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Flight School Confidential Re-Rant

Reviewed: 01/02/2010
Additional Commentary: 11/16/2021

It Maybe Was Kit's Greatest Moment. And Maybe His Final One.

Original Airdate: 01/10/1991 (Syndication), Episode #46 (TaleSpin DVD Volume 2, Disc 3), Episode #38 (Production Order).

Flight School Confidential Notes
Flight School Confidential Transcript

(2020 Gregory Weagle Says: Actually, he was a focal point of at least three stories from the comics and had a huge role in The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker where he proved to me that comedy adult Cloudkicker is actually awesome! Too bad that was his final role outside of being one of the captives in The Last Adventures on Ducktales 2017! Again, don't expect TaleSpin to get a reboot until the cult of the rich is begging to be taxed to death!) Well; we finally begin Disc Three with another humdinger of an episode. (2016 Gregory Weagle Says: This is the fifty-second episode of the series that I have completed with a transcript.) This was the episode that got me back to watching TaleSpin in 1994 and it is really simple to the core: Kit's dreams of flying an airplane coming true. The scariest part of this is how Kit manages to pull all of this off and it reminds me of Plunder and Lightning in a certain amount of ways. (Well, you just knew this would happen at some point. Let's face it: 12 year old boy with dreams of being a pilot; having more knowledge than most adults on the subject is going to get bit in the ass (kind of like the mobile bug) one of these days and really want to fly inspite of all the consent laws stating that he cannot; he was going to make it happen. That...is...MONEY! Baloo flying the clouds in fluffy plots: Opposite of money! This was the big episode that got me back into loving this show. I still think it was important for that reason, but mostly because Kit Cloudkicker is the star of TaleSpin in spite of the fact that Michael Eisner wanted Baloo to be the star. Kit was the reason this show got green lighted and impressed the execs. Kit's the reason in storyline that Rebecca has a business, and Kit has his family. Now; it's time to get that flying stuff underway. The plot is simple enough; but it's also really deep for a children's television show featuring boondoggles (by Thembrians of course), guns, Kit fighting the system, and of course a great finish. It makes me rethink every single thing about this show and why this show rules as a parody after years of believing that this was a disgrace to the Jungle Book and Walt Disney. Walt Disney would have been proud of this show because it was much more creative than his fairy tales public domain stuff he was doing with Jungle Book. Not to mention that it really holds up to a critical eye after all these years.)

It's also the DTVA debut for Martin Donoff which made me wonder if he was of Russian descendent since the two episodes he worked on are Thembrian based episodes. (If there is anyone I feel bad more than Martin Donoff after all the bullcrap that Flying Dupes got after it aired; it might be Alan Burnett after syndication version of Plunder and Lightning Part Two aired. Martin's debut was like Jan Strnad's debut, only it got him blacklisted instead of giving him a promotion. Martin was AWESOME! I honestly don't know anything about Martin other than writing for Captain Kangeroo, so I don't think he was from eastern Europe nor Russia. It would be awesome to think that; but there's no evidence to support it. If Martin is reading this; I'm saying right now. Thank you. You are the reason why I love this series instead of hating it.) It's also special in that Kit Cloudkicker got a lot more face time than Baloo did which is pretty rare for any character to get. It was Kit focused in almost every sense of the word. (Baloo was in four scenes total in the entire episode: Act I, Scenes I and II; Act III Scene III and IV. Basically; a total of six minutes of screen time. Even Bobbo got more screen time than Baloo did! Kit was in every scene except for Act I, Scene IV (and that's only because he wasn't shown with the other kids) and Act III Scene III. So he was on screen for nearly twenty minutes! Even he didn't get that much in Stormy Weather. In 1990; Michael Eisner would look at this and panic, because Baloo is supposed to be the star. Today; execs would call Martin Donoff a pioneer in children's cartoons as children are supposed to be the star. It's amazing how times changed and yet it was old shows like this that made it possible.) Let's rant on shall we...?!

This episode is written by Martin Donoff. The story is edited by Duane Capizzi. (This is Duane's second episode that he's story edited. The first one was written by Steve Roberts and also took place in Thembria. Jeepers!) According to one source; he has done 125 scripts for television; so there might be more to come. (According to my notes: He was the Interim Director for creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He also founded a creative writing class at Drexel University and has written three books on creative writing. Martin Donoff is a weird one and all of my sources on him have since gone down the memory hole. I'll say this about Martin: He is a good writer; but he really wrote two scripts that made a number of people really uncomfrontable. This episode was so because a kid is trying to fly in a facist country like Thembria, and the second one is really more problematic for obvious reasons. No wonder he was blacklisted shortly after Flying Dupes aired because we never saw him in the cartoon writing world ever again. Worse; it's not even his fault. Nothing he wrote was terrible; it was just because of politics and fee-fees that he was gone.) The animation is done by Sun Woo Animation. (I have made fun of Sunwoo Animation for years and years now; this episode was the best one they ever animated. Yes, I am saying that without contradiction. I enjoyed Sunwoo's work here because they made few mistakes and the logic animation wise was almost dead on, save for a few wonky jump cuts. If they did this with every episode; they would make an excellent overseas animation studio.)

We begin this one in the sky (TaleSpin's real STOCK FOOTAGE OF DOOM; making it the coolest STOCK FOOTAGE OF DOOM in history. Okay; maybe not stock footage.) as Baloo is flying the SeaDuck and Kit's in the navigation seat. Baloo asks if Kit's ready for the "Baloo Corkscrew", we fly near a snowy mountain, Baloo flies up to the top and then spirals down. Pretty nice eh? (Even nicer is the fact that they did this near a mountain peak because it actually is a huge foreshadowing to the finish of the episode.) We head into the cockpit as Kit wants a go with it and Baloo of course no sells it. (One of the analogies in this episode is someone flying their "nose into the dirt"; which is slang for crashing into the mountainside. Which is fitting considering the finish to this episode actually.) Kit's too young to fly see which is pretty silly considering that he was flying with WildCat in Captains Outrageous. (This is actually a really good important point and one of the main reasons why I was supportive of Kit in this episode. It's much more difficult to take Baloo seriously being concerned about Kit flying the plane when has already done so with WildCat and also kept the plane steady in both the pilot episode of this series and A Bad Reflection On You. And this is before Destiny Rides Again comes into effect. Also; Baloo pilots the plane with his feet. I'm certain that this violates standard operating proceedure.) Kit points out that he can and dares Baloo to ask him anything from the standard flight manual; the HOLY BIBLE OF FLIGHT as I would like to call it. (And a really fitting one too.) Baloo claims that he would know; but knowing and doing are two completely different things. Well; Pop-A-Bear has a point there; but doesn't he remember Captains Outrageous? (Baloo's analogy is actually sound; but it's difficult to take seriously when the navigator has proven he can fly a plane with WildCat.) Kit and I certainly do. Kit claims to be in two hundred planes -- which I bet knowing him that's underestimating the point -- (I concur. Remember that in storyline in the comics; Kit was an air hobo before he was an Air Pirate pretty much from day one. He has so much learned experience on flying from an education angle that I can believe anything this kid says.) and he even got to sit in Baloo's lap.

