Tear Jerker / TaleSpin

• The series has quite a few actually. The episodes "Her Chance To Dream", "The Old Man And The Sea Duck", "Stormy Weather", and "Plunder And Lightning" have a fair share of moving moments along with other episodes.
  • In the end of the third part of "Plunder And Lightning", seeing Kit cry when he stays with the pirates after Baloo, Rebecca, and Molly had escaped, and seeing Molly cry when Baloo takes off and flies away at the end of the episode.
    • Kit's voice over the radio when he says that "Little Britches" is calling for "Papa Bear". Even if you had no context whatsoever, you could hear his desperation for Baloo to come save him coupled with his belief that Baloo couldn't care less, and rightfully so after how hard Kit's trick broke him.
  • Another "Plunder and Lightning" example: Seeing Baloo reach his Despair Event Horizon because of these events ("I'm tired of being used!").
  • Also in "Jolly Molly Christmas", the last half of the episode where Molly finds out that "Santa Claus" is actually Louie, and runs out of his club crying. Not to mention the ending of the episode is extremely moving (see the Heartwarming Moments entry for details.)
    • This particular episode was lucky enough to have an Animation Bump that help sell its emotional moments.
• The episode "Stormy Weather" where Kit and Baloo have their argument about Kit becoming a daredevil has one of the most seriously played uses of the trope You're Not My Father used in western animation when Baloo tries to explain how dangerous his stunts are getting and Kit shouts "No, you can't tell me what to do! You're not my dad!" and jumps in his bed crying. This gets much Harsher in Hindsight when you consider that Kit's nickname for Baloo is "Papa Bear", and completely explains Baloo's heartbroken response afterward.
  • Before that, Rebecca tries to comfort Baloo who was sitting at the docks lamenting at the possibility that Kit might leave him.
• In "From Here To Machinery" when it seems Higher For Hire is going out of business, Baloo is left to explain to Molly he is leaving. Molly angrily punches at him, refusing to let him go before bursting into tears. Shortly following this, Rebecca explains she has to sell the Sea Duck to prevent becoming bankrupt. While Kit is outraged by this, Baloo, who throughout the show has been fiercely protective of his plane, merely replies with a depressed "Let it go, Lil' Britches, let it go...".
• "Her Chance To Dream" is truly heart-wrenching. In dealing with the procrastinating and slovenly Baloo, Rebecca laments the lack of excitement and culture in her life. In trying to debunk Baloo's claim that a ghost attacked Louie's, she meets Capt. William Stansbury, a debonair and enchanting sailor who sweeps her off her feet with visions of a life of romance and wonder. Baloo and Louie discover he's the ghost, but he raises the shipwreck the bar is founded on, driving it skyward before they can escape. At first convinced she's dreaming, Rebecca rebukes the guys' attempts to save her (aided by an on-board spellbook) with "You've already ruined my life, do you have to ruin my dreams too?" Once William states his intention to spirit her away for an eternity sailing the skies together, Baloo insists she think of Molly. Tearfully, she reads an incantation to free herself from William's ship, and as he bids her farewell, she bursts into more tears with only Baloo to comfort her. There were episodes of Gargoyles that weren't as heartbreaking. It helps that Sally Struthers, always on point as Rebecca, gives an absolutely fantastic performance in the final minutes.
• "The Old Man And the Sea Duck" is a real heart cruncher. Baloo gets Easy Amnesia during a dangerous flight where he gets a bad hit on the head, leading to him losing his piloting skills. Several attempts at getting him to regain his memory fails, and eventually leads to Kit attempting a "fly or fall" challenge that almost leads to disaster... until Baloo is suddenly contacted to the radio by a mysterious voice. Suddenly the storm he was caught in is gone, and Baloo is guided down to an old airfield owned by an elderly, former ace pilot named Joe Magee. Unfortunately, the air field is isolated by mountains and a caved in pass, and only a greatly skilled pilot can leave. Joe agrees to help Baloo regain his skills and Baloo soon regains his abilities and love of flying, but not his nerve, preventing him from leaving the valley through the dangerous pass. One day, Joe falls off a ladder, badly injuring his leg (though clearly faking it), forcing Baloo to fly out to find a doctor in a nearby town, and returns... only to find an abandoned airfield in ruins. Joe Magee was Dead All Along, dead well past 20 years ago. Joe had permanently damaged his leg saving the crew of a burning plane, ending his career as a pilot. Instead, he became a flying teacher, who taught the best pilots around, before eventually dying of old age. Despite this, Baloo finds a photo of him and Joe in the old hangar.
  Joe: Look around you, Baloo. You're free as a bird! The skies are yours...

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