Käpt'n Balu & seine tollkühne Crew

Along with Darkwing Duck this is unfairly cancelled. Disney has been in decline since Tarzan and we need a show like this to get Disney back on track. Ed Gilbert and Jim Cummings were perfect for the voices of Louis and Baloo (sounds familiar?) The theme tune is also catchy, one of the catchiest theme tunes ever I'd say. Out of all the villains, which are all great on their own merits, Tony Jay stands out as Shere Kahn. Louis and Baloo actually sound very similar to the voice overs in the Jungle Book, which isn't a bad thing at all. As a matter of fact, it's quite inspirational! The animation was spot on, and the script had plenty of wit that has been severely lacking in animations for years. PLEASE BRING THIS SHOW BACK! 9/10. Bethany Cox

If you are viewing this show for the first time, you may start wondering if you are in an alternate reality. Colorful and imaginative characters? Entertaining dialogue? Plots that seem to have some depth to them, even creating atmospheres of suspense and drama at times? I mean, this is a syndicated children's show right? This is the same venue that has brought kids such drek as "Pokemon", "Pepper Ann", "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", and "VR Troopers" (please note that three of the titles mentioned above are crass Japanese exports, courtesy of the Fox Network and Saban Entertainment). Don't worry, you are just sampling some of the quality fare that was available to kids during the late 1980's and early 1990's. Some examples of this period would be "Transformers", "Garfield and Friends", "Captain Power", and "C.O.P.S." (a cartoon NOT to be confused with the live action show on Fox). Besides these prime examples, Disney also returned to syndicated programs for kids, coming up with a lineup called "The Disney Afternoon". Aside from a dumbed-down show called "The Gummi Bears", early shows like "Darkwing Duck", "Duck Tales", and "Chip 'N Dale's Rescue Rangers" gave credence to the Disney animation teams that were also turning out theatrical classics like "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "The Rescuers Down Under", and "The Great Mouse Detective". But above all these wonders shines "TaleSpin". The premiere of "Plunder and Lightning" was a two-hour thrill ride, and won an Emmy. Much to my delight, the rest of the episodes were up to par on the promise of the premiere.

While I enjoy the plots and dialogue, I guess for me the greatest attraction are the characters. There's Rebecca Cunningham, an independent female, but still fallible; Kit Cloudkicker, full of pre-teen angst and optimism; Louie, with his loyalty and support; Frank Wildcat, the most entertaining engineer since Scotty on the original "Star Trek"; Molly Cunningham, cute and witty, but with some depth that most child characters don't have, and of course in the middle of it all, there's Baloo, whom I would describe as a slobby version of James Bond. This is because whenever there's trouble, Baloo saves the day with the assistance of his sleeker-than-most, fastest-of-all Sea Duck (Read: James Bond's Aston Martin). Of course every great show has to have great villains, and TaleSpin doesn't disappoint here either. From the megalomania of businesstiger Shere Kahn, to the vain and always failing air pirate Don Karnage, to the hilarious and inept Soviet-satirized Thembrians. The animation is good, the music appropriate, and the episodes are (for me) the finest that children's programming has ever had to offer. Great fun for the WHOLE family!

"Tale Spin" is a classic. I love it so much that I'm not sure where to begin to sing its praises, so let's begin at the beginning. Michael and Patty Silversher wrote the single most IRRESISTIBLE theme song ever for this show! One listen and you just know you're in for a good time.

Scripts--For being a "kids' show," this series had a wide variety of story lines, and they were not totally geared toward comedy. The stories ranged from hilarious ("Mach One for the Gipper") to extremely touching ("Her Chance to Dream") to Indiana Jones-style adventure ("Search for the Lost City").

Voices--The cast was perfect, especially Sally Struthers as Rebecca. R. J. Williams as Kit Cloudkicker, Tony Jay as Shere Khan and Jim Cummings as Don Karnage.

There are other things I could get into, such as the quality animation, beautiful backgrounds and nice music score, but once you see an episode these things will all speak for themselves. This was, and still is, a fun and entertaining animated series. Disney has yet to top it.

i found tale spin a fun and entertaining cartoon...i really liked the fact that the characters from the jungle book were placed into a role in this cartoon. a cartoon which had some pretty complex plots, always maintained a simple enough wit, to keep children entertained. it was very humorous...i loved it!!! truly a cartoon classic....

Those words came from another post/user. You're so right!!! Tale Spin was Disney's best animated series made for Television, as it attracted me intensely in the early 1990's - I cut college classes to watch TaleSpin (And, I still got my Bachelor's degree in '94!) I was so upset when then Disney-owned KCAL Ch. 9 (Which aired Tale Spin weekday afternoons at 4:00 in 1991-92) pre-empted Tale Spin Apr 29, 92 for the Rodney King LAPD court verdicts (Of course that led to a riot which I won't indulge into). I was a student going to a major local university between 1990-94 and I had to make sure I got either to the Student Union for the TV room or if in class, tape Tale Spin from home for viewing later. I was never into any other animated series before and since. I knew Ed Gilbert by luck (The voice of Baloo in the series) as we took yoga classes together in 1991 - We had met in N. Hollywood at a yoga instructor's house. He was a great person to talk too (I teased him once - called him "Yoga Bear" and he loved it, he called me just "Big Joe") and gave me a lot of Tale Spin secrets & info I could never put here on this post. We lost touch after 1993, and just recently heard of his death two years ago. I feel saddened, but I'm sure he (and Phil Harris...) are looking down on us singing a chord of "The Bare Necessities". (I'm bummed he's not in the new Jungle Book 2 movie -Gilbert would have been great as he reprises his voice of Baloo - He was natural, man... (Tony Jay reprises his voice role of Shere Khan in the new movie) Sally Struthers spells R E B E C C A and was perfect for the single mother - independent-minded entrupeneur of "Higher For Hire" and I loved Wildcat (Pat Fraley) the mechanic and Louie (Jim Cummings) the bartender and party monkey!! What wonderful memories, Ed signed my Tale Spin comic book one day after our workout with this inscription "To Joe, Keep Yer Tail Spinnin, And Don't Fall Outa The SKY!! Ed Gilbert "The Voice of Baloo" ** Miss you and see you in the sky.... Joe "The Bear" Goria - Los Angeles