The thirty-fourth episode of TaleSpin.
Baloo saves the life of Shere Khan. However, Khan does not want to be indebted to anyone, so he offers Baloo anything in exchange for his silence. Baloo takes advantage of the situation by asking for everything from the unlucky tiger, leading to Khan staging a kidnapping.
This episode provides examples of:
- Absurd Phobia: In addition to being afraid of heights and the dark, The Barber, the new pilot that Rebecca hires to run Higher For Hire, is afraid of platypi and strawberries.
- Accidental Misnaming: Khan accidentally misnames Baloo "Mr. Babaloo".
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Baloo falls victim to this in this episode when he gains a life debt from Shere Khan for saving his life.
- Comically Missing the Point: After Baloo buys the Sea Duck back from Rebecca, Rebecca hires a new pilot called The Barber to run Higher For Hire. The Barber flies much too low because he has a fear of heights, so he considers wearing a blindfold, which Rebecca finds a bad idea. The Barber agrees with her... because he's also afraid of the dark.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When Rebecca tells Baloo that he doesn't have enough money to buy the Sea Duck, this gives Baloo the idea to ask Shere Khan for the money.
- A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: Baloo saves Shere Khan's life and Khan owes him a debt in return. At first, Baloo asks for a few simple things, but when he realizes that Shere Khan is one of the richest and most powerful men in the world, he buys back his plane, isolates most of his friends, and eventually becomes bored with his new wealth and gifts. His endless lists of demands end up irritating Khan, who secretly arranges for Baloo to be kidnapped and held for ransom that equals the amount of all the things Baloo asked from Khan and Higher for Hire. Towards the end of the episode, Rebecca and Kit save Baloo, and Baloo's final request is to have everything back to the way it was before.
- Hard Truth Aesop: Be careful with what you promise. People might exploit the hell out of it.
- Heroic Sacrifice: A non-lethal example; Rebecca sells Higher For Hire for ransom money after Baloo is supposedly kidnapped in Shere Khan's Evil Plan.
- High-Class Glass: When Baloo becomes rich, he acquires a monocole along with his fancy suit.
- I Gave My Word: When Baloo's kidnappers ask Khan why he wouldn't let them bump Baloo off, in Khan's own words, "I always repay my debts, and I never go back on a deal."
- Ironic Fear: The Barber, the new pilot that Rebecca hires to run Higher For Hire, is afraid of heights.
- Line-of-Sight Name: Baloo asks for $50,000.00 from Khan to buy the Sea Duck back from Rebecca, and when he presents the money to Rebecca, she asks him where he got it. Since Baloo promised Khan that he wouldn't tell anyone about the rescue, Baloo sees a vacuum cleaner, and says that his Uncle Happy Hoover gave him the money.
- Noble Demon: Although Khan is merciless and occasionally ruthless, he has a strict moral code of repaying his debts, and generally acts out of business interests and monetary gain rather than For the Evulz.
- Rash Promise; Done by Khan after Baloo saves his life and he promises to repay Baloo's act under his personal code to "Always repay your debts, and never go back on a deal." Unfortunately, Baloo begins milking Khan's generosity for all it's worth and demands all sorts of exorbitant favors from Khan. Khan ends up having to manipulate events to have Baloo kidnapped so he would willingly ask Khan to return things to normal and demand no further favors.
- Rod And Reel Repurposed: When Baloo is in a speedboat headed for an oil tanker, Rebecca uses a fishing pole to catch Baloo by the fancy tuxedo he's wearing and pull him away just before he crashes.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The Barber quits working for Rebecca when she has him deliver strawberries.
- Sell What You Love: This episode has Baloo dun Shere Khan for goodies after saving the tiger's life. Nefarious thugs kidnap Baloo, and issue a ransom demand to Rebecca. The only way to generate enough cash to meet the ransom is by Rebecca selling Hire For Hire, the air cargo business she'd banked her future upon.
- Status Quo Is God: In this episode, Baloo successfully buys the Sea Duck back from Rebecca after asking Khan for the money. When Baloo is kidnapped, Rebecca sells everything he owns plus Higher For Hire for the ransom money. Baloo's final request from Khan is for everything back to the way it was, and Khan gives him the deed to Higher For Hire, which Baloo gives back to Rebecca.
- Taking Advantage of Generosity: When Baloo realizes that Shere Khan Industries is one of the richest corporations and that Khan owes him a debt for saving his life, he annoys Khan with an endless list of demands. Khan overhears Baloo over the intercom and secretly arranges for Baloo to be kidnapped.
- Technician vs. Performer: Rebecca serves as the Technician to Baloo's Performer. Rebecca is utterly naive to the piloting side of the cargo business, and is frequently a bad judge of clientele. She is however much more Book Smart and business-motivated than Baloo, leading her to mostly single-handedly overhaul his cargo business into a halfway professional management. This means Rebecca is largely the reason Baloo even has as job or the Sea Duck to fly in the first place, though as observed in this episode, Rebecca is completely incapable of running the business without Baloo as her pilot.
- You Owe Me: Inverted, and then played straight; Baloo initially balks at Khan's insistence that he owes Baloo a debt, but later decides to take advantage of the offer. Repeatedly. Khan eventually decides the debt is paid.
