TaleSpin (1990-1991) from Disney Animation Studios
In the early 90s, Disney created a bunch of new Disney Channel shows starring their preexisting characters. They needed new content for a new generation and they came up with some interesting new takes on their characters. TaleSpin is a series about a 1930s pilot starring a characters from The Jungle Book.
The series was largely developed by writers Jymn Magon (writer of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, Quack Pack, and The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh) and Mark Zaslove (Writer of The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, The Little Mermaid, Oliver and Company, Challenge of the GoBots, and he developed Mighty Max). This team also were the story editors and supervising producers on the project and they later developed Superhuman Samurai Squad together.
The pilot for the television series was a feature length made-for-tv film entitled Plunder and Lightning, which was nominated for an Emmy in 1991.
There are some similarities between TaleSpin and the Studio Ghibli film "Porco Rosso" about an anthropomorphic pig who flies a plane. Porco Rosso is based on Hayao Miyazaki's manga that was published in 1989, although the film was not released until 1992. Regardless of if there was a direct influence of one to the other, the creators of TaleSpin admit to being big fans of Studio Ghibli. As TaleSpin creator Mark Zaslove puts it, "...Plunder & Lightning was fine and dandy, but a middle-aged pig that feels guilt for living through the war when his companions did not... that's just wonder." Miyazaki's work is less cartoony and offers a lot more emotional depth than TaleSpin, but that tends to be the difference between theatrical and television stories.
TaleSpin is a fun show. The setting and vehicle designs are really neat and I love that there was a 1990s Disney cartoon set in the 1930s. I value period pieces very highly, and while this may just be a goofy cartoon about animals, it does have a lot of interesting content. I'm really glad that the creator's took the risk of setting the show in the 30s. For kids watching this show in the 1990s, the 30s would have been when their great-grandparents were young. I hope that watching this show sparked some kids' interest in history :)
