Japan/Walt Disney Animation France work. I think everyone knows which court television show is parodied here. (Anyone born the 1980's, yes. Today's kids would be confused since they watch Judge Judy or Judge Joe Brown or whatever person is marketable enough to do the job. I'm shocked Nancy Grace hasn't been a judge yet.) There's even an Thembrian announcer (Danny Mann) who states that the accused are charged with wanton snowball throwing. Talk about trumping on the very first charge. (Actually; WildCat did thow a snowball in the air and it hit him earlier in the episode even though the police didn't see it. I guess the Slush Police can read people's minds after all. That is creepy.) They are also charged with frolicking in the snow without a license and not praising the judge for his new hairdo which makes him look like a British judge. Okay; that hairdo is awesome your honor; so I cannot see any excuse for not praising it. (No; I'm not trying to stay out of the mommy land's "finer" prisons, honest. Scare quotes intentional.) There is big ass justice scales in the background by the way; just to be dicks of course. (Which is totally one sided towards the right I might add. So this government is a right-wing organization, huh?) Now this should be fun and painful to watch at the same time. (Yeah; it's difficult to swallow this after seeing a child get arrested for making a clock in Texas, because the police officers treat fiction as documentaries. Then again; they are the same people who think the book 1984 is a "how to manual" on par with "How To Be A Hitman". Molly is six years old and gets arrested for an act that here would be at worst, the person would be yelled at; but nothing else would come of it.) The judge pounds his mallet on the desk and wants a plead (Jim Cummings) and WildCat gets on his hands and knees and begs for mercy. HAHA! I think even Molly is surprised at that for some reason.

That was cute as we find out that the lawyer who will defend them is Colonel Ivanhov Spigot (as per my compromise to retain the animal type name while making it sound vaguely Russian enough.) as the double doors fling open and out comes the ULTIMATE SHORT JOKE in the flesh. (Sadly; they didn't do the shadow tease and then show him outright; which is always funny and never goes out of style.) WildCat and Molly are officially screwed as expected. This is just too funny and classic Thembrian culture. Colonel Spigot cuts a praise promo which rambles on for too long and the judge cuts him short. Colonel Spigot recoils and starts questioning WildCat like a state plaintiff rather than a defender. WildCat recalls a story eight years ago on May 21^st at eight AM when they went bowling with Dutch and Kirby. WildCat rolled gutter balls, Dutch got a perfect game and Kirby drank a chocolate milkshake. WildCat of course doesn't remember the morning. HAHA! See; make the joke and then pay it off. Why can't we see that more often in the new Disney? (I just realized a plot line that could have done in this show with WildCat and Kit: Kit teaches WildCat how to bowl and WildCat faces off against the best bowlers in the world in a mid-air bowling alley; with the finalists being WildCat and Dutch while Kirby and Kit buy for the prize of fastest milkshake drinker. I realize that this is a filler episode and nothing more; but seriously, why not have that? Oh wait; I remember: This show is a filler show and only creative cared about it because this was the fourth pitch they were on and it only got greenlighted because they needed to buy time for Darkwing Duck and Winnie The Pooh repeats as the main event would have killed the Disney Afternoon block completely and Warner Brothers would be laughing all the way to the bank. Also, who got the screwjob the most? Kit Cloudkicker, the character who is responsible for all of this in storyline and in real life as well. Gratitude is not Disney's strong point, I see.) Colonel Spigot calls for evidence on this, the double doors fling open and two Thembrians arrive with the snowman which Molly calls all mushy. (It's the two Slush Police officers by the way.)

She looks like she had a bond with that snowman as it is clear that she's ready to cry. Molly runs over and starts to have a bonding moment as Colonel Spigot finds the crime he needs to charge them: Stealing snow. Wow; that's actually a crime, sort of. (Well in case, it would be a legit crime; but by orders of magnitude, Thembrians would treat it as a heinous crime on par with genocide.) WildCat objects to the judge as Molly cuddles up with a snowman sitting down which looks really disturbing after hindsight and all that. The judge doesn't buy this -- thus is the sanest person in the entire room --, then Molly blows him off and wants him to use his imagination which causes the Thembrians to be SHOCKED AND APPALLED (in that order). UH OH! I do not like where this is going. The judge gasps in horror as using imagination is a capital offense in Thembria. For those who are too addled: Imagination in Thembria is codeword for "Freedom Of Thought" which is VERY BAD, NO GOOD THING in a country that has no liberty or even democracy. (Exactly! And because it's Uslandian swine thinking too; which zaps the vigor of the Mommyland (with a head of state being male). This crime is heinous on par with nuclear halocaust.) The judge then pounds the mallet and sentences them to one thousand years in prison. SCREW YOU BS&P~! If BS&P believes that capital offense equals execution and therefore is unacceptable in DTVA; then they are idiots. (Even more so considering what happens to Rebecca in The Time Bandit.) This is FAR WORSE! At least in death; it usually ends and the person is put out of his misery (At least in Thembria; the execution is quicker than AmeriKKKa could ever be.). This is much more cruel and it's even scarier that a SIX YEAR old is getting this treatment in a country like Thembria.

