5/5 Great Cartoon
  by Martha Liljenquist
This is a great cartoon that is fun for the whole family. I loved it as a kid and still love it today. This cartoon has action, adventure and comedy that will keep you laughing. It is always fun to watch and see how Baloo is going to get himself out of each mess he gets himself into.

5/5 TaleSpin
  by J. Johnson (Seattle, WA)
This show entertains kids of all ages. I grew up on this show and now I put it in for my kids and they love it.

5/5 A unique series for everyone - including adults!
  by Steve Stan (France)
To tell the truth, even though I'm 24 and was old enough to watch TaleSpin when it used to air here in France, I just didn't watch TV series that much. And I really discovered TaleSpin only a few months ago...

[...]

In a way, this makes my opinion even less biased, because I have no nostalgic effect on it. And to cut it short : I love this show.

On first sight, the show may seem like a Jungle Book spin-off, as three famous characters (Baloo, Louie and Shere Khan) are present - but this is VERY far from the truth, the show being very unique and creative on almost every side : clever and varied stories, great characters, good animation and orchestral musics...

And while this was a series "marketed" with kids in mind, it has different levels of reading, so that both kids and adults alike will love the stories. The show never hesitates to mention "hard" topics : money problems, jealousy, treason, war, death...while staying true to the Disney values!

I believe that what makes Talespin work is the characters AND the scenarios. Let's start by saying that the Talespin writers have done a much better work with these characters than the Jungle book themselves.
Why? Because the characters from Talespin are many-sided :

- Baloo is torn between being a father for Kit, and being his best friend; torn between liking Rebecca, and wanting to quit his job / buy back the Sea Duck; torn between being having fun, and doing his job correctly...

- Kit is torn between being independant and between letting him taken care of; torn between trusting Baloo and trusting Rebecca...

- Rebecca is torn between loving Baloo, and wanting to fire/strangle him; torn between being a good mother for Molly, and running her business; torn between trusting Baloo and following her own ideas.

- Shere Khan isn't really the "bad guy" you may expect, but more a neutral character - while he actually acts more like a Lex Luthor from Smallville...

- Louie and Karnage are more one-sided, although can be "stuck" in unusual situations...(ex : "For a fuel dollars more", "Stuck on you")

Now you'll excuse me, but that's more character development that what I can find in even famous and high budget live series...And that doesn't mean they are "out of character", I mean : everyone has multiple sides.

And I didn't even talk about the high-level voice actors, which were doing a awesome job and gave real personalities to the characters.

It's also one TV cartoon where the focus is on the adult characters : and I find this to be pretty rare. Usually, the adult characters are only there for support, while the youngest are the real "heroes" : there, it's (almost) the opposite. Almost, because there's Kit, but he's not really the typical child...

The show takes place in the 30's, and everything looks coherent from that point : from the look of the planes to the situations. Yes, there can be a few mistakes, but they're enough rare to forget them. It's very amazing to see a cartoon showing both a huge amount of creativity (Cape Suzette, Thembria, Air pirates, etc...) AND a realistic setting.

Yes, realistic is the word. Matters like fenimism and machism ("A feminine air") is something I have rarely encountered in any animated film...And almost every episode has something that you don't expect to see.

References to the 1st world war is very surprising too, that's the first Disney I see talking about it. (even if lightly)

I could make this even longer, but in a few words, this is an animated gem that Disney should be proud of, and should SHOW it!

As for the DVD, it is actually a good one : cheap, nice package (even though the artworks of the characters are off-model), 27 episodes included which makes a LOT! The picture quality is still good (no restoration though). There aren't any worthy bonuses - so Disney could have clearly done better. But still, for anyone who likes TaleSpin, this is a MUST-BUY!

5/5 talespin
  by T. Huynh (SD, USA)
i used to wacth this show everyday... now i own it n can watch it whenever i want... =) thanks...

5/5 Availability and delivery
  by Charles L. Spangle (DE, USA)
I found my product easily at Amazon when I couldn't find it anywhere else. I ordered it and was happy to receive it in just a couple of days. Not the 2 to six weeks some places take.