Animation Source Forums

Was anyone else ever bothered by the fact that one moment he's a ridiculously skilled cloud surfer, very wise for age, and knowledgeable about many things...
...And then the next moment hes a kid running around with his arms out making airplane and machine gun noises, And on the few occasions, flying an airplane like a maniac even though he's seen it done a million times.

That's pretty much the aspect I like about him, and to an extent most of the other characters, they are highly skilled in certain favored aspects in life, and completely hopeless in others. They were complex and multi faceted, albeit in a cartoony sense. In episodes Kit or another character refered solely to one extreme they weren't as interesting.

I will admit that Talespin's character writing was a bit erratic at times however, especially for Baloo and Rebecca, who took rather extreme swings in their positive or flawed personality aspects. They could be warm intelligent, even relatable characters one point and go the same road as Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson and act like brainless unbearable jerks the other. Better this than more permanent 'Flanderization' though.

Indeed, there were 4 writers teams working on TaleSpin, which can explain *some* of the differences.
BUT, as a whole, the characters seem pretty consistent to me. (even if there were different writers, all the scripts were story edited by Jymn or Mark) I mean, anyone can act a little differently depending on the *situation*, which is more realistic. And I think this little variety is a positive effect, not a flaw. I honestly dislike when character ALWAYS act the same way, that makes them too predictable and boring.
I believe the characters were meant to be multi faceted from the very start. Remember what Jymn said :

talespin-character-dynamics-explained-t31087.html

When characters are torn like this, they CAN act in ways that may seem strange to viewers.

Kit for example, is a very mature boy for his age (due to his orphan condition); but at the same time, he's still a 12-years-old kid. And even if he tends to hide it, sometimes he can't help but acting like a regular kid. (and you'll notice that the more he gets attached to his new-found family, the more he feels safe to express his inner child side)

True, I don't like one-note characters, I think Kit actually suffered due to giving him the same role a few too many times, but I do think the differences were taken to a slight extreme on occasion, at least for Baloo and Rebecca, who at times almost seemed like they had interchangable personalities. The context of most stories gave it sense (A Spy In The Ointment almost seemed to make light on this, with a change in scenario causing them to switch roles at the start of the same episode) though it did seem there were near identical circumstances on odd occasions where they act completely differently than usual.

Baloo for example occasionally switches to being an extremely loyal and willing provider for Rebecca and Molly (eg. Feminine Air) and then wanting to bail with the Sea Duck as soon as possible (eg. Save The Tiger). This sort of conflict was likely a deliberate complex and made perfect sense given his persona, though the occasional over-extreme swings he made vigorously supporting one or the other made him come off as a bit two faced.

Depending On The Writer situations can be a blessing or hinderance for character development in places really, I mean, look at the Looney Tunes cast (especially Daffy Duck).

Looking at that slideshow, it was a shame they didn't expand on Becky's surrogate mom relationship with Kit as much, similarly I wish they'd made a few more Baloo and Molly moments (though there were at least a few more instances of that, eg. A Jolly Molly Xmas).