On the other hand; this scene actually makes the nephews and Count Ray in "Duck In The Iron Mask" look like total weaklings. (Even more so since the nephews are four years older than Molly.) They only get to stay in a locked bedroom. (Yeah; that's pretty might the gist of it: Considering that Thembrian prisons are like conceration camps with barely a hint of standards; and it's cold. Molly would have told the nephews to man up on that one. Also of note: Molly and WildCat lose their winter clothes also; although if they were going to do that angle; you would think that the babyfaces would be shivering in the next scenes; but alas, they don't.) The guards make it even scarier by grabbing a shocked Molly Cunningham and that ends the segment nearly ten minutes in. To make things even scarier; real life set in and makes this sequence even MORE creepy than it already was. My editorial on The Revelence of TaleSpin explains why. (While the kid arrested for making a clock that the police thought was a bomb ended with him not getting charged (yet); the fact that they arrested him at all and used movie-equse bomb logic to come up with their justification is living proof that there are people who are actively trying to prove that all forms of entertainment are toxic influences. Why bother with going for violence; when they could use the same positions feminists use to justify their positions on how media is toxic, which at least is believable. Then again; these are the same people who think women are not human beings, but baby makers and toys; so there you have it. Anyway; outside of a few logic breaks; this episode is great.)

After the commercial break; we go to the PRISON IN THE NINTH CIRCLE OF HELL (Final Fantasy IV DS reference by the way) as they look like boxes with iron bars on the windows and iron bars on the doors. We see the Thembrian Guard #1 (Jim Cummings) open the door to one of them and introduces them to prison camp Sunnyvale which in n real life; is a city in Silicon Valley (Which makes the decision even creepier in hindsight.). They get cold and colder running water, good reading light, and air conditioning as we see a fan running in the window which just makes the place even crueler for Molly. Even more crueler; they don't even allow Wildcat and Molly to wear their fur coats. (Considering that no one shivers in Thembria without them; what is the point of having them? At least come up with a storyline reason that if they shiver in Thembria, you will be shot! Sure; it's the same meme again; but it makes sense.) The guard proclaims that if they complain: THEY WILL BE SHOT repeatedly as he slams the door behind them when Molly and Wildcat come forward and proclaims to them to have a nice day in the most sarcastic manner possible. Molly embraces WildCat and proclaims that she doesn't like it already. WildCat tells her to look at the bright side because they have three hundred years to play in the snow now (Ummm; I doubt it since you will probably be shot for it knowing Thembria. Plus; wasn't the original sentence a thousand years?! Not that it matters since either one is basically a death sentence. I know that I should be applying logic and reason here; but this is Thembria we are talking about.). Molly is in tears because she'll never see home again. WildCat proclaims that the Snowduck will rescue them at any minute and Molly jumps on Wildcat and proclaims that he is right. (So now we know who to blame for getting that inside Molly's head throughout this next sequence of events. So Baloo was wrong in blowing off Molly; when he should have blown off WildCat for enabling her.) Sadly; the SeaDuck is out of action as we see a Thembrian Guard (probably the same one) open the door and slide Baloo into the prison. HAHA! I always get a laugh seeing Baloo being put in his place. (Baloo got thrown like a curling stone in that spot; which made it funnier considering that Baloo is bigger than the guard.)

