Talespin: I Heart Baloo

I’m officially adding “Talespin” (1990-1994) to my list of favorite Disney cartoons. I never watched these episodes in order, but if Baloo was on the television set, I was definitely glued to the screen.

“Talespin” follows the adventures of Baloo, the loveable sloth bear pilot of the Sea Duck, his protege, Kit ‘Li’l Britches’ Cloudkicker, and Rebecca Cunningham, the manager of their air delivery company. They make deliveries from their home base in the ficitonal Cape Suzette. Eventually, in almost every episode, Baloo winds up into trouble with either the Air Pirates led by Don Karnage, the Thembrians, or Shere Khan’s gang.

Fueled by nostalgia, I scoured the internets and discovered that two episodes of “Talespin” were actually banned after airing originally on The Disney Channel. What harm could little ol’ Baloo do to impressionable young minds?! Apparently enough to ruffle Disney’s feathers, especially if you have plots involving Thembian terrorist bombs and a not so PC depiction of a Japanese-esque island called Panda-la! It’s speculated that you can see the blacklisted eps in Canada or if Toon Disney accidentally shows them again.

I wouldn’t count on those episodes to be released on dvd. Nevertheless, you can buy “Talespin” Volumes 1 & “Talespin” Volume 2 today for less than $25 bucks. Supposedly, a volume 3 is in the works.

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4. Samurai Champloo
5. Beetlejuice: The animated series