(2020 Gregory Weagle Says: By the way, in Ducktales 2017 in "The First Adventure!" witness the promo cut by Della in the scene where Scrooge, Della and Donald are at the landing strip next to the plane flown by I believe Bradford Buzzard. She sounds like Kit Cloudkicker cutting the promo here despite the content being different. Unlike Baloo cutting Kit off at the knees, Scrooge lets her fly the plane outright and it crashes. This also makes sense since Scrooge has no expertises in flying and airplanes, thus his temper took over, but Baloo does have expertise. So it made sense for Scrooge to give the reins to Della, while Baloo refused to do so. Nice attention to detail there.) Baloo cuts him off by hanging the fact that he's twelve years old and there is no getting past that. (Well; consent laws and all that. However; if that's the case, then why was Kit flying with WildCat in Captains Outrageous then? Wouldn't that be illegal? I guess it means flying a plane alone that he cannot do; which Kit wants to prove to Baloo. That would have made sense; but it should have been clarified more.) Kit groans on that one as we make it to that island on the South Seas; Louie's. We head to Louie's as we pan down southeast as Baloo ties up the SeaDuck. Kit has the Gruffi pose on in the navigation seat sulking. Baloo suggests he come in to have Louie fix up a mango shake and Kit isn't interested. I cannot blame him; I don't like mangoes either. Oh wait...never mind. Baloo walks off inside as Kit gets all pissy about being too young to do anything. (Huh; welcome to reality, Kit. If it doesn't care about you, it secretly hates you. You should be used to it by now.) He then notices that no one is around so he jumps intro the pilot's seat, saluting himself as Kit Cloudkicker, ace pilot reporting for duty, he starts the engines and he's roleplaying for real BABEE! We zoom out to a far shot as we hear Baloo inside Louie's chuckling about a "story that makes Monty look like the BS Aussie Stereotype that he is" as there is only one way to lose them. Louie ruins the whole thing for my pleasure as he pulls back on the stick, climb straight towards the sun and do the "Baloo Corkscrew". HAHA! (Baloo, Louie and the pilot in this scene are actually near the window of the wrecked ship portion of Louie's which is odd because most of the Louie's spot are at the island. Although; this actually makes it a lot easier for them to notice the SeaDuck flying around as we'll see in this scene.)

See; Baloo is trying to impress a Thembrian army pilot drinking beer from a mug and Louie ruins it because he told that story about 47 times. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: 2010 me shrugged at the obvious alcohol reference there. Savior that moment, this bar will be no more by the time Louie's Last Stand aired. Unless you are counting the comics.) Needless to say that because a motif for this episode later on. The patrons laugh at Baloo's expense to my amusement as Baloo tells them to laugh because he's a great pilot. So the beer drinking Thembrian pilot blows him off because he cannot tie down his plane right (Voiced by S. Scott Bullock – and why does the pilot look like a Thembrian version of Launchpad? (Hmmm, why didn't they audition Terrence McGovern for this role?)). Baloo is surprised as he goes to the window and sees the SeaDuck is trying to get away. (Somehow; despite being tied down; the rope somehow manages to miss the grey Thembrian plane which was dock on the opposite side of the dock where the SeaDuck was docked.) We see the Seaduck go around the bend as Kit mimics engine noises just to be Kit as he decides to try a death-defying dive -- death reference number one for the episode -- and literally gives it more throttle; forgetting that the engines are even ON. Kit bounces back in the seat and the SeaDuck literally crashes into a rock and does absolutely zero damage to the SeaDuck. SOMEONE FIRE THAT ROCK~! Baloo runs out the back door with Louie and the Thembrian pilot and down the steps as Kit opens the door and jumps out and he's perfectly fine as Louie points out. (Yeah; if he explodes like Segata Sanshiro does in the last Sega Saturn commercial; then if Kit somehow is fine, then Segata is fooling no one with his fake routine anymore.) Kit actually has enough guts to apologize for that gaffe and Baloo gets all piss and vinegar on him for that since Kit cracked a pretty cute joke. (Baloo asks what the hell he was doing and Kit basically says that he was going about five miles an hour. Yeah.) See; this is why I felt Baloo was a complete jerkass over Stormy Weather since at least in Stormy Weather; Baloo had a justification to keep Kit away from Dan Dawson even if he screwed the whole argument up with Kit.

Baloo doesn't have it here since we have seen Kit fly in Captains Outrageous. Baloo proclaims that this is why twelve year olds aren't allowed to fly. (Well; alone anyway. With supervision like in Captains Outrageous, Baloo is full of crap.) However; the Thembrian pilot makes Kit's day by stating that in Thembria; the flying age has just been lowered to twelve. This actually plays into the entire episode later on as Kit is giddy to hear that. Oh; and according to the pilot; they get to fly real planes and the most advanced planes in the world. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Kit has ZERO idea what is ADVANCED in Thembria; but it does make the finish a whole lot sweeter in hindsight. (The Thunderyak; oh boy! Spigot just put Kit over as the greatest pilot in the world after this episode was over.) The pilot suggest enlisting, salutes Kit and walks off stage left. Kit loves this because in Thembria; twelve year olds can be pilots. Baloo then laughs his ass off and proclaims that only Thembria would allow Kit to fly and Louie joins him in agreement. Now I see why Chris Barat calls Baloo; Disney's answer to Fred Flintstone: Fred always knew how to gain heel heat doing idiotic promos like that. Kit is PISSED off and he's going to show everyone and storms off to gain his wings. Baloo is absolutely dumbfounded on that one realizing that Kit just made him look like a jerk. As if Baloo wasn't one to begin with. Yes folks; Kit Cloudkicker, a twelve year old boy is enlisting as a pilot in a country that is half USSR/half Nazi Germany; and we're supposed to be SHOCKED when I proclaim that Kit is a BS&P nightmare waiting to happen? That's why Kit didn't get many focus episodes because of groundbreaking stuff like this. (Actually; the real reason why Kit didn't get these focus episode was because Baloo was the star of the show, and no one else mattered. If this show happens today; Kit and Molly get pushed to the moon and back a dozen times. Plus; I would love it! I also love how Kit is willing to go to a facist country to learn how to fly; and he has no idea that he's going to get screwed in the end because this facist country is also extremely stupid.) Also; another benefit: If you hate seeing Baloo's mug overcome every episode; this episode is for you because Baloo doesn't return on-screen for at least until halfway through the third act. Time to start the stopwatch at 4:08...

