List of TaleSpin characters

This is a list of characters from the animated series TaleSpin, along with the actors who provided the voices where known.

Higher for Hire

Baloo

Baloo (Ed Gilbert) is the main character of the story, based primarily on the sloth bear from Disney's The Jungle Book, but with a flight cap and a yellow shirt (and four-fingered hands instead of his Jungle Book counterpart's claws). Although lazy, slobbish, unreliable and always broke, he is also an excellent pilot capable of the most daring maneuvers in the air (and the courage to do them) and can selflessly come to the aid of those in need of help. He also has a penchant for getting into schemes that require him to dress up in drag to suit the situation, such as when he became Rebecca's "female" co-pilot Tan-Margaret (a play on Ann-Margret) in "Feminine Air". Some of his mannerisms survive from The Jungle Book, including his nickname of "Papa Bear" by Kit, which Mowgli had given to him. In Tale Spin, it is revealed that Baloo comes from a prominent noble family, (being Baloo, Baron von Bruinwald XIII) though he himself had been initially unaware; raising the possibility that he was adopted. In the episode The Balooest Of The Bluebloods he inherited 500 million dollars in the form of an extravagant estate, which was taken from him to settle the matter of his family's impressively long history of owing back taxes, thus restoring the status quo. Baloo only once mentioned any family, in reference to a gramophone record that had belonged to his father. He also calls Kit "Li'l Britches," as he did with Mowgli. His name comes from the Hindi word for bear: bhālū (Hindi: भालू, pronounced [bʱaːluː]).

Kit Cloudkicker

File:Scnsht tailspin 158 01.jpg

Kit sitting in the Sea Duck.

Kit Cloudkicker served as navigator aboard Baloo's plane, The Sea Duck. His first appearance was in the pilot episode, “Plunder and Lightning”. He was voiced by R.J. Williams for most episodes, but Alan Roberts stepped in for a few. His trademarks are a green sweatshirt, a blue and red baseball cap worn backwards and his ability to "cloud surf" (also referred to in the show as "cloud skiing"). The baseball cap was a gift to Kit from Baloo, as a sign of friendship and trust.

As a 12 year old orphan who lived with the Air Pirates under Don Karnage one year prior to the start of the series, Kit's character was a unique one in the history of Disney - he had a very dark past, partially due to the fact that the storyline originally had him as being Don Karnage's protege. The story states that he left the Air Pirates because he "got sick" of them. He first encountered Baloo when he hid in the Sea Duck to escape from the Air Pirates because they were trying to find him. His ambition was to become a pilot and to purchase his own aircraft.

Kit's personality traits demonstrated ambitiousness and a sense of being headstrong, but having a lot of potential. Occasionally showing a selfish streak, Kit sometimes put his dreams ahead of those of his friends. Having lived on his own for most of his life, Kit's distrust of adults was apparent in the show. He warmed to Baloo only after being given the chance to fly the Sea Duck, and even then was ready to leave for greener pastures.

Nevertheless, he looked upon the other members of the "Higher for Hire" company as a surrogate family, affectionately referring to Baloo as "Papa Bear" on occasion, and clearly demonstrated his fondness for Rebecca Cunningham's daughter Molly on a number of occasions throughout the show, having been seen giving Molly "Piggy back" rides, and on one occasion rescuing her on his airfoil (the device Kit uses for cloud surfing - see below).

In the episode "Stormy Weather", Kit chastised Baloo saying “You can't tell me what to do! You're NOT my dad!” - This was a decision Kit would come to regret later in that episode.

Kit's character had the ability to cloud surf; using a crescent shaped metal device called an airfoil and a regular cord attached to the back of the Sea Duck allows him to 'surf' in a similar fashion to someone water skiing, hence this is also referred to in the show as "cloud skiing". It was not made clear where Kit learned this skill, but he demonstrates at numerous times throughout the various episodes that he is incredibly adept at it. Baloo would often give his permission for Kit to tow behind the Sea Duck when appropriate, trusting in Kit's skill to let him have some fun. Baloo also had enough confidence in Kit to keep himself safe on the airfoil when separated and under attack, or when Kit had to be outside for something important. Outside of such situations however, he did not like Kit to take unnecessary risks, such as doing dangerous tricks or stunts.