Baloo gets in the "threads" catchphrase which of course didn't catch since this is a Disney product instead of a "Disney By Name" show. (It didn't catch because no kid knows what threads mean since it's slang for clothing.) Molly is happy to see him as Baloo finally figures out the whole thing. Baloo of course gets two thousand years for the captial offense of not praising the judges hairdo which causes Molly to giggle. Baloo always get made fun at; what a surprise? (So I'm guessing Molly and WildCat got the charges dropped for everything except for the capital offense. Why not? In Time Bandit; Kit managed to get off free on his own because he was willing to die with his Poppa Bear. He is that devoted to him, because he's awesome.) WildCat gleefully states the obvious for me with a fun watering plant crack --despite there not being any plants --; as Baloo plants his head on a bunk bed upset that Rebecca will behead him for flying Molly to Thembria. Molly tells Baloo then he's going to get them out of here as Molly tells him about the Snowduck (Yeah; the Snowduck is male; whatever.) and Baloo blows her off nicely. Of course; Baloo ignores her because he has a plan which means it's time for the KRACKPOTKIN PLAN: THE THEMBRIAN EDITION~! We cut to outside as Baloo looks around and see no one. Then Baloo takes out a huge icicle which looks like a pole for pole vaulting. Of course; anyone who's ever watched "A Baloo Switcheroo" knows what is going to happen and it doesn't dissappoint as Baloo screws up, flies into the metal mesh, sling shots back and collides into the prison house with a MAN-SIZED bump. Now that's more like it. Even better; Molly and WildCat were dancing inside the cell the entire time and the hole in the prison was not a Scooby-Doo Snow Angel spot. Molly saying that you got hurted is hilarious by the way. Sadly; she doesn't surpass it by stepping on his nose like she did with Kit in It Came From Beneath The SeaDuck. Molly tries to tell him to rest because the Snowduck is coming. Baloo blows her off nicely again and decides that he's a glutton for punishment so he'll try again. (Because he has learned nothing from The Idol Rich; although when you are in Thembria, desperation is the biggest motivation.)

We then cut to Baloo on top of the roof as a truck is about to leave. Baloo attempts to jump onto the back of the truck; but he crashes right through the truck and lands on the snow as we see a profile of Baloo right on the back of the truck. Sadly; that one did the Scooby Doo snow angel bump, but at least it made scene here. Who would have ever thought that shoddy Thembrain craftsmanship would ever be useful?! I didn't. We then cut to Baloo jumping around the snow on the springs. A for effort, F for stupidity as Baloo bounces into a wooden security checkpoint's underneath floor. Wow; their metal objects break through easily; but the wood is solid as metal. Wacky Thembrian Logic Rules~! Well; I think it's time to give Molly her due for a change because Baloo is screwing this all up. We cut to Baloo taking a large rock which is almost as big as his body weight and it's on a seesaw device. Ah; I see all the Wile E. Coyote spots are being used here. Baloo drops the stone and it falls into the snow as Baloo falls into the snow with the rock close behind. This spot never worked for Wile E. Coyote so why should it work for Baloo? (Yeah; more so when the Snow Duck starts sounding reasonable at this point.) We return inside the prison cell as Baloo walks in and Molly and WildCat present dinner for him which is the ugliest clam chowder to furrykind and this side of ugly cruise ships. (The food is actually gruel and that wasn't canonized until Gruel & Unusual Punishment.) WildCat does some french (tres excellent) and is funny as always as Molly calls her Charles. Do my ears trick me? Wildcat has a FIRST NAME after all? So I guess Wildcat's first name is Charles instead of Frank which is what the fans (and myself) called him. So he's basically the dimwitted version of Charlie Brown. That is so peachy. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: No, WildCat Puma is not Charlies WildCat. Molly and WildCat were cosplaying Diana and Charles from the British Royal Family. Super, super creepy in hindsight.) Molly tastes the food and thinks it tastes good. Baloo tries the food and he spits it out because the food is more terrible that Louie's All You Can Stand For A Dollar Special. I guess that's why no one orders it but Baloo. Molly tells him to use his imagination to make it taste good (HEE HEE!) as WildCat asks how Baloo's escape plans are going.

Baloo has the ultimate Krackpotkin plan: Dig their way out. Oy vey; Molly's religious waiting for a miracle is sounding more and more doable now that Baloo is reduced to acting like Drake Mallard from Double Darkwings. (Man; that episode sucked because no one with an IQ more than eight can believe that Drake Mallard and Launchpad are the same in being Darkwing Duck. The real Darkwing was much shorter, smaller with a much different face. How can anyone believe that it's Drake Mallard. It's stupid I tell you. Oh; and Jamalaya Jake is the worst heel in the show too.) I see Baloo has cabin fever setting it too; if his attitude in that scene is any indication. Molly still believes that the Snow Duck will come to save them and Baloo blows it off nicely again. We cut to another shot inside the prison cell on the sky shot as Baloo removes some planks and tells WildCat to hide the snow (how?) and have Molly be the lookout. Molly continues to plead that this is not needed because the Snow Duck is coming! Baloo snaps a piece of wood and hits him in the face (Which Walt Disney Animation Japan misses by six inches...) which causes him to yell RIGHT IN MOLLY'S FACE!! OH MY GOD! Just because the plank hits you in the nuts (No, it didn't 2010 me; it's in the face. Overall point still taken though.) doesn't give you the right to blow Molly off like that. None whatsoever; even if the Snow Duck is a work of fiction. Molly bursts into tears -- and a pretty good acting job considering Janna Michaels is seven years old -- and runs out of the prison even opening the door and closing it. Wow; they ARE foreshdowing Molly's next focused episode already. (I don't blame her for being upset. Baloo's plan is so stupid and cliche anyway; that it makes even fictional characters arriving sound believable.) Baloo goes over and tries to apologize; but no dice as WildCat invokes the WRAITH OF WILDCAT on Baloo. HAHA! I see he's been studying Rebecca almost as well as Kit. Almost; since Wildcat's too goofy to try that one without me laughing my ass off. (WildCat's wrath is actually more believable than the Wooly Whatsit's fury and rage against the Gutangs during the end of the Nogburt arc. I mean; Wooly is calling them out for not being nice, even though the Gutangs are being mean on purpose. Baloo wasn't mean on purpose, it's just that he got rammed in the "face" with a plank and got so angry that he yelled in Molly's face.)

