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.

“DuckTales” is another old school cartoon favorite of mine. It follows the adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his three nephews, Launch Pad — their bungling pilot, Gyro — the inventor, and Mrs. Beakley — the housekeeper. Scrooge & the gang travel the world seeking treasure and adventure. Meanwhile, The Beagle Brothers or Magica De Spell always try to steal Scrooge’s money either by breaking into the vault or casting a spell.

I can’t believe it was on for only three seasons (1987-1990). There are still episodes that are new to me airing on Toon Disney. I do remember watching the movie, DuckTales: The Treasure of the Lost Lamp), in theaters though back in 1993. And many days, the “DuckTales” video game was paused on my Sega Genesis (since there were no such things as memory cards back then). I bet the kids today would deem the show unfit for their plasma television lifestyle.

Watch the intro (with lyrics typed out!) here.

Back in the day, I loved this cartoon called “Fluppy Dogs“. After searching online to buy it on dvd, it turns out it wasn’t a series at all. I figure they must have showed the tv movie repeatedly on The Disney Channel, since I certainly remember watching it a bunch as a kid. The tv special premiered on November 27, 1986 on ABC.

I had no luck finding an official copy to buy, although I did find a blurry You Tube version.

I could probably buy a DVD-R that was burned from someone’s vhs copy. But I’d much rather have a Disney sanctioned dvd. What gives, Disney? I thought they loved money and would release just about anything from their library.