Talespin set in the 1930s???

[ahem]

I have read here that Talespin was apparently set in the 1930s- can anyone confirm this? I always thought it took place in a very timeless world, with retro-architecture, elements of futurism albeit with seemingly limitless technology. How else would you explain a city of the future in the middle of the tropics? Particularly inspiring was Rebecca's apartment in the babysitting episode- thos Disney shows use to be MILES ahead.

[Dee]

For Design, Art Deco and the architecture for the 1930's was extremely futuristic.

If memory serves, in 1939, the interior of the SC Johnson and Son building by Frank Lloyd Wright existed in Wisconsin, and if you look at photos of it--- you can see it's used as very direct reference for Bo Welch's design of Headquarters in Men In Black. Desks, chairs, everything. A very early reference leads to the design of a very futuristic set. That leands more towards the 1960's "imagining" of the future, but it's still ahead of it's time.

I would imagine it would be quite easy for some of the design of the buildings and such in Tailspin to have existed. You just need to know where to look.

I cant explain technology ahead of it's time--- like fax machines and such, but the architecture of Tail Spin is doable.

[DarthGonzo]

There's no television in Talepsin. It's referenced in one episode that a mad scientist character was going to create a TV, to which Baloo states something like that would never catch on.

[tb4000]

Also, a comic book purchased by Kit is priced at 10 cents.

[Crash]

Turb-prop technology: Propeller-driven aircraft become obsolete in the 40s with the advent of the jet. (A protoype jet engine appeared in one episode, if I believe) Since Tailspin is a world of turboprop planes (even the Iron Vulture is turboprop taken to an extreme) the 30s is a reasonable time period.

Commies: Russia become the Soviet Union around the 20s. Since.....[Gah! I can't remember who they were!]...the little pipsqueak form the actic was a comedic interpretaion of all the communist oddities, again, it puts Tailspin in that general era.

Fighterplanes: The Air Pirates (if I recall correctly) used biplanes (double wings at the front of the plane) remeniscent of WWI. Meanwhile, Shere Khan's panther trio used planes that looked more like the WWII planes. Again, that puts us between the late 10s and early 40s

Khan: Speaking of Khan, (Khaaaaaaaan...Sorry...) he was portrayed as a classic robber barron/industrialist...

I also recall, (but can't recollect the source) some statements made on how Rebecca's situation (a headstong woman determined to work her way into a flier's world) was modeled on a couple of movie that took place in the 30s. That actually may have been mentioned on a thread on this site, but it'd be deep in the archives by now (if I'm even right about that...).

So...A timeless world in a sense, but one very much inspired by the look and feel of the 30s.

[Anarky]

yeah, Tailspin was definitely set in the 30s
Aviators were the "astronauts" of their day, hence the romanticism of air travel.

[Starlioness]

either the comics were really cheap in the series or everything was seriously retro.;) *imagines what Louie's would look like in the early 90's*

oh and the little guy's name is Col.Nozzle... "Spigot!" err.. I mean, Col. Spigot:sweat:

[Funkatron]

I .loved the eps that poked fun at the future technologies of aviation like the 2 about helicopters and jet engines and the one about the TV(Its radio with pictures!)

man, I miss that show

I wonder how old Baloo would have been in "modern" day "Disney Afternoon" Universe

[Kagetsu]

Turb-prop technology: Propeller-driven aircraft become obsolete in the 40s with the advent of the jet. (A protoype jet engine appeared in one episode, if I believe) Since Tailspin is a world of turboprop planes (even the Iron Vulture is turboprop taken to an extreme) the 30s is a reasonable time period. I missed this show, but it sounds good.

However, I do know airplanes. You won't find turbojets in the military until '45. Civilian you'd be hard pressed to find until '60's They were still using skyraiders, mustangs, and corsairs in Korea.

30's thru 40's was the golden age of piston and props. I thought Baloo flew a seaplane, that should have had radial engines.

[Rasputin]

It's been decades since I've seen this series, but it holds lots of fond memories for me. Seeing this thread, it just struck me that the concept is somewhat similar to Porco Rosso, since it's set in the same kind of romanticised time period. Except, obviously, with Jungle Book characters and lacking Fascists...

[Undrave]

I too miss that show... when I was a kid it was far from being my favorite but remembering it now makes me realise it had a lot going for it originality wise. I wish it was out on DVD or something. It's not often you see serie set in the 30s-40s like that.

[adoptedBatpuppy]

That show was popular! It even aired in Russia! :D

[Hordesman]

You know what really made me think back to Talespin was Sky Captain.

[Undrave]

Yeah, me too ^^ there WAS a similar vibe, at least in the begining ^^

[D.Shaffer]

Tale Spin, Sky Captain, Crimson Skies and a variety of shows/comics all have their origins in pulp fiction adventure stories. Many of them glamorized air travel to a high degree.