Baloo admits that he knows and wants Wildcat to tell her he didn't mean it. Oh lord Poppa Bear; why can't you do it yourself?! Oh wait; WildCat accepts the task and walks out. That's why; since Wildcat is too dimwitted not to bite the bullet for anyone. (Probably for the best that WildCat cheer up Molly instead of Baloo since he has to dig and make an frozen ass out of himself, literally.) We come to another one of those moments that makes me smile and just another example of Michael Eisner twisting the knife in my back (Okay; maybe not doing that literally of course...) as we see Molly in tears drawing something with a stick outside the prison cell. Wildcat comes around the bend and sits down on the bench beside her. Instead of explaining the sequence; I'll let the quotes tell the tale:

WildCat: Wanna play in the snow?
Molly: No...
WildCat: {He makes a doughnut.} Want a doughnut? (By the way, doughnut and donut are interchangable even in America; so use either one to your heart's content.)
Molly: It's not a doughnut. It's just snow.
WildCat: Use your imagination.
Molly: NO! Baloo's right! There IS no Snow Duck! Pretending is silly! {Molly drops the stick and does the Gruffi pose.}
WildCat: Hey; whoa! I might not be as smart as your mom or Baloo {I disagree! The only one smarter than you is Kit and maybe Rebecca; Wildcat Puma. Give yourself more credit than that.} or even the judge. In fact; I'm not. But I do know you gotta have imagination.
Molly: Why?
WildCat: 'Cause you'll never make anything here if you don't see it here first. {He has since made a model of a Snow Duck. He then makes a funny sound.} Hi, Snow Duck here. Somebody need rescuing?
Molly: {Gets the LIGHT BULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY.} Wildcat; that's it!
WildCat: Of course that's it. What's it?!
Molly: The Snow Duck! But we got to make it way bigger!
WildCat: How big?
Molly: Big enough to fly us right out of here.

The underlined section is the most important quote of the bunch because it reveals one universal truth about the world. Everything that is ever created comes from the mind. Some people call it imagination which is really another word for a person's brain. Just to point out the scene: In Molly's mind; WildCat lied to her about the Snow Duck and thinks pretending leads nowhere at this point. However; that line I mentioned shows something that while fairy tales are just fairy tales; they are still the creation from the person's mind and that things can be made real if you work on them. Even cold, hard science works on the principal that you try to create and you do what works and discard what doesn't work. That's when Molly realized seeing the model of the Snow Duck that there might be a way to get them out of here: by creating their own Snow Duck. Although that is a misnomer since it's completely made out of ice. It's a pretty powerful scene and if only Molly didn't snap out of it so quickly it would have been perfect and WildCat would have been monster over. As is; he's pretty close, but he'll get his chance in Paradise Lost (Codeword: The Hunt according to writer Jeffrey Scott. Nyuk! Nyuk! And yes; those "Nyuks!" have more meaning than me just being an asshole.). I should also note that WildCat making various objects out of snow is something Patrick Star stole from for a snow episode in Spongebob Squarepants. (This is something the imagination episode of Spongebob SquarePants missed: The line I underlined. SpongeBob claims to know about the power of imgination; but he doesn't extend it beyond just cosplaying. This Snow Duck model WildCat actually leads to a real creation that in the TaleSpin world, actually works. In this case, pretending actually lead to something that would be real, and the interaction between WildCat and Molly is so great. WildCat actually showed that underneath that autistic brain; lies someone who can be a true genius as not only a mechanic, but as an inventor. Sure; this Snow Duck is so goofy; but that's all they had to work with and so he made the best out of it. Also, since you have a thousand years to think about it; why not start now before cabin fever sets in. What's an extra one thousand years going to do, other than make the Thembrian look like smugasses?!)

