TaleSpin

Plot Summary

A Looking Glass?

Baloo stands in the Higher for Hire office and waits for his boss, Rebecca Cunningham. Baloo digs through a refrigerator and finds a sandwich. He tries to stealthily eat it, but Rebecca arrives in a ball gown. She says that she is going to wear it for the Pilots Ball and asks what Baloo thinks. Baloo shoves the entire sandwich in his mouth and mumbles. Rebecca asks if Baloo is eating. He swallows and says that he is not. Rebecca asks Baloo if he even has a tuxedo, and Baloo assures her that he does. Rebecca complains that Baloo is obese and says that he needs to lose weight. Baloo is insulted and returns to his apartment.

Fun House Mirrors.

In his apartment, he shows his navigator, Kit Cloudkicker his tuxedo. He opens a box, and moths fly out. Baloo takes out a moth eaten tuxedo and tries putting it on. It does not fit. He struggles to button it but fails. He says that Rebecca will be amazed by how fabulous he looks. Kit makes a crack about flab. Baloo agrees that he needs to lose weight, fast. He needs to lose weight by Saturday. Kit suggests that he go to an emergency fat farm health spa that will help him lose a few pounds. He suggests one run by Elizabeth Tapir. Baloo likes the idea and decides to fly out to the camp immediately.

Baloo, Kit, and Wildcat the Mechanic fly out to the health spa. Kit decides to have fun along the way and cloud surfs on his airfoil behind the plane. He whoops and hollers in joy. Baloo asks Wildcat if they are near the correct island. Wildcat checks his map and asks if the islands are the green dots on the chart. Baloo says that they are indeed. He then eats a triple guacamole taco and splashes green goo over the map. Wildcat checks the map again and says there are more islands now. He also says that they are over the correct island. Kit returns to the cockpit, and Baloo says he wants to keep his weight loss expedition a secret. Baloo jumps out of the Sea Duck. He wears a parachute.

Banana's Picked from the Bunch.

Baloo drops to an island and passes a sign reading Bedeviled Island Prison. He does not notice and walks into the jungle. He finds the day hot and splashes into a river. He floats down river and plucks a banana off of a branch. Baloo eats the banana and comments that health spas should be in a more convenient location, next to a diner. He reaches the end of the river and spots a group of people running down a jungle path. A strong man pulls a Colonel in a car down the path. The Colonel shouts to a group of prisoners to run. A Thembrian soldier prods the prisoners forward.

Baloo Becomes an Unwitting Prisoner.

Baloo runs into the group of Thembrian prisoners and says that they certainly look fit and mean. Baloo still thinks that he is at a health spa. One of the prisoners asks if Baloo is crazy and says that they are prisoners. Baloo says that he is not a prisoner and is in fact a pilot. The prisoner is interested to find that Baloo is a pilot. He begins making escape plans. The soldier prods Baloo back into line, and Baloo likes that they are strict.

Baloo and the prisoner arrives at the camp. Baloo asks about accommodations and meal plans. The Colonel, who is the warden of the prison, talks to Baloo. He tries to say that they are currently in a prison, but Baloo does not believe him. The Colonel throws Baloo into the box and tells him that temperatures in the box get hotter than 200 degrees during the day. Baloo calls it a solar powered sauna and is ready to sweat his weight away. The Colonel locks him in the box. Baloo watches a thermometer's mercury rise and then burst. He sweats heavily. Hours later, the guards remove Baloo from the box, and Baloo thanks them. He says he can feel the pounds melting away already.

I Am Not a Number. I Am A Free Man!

Baloo meets with the Colonel in the Warden's office. The Colonel says that Baloo is not complying with orders and is far too happy with the prison. The Colonel again tries to explain to Baloo that they are in a prison and not a health spa. Baloo does not believe him and says that he is a pilot. The Colonel does not care and slams his fist on the table. He then takes out Baloo's file and says that every transgression is going into the file. He places the file back into the filing cabinet. As punishment, Baloo is to pedal a stationary bicycle that powers a ceiling fan. Baloo thinks that the spa staff are tough but fair. He begins pedaling in order to get into shape.

Warden Points-A-Lot.

Night falls, and Baloo and the Colonel fall asleep. The prisoner that knows Baloo is a pilot sneaks into the warden's office and takes the ceiling fan and all of the filing cabinets. Nobody notices.

The next morning, the Colonel wakes and notices the ceiling fan is missing. He goes over to Baloo and wakes him from his slumber on the stationary bicycle. He accuses Baloo of stealing the ceiling fan. Baloo is confused as he has been on the bicycle all night long. The Colonel says that stealing a Thembrian state ceiling fan is a terrible offense. He says that it is going on Baloo's file. The Colonel pulls out a file from a stack of files. He then realizes that all of his filing cabinets have been stolen. He blames Baloo for this theft as well. The Colonel calls for guards and throws Baloo into the Box again. Baloo asks if they are going to leave him with a box lunch. Baloo sweats in the box again.

Gaaaah! Steam!

