Joining the illustrious ranks of the Disney Afternoon TaleSpin found a home right next to Ducktales, Rescue Rangers and Darkwing Duck. Running for about a year and a total of 65 episodes, TaleSpin was a lot of fun though obviously not as successful as Ducktales and Rescue Rangers. The show was still entertaining and had a much wider audience than Darkwing Duck thanks to its cheerful nature.

Just like the shows that featured Scrooge and Chip & Dale, TaleSpin brought some more of Disney's already established characters into a new world. From the Jungle Book Baloo, Shere Khan, and Louie found themselves in brand new roles. Instead of chasing around a brat in a loincloth (sorry Mowgli) Baloo was presented to his new audience as a swashbuckling adventurer akin to Indiana Jones with a pilot license.

The series exists outside of our time period (obviously) and doesn't ever try to explain the change in venue from the Jungle Book. The story seems to take place in an era inspired by the 1930s with art deco all over the place and a form of media dominated by radio. Planes are the best source of transportation since the world appears to be broken up into small islands amidst a vast sea. Don't worry though, this place isn't quite Waterworld and Baloo isn't a merman like Kevin Costner (thank God). Oddly enough though there are pirates.

Life in the serene harbor side metropolis of Cape Suzette has been pretty peaceful for Baloo. He's got a great place right on the water and a sweet plane called the Sea Duck that he uses to take on jobs (when he wants to) and fly to Louie's bar. Sure the stack of bills is months old and he can't afford to pay for the plane that he calls his baby, but he's a carefree bloke without a worry in the world. That is at least until he bumps into a kid named Kit Cloudkicker at Louie's.

It would seem that where Kit goes, trouble follows because shortly after he shows up some pirates come looking for him. Don Karnage (plundering pirate extraordinaire) comes looking for the brat because he stole a treasure from his troupe. This puts Kit in the tender paws of Baloo who would sooner dump the brat out of the cargo hold when pirates come trying to shoot down his plane. Whether he likes it or not though Baloo is stuck with the little tyke and takes to calling him "little britches" which may be a familiar phrase to those of you that have seen The Jungle Book.

Unfortunately for Baloo if Karnage's pirates don't destroy his plane first the bank is going to foreclose on it. Things only get worse when Baloo's residence, business and mode of transportation are bought out by a tightwad named Rebecca Cunningham. She's fresh out of business school and looking to make a name for herself. With daughter in tow she transforms the business into Higher for Hire and rehires Baloo and Kit to be her pilot and navigator. If this sounds familiar to you in some way then you probably were a fan of Cheers. There are many parallels between Rebecca and Baloo and Rebecca and Sam, though to be fair Baloo never tries to get into his boss's pants.

Together they form a kind of family and go on several adventures for the sake of doing a job or just the right thing. During the course of the show several bad guys stood up to do their dastardly deeds, though for the most part Don Karnage and Shere Khan shared that dubious honor in their own ways. There were some miscellaneous characters (both good and bad) that came and went, though to be fair they were mostly forgettable.

Throughout the course of the show's 65 episodes there were many hits with only a couple of misses in terms of quality. Like many of the other shows on the Disney Afternoon TaleSpin was very episodic with mostly stand alone stories and a lack of continuity. Apart from the groundwork that the pilot episode/s laid out the series never really expanded beyond that point. Then again, that's how most children's cartoons operate.

Accompanying Darkwing Duck on store shelves, the first volume of TaleSpin has been released as well. Just like its counterpart the set features 27 episodes including the original pilot, which is broken up into four parts. So technically you could argue that there are only 24 episodes in the grand scheme of things. A lot of what you'll find here are some of the more iconic moments from the series and in my opinion some of the better adventures.

Things get started with "Plunder & Lightning" which is the original pilot broken up just like I mentioned. The story here was one of the best that TaleSpin ever put together and it really had everything a kid (or adult) could want from a show like this. The story was fantastic and it blended the elements of action, comedy and emotion in perfect synergy. I particularly enjoyed the moment where Kit "betrayed" his friends. It's not something that I was expecting and it really added a lot of depth to his character and relationship with Baloo early on in the show.

Another great episode from this set was "Vowel Play". In that particular adventure a criminal mastermind named Heimlich Menudo schemes to use Higher for Hire to write messages in the sky. The messages were actually communications to his gang members in a plot to steal all of Cape Suzette's diamonds. The funny part is that since Baloo is the pilot, he can't really spell, and in the end it's up to his poor grammar to save the day.

"On a Wing and a Bear" was a fun episode that showed just how slimy Shere Khan can be. There are essentially two stories in this one though they intertwine towards the end. Baloo gets pulled over for flying too fast and even though he weasels his way out of a ticket for that his licensed gets revoked due to its expiration. He then has to go back to the Federal Licensing Agency for Pilots (FLAP) to get tested again. In the meantime there is a fuel crisis and the price of gas is constantly on the rise. Khan insists that it's the pirates who are the cause, though secretly he and Karnage are working together. Naturally it's up to Baloo to set things right and get his license back in the process.

These episodes only begin to scratch the surface of what's featured on this boxed set and there are many other adventures worth checking out. "A Bad Reflection On You Parts 1 & 2", "From Here to Machinery", "The Idol Rich" and "Stormy Weather" help round out the better episodes. Unfortunately there are a few in the set that leave something to be desired, but you could say that with just about every show.

Overall TaleSpin was a good show with a rich atmosphere and wildly entertaining cast. Despite the bizarre nature of taking characters from The Jungle Book and tossing them into a 1930's environment, the concept really works. If you were a fan of the show then this set will undoubtedly already have a place reserved on your shelf. For the uninitiated who may have never seen the series, this is a flight worth taking especially if you found yourself enjoying other Disney Afternoon shows like Ducktales and Rescue Rangers.

Just like Darkwing Duck, TaleSpin is presented with a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio and looks only slightly better than VHS. The image is extremely soft with some blurry edges and a fair amount of grain residing in the picture. In many areas there is also a good amount of dirt in the picture. It's a shame that a show like this couldn't have received a better transfer but to be honest I suppose fans can't be too picky. This is still leaps and bounds above those worn out tapes in terms of quality.

Unlike the previews two Disney Afternoon sets TaleSpin actually gets a stereo presentation instead of a mono track. I'm pleased to see the new wave of these Disney releases getting some better treatment. Granted this probably has more to do with the date or the show's production more than anything related to the DVDs, but either way it's nice. The quality is decent though nothing to write home about if you're used to 5.1 surround mixes that rock your bass. The sound stays pretty steady throughout but there were a few times where the audio came across as muffled or soft. English captions for the hearing impaired are also featured if you're looking for subtitles of a sort. A French language track is available as well.

Once again Disney disappoints fans with a release void of supplemental material. These sets feel more designed with the young new viewer in mind rather than an older audience member that used to be a fan.

If you have been dying to have TaleSpin on DVD then you've already made up your mind whether or not to buy this set. If for some reason you haven't made up your mind then let me put it to you this way. I recommend this set (like the other Disney Afternoon series) purely based on the material of the show. The DVDs score low points in terms of presentation, but you simply can't go wrong with the cartoon that happens to live on these discs.

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