Molly then has a plan for creating the snow duck and grabs WildCat to walk stage left. We have the scene changer as WildCat and Molly (Also known as MollyKat Duet~!) towards a Thembrian Guard (who's guarding the water tower – Danny Mann I do believe) as Molly is carrying a bucket. Molly is sweet-talking the guard into giving her water to drink inside the bucket from behind her back. That pose is just too cute not to report. The Thembrian Guard no-sells because there is a water shortage and it turns to ice. (Geez; I wonder why that is happening, huh? Get these clueless wackos a water heater, please.) Molly does the "cannot fail if she were lit on fire" sweet routine, the Guard finally sells and she gets her water in the bucket. I believe that it will turn to ice in kind. Funny spot there as even the Thembrian Guard cannot let a little girl die from thirst which is hilarious considering the treatment she has gotten in this episode. So we cut back to the prison cell as WildCat removes the air conditioning unit while Baloo continues to dug under the snow. WildCat tells Baloo that he and Molly are creating something which Baloo sees as a sigh of relief. I wish this jackass would apologize to Molly for being such a jackass! Baloo is in control apparently as I wait with baited breath for Baloo's plan to freeze up in his face as WildCat's whistling makes me wonder if he's doing this on purpose. WildCat leaves the prison cell with the air conditioning unit as we cut to outside as Molly and WildCat are handling a block of ice after the water freezes. (So wonky Thembrian water is present here too.) Then we go into a sequence where Molly gets water from the guard, Molly pours water into a mold of snow to create an ice airplane part, Wildcat assembling the pieces together and WildCat and Molly shaping the pieces. The animation was really on here, which is nice to see, and Molly doing the cute girl routine on the guard is still as priceless as ever. We return to the prison as WildCat and Molly go to the hole and call out Baloo. WildCat calls out Baloo and sounds like a goof while saying it by yodeling. HAHA! (Was he really yodeling? If so; he does it better than anyone in modern cartoons combined.) WildCat jumps down and manages to create a huge feat of strength as he throws Baloo -- who is encased in a block of ice -- out of the hole. See what I mean by freezing his face?

WildCat then whacks the ice with the wooden plank and the ice manages to break. That is one mighty swing from WildCat. HAHA! See; Baloo got his just desserts after all. I betcha Molly planned that one to happen. Baloo still believes that everything is under control and that there is just a few miles left. However; WildCat tells Baloo that Molly has a surprise for him and the MOLLYKAT DUET PLUS JACKASS BEAR walk out of the prison house as Baloo is shocked to see a makeshift ice plane right in front of him. Thankfully; he stops speaking before the word hell even gets involved this time around. Baloo wants to know what that thing is and WildCat calls it a _cool_ plane. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. Molly calls this the Snowduck (More like an Iceduck; but whatever. PUNT! OUCH! ALL HAIL MOLLY VIOLENCE~! ALL HAIL~!) and Baloo wants to know how she made this and Molly used _imagination_. Again; no Spongebob rainbow spot involved, the way it should be. Baloo and Molly embrace together:

Baloo: You are a piece of work, kiddo.
Molly: ...and cute to boot!

That is one of my favorite combination lines in the series and it was well timed too. Baloo, Molly and WildCat get onto the snow duck and Baloo starts the air conditioning while invoking the hay ride catchphrase that also didn't catch. TaleSpin has a lot of great things; but catchphrases are not one of them. Unless it's Don Karnage saying them, of course. (Well; I don't think anyone is going to notice that the phrase comes from Disney's Robin Hood either.) We cut to see the guard trying some of that water in a cup and it freezes and nearly chips his teeth in the process. HAHA! So he was right after all. Man; metal freezes faster than wood in Thembria. He hears the engines rumbling and notices the prisoners getting ready to escape. He even gets behind them and shoots at them; almost hitting Baloo in the back with one shot. ZOINKS! However; for no apparent reason, Molly jumps off the snow duck and runs stage left as the snow duck glides on the snow around the prison camp a bit. Baloo wants to grab Molly and scoot with the ice plane as it head straight for the Thembrian guard who is shooting at it and pointing at them ordering them to freeze to end the segment nearly seventeen and a half minutes in. Now witness the flight of the Snow duck coming up next!