We head to Thembria's capital with a fence of barb wire (!!!) and then we pan east to the entrance that looks like a large chruch as various warthog kids in fur coats and hat assemble outside as Colonel Spigot's voice welcomes them to the Thembrian Junior Air Corps Recruitment Center as we see the megaphones at the door. He tells them to form a single line because if you don't form a single line in Thembria: YOU WILL BE SHOT! How nasty is it when a children's cartoon threatens to shoot a kid for any context? (Worse; I believe this because this is Thembria; where no one is safe from guns. I went through three straight episode re-rants without seeing a gun in sight. Not here; this means we are 40 for 52 in terms of the guns being pulled out. A dozen episodes of special days. Plus; in this episode; children are being shot at! Can you imagine them doing this in 2016? It would be the end of children's cartoons as we know it!) I see Kit is wearing the same uniform and he wears it for the rest of the episode. Everyone runs into the hallway as only one of the kids (the front one) is a foot taller than the rest of the kids. The second one which is behind Kit talks to him and addresses himself as Bobbo. Bobbo is voiced by Edan Gross. Kit and Bobbo shake hands as Kit hopes the requirements to join aren't too tough. We then see Sgt. Dunder opening the double doors and the tall kid pilot comes in. We see that the Thembrian Guards are on retainer just for the special day. Dunder has his script as they go over to the oversized desk of Colonel Spigot . Dunder states that the kid has perfect eyesight, passed the written exams, and his father was a pilot hero. However; we must continue the ULTIMATE SHORT JOKE as Spigot blows off that "junk", then walks down and through the door in his desk. Now there's something you don't see everyday. Spigot proclaims that he wants to see if he measures up. Spigot walks to the recruit and takes out his tape measure and has trouble measuring his height; so Dunder has to help him. HAHA! (Even funnier; as he's grumbling, he yells "metric" to imply that his measuring tape is metric and he hates that because he believes in the imperial system. Which is hilarious because in storyline, Thembria is supposed to be the Soviet Union who is supposed to hate anything American; and yet he hates the metric system which considered a Soviet Union trait. Although it was invented by the French, who supported America's independance! So the metric system is considered an Usland trait while imperial is a Thembrian trait. That's a hell of a hilarious way of looking at things, Martin.)

Sadly he's 5' 1" and too tall so he goes to Turnip Peeling School. So the two Thembrian guard grab the tall pilot by the coat and he's taken away stage right. That is just COLD! (Yeah; if there is one thing worse than getting shot; it's peeling turnips just because Spigot has an acute case of heightism. Although, in this case; we discover why this is happening and it's the usual "politician is stupid" moment that comes with being a lying colonel like Spigot.) We cut back to the line as Kit calls this rough and Bobbo is next in line. Bobbo slowly walks forward and Dunder proclaims that Bobbo thinks a cockpit is a hole full of chickens. Jeepers! Bobbo cannot even get the fact that it's roosters and not chickens. (I have a sneaking theory that the original line in the script was roosters and BS&P said no. Too obvious to me.) Still; the joke is "Crap Past The Radar" just the same as Colonel Spigot blows him off, measures him without any trouble and Bobbo's 3" 2' which is enough for him to go to pilot school. Next one is Kit Cloudkicker of course as he stands to attention as Dunder states that Kit isn't even Thembrian to begin with! So? (Wow; Dunder cares more about outsiders than Spigot does in this episode; making Dunder look like a Thembrian nationalist. Shouldn't Spigot be the nationalist of this outfit?! Something fishy is going on here as we'll soon find out.) Colonel Spigot doesn't care as Kit gets measured and Kit is 3' 9" which is enough for him to pass. (Wow; he's smaller than many six year olds today! Seriously! ) Now we go outside as the recruits stand in several lines with about a dozen of them I think. (Strangely; we never see Kit Cloudkicker in this scene at all. Even though he should be in this scene. Then again; I guess the animators figured that if he was in the scene; it would have made the Dunder/Spigot interactions look stupider in hindsight.) We see Sgt. Dunder on the soapbox with the microphone proclaiming that they owe their life, liberty and paychecks to Colonel Spigot. Ah; I see Thembria is trying to be like China; but isn't fooling ANYONE. (Owing their "liberty" is hilarious considering how facist Thembrian is. I told you this country is wacky as hell.)

Colonel Spigot gets his personal microphone stand as Spigot appears from the limo opened by a Thembrian guard as there is scattered clapping. Spigot walks onto the stage and this time; no short humor occurs as Spigot thanks the fans and asks if they have heard of him. He is the "Scourge of Sultan's Creek" as he walks around and explains that they will all fly in the Great Patriotic Flounder Day air show this Saturday and like it. (Which prompted no response from Kit because we never see him. Odd since Kit would like this.) They will be flying in the world's most advanced fighter plane as Spigot goes to the conveniently placed airplane under the white cover. He uncovers what he calls the Thunderyak which might be the world's toughest plane to fly. (According to Ted Heinz; and in fact this is actually great for Kit because it makes the finish all that much sweeter.) Spigot gets to play ghost with the cover for a while as Dunder comes over and proclaims that the plane looked bigger in the catalog. (So in Thembria; catalogs are bigger than the Thunderyaks? I would chalk this as a figure of speech; but this is Thembria we are talking about here.) Spigot gets out and shh's Dunder before pulling on his ear and off the stage with Dunder to console him. See; the stupid factory gave him the wrong size planes and that's why they spent all week recruiting twelve year olds. Yeah; it's the old government standby: Don't take responsibility for the gaffe and cover the whole thing up. Only this one is a lot funnier in hindsight. (In other words; every career politican in the free world in any era. Who says this show is dated?!) Dunder proclaims that he did it so the High Marshal won't shoot Spigot again...allegedly. Spigot calls it one reason; the other is the High Marshal won't notice the planes are little if little pilots stand next to them. (Which as we see later on; he doesn't exactly buy it at first.) Dunder proclaims that it's great to have so many little pilots and Spigot blows him off because he's not crazy enough to let twelve year olds fly. See; the problem with this is that Spigot is yelling AS IF anyone can hear him including Kit who wouldn't fall for something so obvious. That's why a little lowering of the volume tone in said voice goes a long way. That's logic break number one for the episode nearly seven minutes in. (Kit was never seen in the crowd; so the logic break doesn't quite work. Besides; in acting, you have to speak louder than the hum of a fridge and in order to make this not a logic break, you have to make it as if we cannot hear them. Not going to happen. Lower the volume if you must; but remember that the audience still has to hear them. Personally; I would have removed the dialogue of Spigot saying that he's not crazy to allow twelve year olds to fly since we aren't supposed to know that until Kit discovers the secret later on. Sometimes censorship does have it's benefits.)

