With another tale to spin.
So many days spent working on this...and it was worth it.
A lineup of the main cast for a Talespin reboot set in the 1990s. I had to do quite a bit of research into the fashion trends of that decade to ensure everyone fit in. To be frank, I'm impressed with how easily (almost) all of them take to the aesthetic.
As for how this sort of reboot would work as a show, I have a few loose concepts I might consider posting in the near future, both for reimaginings of classic episodes as well as crossover events, considering I envision this taking place a few decades before the events of the 2017 Ducktales reboot.
Here's some information on what they'd be like along with my thought processes on the character designs from left to right:
Baloo von Bruinwald - Papa Bear here wasn't particularly hard to pin down. I just had to jazz up his wardrobe a bit with a jacket and glasses, really. If I could pick VAs in real life, I'd go with James Monroe Iglehart because not only does he have that deep bouncy voice that invokes the perfect blend of devil-may-care and warmheartedness (Lance Strongbow from Tangled: The Series) but the man can also sing (Asmodeus from Helluva Boss), something we should have gotten more from Baloo in the original Talespin. Besides, it'd be interesting and fun to explore a Baloo with black coding on top of the German ancestry the original Talespin gave him as well as his original Indian heritage from the Jungle Book.
Rebecca Cunningham - Now Becky here definitely got the biggest makeover in terms of redesign. As much as I don't mind her original look, it really needed her personality and VA's performance to do all the heavy-lifting and felt like a product of the time. That's why I decided to depict her and Molly as Plains Cree (hence the added ponytail), not merely for the sake of diversity but to help introduce conflicts that feel genuine and less forced with a nonwhite-coded character. As for voices, Deedee Magno-Hall would work well as her time as Pearl on Steven Universe shows she can do motherly figures but also depict that neuroticism that's key to Rebecca's character flaws.
Bagheera - Yes, that's right. Baloo's original spouse is here like he deserves! Like any rebooter worth their salt, I had to figure out how he'd fit into the universe, especially since I want to incorporate his friendship with Baloo and the other Jungle Book characters - so I decided to make him a former S.H.U.S.H. agent who now works as Higher for Hire's second pilot. There'd be a whole arc centered around him having to confront his past because of F.O.W.L. causing trouble and everything. Now for his design, I decided to go for simple by giving him a very "dorky dad" look as way of making him seem unassuming. Personally, I'd pick Riz Ahmed (Ballister Boldheart from Nimona) as the VA as I headcanon Talespin Bagheera to be Indian-Pakistani. Plus, Ahmed is a dedicated rapper and the idea of Bagheera dropping a diss-track is just too good an idea to pass up.
Shere Khan - Nothing changed. Aside from the flower and cane, nothing about this man changed at all. Really, it's stupefying how little formal business attire has changed between the 30s and 90s. So, I added in an orange gerbera (a symbol of strength and resilience) and a badass cane for extra flavor. I also headcanon him as Chinese-Indian by the way, so make of that what you will. Now while I know none can truly replace Tony Jay, I believe Christopher Judge (Kratos from God of War 2018 and Ragnarok) would come pretty dang close on account of his intimidatingly booming voice and the way he delivers dry wit.
Don Karnage - As time consuming as he was (the teeth especially), I think Karnage's redesign is by far my favorite. Something about him in that flowing coat with the open chest fur just works. In terms of lore, Don Karnage would stay more or less the same, albeit he'd be like that old man struggling with all the doohickeys cropping up. He'd be voiced by John Leguizamo (Sid from Ice Age and Bruno from Encanto) who can do surprisingly good villains, like in Violent Night, yet can still come off as hilarious.
Wildcat - To be honest, I'm not entirely sure if I'm OK with the look I gave him, but I do like the idea of Wildcat rocking a beanie, so I'll keep him this way for now. Other than that, I'd prefer to keep Wildcat as much of an enigma in terms of backstory as the show did, just to preserve that sense of amiable chaos he's so good at bringing. By the way, I'd let his original VA Pat Fraley keep voicing him cuz if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Molly Cunningham - Other than giving her pants longer legs and getting rid of the bow, Molly's not too different. The most noteworthy detail I added would be the cuff bracelet on her wrist. I based it off of this trinket posted on Facebook a while back based on traditional Plains Cree beadwork since I figured that'd be easier for me to draw. For a VA, I'd give her Dani Chambers (Molly from Epithet Erased and Becky Blackbell from Spy x Family) since she's pretty good with voicing cute yet sassy young girls. Kit Cloudkicker - Ah Kit, the one the Ducktales reboot did so unnecessarily dirty. Not to worry, he's still as much of an aviation prodigy here as ever. Besides, it'd be far more interesting to explore a Kit who tries too hard to instead emulate Rebecca, even if unintentionally, to the point of burnout. As for his fit here, I simply switched out his beloved sweater for a nice two-toned jacket. For voices, I'd go with Justine Lee (Ken Amada from Persona 3: Reload) who can pull off sounding like a young spirited boy quite well. Simon Zhong - The only original character in this lineup. Ya'll who follow me might recognize him from all my Kit x Simon art. He's mainly here to serve as a nice chaotic counter to Bagheera (the two of them will parallel Baloo and Kit naturally) as well as a living bridge to potential conflicts with F.O.W.L. I decided to give him a grunge look since black is so prominent in his design, not to mention a Pac Man ghost shirt to hint at his fixation on video games. If he were to be a character in a real-life reboot, despite being pretty laconic, I'd go with Charlene Yi (Ruby from Steven Universe and Chloe from We Bare Bears) since she's got that crackling voice that has its own unique charm.
Louie - Yeah, I gave the main man the Florida treatment. Honestly, I think he looks even better this way. Aside from deeper lore on his history with Baloo and the other Jungle book characters, I wouldn't change much else about him. On that note, like with Wildcat, I'd stick with his original voice actor, Jim Cummings in this case.
Marcos - And now for the guest of honor. Say hello to Don Karnage's singing, prancy, and oh so theatrical nephew (who may or may not take over as captain one day). Because yes, yes this kid will in fact grow up to become the Don Karnage we see in the Ducktales reboot! Between an uncle who keeps berating him for "not acting like a real pirate" and a one-sided rivalry with his uncle's former protege, Kit, poor Marcos has quite the chip off his shoulder. In light of that, Alanna Ubach (Manny Rivera from El Tigre and Mamá Imelda from Coco - God, that woman has range) would be his VA as she can pull off voicing a bratty and overconfident Latino kid pretty well.
Overall, this would be a pretty stacked cast.
As for the background, I'd rather hold back on explaining that until I start posting some more of my concept art. But I'll give you a hint: Memphis style. And that's all ya'll are getting from me (for now).
Talespin, the Jungle Book movie, and all relevant characters belong to Disney. I only own Simon and the idea of this reboot.
Don't forget to hit me up on Ko-Fi for commissions!
------------------------------------------------------------
For better quality views: DeviantArt | FurAffinity | Weasyl