After the commercial break; we see Baloo and WildCat shaking like leaves on the ice duck. Fitting for them eh? The Thembrian Guard thinks he has them dead for profits; and then we hear Molly's sweet voice as Molly throws a bucket of ice that she got from the water tower off-screen and nails the ice block right on his head. (Causing the ice block to shatter on cue like glass. OUCH!) Sadly; the sound guys screwed up as it sounded so wussy as the guard gets knocked out cold. I should point out that neither Horta Sound Editorial, nor Rick Hinson's MPSE team are doing this episode; it's West Productions in a rare appearance in this series (Owned by MPSE sound editor: David John West. Don't have time to do a supplemental on them though. I'll probably combine them with the other sound editors in the "Ear To The Sky" article I'm writing for the Twenty Years Of Spin celeberation later on. West Productions would later work on Captains Outrageous.). Baloo is impressed as Molly runs to the plane and places the bucket on WildCat's head. It's his flying helmet see. HAHA! Baloo wants to get the hell out of here so he restarts the engines and flies stage right. Thembrian Guard #2 rises up and blows the whistle (Why not? That sound was too wussy anyway so at least this makes sense for him to stop selling.) as the prisoners are escaping. NO?! REALLY?! That cannot be possible in Thembria (Forgetting Spy In The Ointment for argument sake of course.)?! Strangely enough; the voice on the PA sounds like Colonel Spigot actually. (I would not be shocked if the joke was that it was Colonel Spigot and that was just a recording. No one can accuse the Thembrians of slacking off on details, that is for sure.) The Thembrian guards attempt to shoot at the prisoners but the snow duck topples them despite missing them by at least four or five feet. I guess the snow was overwhelming for the guards. Otherwise; that's the third blown spot by the animators. Baloo drives the Snow duck around (enough of the stupid pun) and it's about to collide with the snowbank. Molly shouts out encouragement and the Snow duck manages to glide on the snowbank and the roof which is apparently enough for the Snow duck to take off. The Thembrain guard isn't pleased at all as I'm not for Disney Captions mistaking pilots for fighters.

Baloo, Molly and WildCat exchange notes together as Baloo requires imagination lessons. If only there are such a thing as Baloo's next mission is to find the SeaDuck. However; Baloo looks down on the Thembrian Air Strip and sees the SeaDuck -- which is painted blue now -- entering a Thembrain Transport Plane to be sold to Cape Suzette. The shipment officer -- plus clipboard -- is SHOCKED when the SeaDuck is the second biggest flamingo that he has ever seen. Did The Iron Vulture get caught by Thembria at one time?! I SMELL A FANFIC COMING!! (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: There was a plan for a comic book story about the origins of the Iron Vulture, but that got nixed due to the implosion of Disney comics in general.) Baloo gets out the cliched worse spot and of course it gets worse. Please stop doing that spot already?! Five Thembrain airplanes get into formation and begin to shoot bullets at the Snow duck. So much for the bullet shortage there as the Snowduck is breaking slightly apart. This is looking similar to those black dragons from the Flight of The Snow Duck book. Hmmm; nah couldn't be. We all know Disney never build up their episodes to make sense and give it context and meaning. We know all Disney is about singing and dancing animals who do goofy stuff, right? Right? (Actually; the comparison would have worked better if the planes were black in color rather than gray; but since Storm Dragons from Final Fantasy VI are grey in color, it's acceptable enough.) The Thembrian craft sneak above the sky to make Baloo think that they left; but then they shoot above the Snowduck. Nice move there as they completely shoot the Snow duck's right wing off while WildCat magically brings out the disguise to amuse me. Now that's cruel Mr. Puma. WildCat takes the steel bucket and recreates a new wing out of it by grabbing water from the nearby lake. Now that was a clever spot as the Snow duck regains altitude once again. Baloo calls him nuts as usual and then recoils because that is such an obvious question of course. HAHA!. WildCat makes some icy comments while Molly shriek in concern for WildCat's safety which is in danger as the Thembrian airplanes resume shooting at the Snow Duck. They are up to 0.6 Trigun at this point. (Keep in mind; Molly is six years old and flying in a makeshift plane made of ice with no shielding whatsoever. You'll see why this is scary.)

Baloo grabs WildCat to stop him from acting like Patrick Star as the Snow duck does a Loop-De-Loop for only fifteen cents as the Thembrians are gaining on them and shooting. Memo to Baloo: Not as nervous as Michael Eisner after Gadget's meltdown in Dirty Rotten Diapers. Molly then recalls that in Flight of The Snow Duck (The book; not the episode.) that the snow duck went into a rabbit hole. Baloo wonders where they would find a rabbit hole big enough and Molly point to the scary ice cave. The snow duck flies into the rabbit hole while trimming down both wings in the process and the Thembrian Planes crash into the entrance of the hole perfectly. Look familiar?! We go to pitch black darkness as Baloo praises Molly and WildCat talks about it being too dark to read books. HAHA! Context is not Wildcat's strongest suit; but at least he's not completely out to lunch there. We cut outside the pipes as the Snowduck is flying right inside a Thembrian Oil Pipe which does some bumping to amuse me and has an exit opening as the Snowduck flies out without incident. Baloo calls Molly a genius -- and kisses her -- which causes Molly to kiss WildCat in a cute moment. WildCat blushes like an idiot. HAHA! (Sadly; the payoff would be WildCat kissing Baloo on the cheek; but then the moral guardians would demonstrate their bigotry to the world once again. That kiss was Lollytea's favorite found family moment by the way.) Baloo is about to declare victory; however, more Thembrians arrive with the BATHTUBS OF DOOM. HAHA! Now that's more like it! For a country that hates imagination; they sure come up with creative ammo. (Hypocrisy isn't a bug, it's a feature in a cartoon. Without the childish nature; it's just childish fiction pretending to be real. Most sitcoms and soap operas operate on the later concept.) Baloo panics as he needs some imagination to get out of this one. Which is pretty much EVERY dogfight ever done in this series. Thank you Baloo for pointing it out to the audience; like we need it you jackass! Molly then recalls from the book that the snow duck made the black dragons go bye-bye by letting out a big quack.