Spigot proclaims that he has a Krackpotkin plan in order as we pan west to the recruits. We head inside the FLIGHT SCHOOL OF DOOM as we see Spigot on the desk doing the most absurd salutes as the recruits including Kit follow his lead. They even do the foot grabbing salute for good measure as this is turning into a bad exercise routine. Spigot proclaims that everyone has passed introduction to saluting. Kit thinks that flying is going to be next; as Spigot states that Dunder will introduce them to what they will be saluting, which is the Great Patriotic Flounder. Dunder opens the projection screen and proclaims that the flounder was responsible for a great victory in Thembria when it jumped from a stream into an enemy cannon and clogging it to save Thembria. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I've heard of slipping on banana peel finishes; but this one tops them all in terms of whackiness. What will Thembria do next for an encore? (Since Flying Dupes is the final episode; it would be finding out that Colonel Spigot cannot fly and became an air force officer due to a clerical error. Is that good enough of an encore for you, 2011 me?!) Kit ponders as Dunder does the salute while paddling. Kit raises his paw and states that they learned boot lace tying (useless since no one has boots to wear. (Yeah; but this is Thembria; where the most useless things are taught.)), metal polishing, one thousand and one ways of saluting you and now saluting seafood. (Despite the fact that in storyline; Dunder said it came from a stream; implying that the flounder was a freshwater fish instead of a seawater fish. Bad gaffe on your part there, Kit-boy!) Colonel Spigot has his goading stick ready for some child abuse (And really; can we expect anything less from Spigot?) as Kit asks if they can fly tomorrow. Spigot counters with more advanced saluting as Kit is pissed off of that because he wants to fly dammit! Spigot jumps from the desk as he has special classes for him. I think we know where this is going as we head to the turnip room of death as Kit is peeling a pile of turnips and throws some to aside. Kit feels something is wrong here and he actually cuts himself with the turnip peeler. Wow. I didn't think Disney would allow someone to get cut. Sadly; the camera is so far away we couldn't see even a trickle of blood from the cut. (Sigh. Also; Sunwoo's first mistake of the episode: The turnips are white in most of this; but there is a shot where the turnips are purple.)

Bobbo comes in to console him as Kit is not pleased because he's in a flight school that doesn't teach flying. Kit seemly keeps putting the sharp edge of the peeler to his finger as Bobbo proclaims that this thinking is normal in Thembria as Kit wanted to fly. (Now that is funny! I love Bobbo as an honest child Thembria whom demonstrates that warthogs can be very cute creatures.) Then we get this gem:

Bobbo: Flying means a lot to you, huh?
Kit: It means everything. Oh, I sleep it. Oh, I dream it. Oh, I think about it once every ten seconds at least.

Well; it also helps when Kit actually HAS a family to go back to now that he's NO longer on the run anymore. Before; flying was in fact secondary; but Kit kept referring to it because the pain of having no family of his own was too much. At least Kit is thinking about something else other than dreaming of having a family which is now typical of the Disney formula. Sadly; TaleSpin's works the best because Kit's very young and small and thus you cannot help but want to mother him when he gets his ass handed to him. (I'm amazed that I wrote that because Zootopia completely destroys that formula completely. Which goes to show you how much TaleSpin influenced that movie. I no longer need to advocate for TaleSpin's rebirth on television because Zootopia has pretty much filled the void. Now a Zootopia/TaleSpin crossover would make my life complete; but I don't expect Disney to do it. I just hope Zootopia doesn't get screwed for no reason like TaleSpin did in 1990.) Bobbo admits that his dream is becoming an ice shaver which shows how much character development the TaleSpin writers were willing to give to characters. Which is a lot more than what I can say in the new cartoons today. (Well; I watched Gravity Falls and they got the message that character development is extremely important to make me care about the characters. Then again; 2011 was a bad time for cartoons compared to now.) Kit proclaims that something is fishy around here as he throws the turnip peeler down (which the blade sticks to the floor.), storms out to investigate this whole thing and Bobbo tells him to be careful because he could get into trouble. Since Bobbo has never heard Kit's troubled life; I'm going to cut him some slack. Trust me Bobbo; Kit LOVES trouble. It literally turns him on. POW! OUCH! Ummmmm... (Okay; Kit. Let's go over your career on this show: You were an ex-air pirate who almost caused Cape Suzette to go up in flames. You mingled with gangsters, hitmen, mobsters, befriended a giant whale, went on a treasure hunt, faked an alien invasion, went to Starrywood, faked an air pirate raid that turned into a shoot, almost killed yourself doing stunts for a pedophile...allegedly. That doesn't count you're hobo life in the comics to boot! Seriously; how can you not like trouble? You don't like corrupt authority figures. We don't either.)

We go to the scene changer as we head to an airplane hanger AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) and I know bcause the spotlights are on. (Nah; it's obvious that it's dark without them.) Anyhow; we see Kit's shadow running in as Kit hides on the right side of the hanger next to the flag pole. (I betcha the shadowary figures pissed off animation buffs at the time; like fart jokes do now to most people nowadays.) He then runs to the front of the hanger and tries the front door; but no dice. The door slowly opens and Kit bails behind the snowbank as the door opens and out comes the Thembrian guards who actually take a look near the snowbank; so Kit hides behind the hanger before the guards give up and walk away. Kit breathes a sigh of relief as he doesn't need to get cold feet anymore. He then lowers the flag and the undoes a rope a bit to allow the pully to raise himself up the flag pole and he spirals onto the top of it. Very neat spot there and it makes Kick look even weaker now. Kit then takes the Thembrian flag and uses it as a parachute down onto the roof of the hanger and lands perfectly letting the flag fly away into the wind stage right. (I should note something: In nearly every scene in Thembria in this episode; the wind whistles in the background. It's kind of neat and I would be surprised if modern cartoons never picked up on that little detail.) Kit enters through the top roof door and then walks on the wooden beams of the hanger as we head inside the hanger as Spigot is humming about flounders. Kit grabs onto a beam like a spidermonkey as Spigot apparently will rise up to general if this plan succeeds. So it's not only to cover up a gaffe; it's to give him a higher ranking too; the evil son of a bitch. (Oh; you were doing so well and you derailed yourself again 2011 me! By the way; Spigot wants to be a general. Somehow after seeing Flying Dupes and knowing how Spigot became a colonel, I betcha he will become a general.)

We see one of the Thunderyaks again as Spigot goes over to Dunder and his blueprints about the Krackpotkin plan. See; the High Marshall is finally going to see a perfect Flounder Formation as we see the formation on the paper as the planes are bolted together using the bolt seal hammer which Dunder takes out of the steel box. Dunder plays with the bolt hammer for a while as Dunder explains the obvious and Spigot agrees with him. Spigot knows that this is long, hard, tedious, taxing work and that's why Dunder has to do it since Spigot is such a lazybones that makes Tuxford look like a five hundred percent workrate god. WHACK! OUCH! Ummmm... Oh; and Dunder is working for free too. HEE HEE! (Even funnier is Dunder basically says "okay" when Spigot tells him this. He does not care about getting overtime or paid in this show. Dunder must have been beaten down as a child; there's no way no one accepts payment for this work.) Dunder asks how the kids will fly the planes, Spigot proclaims that the kids won't fly them and that will be done by the smallest adult pilot in all of Thembria whch is Tiny Bubbles who will fly the lead plane. Kit is shocked and appalled so much; R.J. Williams's voice cracking in response is downright awesome to listen to. No wonder Alan Roberts was gone after Ginny took over; because R.J. Williams is flying rings all over him. (One thing I love about this episode is that R.J. Williams made the most of this episode as Kit. He didn't just read his lines to protect his voice. He actually did all the acting he needed to do to get these scenes over. It made everything Kit say and do much more profound in that context.) Sadly; the wooden beam Kit is on crumbles. Gotta love Thembrian craftsmanship! (Even funnier; the wooden beams are not load bearing at all since the hanger doesn't collapse with it as we'll see in the next act.) Kit looks like he's going to lose his balance and is forced to hang onto the plank as Spigot notices Kit and yells for the guard to end the segment nearly eleven minutes in.