Baloo is eventually released from the box and allowed to go to the mess hall to eat lunch. Baloo is happy. He sees a guard eating gruel and assumes that is what he is going to have. He comments that the chef must be from Thembria. He sits down at a bowl and blows the steam off the meal. He tries to drink the bowl but discovers that it was a bowl of steam. He complains, and the prisoner next to him says that it was cold steam the previous day. Baloo goes to the Colonel and asks for more food. The Colonel holds a nozzle attached to a steam tank. He shoots Baloo with steam. Baloo flies back into a table and smashes piles of plates.

Not Dying at Your Execution is a Criminal Offense.

Guards haul Baloo up to his feet, and Baloo starts to realize that he is in a prison camp run by Thembrians. The Colonel reads the list of charges against Baloo, including stealing the fan and filing cabinets, wasting steam, and breaking government plates. He sentences Baloo to death by firing squad. The Colonel and the guards lead Baloo over to three cannons. The Colonel then takes off Baloo's leg shackle and ball and tosses it into one of the cannons. Baloo wears a target on his chest. The Colonel says that Baloo is to be executed for crimes against the state. He orders the cannons to fire. The executioners pulls the cords on their cannons, but the weapons do not fire. They check the shells and find there is no gunpowder. The Colonel says that they must be left over from the last gunpowder shortage.

Guacamole Island.

The Colonel tells Baloo that the punishment for not dying at your execution is more prison time. Baloo says that he did his part in the execution and did not even peek. He says that he should probably be let go. The Colonel calculates that Baloo is going to have to spend over two centuries in prison. Baloo hopes he can get out early for Saturday. He says he needs to take his boss to a party. The Colonel realizes that they get resupplied on Saturday and moves the execution to Saturday when they have gunpowder.

At the Higher for Hire docks, Kit and Wildcat load glue onto the back of the Sea Duck. Kit hopes that Baloo is loading a lot of weight at the camp. Wildcat says that his aunt lost too much weight too fast and was sad. He says she lost over 2,000 pounds. Kit does not believe Wildcat. Wildcat responds that his aunt lost her car. Kit says that they should probably go get Baloo soon. Kit takes out the map and asks Wildcat which island is the health spa. Wildcat points to a guacamole stain on the map. Kit wipes of the stain and realizes that Baloo dropped onto a Thembrian prison island. Kit says they need to rescue Baloo.

We Are Getting Off This Rock!

Baloo breaks rocks at the prison camp. He lifts a heavy sledgehammer, but the head slides off the hammer and hits him on the head. Baloo collapses to the ground. He sees another prisoner breaking rocks easily. The other prisoner taps a rock with a tiny hammer and shatters them. Baloo asks how the prisoner is doing it, and the prisoner explains that it one needs to hit in the right place. Baloo asks why such a smart person is in prison. The prisoner says that he does not know and starts crying. He says that he is going to miss his ailing mother's 80th birthday. He then tells Baloo that he has a makeshift plane and that they can escape that night. Baloo says he is a pilot, but the prisoner tells him to lose ten pounds by that night.

The prisoner leads Baloo in a crash exercise plan. Baloo jogs in place in the hot box while the prisoner keeps pace.

Stop! We Have a Light Pointed at You!

Night falls, and Baloo and the prisoner start their escape attempt. They sneak through the guards quarters to reach a utility shed. Baloo stops and smells steam coming out of a garbage can. He says that is leftovers of gruel and tries to eat it. The prisoner stops him and pulls Baloo along. The prisoner says they can eat when they are free. He also tells Baloo to be absolutely silent. The prisoner then falls into a pile of garbage cans and raises a loud clatter. Baloo picks up the prisoner and they run to the utility hut. Alarms sound and spotlights search the prison grounds.

Make-shift Airplane.

In the utility shed, the prisoner reveals a plane made out of fan blades, door parts, and filing cabinets. Baloo realizes that the prisoner has been stealing all of the things that Baloo is blamed. The prisoner adds that he stole the engine off the warden's car during the car engine shortage. Bullets rip through the roof of the hut, and Baloo wonders why the Thembrians never have a bullet shortage. The prisoner shout at Baloo to take off. Baloo engages the engines and figures out how to pilot the device. He finds out quickly and knocks down the building as the take off. The Thembrian guards and Colonel shout and fire at the escaping prisoners. Spotlights light the fleeing craft as it departs the island. The Colonel shouts that they need to alert the air force.

The Ancient Art of Reading Signs.

Kit, Wildcat, and Rebecca land the Sea Duck at the prison island's beach. Rebecca reiterates what Kit and Wildcat have told her. She says that Baloo decided to get healthy for Rebecca and attempted to go to a health spa. She continues to say that Baloo confused a prison camp for a health spa and parachuted into captivity. Rebecca says that the story is the most ridiculous that she has ever heard. She then says that it is touching that Baloo tried to get in shape for her. They walk through the jungle of the island, and Wildcat says that he can find the prison camp using his keen sense of reckoning. He licks his finger, holds it to the wind, and listens to the ground. He says that the prison is half a mile down a path. Rebecca finds this feat of navigation amazing. She asks how he did it. Wildcat explains that he read a sign hidden behind some plants.