Wait; I don't recall that was in the book. Probably that sequence was cut in the original production for time reasons. Figures; knowing Disney. (I wouldn't be surprised at all that this happened before the black dragons chased Gladys, but they cut it out due to taking too long. If not; then how did Molly know about this?) Baloo doesn't think that will work until the right wing gets shot on once again to get up to 0.8 Trigun. I guess they are making their bullets count which is quite fitting for Thembria actually. That's enough for Baloo, Molly and WildCat to scream from the top of their lungs while the Snow duck flies through a snow filled canyon. That is enough to dislodge the snow on the sides and causes a massive avalanche which destroys the reminder of the Thembrian planes. No wonder some people thought this episode was silly. (Although it does make a neat symbolic visual of the damage and destruction quackery has done to the world, so well done Steve.) Baloo declares victory once again and he kisses Molly again as she proclaims that she knows. Unlike Webby; that is not out of character for her. I am just marveling how silly this episode is and still works. The Snow duck leaves Thembria and flies towards the hot tropical climate which means the Snow duck is about to melt away which Wildcat mistakes as a leak. Baloo believes that everything will be fine as long as the engine holds. However; the air conditioning device separates from the ice and drops to the ground. The ice completely melts in a Warner Brothers Spot (All Rights Reserved) and the three furries start to free-fall with Molly's screaming sounding like a squeak. Well; Molly is now past the BS&P mandate for that spot so it's too late now. However; they manage to land on a cloud with wussy bump...HUH?! That was strange. Molly then gets her bearings (HA!) and sees that they are on the Thembrian Transport Plane which contains the Sea Duck. (At this point; Molly should have said that this was awfully convenient, and thus Backyardigans can hang their heads in shame. No, not really.) Baloo is happy as he opens the panel and Baloo, WildCat and Molly hops into the Thembrian plane.

The Thembrian plane tail section door opens and the Blue Sea Duck flies away towards Cape Suzette. Get use to that kind of absurd finish; Molly's next episode as killer as the finish was, it still requires it to be absurd in order to work. We return to the office of Higher...For...Hire as Rebecca is finally finished her work at the desk and ready to pick up Molly and go home for dinner. She also yawns in case you didn't notice. She goes outside via the garage side door directly to the docks and does a huge double take as she sees the Sea Duck is all blue. She storms into WildCat's house and invokes the WRAITH OF BECKEY on Baloo as Baloo, WildCat and Molly are playing with the pink flamingos. Apparently; the SeaDuck is painted blue with a fifty cent price tag and a snowman in the front seat. Huh? I didn't see one in the front seat. Logic break number three for the episode. (Actually; we never saw the SeaDuck when Rebecca saw it even though we saw the SeaDuck coming home. The fifty cent price tag makes sense since that is the payoff to the power struggle joke; but a snowman? So does that mean that the snowman Molly made was put in the SeaDuck and that was it's punishment for Thembrian crimes? If so; then that is the ultimate hypocritical act by the Thembrian authorities.) Molly blows her off and claims that she's letting her imagination run wild. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Projection much there, Molly?! Baloo, Molly and Wildcat all laugh their asses off on that one. Rebecca is confused as hell to finally end the episode at 21:21. Bad spot blowing from Walt Disney Japan aside; this was another great episode. Why didn't Molly and WildCat get more episodes together?! Oh wait; I know. Michael Eisner has no imagination whatsoever; that's why. **** 1/2 (90%). (The rating is where it should be. It is a great use of imgination because the imagination lead to something that was real and compelling, instead of forced and contrived and just there to piss off people who use their brains. Like I said before; if SpongeBob actually created something believable instead of cosplaying inside a cardboard box, the imagination angle would have been awesome.)

Final Note #1: The ending is using the proportional font size instead of the fixed width font. Now if Disney had just used the prop font all the time then everyone might have been credited properly. Or maybe not. (I'm certain time constraints would be prevented that too.)

