Talespin is one my favorite shows, and has been ever since it was on the Disney Afternoon, which may be the greatest block of TV programming in the history of the medium. But it is more than that. It is also Baby's First Steampunk. One might argue that that coveted title should go to Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, given its sympathetic portrayal of steam-powered machines versus diesel and electric shovels, but we should probably not overanalyze these things. Also, while the story does center around steam power, it takes place in a contemporary setting and is not really speculative. No, Talespin is clearly the steampunk of choice for developing minds (as I replayed the first four episodes over and over narrowing down my selection of clips, I realized just how fully my subconscious mind is steeped in this show)
Now, I don't think the mere presence of airships makes something steampunk, and I'll examine this in more detail later. But the sense of adventure, and the overall look and feel, while a bit late - 1930s, probably - has a lot of steampunkness, especially the pirates. Don Karnage's airship, the Iron Vulture, is particularly interesting. If you look at it, it's not really a lighter-than-air ship. It has large gas envelopes on the sides, but it only lifts off when it uses the rows of upward-pointing propellers along the sides. Why is this significant? It's like the design of Captain Robur's airship in Jules Verne's "Robur the Conqueror", which was made into the movie "Master of the World" starring Vincent Price. Aside from that, look at the control room:
It has a certain flare. It reminds me of the Nautilus, and there are lovely giant pipes and gauges everywhere. If you watch the early episodes (I don't know if they continue later in the series), it doesn't make the usual low, droning hum we usually hear from airship engines. Instead it makes a steamy chugging noise like a train. That's just cool and it goes to show the amount of thought and research Disney used to put into their cartoons (do they even make half-hour cartoons now?)
The engines on the back even look like the boilers from locomotives, complete with smokestacks and steam domes. In fact, Talespin does what so many things we call steampunk don't bother with, and gives a nod to the way steam machines actually work. (more on that later too).And of course, one look at the pirates themselves, with their googles, shabby top hats, vests, and variety of weapons, and it's pretty clear that they are very steampunk pirates indeed.
Ah Talespin, lost glory of a bygone age. Hollywood my desire, what have you not refused me!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, yes, Disney does make half-hour cartoons, but, with the exception of Kim Possible, they're...lackluster. To exceed the generosity of Francis of Assisi.
The pitricisaltation occurred, I think, when the otherwise utterly forgettable Phineas and Ferb had a song, rather in the vein of the "witch doctor" song, with the title, and oft-repeated refrain, "Bow Chicka Bow Wow." Because everyone knows Private Tucker is a role model, right, and his catch-phrase should be played ad nauseam on Radio Disney, right? What's next, a Jonas Brothers anthem about eating people's hearts and crapping out their souls, making them taste oblivion (which tastes just like Red Bull...which is disgusting)? The cast of High School Musical doing a number about how, when Grif gets shot by Doc, he should try to steer his dismembered limbs so they clog up the barrel of his rocket launcher?
Talespin, however, is like Batman the Animated Series, a seldom-realized ideal—something which declares in the face of all the heavens, "For all our crimes and follies there are some things of which we men are not ashamed."
pitricisaltation....I like that.
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