Spin it, Spin it, Spin it! - A DVD review of Talespin: Volume 1

[dlfreak]

Click here to enlarge this image. Copyright Disney.

How much did I love this DVD? So much. It reminded me of my child-hood days. Disney heroes fighting the good fight. Kudos Disney. Kudos. One of the first things that struck me while watching Talespin for the first time in nearly 10 years was just how “Disney” the show really was. Although it was children’s programming, part of a television-block that children from the 80s and early 90s will remember as the Disney Afternoon, the show triumphs with plotlines that are not outrageously dumbed-down or simplistic. Talespin was entertainment that really could be enjoyed by the entire family, a characteristic sorely missing with a lot of today’s programming for children.

Click here to enlarge this image. Copyright Disney.

Those of you not familiar with Talespin should certainly make it a point to acquaint yourselves with this television program. The show features three characters from the Disney classic, Jungle Book: Baloo plays an ace cargo pilot, King Louie who is the owner of an island bar/nightclub, and Shere Khan a wealthy and ruthless CEO. Certainly, they live in a much different climate, the urban jungle of Cape Suzette, but the show remains faithful to the personalities made famous in the 1967 animated film. Other prominent characters include Kit Cloudkicker (Baloo’s feisty side-kick), Wildcat (a simple-minded mechanic), Rebecca Cunningham (Baloo’s boss), her daughter Molly, and of course the zany inept air-pirate captain Don Karnage.

Click here to enlarge this image. Copyright Disney.

The show’s premise is that Baloo, along with his co-pilot sidekick Kit Cloudkicker, work as cargo carriers for Rebecca Cunningham at Higher for Hire. On their flights, however they are almost certain to find some type of mystery and adventure to keep things interesting. From air pirates to spooky ghosts, one thing is always certain: they will always be friends for life, through thick and thin with another tale to spin!

About the DVD

Following the same trend as the Ducktales and Chip n’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers DVDs, this set is very bare-bones when it comes to special features but for 27 digitally mastered episodes of this classic show going for as low as $23 at Wal-Mart, this is just too great a value to not snatch-up (while supplies last.) Collectors may also be thrilled to know that, unlike the aforementioned DVD sets, Talespin: Volume 1 contains the four-part pilot episodes.

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Click here to enlarge this image. Copyright Disney.

As mentioned, this DVD set is also digitally mastered and although restoration is not evident (or really needed since the show is not terribly old) the DVD probably displays the program even clearer than it did back when it first went on the air. This means that the beautifully detailed and luscious landscapes of Cape Suzette, mysterious islands, and even the almost realistic skies are displayed in beautiful vivid color.

Of course, with such a clean digital transfer, other elements of the program are more noticeable such as animation that is not the most sophisticated; but then time-constraints must be taken into consideration as there were likely with tight deadline schedules for this daily-broadcasted show. Nonetheless, Talespin is far more visually intriguing than a lot of contemporary television faire which seem to take quality and artistic merits for granted. To even fathom a production today creating moving dynamic objects such as air planes and moving landscapes without the help of computer-generated-imaging (CGI) seems ludicrous. Yet, Talespin did not shy away from attempting such difficult feats on an episode by episode basis; and they did so fairly well.

Click here to enlarge this image. Copyright Disney.

The only other technical visual aspect I noticed is something that has always been a part of the show and that is occasional color blips. That is, every once in a while for one or two frames one certain color on the characters is slightly off so that for a blink-of-the-eye moment you may see Baloo with a slightly different shade of grey or Kit with a brown collar. One final note is that the audio leaves a little to be desired but this may actually just go back to the original quality of the recordings.

Talespin Volume 1 features veteran voice talents Ed Gilbert, Sally Struthers, Jim Cummings, Pat Fraley, Tony Jay, R.J. Williams. A high-flying extravaganza of fun and adventure, Talespin: Volume 1 is a 3-disc DVD, available for U.S. $34.99 (S.R.P.), Canada $37.99 (S.R.P.).

STREET DATE: August 29, 2006
Total episode run time: Approximately 617 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 formatted 4x3
Sound: Dolby® Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound
Language: English audio, French audio.
Close captioned for the hearing impaired.

[Iframedroger R]

Is this NFTYsqurt's or dlfreak's article?

[dlfreak]

I wrote this one.

[Iframedroger R]

Nice job!!

[bbmm]

Thanks for the review. I loved this show as a kid.

[ereed62]

great review.

[ChipNDale]

way to spin it! I'll go get one tonight!

[nemofinder22]

I love Tale Spin I need to go buy these oh and the Rescue Rangers, and Duck Tales ahhh I miss Disney Afternoon(the tv one)

[filmfreak11]

I got Talespin & Ducktales for $40 at Bestbuy.

[Nftysqrt]

great review thanks for doing this one for me. So glad we have this in DVD!