Look at These Intricate Blue Prints.

The group arrives at the prison camp and discuss the matter of Baloo with the Colonel. The Colonel explains that Baloo escaped the prison the previous night. The three say that Baloo is not a prisoner and that he is a pilot. The Colonel then asks why Baloo broke a notorious terrorist out of prison. Rebecca does not believe the report. The Colonel explains that Baloo flew Professor Crackpot out of prison. Rebecca does not know who Dr. Crackpot is. The Colonel states that the professor is notoriously anti-gruel due his mother force feeding him the slop as a child. The Thembrian economy is built around gruel, and the professor wishes to destroy the main supply silo of gruel in the Thembrian capital. Rebecca does not believe this information. The Colonel shows blueprints left behind by the professor that show that the makeshift plane is a large bomb and that Baloo is a patsy in the professor's plan. Rebecca is shocked and says that they need to save Baloo. The Colonel then says that he contacted the head of the Thembrian Air Force, Colonel Spigot, with shoot down orders for Baloo and Professor Crackpot. Rebecca and her group hurry to the Sea Duck to save Baloo.

Thembria.

Baloo flies the makeshift plane into Thembrian air space. The frigid air causes the plane's occupants to shudder. Baloo says that he will get the professor to his mother in time for her birthday. They pass close to the gruel storage facility. The professor becomes more manic and speaks about gruel. Anti-air shells burst around the plane. Baloo does his best to evade.

We Missed!

On the ground, Colonel Spigot and Sergeant Dunder man a large, tracked anti-air cannon. They fire shells and continually miss the plane. Dunder loads another shell into the cannon's breach and says that it is ready to fire. He asks if he can fire the gun this time. Spigot says no and asks to be held up to the sights. Dunder picks up the diminutive officer and holds him to the weapon's sights. Spigot targets the plane and says that they cannot miss. He fires the weapons and misses. Spigot groans in disappointment. Dunder tries to see the silver lining and says that he made a big boom somewhere. Spigot is not amused and says that they have failed at protecting the gruel silo.

The Sea Duck overtakes the makeshift plane, and Rebecca and Kit yell out the window for Baloo to turn around and land. Baloo cannot hear their shouts over the road of the engines and rush of wind. Kit says that the professor is a mad scientist. Baloo mishears this information and shouts back that he does not care if he is a bad scientist. He tells the professor that he does not care if he did not get As in school. He vows to make it to the professor's mother's house. The professor laughs and says that he does not want to see his mother. He straps on a parachute and detaches the wings from the plane. He bails out. Baloo is left in a large bomb, dropping towards the gruel silo.

Seems Dangerous.

Wildcat puts the Sea Duck into a dive next to the plane. Rebecca opens the side hatch and reaches out to take Baloo. Baloo jumps into the Sea Duck, and Wildcat pulls out of the dive. Baloo and Rebecca and thrown to the back of the plane. Baloo lands on Rebecca, and Rebecca asks if Baloo has lost weight. Baloo says they can discuss a diet later. He climbs into the cockpit and takes control of the plane.

Green Goo!

The bomb impacts the silo and blasts a large hole in the infrastructure. The hole gushes gruel that threatens to drown the nearby city. The professor lands on a statue of a Thembrian on a horse and cackles about his success. Spigot and Dunder stand their ground against the massive wave of gruel heading in their direction. They pull out spoons and say that the only way out of the situation is to fight and eat. Dunder says he is not hungry and flees. Spigot yells to Dunder to put himself on report before fleeing the torrent of gruel himself.

Baloo springs into action. He notices that the hold is filled with glue drums. He flies over the gruel and tells Rebecca and Kit to dump the cargo. They open a container and start dropping glue into the gruel. The gruel begins to harden. A large amount of the glue falls on the professor and glues him to the statue. Baloo says that the professor will stick around until Spigot can arrest him. The city is saved from the wave of gruel.

All Dressed Up.

Baloo flies the Sea Duck back to Cape Suzette in time for the Pilots Ball. Baloo eats voraciously after his two days of forced starvation and exercise. He eats a large pile of mashed potatoes. His tuxedo fits. Rebecca enters wearing her gown. She thanks Baloo for trying so hard to please her and says that he should be happy with whom he is. He gives him a present. He opens the present and finds an elastic cummerbund. He straps it around his waist and thanks Rebecca. Rebecca says that she does not care if her pilot is large. She thinks of it as having more pilot to order around. Baloo is happy then thinks about the comment. He is confused. They head out to the Pilots Ball.

Name	Gruel and Unusual Punishment
Season	1
Episode Number	42
Type	Regular Episode
Is Pilot	False
Air Date	Dec. 4, 1990

TaleSpin

Gruel and Unusual Punishment

Season 1, Episode 42

Plot Summary

Directors

Writers

Producers

Actors

TaleSpin

Gruel and Unusual Punishment

Season 1, Episode 42

Plot Summary

Directors

Writers

Producers

Actors

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