THE REVIEW LINE

Someone call the cops! WildCat just stole the episode here. Up to this point; WildCat has been mostly a side character who injects humor when needed and does so very well regardless of whatever he might have. However; this episode shows the many sides of his characters that only seeing certain episodes would shatter the perspective that he is nothing but a dimwit or someone who is mentally ill. (See The Sound & The Furry, Paradise Lost and even the no longer average Citizen Khan.) When he talked to Molly; he actually did something that no TaleSpin character has actually done completely: He could relate to her. Sure; Kit did that several times; but even he couldn't relate to Molly like WildCat just did. It makes you wonder what the TaleSpin could have done with WildCat (Read: Do an episode where Kit and WildCat are left to fend for themselves and see how Kit reacts to him. Maybe give him a fourth gear of trust. (Wow; this took like thirty seconds for me to come up with and it only makes me cringe because they had the formula for success right there and Disney blew it off, as usual.)) had Michael Esiner not screw Jymn Magon and Mark Zaslove into cartoon limbo like they are now. (Actually; Mark and Jymn are better off doing cartoons for international audiences now. Mainly because outside of the USA; they have moved past the "life span is forty years" stereotype that has plagued Hollywood for so long now that it's killing off the logic when they most need it. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: It wouldn't have mattered. TaleSpin was basically there to buy time for Darkwing Duck. Disney execs do not know how to relate to non-rich folks telling stories.))

A few logic breaks and a few blown spots from Walt Disney Animation Japan prevented the full monty here. Yeah; the finish was absurd; but it worked in the context of the buildup of the episode. Also; the fact that Molly was put in prison like an adult was really, really creepy even by Disney standards. That was the spot where I realized just how bad Duck In The Iron Mask was in hindsight and how protected the nephews really were. It also pissed me off because Huey, Dewey and Louie didn't need to be protected. They were over. (Heck; if Kit is allowed to go to jail and get the same treatment as an adult in a cartoon, so can the nephews. Well; the Ducktales nephews anyway. The Quack Pack nephews did go to jail several times.) Overall; I felt this episode was as brilliant as some had said. TaleSpin was an episode that could make you cry, think, laugh and smile is all about and that is what entertainment is about. It isn't about art or armchair animators. It's about pleasing your audience without insulting their intelligence; something the new Disney needs to learn if they are going to back to being the Disney we all love and enjoy. (I think the new Disney has in fact come very close to that mark with Gravity Falls; so there are creators who don't listen to junk science and I'm glad they do not.) Next up is Save The Tiger and that one features a special moment that I had been waiting for since the show started: Rebecca admitting her love of Kit as her very own son. Oh; I did a mini-editorial for this one originally for the Review Line; but it's so dumb now in hindsight that I'm not re-posting it. (2010 Me? You're not getting away with that, thus...)

(Here's what I said in 2005: TaleSpin is like a Walt Disney production in ways that even those who hate Disney enjoy. Too many Disney cartoons these days depend on the moral and political side of the spectum to sell a cartoon to a fickle and sometimes bitter viewing public. TaleSpin did something that no Disney cartoons outside of the feature animation (pre-1994) could ever do: Create a show of wonder and interest like Walt Disney did so many times with the fairytale movies that were created in the feature division and at the same time have the issues and morals in them and present them in a matter that was not only entertaining; but worthwhile. In other words; if you want a show with a positive message, this show delievers. If you want a show that is interesting and entertaining; you get that too. Even Walt used morality himself; the difference was that he didn't use it as a mere placeholder just to please parent's groups and above all; he didn't thrust them down the throats of the viewing public either. Flight of the Snowduck was a prime example of how Walt's vision does work. Imagination is just a old-time version of two similar pop-culture phrases we use today: Innovation and Working Outside the Box. Some people think the idea is corny; but in a world where no one can agree on which direction the world should go; this episode should be a reminder of how the Outside The Box method applies to real life. Facism doesn't work; Communism doesn't work and even Capitalism fails the public (look at TaleSpin and you see all three at work here). Instead of accepting the less of the two or three evils; why not create a new system altogether that is equal and just. It seems that ture creativy to solve a problem has also become an evil force even though it was that type of thinking that created the United States and Canada as the countries that many people like to live in. I don't have an idea how to do it; I'm just suggesting a thought to all who are able to pull new ideas out of their butts. Yeah; I was an old fart back then and now I realize that capitalism is only used because it's the only one that is working in any meaningful way and we're too concerned that the next political system will be fascist or a upotia to consider thinking outside the box. What a shocker?! I guess our vigor has been sapped out. ) So...

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

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