Rebecca Cunningham

Rebecca Cunningham (Sally Struthers), a petite brown bear with long brunette hair styled in a cross between a medieval and 1930's-40's hairdo, usually wears a white turtleneck sweater, and a purple-red jacket and matching slacks. Nicknamed "Becky," "Beckers", "Beck" (used only once in episode "A Star Is Torn") and/or "BC" (used once in "War of the Weirds") by Baloo which at first she highly resented being called, but soon grew accustomed to with affection (in return, she calls him "Fly Boy" on occasion). A shrewd businesswoman with a MBA, she bought out Baloo's Air Service and his plane in the first episode when the pilot failed to pay his bank loan and renamed it 'Higher For Hire'. Bright and unassumingly attractive, her ambitions and penchant for recklessness has caused trouble for the company at times, such as in "A Touch of Glass" when she cashed in the Sea Duck's insurance policy to pay for expensive ads targeted at affluent clientele, and in "The Bigger They Are, The Louder They Oink" when she went into the truffle-gathering business. Although she originally relegated herself to the administrative and sales functions of the business, the series shows she eventually learns to be a capable would-be pilot in her own right. Her desire to get in the cockpit was sparked by the events of "I Only Have Ice for You" where Baloo temporarily had his pilot's license suspended and she had to take over for a major shipping run to deliver an iceberg for the eccentric Prince Neverhasbeenbroke before running into the Air Pirates; and in "Feminine Air", in which Higher for Hire lost some business due to the chauvinistic machinations of a male pilot named Cool Hands Luke who made fun of Baloo for flying for a "skirt". She can also have quite a temper, stubbornly competitive, a nasty jealous streak, be a hopeless romantic ("Her Chance to Dream", "Molly Coddled") and judgmental at times; usually it is Baloo's laziness and carefree attitude towards his responsibilities that sets it off. Rebecca lives with her daughter Molly in an apartment in an upscale part of Cape Suzette, one which incorporates a waterfall in its design. Rebecca's personality and unsuccessful drive for success with a local business are very reminiscent of Cheers character Rebecca Howe and her looks are almost similar to the Tiny Toon Adventures character Julie Bruin. As a mother, she tends to be motherly towards Kit.

Molly Cunningham

Molly Cunningham (Janna Michaels), Rebecca's yellow-furred, young daughter. An adventurous child who even at six years old, is not afraid to speak her mind just like her mother. Molly has a thing for her favourite ice cream brand "Frosty Pep;" sometimes pretends she is 'Danger Woman' (the action/adventure heroine of a popular kids radio program) while seeking adventure along with Kit and Baloo; can be clever on her feet when it comes to outwitting the bad guys (in episodes "Molly Coddled" and "Flight of The Snow Duck"). Her middle name is Elizabeth, the only character in the series to actually have one (revealed in "Mommy For A Day") and mainly totes around her favourite doll, Lucy. No mention was ever made of Molly's father as series' creator Jymn Magon reportedly said that Rebecca is a widow, although at a 1998 U.S. fan convention Q&A online chat he did state in roundabout tones that she's actually divorced as originally written in the first Tale Spin press release.

Wildcat

Wildcat (Pat Fraley), a clueless and gangly lion who typically wears a mechanic's outfit (he once said a comical line about having a special suit for his birthday). Officially the Higher for Hire mechanic, actual intelligence is not his forte, but he's extremely adept at fixing devices and has a childlike innocence to his genial nature. His brilliance at anything mechanical allows him to fix smashed-up telephones in under ten seconds and he is one of the few people in the entire Tale Spin universe who can build an "overdrive" for airplanes. He has something of a lisp and somewhat resembles Tigger of the Winnie The Pooh series.

Air Pirates

Don Karnage

Don Karnage (Jim Cummings), the leader of the dreaded Air Pirates and commander of the massive airship, the Iron Vulture. He is a wolf. He has a strong accent of some sort. A skilled pilot and ruthlessly cunning with an over-sized ego that makes him blunder with whatever scheme or raid he conducts with his brigands, he speaks /t/ and /d/ as dental consonants rather than the normal English Alveolar consonants. When dogfighting he flies a hybrid that appears to be based on a low-wing monoplane but with wings added so that it is actually a triplane. Voice actor Jim Cummings has cited Ricky Ricardo as an inspiration.

