GIDGET’S TALESPIN REVIEW
WAIDERS OF THE WOST
TWEASURE
Rating: 4 out of 5 Krakatoa Specials
Summary
Baloo and Kit, while delivering paperweights for Princess Grace (or ‘Pwincess Gwace’,
according to the local Elmer Fuddlike lisping accent) of Wallawalla Bingbang,
encounter Plane Jane (a hot-shot hippo pilot) on the way and are embroiled in
political intrigue. Someone is trying
to oust the princess from the throne.
The only way to prove her right to the throne is to find ‘the wuby wings
of Queen Mawine’. So Baloo and Kit
compete against Plane Jane to find them first.
During a costume ball, Kit gets stuck in a suit of armor all night and
misses the entire adventure. Baloo and
Plane Jane bicker and insult each other but end up working together.
-In the middle of a chase
scene, the costumes mysteriously become street clothes.
-Plane Jane is treated very
badly in this episode, which cost it a point in my rating system. I admit, this hippo’s a dog. I mean, she’s fat, has a mustache and
doesn’t speak --- she squawks
(Susan Silo did a good job on her voice). Jane’s admittedly homely appearance
is the brunt of a lot of mean-spirited jokes, namely by Baloo:
“She looks a lot better with a veil!”
“Ya don’t look much like a
queen, but you’ll do.”
Baloo is uncharacteristically
nasty in this episode. For example, to
escape a booby-trapped cave, Jane spies a chain hanging from the ceiling and
tries to tug it. No luck.
“It…won’t…budge!”
Baloo gives her a hard shove,
sending her sprawling. “Outta my way!”
I shoulda known ya couldn’t handle this.” Of course, he can’t pull the chain either.
This doesn’t surprise me,
frankly. Cartoons have always treated
unattractive characters as fair game, especially females. Baloo would never treat Katie Dodd (For Whom the Bell Klangs) that way,
which is why I have a problem with it.
Louie’s Aunt Louise is another butt of the ‘ugly man-hungry woman’
jokes. In The Ransom of Red Chimp, she’s a great comedic character and I
don’t blame Don Karnage for being repelled by her, but the woman has feelings!
-Plane Jane is a cool character who deserved
to be in more episodes. She’s like a
female counterpart to Baloo or --- a
TaleSpin version of Roseanne (shudder!)
-After rewarding Plane Jane with ten thousand
shaboozies, Princess Grace presents Baloo with a bill for “for destwoying our
paper weights!” Serves him right. Then Plane Jane covers the tab, since she
couldn’t have done it without Baloo anyway.
Under that homely exterior is a real lady.
Baloo:
“You went to finishing
school?!”
Jane: “Yeah, well…I never finished.”
-Baloo:
“We’ll meet inside…by the food.”
-“But how will we find each other?” Kit asks
as he and Baloo prepare to crash a masquerade ball.
“If you see somebody you don’t recognize,
that’ll be me!”
-Baloo makes a ‘king’ costume: a dirty old blanket for a cape, a broken
upside-down plant pot for a crown and a bent flyswatter as a ‘mask’: “I hope there’s a door prize for the best
costume!”
-that whole flirtation thing in the library
between Baloo and Jane, who don’t recognize each other in costume:
“Maybe we can get together later…to discuss
literature?” Baloo is trying to be suave.
“Uh, you’ve got a fly on your nose.” Jane
turns and leaves.
“That was Plane Jane!” Baloo exclaims. “No wonder I didn’t recognize her – she
looks a lot better with a
veil!”
“Hey, where’s the rest of me?” (Baloo, when
Jane runs away, taking half of their ‘horsie’ costume with her) This is an in-joke, quoting Ronald Reagan’s
character in King’s Row…when he lifts the blanket and discovers that his legs
were needlessly amputated below the knees by an evil surgeon)
-“You’re making me laugh.” Then Jane squawks
in terror, seeing danger ahead.
“That’s
a laugh?”
-“We’re gonna crash!” shouts Jane.
“Well, maybe we shoulda taken your airplane!”
-“I just remembered…Kit’s
still back there!” (the little afterthought…)
-Jane uses Baloo as a bridge
-the sight of Baloo and Jane running from rolling boulders, ala Raiders… they look hilarious from the back.
-Jane:
“That guy’s got rocks in his head… or he will if he stops running!”
-“Besides, I’m too heavy to hang glide!”
(Baloo makes Jane do it instead, and she’s as heavy as he is!)
-“I thought I’d never get out of that costume.
Is the party over?” (Kit, last line)
Commentary
Those who enjoy swashbuckling
serials will have a good time. It’s
easily one of the funniest episodes of the series. Just leave your politically correct sensitivities at the door.
November 1999