After the commercial break; we REPEAT the yelling for the guards by Spigot as Kit continues to hang on from the wooden beams. Kit manages to get back onto the beam just as the beam crumbles some more. Two Thembrian guards arrive with guns as Colonel Spigot proclaims to fire liberally. HOLY CRAP! Yeah; in 1990, Disney had zero problems having adults shoot at twelve year old kids directly. (Geez; after Plunder and Lightning Part Two where Kit was shot at point blank range by Dumptruck; you're shocked by this 2011 me?) Hell; if Rebecca didn't stop MacNee; the age would be down to six. (They don't shoot here; but they will soon enough.) Thankfully; Kit tries to walk; but the beams finally break free and Kit rides towards the tower and grabs on as the wooden beams entomb the Thembrians. Spigot proclaims that he needs to have the hanger "termite" inspected as Kit jumps out of the window and escapes cleanly. Scene changer and more wind whistling as we head to what looks like a prison trailer as we head inside as Kit is on the top of a bunkbed with the kids inside proclaiming that they are victims of a huge scam. Bobbo takes it as rationing the roast turnip dinners. HAHA! Kit calls the matter even worse because they won't be flying. Kit explains that Spigot is bolting the planes together in a fish formation and they are going to sit there like dummies. Well; Kit is a dummy in two senses already: A crash dummy and a dummy not to realize that Dunder is bolting the planes. POW! OUCH! Hey... (Also of note; Kit saying this is worse than rationing the turnip dinners implies that somehow, Kit found out about that too. However; he's more concerned about flying than that. This doesn't indicate that Kit hates turnips; although if he did, it would be understandable since he was almost tortured by Don Karnage with a turnip and sandpaper.) Kit thinks that they can be stopped if they unite and wants to march on headquarters and demands that they let them fly. Sadly for Kit; everyone except Bobbo backs away from the deal as I expected them to.

Bobbo thinks that this is not a good idea at all because no one in Thembria cares about flying. (Why doesn't that surprise me? I'm surprised Bobbo didn't say: "No one cares about people's rights here either." Apparently; someone from Tumblr pointed out that the animated of the kids disappeared literally after five frames. I didn't see that when I was doing the transcripts of this episode; so I don't know what the story is.) The place is now empty I should note as Kit jumps down because it's more than about flying and it's about the rights as men. Bobbo nicely blows it off because they are boys, see; flying is too dangerous for them, see. Unlike Baloo; I'm willing to cutting Bobbo some slack here because he simply doesn't know Kit flew with WildCat in Captain Outrageous. (That's perfectly fair 2011 me; I would too. Heck; Kit is too dangerous for this camp it seems as he's already caused damage to a hanger. Not on purpose, mind you. But still. Even more to the point; I'm fully behind Kit here. Not because of having rights as men or even boys. But the fact is; Colonel Spigot has lied to them about flying. Even if you don't care about flying; you should care about him lying about it because he's using a bunch of kids to cover up for his incompetence. That in itself is grounds to being rightfully pissed off! It's like moral guardians using children as a shield to guard against their own bigotry. Only this is a government official wasting taxpayers money on this project and screwing it up. It's distasteful and in this case it's criminal since kids cannot give informed consent. I don't blame Kit for being angry. I don't blame Kit for wanting to do something about it, even if he just wants to fly.) Kit blows him off as Disney Captions missed the "oh yeah" part. (Disney Captions missed a lot of stuff in this episode as well and it's hard to believe Volume 3 was almost dead perfect compared to the first two volumes so far.) Kit storms off to tell the kids to look up at the sky at midnight and he'll show how dangerous it really is. We head back to the hanger as the riveter is rattling and the doors are conveniently open as we see Dunder riveting the Thunderyaks together.

He crosses off one plane from his blueprints and proclaims that there is only forty seven to go. Wait; there are only twelve planes on the blueprint. So he only has eleven planes left to bolt. Logic break number two for the episode almost twelve and a half minutes in. (Actually; he means 47 bolts are needed to bolt all the planes together, although as we'll see later; the one Kit unbolted had one bolt and nut. So unless the main ones got more than four bolts apiece, that is the logic break. More minor than you are making it out.) He goes over and bolts some more planes together as we pan west to the door and it opens to reveal Kit Cloudkicker practicing the fine art of not being seen. Sadly; someone installed the alarm on top of the door and it goes off at once. Kit doesn't care as the sirens wail and the Thembrian Guards both proclaim the intruder must have returned. Guard number two states that they are ready for him as he pushes a green button on the console just as Kit gets into the plane and he starts the engines. He got some cooking with gas and he's off as he almost MURDERS Dunder in the process; although Dunder stepping in, waving to him to stop doesn't work. Dunder calls Kit a boy and Kit gleefully answers that one for me. Kit turns to the front and notices the BIG BERTHA TANK OF DEATH guarding the door and it shoots at Kit. HOLY CRAP! Kit turns around on a dime 180 degrees and the CHASE IS ON BABEE! The tank manages to shoot through the back of the hanger and Kit drives out after some moving around inside. Kit drives the plane towards and tries to leave stage right; but goes stage left as the tanks follow him. Kit is hoping that Bobbo is watching him getting shot at by the tanks; because that's exactly what happens. Kit tries to takeoff; but the tanks line up in front of him; forcing to turn on a dime and they shoot at him again. Wow, just wow. (I think there was a jump cut here; but otherwise, this went off really well.) Kit drives up hills and smashes through the front door of the capital building and bounces like Huey Duck ("Send In The Clones" from Ducktales, of course...) with a superball up his ass. We follow down the hallway as the janitor bails into storage as the tanks manage to get through; but cause tank track damage on the sides of the walls.

Kit notices some stairs and drives up them to the top as the tanks follow; but they are just TOO FAT and the stairs collapses under their weight. HAHA! Good one Kit; good one. More bouncing up the stairs and he smashes the roof door down as he lands on the roof. Six green uniform Thembrian soliders with rifles point directly at Kit. (There we go; no one can accuse this show of pandering to moral guardians, that is for sure.) At this point; even the most hardened guy would surrender; but this is Kit F'N Cloudkicker we are talking about as he apologizes and pulls on the stick. Kit turns around in front of them as they shoot at Kit as Kit drives away as we see the Thunderyak in profile and all of it's glory. Sadly; Toon Disney cut that shooting out despite the guns being pointed at Kit beforehand and there are still bullets going on in the next shot that was unedited. Disney's editing is a joke says I. What's funny as there are some flashes; but the bullets are clearly seen. We are up to 0.7 Trigun as Kit thinks there is no stopping him now. He takes off and gets about ten seconds of air; but he looks away, then looks forward in the moonlight and crashes the plane right into the building. In hindsight; HOLY CRAP! (Dammit; Kit actually had a good takeoff; but he looked behind him instead of focusing forward. Dumb on Kit's part.) The wall, Spigot's desk and the Thunderyak is destroyed of course as Kit pops from the carnage with the googly eyes. (Meaning he has a concussion; but that's the least of his worries.) Kit hopes that no one saw him; but that hope chest is gone as Colonel Spigot rises from the carnage (HOLY CRAP!) and proclaims that this is why twelve year olds aren't allowed to fly. Considering that the Thunderyak is the most crappiest plane in existence; color me unimpressed. (Yeah; that flight stick is basically a giant nut attached to a tailpipe. It's so Rube-Goldbergish it isn't funny.) Spigot punches his fist into his hand and that ends the segment almost fifteen minutes in.