Other Pirates

• Mad Dog (Charlie Adler), scrawny canine with a "Fu Manchu" style mustache, usually seen in the company of Dumptruck., but sometimes as Don Karnage's sidekick/whipping boy type. Has a whiny, nasal voice.
• Dumptruck (Chuck McCann), appearing to be second in command to Don Karnage since he was made captain of the Iron Vulture by Don Karnage in his absence in one episode. He is a hulking Great Dane who speaks with a thick Swedish-Dutch accent and wears a top hat. Frequently paired with Mad Dog.
• Gibber (Chuck McCann), the pirate who whispers advice and such into Karnage's ear. He has never spoken a word louder than his mumbles.
• Hacksaw (Charlie Adler), the big yellowish colored dingo pirate who has sticks of dynamite strapped around his arms and has his ears tied together. Speaks with a whining, Australian accent.
• Ratchet (Rob Paulsen), the mechanic of the group, who helped put together the lightning gun in Plunder & Lightning.
• Hal (Frank Welker), large, overweight, tan cat. Seen in only a few episodes, his only major role in the series (and probably the only one where he spoke) was when he accompanied Dumptruck and Mad Dog on their mission to take over the cliff guns ("Jumping the Guns"). His name stemmed from a throwaway line spoken by Don Karnage in "Plunder and Lightning": "Open the bomb bay doors please, Hal.", which is a pun on the famous line spoken by Dave in 2001: A Space Odyssey: "Open the pod bay doors please, HAL."
• Sadie (Chuck McCann), the short, fat, brown pirate who has a grey mustache and wears a Viking helmet.
• Jock, a black Scottish terrier and head engineer of the Iron Vulture. Tale Spin DVD release of Volume 1 verified it in the hearing-impaired English subtitles as being "Jock," due to his thick Scottish burr that made his name sound like it was "Jacques" instead. Don Karnage mistakenly calls him "Scotty"; a tongue-in-cheek reference by the writers to the famous Star Trek character portrayed by James Doohan.
• Will, Don Karnage's second mate, seen very briefly as part of a single gag: Don Karnage ordered his crew to "Fire at will!" Ever obedient, they began shooting at Will running past Karnage instead of the Sea Duck.

Thembrians

• Col. Ivanod Spigot (Michael Gough), an unnaturally short warthog with a Napoleon complex and prominent lisp who is the head of Thembria's "Glorious People's" Air Force. He never took a single flying lesson in his life, until he accidentally gave the High Marshall the idea to shoot every C.O. in Thembria who failed an upcoming flight exam. He considers himself to be highly infamous, and always introduces himself thus: "Perhaps you've heard of me?" His grandmother was, apparently, devoured by polar bears, though whether as punishment for losing a national artifact (as that is the crime that warrants that punishment) or accident is unknown.
• Sgt. Dunder (Lorenzo Music), Spigot's second-in-command. He is gregarious and somewhat dense like Wildcat, but nowhere near as evil and ruthless as Spigot is. In fact, he is close friends with Baloo and Kit. He selflessly takes the blame for many of Colonel Spigot's numerous failures, and appears a devoted soldier.
• The High Marshal (Jack Angel), the highest-ranking military official in Thembria, he appears to serve as the country's strongman. He is dour, humorless and dislikes Spigot for his incompetence. He is married to an equally humorless unnamed female Thembrian who is strong enough to knock him out with a single punch. There are few problems the High Marshal does not solve without the threat of violence and death.
• Prof. Crackpotkin, a mad scientist interred at Bedevilled Island Maximum Security Prison for terrorist acts. He hates gruel, and has been shown to be willing to commit suicide in order to destroy Thembria's gruel reserves with no regard for the resultant collateral damage.
• Warden Slammer, the stern warden of Bedevilled Island Maximum Security Prison. Although at first he seems ruthless, he is eventually revealed to be a more-or-less fair and levelheaded individual.

Khan Industries

Shere Khan

Shere Khan (Tony Jay), a Bengal tiger who also appeared in The Jungle Book, but here stands upright and wears a business suit. Sports retractable claws; a rarity in the show. He sometimes accompanied by an unnamed emaciated tiger "yes-man" office aide. Khan is an extremely wealthy businessman who is the dominant economic force in Cape Suzette. Arrogant, dour and humorless, he takes enjoyment out of running small companies out of business (Higher for Hire is sometimes on his hit list) with a sense of ruthlessness to skirt around the law as he chooses. He also likes to feed tiny insects to the many carnivorous plants he grows in his office. He once even hired the Air Pirates to create an artificial oil shortage so he could extort higher prices from the public (from "On A Wing And A Bear").

