CODY'S
TALESPIN REVIEW
Louie's
Last Stand
Rating:
3 out of 5 Krakatoa Specials
After being
made fun of for his investment in glow-in-the-dark sunglasses, Douglas Benson,
an overzealous employee of Shere Khan, decides he wants to purchase Louie's
island. Louie refuses and sends Benson
packing. Benson finds out that Louie has a squatter's deed, which means he has
to stay on his island for his deed to be renewed. Benson breaks into Khan's
office, makes out a "permission slip," and goes back to Louie's with
Khan's elite pilot force to help him forcefully ’evict’ Louie.
Everyone
but Kit and Baloo leave, and the three put up a good fight. They pelt Khan's
men with coconuts and pineapples and lead them on a merry chase around the
island. But when Benson brings in the
fighter pilots with their guns flaring, Louie gives up. At the office, Khan inadvertently finds out
that his pilots are ‘busy’ and goes to investigate. Just as Benson is about to
blow up Louie's club, Khan snaps the line and demands that Benson explain his
actions. Benson tries to justify himself, but Khan sees right through it and
fires him.
Later
over fruit juices, Khan apologizes to Baloo and Louie for Benson's "excess
zeal." Benson calls them to come
outside and tells them he's going to blow up the club. Everyone ducks but Kit,
who is leaning smugly against the wall. When Benson pushes the detonator, the
shoddily built shack behind him explodes and sends Benson flying. Kit then
tells them, “I… sorta moved the dynamite."
When
Benson is writing the "permission slip," it takes him a whole page to
write, Do whatever Mr. Benson asks'.
The
time was seriously skewed. When Louie, Baloo, and Kit climbed up to Louie's
sign, it was evening. Louie's light goes on ("It's on a timer."),
Khan's pilots find them and open fire, then Louie says that it's an hour before
midnight.
Why
did Benson wait for nearly an hour to get Louie off the island? Louie
surrendered an hour before midnight, and it was five minutes until midnight
when Benson finally decides to ship 'em off.
Gidget:
Benson
is launched from that boat ejection device, sending him flying into the lagoon
before Baloo and Kit tell Louie they’ll stand by him and fight. If he’s briefly away from the island getting
changed into dry clothes, forging Khan’s signature, recruiting pilots,
powdering his nose, etc., how does he know there are three people to deal with
when he gives pilots their orders?
Baloo and Kit could have gone home while he was away making
preparations.
Neat
Little Details
Not
only did Louie high-five Kitten Kaboodle, there were several characters who
appeared in previous eps:
-the pilot from Plunder and Lightning who
relayed Kit’s message to Baloo
-Broadcast Sally from The Time Bandit
-Teddy from Plunder and Lightning and
A Baloo
Switcheroo
-the lady rhinoceros from Plunder and
Lightning and Vowel Play.
Gidget:
Miss Harmond (the lady tiger executive from the board meeting).
Also the
pig lady (pink dress, curly brown hair and mole) who grabs some partygoers in
her arms and laughs --- she was in Louie’s Last Stand and Ransom of Red
Chimp. I can’t forget her.
Slight King Kong reference when Louie climbs on top of his sign and swats at
the planes.
During
the presentations at the business meeting, Benson shakes his head sadly and
yawns, obviously pitying his colleagues for not being ‘visionary’ enough to
invest in glow-in-the-dark sunglasses.
Benson:
(explaining his investment to Khan)
“…they’re easy to find during a power failure.”
Khan: “And when you find them… you wear them in
the dark?” (Khan makes a rare joke here!
He does have a sense of
humor.)
the
hydraulic chair Khan uses to perch above everyone at the table (reminded me of the
little tricks Col. Spigot uses to make himself taller)
Gotta
love that boat ejection contraption that gets launched through Louie’s window!
Baloo: “Let’s make like a tree and get out of
here!” (a Biff quote from Back to the Future)
While
Shere Khan is grilling Benson on the pier, a dragonfly hovers a little too
close to the water--- a big fish jumps out of the water and swallows it.
Baloo slurping fruit juice while firing pineapples at Benson and Khan's
pilots.
Khan's
men invade the nightclub through the windows of Louie's main bar, so they go to
the treetop hotels where they hurl furniture at Khan's men.
"Give
it up, Louie! I've got more men than you've got furniture!" Benson yells.
One of
Khan's pilot's finally gets his hands on Louie, who bites him and says, "I
have not yet begun to bite!"
The
pilots swarm into the hotel room and Louie turns to Baloo. "You a swinger,
Baloo?"
"The
swinginest!" Baloo grabs a vine and Louie and Kit pile onto his back.
Baloo jumps over the railing and they smash through the temporary headquarters
Benson had ordered the pilots to build.
"Don't
make things like they used to," Kit observes.
Baloo,
Louie, and Kit in the basket. Louie groans and says, "Somebody in this basket should go on
a diet."
"Yeah,
and his initials are Baloo," Kit says.
"Hey,
I'm just big for my age," Baloo protests.
"Must
be the Stone Age." Louie grunts and pulls the basket the last few feet to
the mountain ledge.