After the commercial break; we see Kit in the hanger polishing and washing the Thunderyaks as punishment. Wow; Spigot is really stupid. Since Kit knows the secret now and is the intruder; you would think that executing Kit would make more sense. It's not like they weren't shooting to kill at him earlier. (Maybe Spigot will plan that in the future; but why not humilate Kit first by forcing him to wash the planes down and have him sit in the plane on his ass for the entire airshow without being able to fly? It's a great humiliation tactic. Then after this is done; then you can execute Kit so he shuts up for good. This is an awesome monster heel move on his part because Spigot is in charge and Kit is being controlled all the way. Sadly; for Spigot, Kit's not a passive character in this show and it will come back to bite him on the ass.) Anyhow; Kit is tired as hell looking at his reflection in the glass (How symbolic?). Dunder comes in and tells him that he cannot win against him because Spigot's in charge, see. Wow; Dunder gives what many fans thought was his greatest moment in this series; by showing that much concern for Kit's well-being. Kit's desparation levels hit Plunder and Lightning part four levels as Kit doesn't give a damn since flying is in his blood when he jumps down. Dunder shows him the destroyed Thunderyak and Kit blows it off because there was a building in his way. Kit got a point there Dunder; as much as I like the amount of concern you have for Kit in general right now. (Dunder has one of those moments that makes me smile because Dunder is acting like a reasonable human being. I can fully understand why he saying this because Kit just won't take no for an answer on flying at this point. To the point where Kit squeezes the sponge and water flies in Dunder's face. Kit is that desperate now, almost at Stormy Weather levels of defiance. And why should he take no for an answer? Spigot is getting away with fraud on his own people and he's the authority figure. As much as I like Dunder; Spigot is a really scummy man in power who needs to be taken down before he causes more harm to people who cannot give informed consent.)

Colonel Spigot walks in and orders Kit back to work as Kit claims that he's finished and wants to sleep. So Spigot takes some mud out of nowhere and clearly places a mark on a Thunderyak claiming that Kit missed a spot. Now THAT is heel heat personified. (I love that dickish move by Spigot; and R.J. Williams's acting is just slaying this scene.) Kit goes over and washes the spot clean as Spigot proclaims that if he missed one spot; he probably missed others, so he has to wash all the Thunderyaks again. Now THAT is just COLD. R.J. Williams' reaction to that is just priceless as we zoom out at the job Kit has to do now. (And it also shows that they bought spare Thunderyaks just in case Kit destroyed one of them. As bad as a gaffe this was for Colonel Spigot; he was on the ball of buying spare planes just in case.) We head to the bunkbeds as the Thembrian kids are reading in the bunkbeds and in comes Kit selling like he's nearly walking dead. Now THAT'S how you sell it! Kit plops on the bed as Bobbo tells him that at least he can take solace that he smells clean. Kit is not amused by that one as Bobbo has arranged for his escape from Thembria -- which is nice of him; don't get me wrong --; but Kit no sells because that would be giving up and he doesn't quit. (I think THE FEATHERS~ would like to have a word with you Kit.) Bobbo counters that he is being tortured. You call that torture, Bobbo?! You never have been tickled in your life dear sir. THAT'S TORTURE~! (Must not think up story of Kit tickling Bobbo's feet; because someone will likely draw a picture of that on Deivantart.) Look; I got to stand up for little Kit Cloudkicker; he is showing why he is so awesome! Kit jumps out of bed feeling refreshed as he stops selling and proclaiming that he does plan to leave; but he's doing it his way which is flying out. Kit takes a postcard -- which apparently he already wrote which is weird --(I betcha when Kit was going to Thembrian, he bought a post card from the gift shop and already wrote down what he was going to say to Baloo. He probably did this after he found out about the airshow being on Saturday which was earlier in the episode. If this were today; we would have seen this scene. So, yeah; Kit's ego of piloting has incredible foresight.) and proclaims that he is going to prove how great he is.

Scene changer and at 16:11 (That's over twelve minutes straight of time Baloo's face doesn't show up. In the comics; "The Long Flight Home" probably had less face time with Baloo.) as we head back to Louie's as we see Baloo and Louie at the far table. Baloo is sulking over missing Kit because we all know Baloo cannot be complete without him. Louie tells Baloo not to worry because he needs to blow off some steam. Baloo isn't buying that since he has been gone a full week as Louie calls it a lot of steam. I'm loving how Baloo's jerkassness has made him cry over his rootbeer float soda knowing that Kit can carry an episode by himself thank you very much. Louie proclaims that he will be back as Baloo is worried about him getting in a plane. (I just love how Baloo says this even though Kit was in a plane in Captains Outrageous earlier. Either that; or Baloo figures that Kit being in a plane is merely enabling Kit's desire to want to fly a plane. Because if it was merely getting into a plane; then how did Kit get to Thembria? He would have to go back in the SeaDuck to get to Cape Suzette alone. Dumb!) In comes a dog furry who seemly is a pilot who delivers mail as he has to Mr. Baloo. So Baloo is his Last Name? Oh wait; it's the Mr. Fat gag, my mistake. Baloo reads the postcard and Kit's writing is almost dead perfect. He just missed crossing a t in saturday. Thursday needs to teach Kit how to cross his t's. (And also not to use capital letters for no reason; or underline random words. Otherwise; much better than Vowel Play.) Oh; the postcard is Kit is going to be in the airshow Saturday and he is going to do a "Baloo Corkscrew" and wishes for him to be there. Baloo panics and runs out as he has to stop him before he gets his nose in the dirt. Codeword: If he dies; the blood is on Baloo's hands basically. I'll explain when we get to the finish. We head to the Thembrian capital in front of the airfield as there are only twelve Thunderyaks. I guess Dunder was referring to forty-seven reivet bolts and 48/12 equals four reivets per plane. Logic break lopped off. (Not quite since Kit's plane only had one bolt attached to the right tailend of the formation. Still better than 48 Thunderyaks as you thought it originally was 2011 me.).