Tale spin, in particular, seems to be based on a 1980's series called 'Tales from the Gold Monkey', although it has its own little differences. Not suprisingly, a LOT of Crimson skies fans were Talespin fans.

[j32885]

I always had that same feeling too when I'm watched Talespin. I've always like how the designs, from technology to architecture are from that period.

[Kagetsu]

Tale Spin, Sky Captain, Crimson Skies and a variety of shows/comics all have their origins in pulp fiction adventure stories. Many of them glamorized air travel to a high degree.
:sad:Seems I've missed/never heard of alot of cool shows


Tale spin, in particular, seems to be based on a 1980's series called 'Tales from the Gold Monkey', although it has its own little differences. Now I relly want to see this show :crying:

The only cbaracter I know is Baloo and I seem to think there was a kid bear. How many other characters were from Jungle Book?

(OT: smashy smashy,,, cute :D )

[D.Shaffer]

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was a movie. Go find it on DVD, it's worth a rental.
Crimson Skies is a game universe. It is, unfortunately, probably dead now. It dealth with a fiction USA that had balkanized during the depression, where most shipping was done by zeppelin and cargo transport, and air pirates and mercenaries were everywhere. Lots of...interesting fighter designs. There were two minis games, a PC game, and an X-box game for it.

Characters from the Jungle Book movie?

Baloo, Louis, and Shere Khan. Everyone else was made up for the series, although a lot of the cat based characters look like Bagheera.

Other characters were Rebecca Cunningham and her daughter Molly.
Kit Cloudkicker, Baloo's sidekick and navigator
Wildcat the mechanic.
Don Karnage the air pirate and his Lts. Dumptruck and...I cant remember the other guy. :)
Also, Colonel Spigot of the Thembrian Mommieland and Sgt Dunder.
That was about it for recurring characters.

[Zechs]

More than likely the 30's though the 20's could also considred.

[Anthonynotes]

Television was experimental through the 1930s; it was commercially introduced to the US at least at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, but sales of TVs were very very few (was mainly a toy of the rich who lived near the few TV stations there were in NYC), and sales were halted when the US entered World War II; it's not until after the war that television took off. The avearge person in the 1930s and early 1940s who heard of television probably would've thought of it as just "radio with pictures", or "it'll never last", or something seemingly futuristic.

(Do recall a "Disney Afternoon" promo that had Baloo and Kit rushing back home to watch TDA lineup on a TV that would've been appropriate for the 40's or early 50's---a tiny screen, etc.).

Recall an episode of Kit looking for his "favorite radio show"; radio's heyday was the strongest in the 30's and 40's, but television started to rise to the top in the early 50's...

Comic books as we know them were introduced in 1933 with the publication of "Famous Funnies" and "Funnies On Parade" (two comics with either all-original material and/or published in the modern pamphlet format). Superman, the first modern superhero, was introduced in 1938, with his cohorts following rapidly soon thereafter. Comics before Superman (and through the 30's for the most part) took their inspiration from the pulp novels that were popular at the time---thus, lots of hard-boiled detectives, adventurers, and the like. Comics cost 10 cents from the 1930's through the early 1960s, when the price increased to 12 cents (and again to 15 cents by the end of the 60's).


-B.

[Undrave]

Comics rose in price pretty darn quickly from the 60s to today oO

[Anthonynotes]

Comics rose in price pretty darn quickly from the 60s to today oO

More like darn quickly in the past 15 years... from $1.50 or so in the early 90's to closing in on/at $3 apiece currently.

In the 70's, comics went from 15 or 20 cents in the early 70's to 40 cents by decade's end; by the late 80's, they went for around $1 or $1.25 apiece IIRC.

[Undrave]

That'S a pretty steep rise... darn inflation.

[Adam Tyner]

In the 70's, comics went from 15 or 20 cents in the early 70's to 40 cents by decade's endDigging through my Fantastic Fours, I can verify this. $0.15 in 1970, $0.40 in 1979.


by the late 80's, they went for around $1 or $1.25 apiece IIRC.Marvel switched from $0.75 to $1.00 for their standard comics on cover date Sept. 1989 (again, using Fantastic Four as a reference point). I remember thinking in the very, very early nineties that I'd never pay $1.25 for a (not-Mando/not-Baxter) comic book. :D Marvel went from using $0.75 as their standard price point to $1.50 within the space of a few years.

[Crash]

That's a pretty steep rise... darn inflation.

Inflation had nothing (well, very little) to do with it. Most of the rise is tied to a massive drop in circulation (books were once cancelled for selling as much as todays best sellers) tied to the abandonment of the newstand... But that's a convoluted story that there's no reason to go into here. When I stopped collecting, a lot of Marvel/DC books were up to $2.25 basic, and virtually all others were $3.00 a pop.

[k-unit101]

I do believe that this show was set in the 1930's. I think I read that on TV Tome once. I miss that show:sweat: I miss all the old Disney Afternoon shows. I can't wait for some more DVD releases.