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Plunder & Lightning
TaleSpin Plunder & Lightning.png
Genre Action
Adventure
Comedy
Drama
Science fiction
Crime
Written by Alan Burnett
Len Uhley
Mark Zaslove
Directed by Larry Latham
Robert Taylor
Starring Ed Gilbert
R. J. Williams
Sally Struthers
Janna Michaels
Pat Fraley
Tony Jay
Jim Cummings
Theme music composer Christopher L. Stone
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Producer(s) Larry Latham
Robert Taylor
Editor(s) Rich Harrison
Cecil E. Broughton
Running time 91 minutes
Production company(s) Walt Disney Television Animation
Distributor Buena Vista Television
Release
Original network Syndicated
Original release September 7, 1990 (1990-09-07)

Plunder & Lightning is an animated TV movie that first aired on September 7, 1990. It actually makes up the first four episodes of the Disney cartoon series TaleSpin. This movie was shown on different TV channels from September 7 to September 9, 1990.

In 1991, Plunder & Lightning was nominated for an Emmy Award for being an "Outstanding Animated Program" that was an hour or longer. After it first aired, the movie was split into four parts. These parts became the first episodes of the TaleSpin series, but some scenes were cut out. This four-part version was first shown from November 19 to November 22, 1990, with one part airing each day.

You can watch these episodes on the Disney+ streaming service. They are listed as episodes 34 to 37.

The Story of Plunder & Lightning

Part 1: A New Friend and a Big Problem

The story begins with Don Karnage, a sneaky air pirate, and his crew. They hijack a plane owned by Shere Khan to steal a mysterious box. After they get the box back to their huge airship, the Iron Vulture, a young bear cub named List of TaleSpin characters#Kit Cloudkicker bravely steals it back.

Kit leads the pirates on a wild chase. He even jumps off the ship and uses his special airfoil to "cloud-surf" away! He hides the box at a tavern owned by Louie. Karnage and his pirates burst in, but Kit escapes again. He hitches a ride with Baloo, a friendly pilot, in his cargo plane called the Sea Duck. The pirates chase them, but Baloo manages to fly to Cape Suzette, a city protected by cliff guns that shoot at air pirates.

Baloo takes Kit to his business, "Baloo's Air Service." It's just a shack with a dock, and Baloo is way behind on his bills. A bank man shows up and says Baloo's plane will be taken away. To save his plane, Baloo agrees to a $3,000 job Kit suggests. He promises to take Kit back to Louie's the next day. The job is to deliver "gorilla-birds," which are big, wild birds. While struggling with the birds, the pirates attack again. Baloo realizes they are after Kit. Kit gets upset and runs off. Baloo then finds the gorilla-birds have escaped.

Kit is captured by Karnage, who demands to know where the box is. Baloo rescues Kit by letting the gorilla-birds loose to distract the pirates. They escape back to the Sea Duck. Kit then admits he hid a large jewel at Louie's. Baloo realizes this jewel could help him buy back his plane.

Part 2: New Boss, New Rules

The next morning, Baloo and Kit meet the new owner of their business: List of TaleSpin characters#Rebecca Cunningham. She plans to make the failing business successful. Rebecca says Baloo must pay her $50,000 to get the Sea Duck back. Until then, he's her pilot. Baloo agrees, hoping to get to Louie's. The mechanic, List of TaleSpin characters#Wildcat, impresses Rebecca with his skills.

Rebecca renames the business "Higher for Hire" and makes Baloo and Kit wear silly uniforms. She even gives the Sea Duck a clown-like paint job! She sends them to deliver mangos. Baloo and Kit quickly ditch their uniforms and head for Louie's. But Rebecca's daughter, List of TaleSpin characters#Molly Cunningham, has snuck onto the plane. She threatens to tell her mom if they don't let her come along. So, Molly joins their trip to Louie's.

At Louie's, they find the jewel. Louie says it's fake and worthless. But when Kit mentions Don Karnage stole it from Shere Khan, Baloo touches it and gets a shock. He thinks it might be valuable after all. As they leave, the air pirates attack again. Baloo and Kit escape by dumping the mangos on them. Back at Higher for Hire, Rebecca is angry about the lost cargo. Molly defends them, admitting she snuck on the plane.

The next morning, Baloo and Kit hide the jewel in Molly's doll, Lucy. They want to find out how much Shere Khan will pay for it first. At Khan's office, Khan explains the "stone" is a special electrical metal. He offers $100,000 for its return. Meanwhile, Karnage and his men sneak into Higher for Hire. They ransack the place and kidnap Rebecca and Molly. They leave a note demanding the stone.

Part 3: Pirate Island and a Secret Weapon

Kit feels responsible for the kidnapping. As he helps Baloo find Pirate Island, he shares his past. He used to be an air pirate with Karnage. But after a year, he hated it. He rebelled by taking the electrical stone and running away. Baloo understands and feels for him. While they fly, Karnage and his men hijack another of Shere Khan's planes. They only steal seemingly useless items.

Baloo and Kit land on the volcanic Pirate Island. Rebecca tries to trick the prison guard into letting them go. She offers him the deed to the Sea Duck. The guard agrees, but Baloo knocks him out and takes the deed. He frees Rebecca and Molly. Just then, Karnage returns. Baloo and his friends hide. Karnage reveals his new weapon: a lightning gun! He built it with the stolen junk. He plans to use it to attack Cape Suzette.