Baloo
gets out and says indignantly, "I am NOT that heavy!"
The
basket bounces off the ground and Louie and Kit are thrown out. Baloo looks at
them in bemusement.
Louie
pulls the bushes off the rope and pulley with a flourish.
"A
whole lotta loggin' to knock their noggin'," he says. He pulls the rope, but
nothing happens.
"This
is your super-duper trap?" Baloo asks dubiously.
"Okay,
so it's rusty," Louie grumbles.
Khan's
deadpan expression. When he found out that his pilot squad was still on that
special assignment, he didn't look surprised or angry.
The moved dynamite. Guess
Dougie got a lift out of that.
Gidget:
Louie: “Hey, what’s with the flaming pastry?” He
blows out every candle but one, so he snuffs it by jamming it into the cake.
Remember when he pulls the
rope, a pulley causes a bird nest to
revolve, startling the bird!
the mining car crashes into
the rock wall, spilling their pursuers.
Louie: “One of these days, I’m gonna have to put in
that tunnel.”
Baloo: (looking down at the
dumped pilots) Bar-U-tal!” (brutal!)
Benson lines:
(congratulating
himself): (singing) “You did it, you
did it, Dougie-boy---I mean Douglas!”
(angry): “That’s it! No more Mr. Nice Doug!”
(surprised that dymamite
didn’t go off): “No boom-boom?”
And of course: “Stop laughing!”
Commentary
Cody:
Okay, I really like this ep. I wish the producers had done more with Kit,
Baloo, and Louie together instead of just Kit and Baloo or Baloo and Louie. It
gets 3 stars because it was a fairly mediocre ep. Benson was stereotypical: a poor, picked-on nobody who desires power.
It was a neat look into Khan's world, though. Guess he really gets into his
work. He never seems to leave the place and he's even got an apartment above
his office.
Gidget: That’s one way to get to work on time.
The
animation was nothing special. It wasn't as badly done as Pizza Pie in the Sky
and not as good as Stormy Weather. If the animation had been spectacular, it
would have been a four-star ep, though it was nice to see more of Khan's office
and Louie's island.
Kit was
great. Not only did he find another use for his airfoil, but he had the sense
to watch Benson and make sure he didn't get his hands on that dynamite. I also
loved the part where the three of them are in a basket going to Louie's
"super-duper trap" and he and Louie gang up on Baloo.
The
best part was... no Molly! Any ep without that annoyance is a pretty good one,
though I have to admit she was good in Mollycoddled.
Gidget: I agree with
Cody’s rating. It’s a fun episode and
gives an insider’s ‘tour’ of Khan Industries and Louie’s Place (very cool) and
even shows Khan letting his hair down and having a drink with the guys, but not
especially exciting. I can’t take
Benson seriously as a villain; he reminds me too much of Daffy Duck or someone
in Bugs Bunny’s long roster of enemies (hot-headed, arrogant, idiotic,
etc.) The way he was thrown in the
water over and over was like Wile E. Coyote taking those multiple plunges into
the canyon with a *poof* of cloud-dust.
It was fun to try to spy
the cameos of former ‘one-shot’ characters, though.
jb points out:
Two iconic 80s pop songs are used in jest: Corey Hart's "Sunglasses At
Night"
During a business meeting, all Khan's executives tell the CEO how they intend to
invest their money. When it's Dougie's turn, he pipes, "I'm investing
my money in glow-in-the-dark sunglasses. It'll make them easy to find
during a power failure."
Khan is not impressed. "And when you find them
[glow-in-the-dark sunglasses], you wear them in the dark?"
And later Dougie says: "My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!"
(by Timbuk 3)
At the final battle, Louie pleads, "All right, Doug-Lips...you win.
Just don't blow up my club!" He pronounced them as "Doug-Lips"
not "Douglas."
And a word from guest commentator Gabe Bennett:
Dougie Benson obviously didn't think things
through very clearly. Even if his scheme to use evict Louie by using Khan's
elite pilot force had worked, acquiring Louie's Place would not be the big money
maker he had hoped for and he would've still lost everything. Here's why:
1. Customer Loyalty
Once word got around about how Louie lost his place, I doubt any of his old
customers, especially any of the freelance pilots around Cape Suzette, would
give Benson their business. Maybe a few of Khan's pilots might stop by, but even
this is doubtful (see below): I got the impression they didn't like him very
much.
2. Khan's Wrath (No "Star Trek" joke intended)
Even if Benson had taken over Louie's business, Khan would no doubt have fired
him anyway: as seen in Louie's Last Stand, he doesn't take too
kindly to people forging his signature and misusing his pilots. Also, Khan would
more than likely forbid his pilots to stop there as a result.
3. A Little Taste of his Own Medicine
Assuming that Khan has fired Benson and he has no business, what's to stop
Baloo, Kit, and Louie from coming back when the deed is due to expire and
throwing HIM out? After all, without Khan's pilots backing him up, he's just a
spineless little wimp!
4. Money Sinkhole
With no business, Benson would spend much more money then he would ever get out
of it, and without return dollars, he would soon have to close his doors.
Consider these four things, and Benson is more of an idiot than before!