Ralph Throgmorton

Ralph Throgmorton, known to his students as Ralph "Love to Flunk 'Em" Throgmorton, was a short, bespectacled nutria who, during Baloo's teenage years, was his Driver's Ed teacher. One of Throgmorton's defining traits was his obsession with doing almost every alphabetically, and insisting that everyone around him, including his own family, do so as well. When Baloo, confused by Throgmorton's alphabetical checklists, crashed Throgmorton's car into a fire hydrant, an enraged Throgmorton flunked him.

Years later, as the aviation industry boomed and became Cape Suzette's primary means of import and export, Throgmorton stepped up from being a Driver's Ed instructor to being a "Pilot's Ed" instructor. Baloo, whose pilot's license had expired, had to take a test to get it renewed, much to his horror he got Throgmorton as his instructor. Initially, Throgmorton didn't recognize Baloo. That is, until Baloo once more became confused by Throgmorton's alphabetic jargon. Throgmorton flunked Baloo for the second time in his life.

Over the next few days, Throgmorton and his bratty, likeminded granddaughter Kathy made Baloo's life a living hell: Through a series of odd coincidences Baloo kept running into them, and after he failed to meet their impossibly high alphabetical standards, they ensured that he was fired from a variety of jobs he'd applied for, including a pump jockey at a gas station and an elevator operator in a department store.

Ultimately, Baloo demanded that Throgmorton test him again. Throgmorton, a decent individual deep down, agreed to give Baloo one last chance. Following an engine failure they crashlanded on a desert island being used as a hideout by Don Karnage and the Sky Pirates (who, in a completely unrelated series of events, were involved in a deal with Shere Khan to purposefully create a gas shortage by hijacking oil tankers). When Baloo saved Throgmorton from the pirates, the old instructor was so grateful he passed Baloo and renewed his license for him.