Sadly; there are eleven planes this time on the sky closeup since the twelvith one was crushed by Kit earlier in the episode. Now that is excellent CONTINUITY by the writers. (Actually; there are twelve planes; but they had spare Thunderyaks anyway. So it doesn't matter; they both work either way.) We pan over to the hanger as we see Dunder looking out not looking too thrilled about something. I guess he's scared of what Kit might do. That's a nice non-verbal sell there guys. (Yeah; he is the only adult that knows Kit is going to try something and Spigot probably doesn't care either way. He will care soon enough though.) Dunder returns as he addresses the kids standing at attention when Major Tiny Bubbles enters the hanger and yes, he is the smallest adult pilot in Thembria with a blue bomber jacket. He does the Flounder Salute as the kids greet him with hellos and their salutes. Even funnier; Kit is taller than Tiny & Spigot! That's just there to taunt Kit some more. (Ding!) Dunder then tells the kids to go into their airplanes; but leave the flying to the grownups. I guess if the High Marshall doesn't know; it cannot hurt right Dunder?! I don't see the tall pilot from earlier as some have claimed as we see the Thembrian kids run to the planes from the backside. (Actually; I did see the tall pilot from earlier; but never again after this, so I don't know what the story is.) We cut to the VIP Section as the High Marshall returns asking about the Thunderyaks being bigger in the catalog and calling Spigot Nozzle again. Spigot claims that they didn't as they fit the adult pilots perfectly. Riiiiggggghhhhhttttt Mr. Nozzle. I see the High Marshall's wife made the trip here too. She even brought the golden binoculars on a stick too as Spigot is called Nozzle again. The High Marshall wants to see a perfectly formed Flounder and no more planes crashing into each other like last time. I'm SHOCKED that even Spigot is still alive after all these misgivings. (Well; the whole series storyline to this is that Thembria is so incompetence and so busybodyish that the paperwork never gets done to get Spigot shot and that's why he's alive. Spigot knows this and tries to convince the High Marshall that he's good enough to not get shot; but screws up everytime. That is the whole storyline to this angle. Sadly; for the High Marshall, he will get all of these at once.)

Anyhow; we see Kit and Bobbo get into their planes side by side as Bobbo asks if he still wants to go through this. Kit proclaims that he better bet his alienron which is a nice way of saying that "you bet your ass". (Yup.) Kit brings out the wrench he probably stole from the hanger before he left polishing the Thunderyaks before hand as he is going to do the Baloo Corkscrew and then coast all the way home. (In theory; great plan. In execution...errr...can I get back to you on that?) Kit and Bobbo say their goodbyes and close the glass doors. (Calling themselves bunkmates in the process. That made me smile as I like Bobbo. It's not his fault he lives in a wacky country like Thembria.) We see them starting the engines as we pan northeast. The SeaDuck arrives and land just as the Flounder Formation flies away into the skies. Baloo jumps out and notices Kit on the back of the tailsection formation (the right side) and panics. Baloo tries to run; but he is stopped as Thembrian guards with rifles are pointed at Baloo. The Great Patriotic Flounder is restricted from visiters, see. Baloo points, backs up towards the SeaDuck and enters inside and restarts the engines. (Baloo basically says that it's time to go fishing.) Oh; did I mention Toon Disney kept all the gun pointing here?! We see the planes flying in the air as the SeaDuck takes off. We cut back to the VIP section as Spigot calls it a perfectly formed Flounder. The High Marshall, Colonel Nozzle & Trophy Wife salute said Flounder along with ten Dunder lookalikes. Hey; it's Thembria, you were expecting something else? (Ummm; yeah. Them posing while paddling like Dunder did earlier since that was the salute for the Flounder Formation. A minor mistake in an otherwise, almost flawless episode. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: If you thought they got rid of the Nazi salutes in this show, this episode proves everyone wrong. I believe Germany aired this episode, too.)) We see the Flounder Formation fly around for a while around the airfield as the SeaDuck drives into the strip containing the model flounder statues. Baloo doesn't see where he is going while looking at the formation and the nose cone slams into a Flounder just as the SeaDuck takes off. (Ah, I see where Kit got his looking left from. That makes Baloo look like an idiot.)

The SeaDuck does some turning to get behind the formation and we finally cut to Kit opening the glass window and crawling to the rivets on the left wing of the plane. He takes the wrench from his mouth and twists hard as he loses his hat. It takes a while; but the nut is gone and he crawls back into the plane (While throwing the wrench and nut away into the wind...); closes the glass window and it's showtime for real. He unpops the rivet from the plane and starts to fly and he literally tailspins backwards. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Not so easy; eh, Kit? Kit's selling is amazing in this one. We cut back to the High Marshall demanding answers to this outrage and Colonel Spigot gets MURDERED with a good bump off the wrench. Wow; Sunwoo nailed that one after all. Spigot grabs the monkey wrench and The High Marshall blows him off because he's pointing at the fin which Kit is struggling like mad just to get the nose up. He actually manages to do a hyperbole and avoid MURDERING the High Marshall, Colonel Spigot and his wife in the process as they duck. HOLY CRAP! Kit Cloudkicker is so awesome he is a BS&P nightmare. No wonder Disney went to crap after this show; no one could top Kit F'N Cloudkicker in quality. The High Marshall demands to get that fish fin and Spigot repeats the spot complete with megaphone. I was hoping the High Marshall would clobber him; but no dice. (Yeah; that would have been even funnier for me at least.) We cut to the Thunderyak Kit's flying as it struggles just to keep level; but he manages to keep it in the air despite Kit saying that it's harder than it looks. Probably because the Thunderyak is the crappiest plane in Earthia. Kit is trying to keep it straight, and managing to do a decent job of it; all things considered as three Thembrian War Planes surround him. HOLY CRAP! Those evil Thembrians just symbolizes "Home Is Where The Heart Is!" Those ungrateful bastards! Kit now wishes Baloo is here and here comes the SeaFlounderDuck on it's way as Baloo proclaims that Pop-A-Bear is here. We get some more flying as Baloo gets in front of the planes and we hear the Thembrian pilot from the beginning of the episode on the radio proclaiming that Baloo has desecrated the head of the Great Patriotic Flounder.

I guess Kit desecrated the flag of Thembria and ass of said Flounder (Cue Daisy Duck 1996: Oh great, they all are causing an international incident and you wonder why most of us do not want Rebecca doing business with Thembria?!) as the Thembrian pilot orders Baloo to land his plane and surrender. (Yeah; the Thembrian pilot is actually a security guy working on the show and he's gonna be slightly more effective than Gunner & Murphy~! The TNA version and the Kick Buttowski versions of them. Combined! Which means absolutely nothing because...) Baloo apologizes and blows him off of course because you have to catch a flying fish first. Baloo then flies into the sky as the Thembrian planes fly after him and you would think after about three episodes involving Baloo and Thembrians that they would realize how stupid doing that is. Baloo uncorks the head; does the "Baloo Corkscrew" as the planes get caught into the Flounder head and freefall and crash perfectly on the landing strip in a perfect three plane landing. We cut to the High Marshall and he is pissed off. Spigot asks if it's not a perfectly formed Flounder and the High Marshall blows him off as planes crashing into each other. You tell him Mr. Marshall as now we head for the big finish. We see the SeaDuck flying right beside Kit as Kit is still struggling to keep the Thunderyak straight and at this point; Kit has more than proved his point when it comes to flying considering the type of plane and where it comes from. (Oh, but it gets even sweeter now...) Memo to Disney Captions: Kit said "Baloo"; not "Whoo-Hoo!" Baloo points to something and Kit turns to see that white polar mountain from the beginning of the episode as they are heading straight for it. (Remember that mountain peak from the beginning? Great foreshadowing indeed.) Baloo is on transmitter telling Kit to pick up the transmitter and he sells it. Baloo tells him to follow his lead and everything will be all right. Baloo tells him to ease the wheel back; and Kit tries; but no dice. Kit panics right on cue and Baloo just tells him to ease it back. (R.J. Williams' acting just nails this scene perfectly as Kit is now regretting ever stepping into Thembria to learn how to fly.)

