TaleSpin (Toon Disney)

Disney's animated series TALESPIN -- a spin-off of The Jungle Book -- follows a new chapter in the life of Baloo the bear (voiced by Ed Gilbert), who now lives in the Pacific Islands and flies a cargo plane for freight shipping company Higher for Hire. Carefree Baloo -- who used to own the company and his beloved plane, the Seaduck -- now works for businesswoman Becky Cunningham (Sally Struthers), hoping to eventually buy back the aircraft. In addition to being Higher for Hire's CEO, Becky is also a loving single mom to daughter Molly (Janna Michaels). Baloo and his young navigator -- an orphan and ex-air pirate named Kit (R.J. Williams), who looks up to "Papa Bear" as a father figure -- haul cargo to and from the nearby islands, doing their best to avoid run-ins with the villainous air pirates and their nefarious leader, Don Karnage (Jim Cummings). Much to Becky's chagrin, the boys are easily distracted from their assigned task; when they lag behind schedule, she's apt to find them at Baloo's favorite hangout, Louie's.

TaleSpin is a lively, engaging series that's just plain fun to watch, and Jungle Book fans don't have to worry that the cross-over stars have been compromised in any way. The minor changes that were made were necessary: Baloo now sports four-fingered hands (instead of paws) to man the plane, for example, and the revived Shere Khan (Tony Jay), who appears occasionally in the role of a ruthless business tycoon, now walks upright and dons clothes.

While the show isn't heavy on actual lessons, little of its content is likely to worry parents of grade-schoolers. TaleSpin is so entertaining, in fact, that adults may find themselves drawn in -- those who are will pick up on occasional clever cultural references and characterizations that escape young viewers (for example, an eccentric hippopotamus/airplane designer named Howard Huge).