He has a well-armed air force and navy, complete with battleships. This is mainly to protect his shipping and business interests worldwide. However, he is willing to act nobly at times, and has shown that he respects Baloo's piloting skills, most notably when he allowed Baloo to take over piloting his plane after having all pilots replaced with his own robotic pilots; his plane had run into dangerous weather than the robotic pilot couldn't compensate for due to its programmed adherence to its original flight plan. He respects Baloo's skills. The name is derived from Hindi: Shere or Sher, i.e., a lion/tiger (Hindi: शेर, Urdu: شیر, pronounced [ˈʃeːr]), and Khan, i.e., a South Asian title or surname (Hindi: ख़ान, Urdu: خان, [ˈxɑːn]).

Others

• Buzz (Kenneth Mars), a short purple-haired bird of indeterminate species who is Khan's in-house inventor as well as an old friend of Baloo's. A self-described "loyal company man", he is also the captain of the company chess team. Buzz's most noted invention is a prototype helicopter; rare in the show.
• Mrs. Snarly (Jennifer Darling), Khan's ruthless and loyal elderly secretary.
• Dr. Debolt (Rob Paulsen), Khan's head scientist, a slightly nervous rabbit.
• Douglas "Dougie" Benson (Mark L. Taylor), a tabby cat and an investor in the company who lost his job as a result of a combination of bad investments (like glow-in-the-dark sunglasses), forging Khan's signature and flagrant misuse of Khan's private Air Force for personal gain. Klutzy manner garners much laughter from colleagues.
• Mr. Perry (Michael Bell), a cheetah, willing to betray Khan.
• Walters (Phil Crowley), a panther investor who was Douglas Benson's aide and confidant.
• Garth (Patric Zimmerman) and his unnamed partner (Tony Pope), are Khan's well-dressed tiger and panther goons.
• Captain Hotspur (Frank Welker), the gravelly-voiced lion commander of one of Khan's battleships. Also respects Baloo for delivering warnings about upcoming dangers.