Kit tries again as they are really close to the mountainside now. Baloo yells at him to pull back hard, Kit pulls for his life and it works as he does a sharp hyperbole; flies to the right and nails it perfectly as he misses the mountain by a few feet. (He also barrel rolled upside down and then barrel rolled upside up to regain a straight line! He basically did the Baloo Barrel Roll. This would have been even better had Kit actually do the "Baloo Corkscrew" right then and there. Oh well, there's always Unforeseen Impact...) Wow...he really did it. IN YOUR FACE KICK BUTTOWSKI & YOUR FAKE Z-GRADE HEROES~! (Anatomically correct.) And the dialog that comes next just makes the finish even sweeter:

Baloo: You did it!
Kit: {Looking upset.} No, I didn't. You did.
Baloo: Aw; don't say that Little Britches. You're going to be a great pilot.
Kit: Yeah? You really think so?
Baloo: I know so. But do me a favor and land so I can fly you home.
Kit: Roger, Poppa Bear.
Bobbo: {Looking on from the ground as he salutes Kit .} Kit, we'll always remember you as the kid who flew a plane. Sort of.

Sort of? I disagree with that statement Bobbo. Yeah; Baloo gave instructions; but Kit was the one who managed to make it work and flew. Plus; Kit was flying the crappiest plane alive and he was actually doing as well as anyone who could fly such a thing for his first time solo. (Yeah; look at the flight stick for instance. That thing is a rusted Rube-Goldberg flight stick if I ever saw one. This was a sweet finish because Kit proved he could fly and had to deal with a crappy plane. But once he put his weight into the flight stick; he flew as if he knew what he was doing all along. Sort of doesn't cut it here.) This is one of the best finishes I have ever seen and I would have loved to see them land on the ending; but we have only thirty seconds left to complete the episode and it doesn't happen. Also; this redeems Baloo a lot because he finally realized that Kit had it from the start and he just needed some seasoning. Plus; it also makes you think had Kit crashed into the mountain as well. Let's say that happens; I perfectly agree with the assement of someone on Usenet who would say that if Kit crashed into the mountain; the series is over right there and we have our first unhappy ending because there would not be one hole in the mountain; there would be two. As in Baloo would crash the Seaduck out of grief of losing the second true friend he really had and the one that saved his life when no one else would. (I fully concur even today. Sadly; if this were today, that would be the finish because crashing into mountains is funny you see. If Teen Titans Go can allow characters to die without consequence; then this finish would be acceptable to execs of Disney. Of course; I hope they never consider it if this show is rebooted.)

Anyhow; we cut back to the High Marshall as Colonel Spigot is so TOTALLY BUSTED~! Gruffi pose is on full blast as Spigot asks if he is going to shoot him for using kids. The High Marshall proclaims that he would not waste the bullet and Spigot feels a sigh of relief. (I guess even the High Marshall has had enough of the paperwork to kill this guy.) See; the High Marshall has a much crueler punishment and Spigot panics. We head back to the Turnip Peeling Room of Doom asColonel Spigot is forced to peel turnips for the rest of his life. HAHA! Now THAT is payback and hopefully; he'll shine up the Thunderyaks to boot. Like he forced Kit to do earlier. Colonel Spigot peels and whines like a little baby to finally end the episode at 21:11. This episode deserves full marks; but without an ending involving Kit landing the Thunderyak with Baloo guiding him just a bit; it's almost perfect. Still; this is Kit's greatest moment for all the Kit fans as his dreams have come true. Sadly; because Kit went to an evil country willfully and defied BS&P; this would prove to be the last time Kit ever had a focus episode by himself. (2020 Gregory Weagle Says: At least on television until Ducktales 2017 when he blew the roof off in The Lost Cargo Of Kit Cloudkicker!) Like I said before; outstanding stuff; wrong company to be doing it with. **** ¾ (95%). (The rating stays as is; but the quality depends on your love for Kit. If you do not care about Kit; this was a good, fun episode that paid off a major angle and that would be around **** give or take 1/4*. If you hate Kit (and god damn you to hell if you do); this is still well written enough for a *** 1/2 episode at worst. Although you would be yelling at Disney to never do this again. If you love Kit and are blind to the minor errors; this is a perfect rating and you'll be yelling at Disney to do more of it. Pretty simple actually.)

THE REVIEW LINE

Wow; it still holds up both animation wise and story wise as one of the best episodes in DTVA. And it was all thanks to Kit Cloudkicker doing what he does best: look and do awesome stuff. Kit proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can carry an episode by himself and he looked like a genius while doing it. He's still a little kid; but at least he shows some restraint in most episodes and this was the big blowoff to Kit's dream of being a pilot. Not to mention that Dunder's performance was the best of his career and he got over on character rather than on Lorenzo Music's voice alone. Sadly; by doing so; he sealed his fate once again by deciding to willfully go to Thembria (half Nazi Germany/half USSR parody) and that basically wiped out any good graces he had with BS&P. He never got a real focus episode like that one again and in the end we would never see such a character reborn on Disney ever again. Too risky says the BS&P notes. (More like "More Baloo"; but that helps too.) I mean; Kit was shot at by Thembrians twice by tanks and bullets; and he flew a damn plane solo. This is just crazy stuff which fits Kit's persona nicely. Baloo was a jerk off; but it made the finish much sweeter than it should have been and Bobbo was great as Kit's Boo-Boo with a Yogi complex. Spigot was good as well as the High Marshall. Plus; the storyline of corruption in government and the cover up by Spigot was there for all of us to see. It takes some real balls to pull something like this off and they did it. The downsides were one logic break (which wasn't even a major one) and the lack of a real killer ending which should have involved Kit landing the Thunderyak with Baloo's guidance.

Heck; I would add what one e-mailer suggested when Kit takes off the fur uniform and is naked as Baloo walks up; gives him his hat and they walk back to the SeaDuck with the dialog being repeated from Plunder and Lightning Part One where Kit flew the SeaDuck for the first time. (Please don't make him naked. Not needed. Just have them flying home with the dialogue repeated from Plunder and Lightning Part One. That'll work just as well.) That's why I deducted the ¼ * from the episode. Overall; the payoff of Kit flying a plane was lovely, but it saddens me that this is the last of the true greatness of Kit Cloudkicker THE MIRACLE WORKER unless TaleSpin gets the long awaited BOOM comic deal and maybe Kit can fly to new heights without BS&P on his ass all the time. So next up is Bringing Down Babyface which starts the low point of TaleSpin along with Jumping the Guns. (Actually; both episodes turned out to be fine in the end. To be honest; this episode was the easiest to transcribe and it was the easiest to re-rant on because I remember it so vividly that 2011 me's writing did a great job in explaining everything for me. As for the comic deal; it never happened and will never happen. Besides, Zootopia's more over than TaleSpin anyway. So next up will be A Baloo Switcheroo in June as I'm starting next weekend with six Teddy Ruxpin episodes. Because I'm bizzare and I need to do something else.) So...

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

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