Karnage sings a catchy pirate song. Baloo and his friends try to sneak past disguised as pirates. But Baloo foolishly tries to make the song longer, blowing their cover. To help them escape, Kit pretends to rejoin the pirates and gives them the stone. Baloo thinks Kit has truly betrayed them. Baloo, Rebecca, and Molly escape, not knowing Kit was faking. The pirates chase them. Baloo uses an "overdrive" function on the Sea Duck to get away very fast.

Back in Cape Suzette, Shere Khan's men grab them. Khan wants his stone back. Rebecca doesn't know what the stone is. Khan's scientist, Dr. Debolt, explains it's a "sub-electron amplifier." It's a unique item that can create endless electricity. It's powerful enough to run Khan's entire company. Khan scolds Baloo for not getting the stone. Baloo complains about everyone. Back at Higher for Hire, Baloo packs his bags. He buys the Sea Duck back from Rebecca with gold dust he took from the pirates. Rebecca and Molly don't want him to leave. They don't believe Kit is truly bad.

Part 4: The Battle for Cape Suzette

Karnage and his pirates load the lightning gun onto the Iron Vulture. They head for Cape Suzette. In the city, Rebecca looks for new pilots. In Khan's office, Dr. Debolt warns Khan that Karnage might have built a lightning gun. Khan doesn't believe it until he sees and hears an explosion from the cliff guns. He calls his air force, but they can't stop the lightning gun.

On the Iron Vulture, Karnage announces he will plunder the city. But Kit snatches the stone and runs to a radio room. He sends a Mayday message to nearby pilots. He tells Baloo what's happening and that he never betrayed him. At Louie's, Baloo hears Kit's message. He realizes he was wrong and Kit is still his friend. He jumps into the Sea Duck and uses the overdrive again to reach Cape Suzette in time.

Back on the Iron Vulture, Kit tries to escape on his airfoil. But Dumptruck catches him, and Karnage breaks his airfoil. Karnage is furious that Kit lied. He orders Dumptruck to drop Kit to his death. But Baloo arrives just in time to rescue Kit, burning out his overdrive in the process. They hide under a bridge to avoid Karnage. Baloo radios Higher for Hire. Rebecca refuses to leave the city. She knows how to fight the lightning gun: cover the Sea Duck with rubber!

After covering the plane with rubber, Rebecca joins Baloo and Kit. Karnage hears Baloo and Kit taunting him on the radio. He orders his men to blow them up. But the rubberized Sea Duck is safe from the lightning gun. Karnage sends his fighter planes, but they all crash. Baloo then crashes the Sea Duck into the lightning gun. The gun and the stone fall into the bay and explode in the water, creating a huge tsunami. With their main weapon gone, Khan's air force attacks the pirates, forcing them to retreat. Baloo and his friends wash ashore, safe, but the Sea Duck is almost destroyed.

A week later, the Sea Duck is repaired. Rebecca paid for the repairs, so she owns it again. Baloo is back to being her pilot. This time, he accepts the job more easily, saying it's only until he can buy it back. The whole group takes a fun flight in the restored Sea Duck, celebrating their new lives together.

Meet the Voices

Changes to the Movie

When Plunder & Lightning was split into four episodes for TV reruns, some short scenes were cut out to save time. These scenes were not put back when the pilot was released on the TaleSpin: Volume 1 DVD set. However, most of these cut scenes do appear in the four-issue comic book version.

Some examples of scenes that were cut include:

  • When Karnage breaks into Louie's, he drinks something and says, "You always serve such tasty drinks, Louie!"
  • After Kit says, "I'm sorry about your plane," Baloo replies, "Hey, don't worry. Ya win some, ya lose some."
  • When Baloo first meets Rebecca, he pulls out a "GONE FISHIN'" sign.
  • Louie comments on Molly, saying, "My my my, Baloo, these stewardesses are gettin' younger and prettier every day!"
  • Near the end of what became "Part Two," Rebecca sings a lullaby to Molly. Kit listens and feels sad for her. This scene was cut from TV, but a longer version of the song is on the Disney Afternoon soundtrack.
  • At the end of his radio message to Baloo, Kit whispers "always." This shows he never really betrayed Baloo.

Also, some scenes were changed instead of cut. And some scenes were added to the four-part TV version that weren't in the original movie. For example, a scene where Baloo and Kit square-dance with two air pirates before knocking them out was added.

Later, when TaleSpin reran on The Disney Channel in 1995, even more scenes were cut. These scenes stayed missing during reruns on Disney Channel and Toon Disney. But unlike the earlier cuts, these scenes were put back in the TaleSpin: Volume 1 DVD release.

Some examples of these later cut scenes are:

  • When Louie walks up to Karnage, the pirate shoves his sword in Louie's face. You can tell this scene was cut because the music suddenly jumps.
  • When Karnage and his pirates chase the Sea Duck, Karnage says, "This is no time for a Chinese fire drill!"

Comic Book Version

Plunder & Lightning was also made into a four-issue comic book series called "Take Off." These comics were published once a month from January to April 1991 by Disney Comics.