Other characters

• Louie (Jim Cummings), also from The Jungle Book, is a fun-loving orangutan. He owns the island nightclub and motel Louie's Place, located near but outside the protection of Cape Suzette. It also serves as a refueling station/pit stop area for pilots. He is Baloo's best friend but competes with him in monetary matters.
• Louise Lamour (Jim Cummings), Louie's rich male-chasing aviator aunt. Disliked by many.
• The Jungle Aces are a club of young wannabe pilots, whom Kit is a member of. Club members include: Ernie, (a hyena) Felix (a hippo), Sam (a rabbit), and Burt (a crane). The club rules state that all members must have had an adventure before joining. They briefly changed their name to "The Bullethead Brigade" in "Bullethead Baloo".
• Trader Moe (Jim Cummings), a diminutive international criminal alligator with a short temper. He is always accompanied by a pair of hulking and very dim-witted heavies, a rhinoceros and a gorilla who are only known collectively as "The Goons".
• El Gato (Jim Cummings), a huge, maniacal swarthy-looking feline with a thick Spanish accent and a nasty temper.
• Barney O'Turret (Jack Angel), the short and grizzled, but good-natured retiree pig cliff gun guard in Cape Suzette who worked on the cliffs for 50 years and never fired a shot. Very clueless, but skilled.
• MacNee (Jim Cummings), a child-hating koala with a nasty temper and a gruff Aussie accent. A poacher willing to commit crimes.
• Covington (Jim Cummings), was a debonair jaguar con artist who wears a moustache, sharp clothing and a toupee. Romances Rebecca to gain a valued item her daughter owns.
• Daring Dan Dawson (Cam Clarke), sleazy owner and lead performer of an aerial circus. Briefly convinces Kit to run away and join his circus.
• Prince Neverhasbeenbroke (Jim Cummings), an eccentric but kindly hyena ruler of an unnamed Middle Eastern desert country.
• Howard Huge (Charlie Adler), a rich but maniacal hippopotamus airplane designer. His name is an obvious pun on famed aviation pioneer Howard Hughes. Kidnaps others for personal gain.
• Jack Case (Brian Cummings), a semi-villainous rabbit and wannabe spy, causes an international incident with Thembria.
• Dr. Axolotl (Rodger Bumpass), a psychotic lizard inventor who sought revenge against Shere Khan with his robot.
• Dr. Zibaldo (Dan Castellaneta), a short, manic fox mad scientist who invented a shrink ray for the purpose of fitting his clothes into luggage easier. After a mishap in which Molly Cunningham was accidentally shrunk, he abandoned his research in favor of a new "crackpot" idea: television.
• Colonel Grogg (Michael Bell) was a jingoistic, paranoid and overly-excitable military intelligence officer spaniel. Obsessed with the "threat" of an alien invasion.
• Prof. Martin Torque, a Doberman inventor who sought to put Higher For Hire (and every other freelance cargo service in Cape Suzette, for that matter) out of business with his "Auto-Aviator".
• Detective Thursday (Jack Angel), a hard-boiled canine detective who apparently runs a secret branch of the Cape Suzette police force, which is headquartered beneath a laundromat. His main underlings are Officer Malarky (Jim Cummings) and Gertalin (Danny Mann).
• Heimlich Menudo (Kenneth Mars), a leopard criminal who is obsessed with diamonds.
• Mr. Sultan, the president of Shere Khan's rival, the Miniversal Corporation.
• Kitten Kaboodle (Tress MacNeille), a seductive blond feline Starrywood (read "Hollywood") starlet. Manipulates and endangers others for fame.
• Katie Dodd (Ellen Gerstell), a vixen archaeologist who discovered the lost city of Tinabula in the desert nation of Ghaphia. Baloo and Louie both develop feelings for her.
• Myra (Liz Georges), a petite brunette vixen dressed in khakis, a pith helmet and wears square-rimmed glasses, is the State Archaeologist and Minister of Culture for the tiny desert country of Aridia. Cheerful and proud.
• Princess Lotta Lamour (Kath Soucie), the vixen crown princess of the Middle-Eastern Kingdom of Macadamia, daughter of 'King Amuck' Baloo and Louie help her battle a coup started by 'Chancellor Trample' (Jim Cummings).
• Owl Capone (Maurice LaMarche), a diminutive gangster, willing to take hostages.
• Thaddeus E. Klang (Tim Curry), leader of a cult-like organization seeking the secret weapon hidden in the lost city of Tinabula.
• Ace London (Phil Hartman), a highly arrogant, yet highly-regarded gray wolf test pilot who went to school with Baloo. Very incompetent.
• Whistlestop Jackson (Hamilton Camp), Baloo's childhood hero. Is unable to understand his own skills are long gone; Baloo helps him retire gracefully.
• Cold Hands Luke (Ron Feinberg), a polar bear and rival aviator.
• Clementine Clevenger (Kath Soucie), assistant to corrupt Sheriff Cleghorn in a Wild-West style town.
• Muffy and Buffy Vanderschmere, (Linda Gary (Muffy), Frank Welker (Buffy)), a fox con artist couple posing as a rich, snobbish clients. Tries to scam 'Higher for Hire' out of their plane.
• Oscar Vandersnoot (Ben "Ryan" Ganger), Kit's nerdish friend.
• Broadcast Sally (Sheryl Bernstein), a female hippopotamus with a popular radio show.
• Ralph Throgmorton (Ken Sansom), pilot license test proctor.
• Plane Jane (Susan Silo), a noble aviator competitor.
• Captain William Stansbury (Peter Reneday), a 19th-century lion naval captain who haunts Louie's island. Is able to pass as a sauve, living human and romances Rebecca.
• Crazy Edie (Billie Hayes), a female wild-eyed and gravelly-voiced bird mechanic con-artist. Sabotages planes then charges to fix them.
• Hans and Helga (Stan Jones (Hans), Joan Gerber (Helga)), the homicidal servants of the von Bruinwald Castle in Bearvaria. They kill Bruinwald relatives in hopes of finally gaining the Bruinwald fortune.
• O'Rourke (Jim Cummings), another conman willing to exploit an island of dinosaurs.

External links

• Talespin characters profiles