The Tasmanian Devil,
often referred to as "Taz", is an animated
cartoon character featured in the Warner Bros. Looney
Tunes series of cartoons. The character appeared in
only five shorts before the Warner Bros animation
studio closed down, but marketing and television appearances
later propelled the character to new popularity in
the 1990s. Today Taz is one of the most recognizable
members of the Looney Tunes roster.
Creation and first appearance
Robert McKimson based the character on the real-life
Tasmanian devil of Australia, though the most noticeable
resemblance between the Australian mammal and McKimson's
creation is their ravenous appetites. Whirling like
a tornado that sounds like several motors whirring
in unison, The Devil devours everything, animate or
inanimate, and his efforts to find more food are always
a central plot device of his cartoons.
In fact, this appetite serves as the impetus for McKimson's
"Devil May Hare" (first released on June
19, 1954). In the short, the Devil stalks
Bugs
Bunny, but due to his dim wits and inability to
frame complete sentences, he serves as little more
than a nuisance. Bugs eventually gets rid of him in
the most logical way possible: matching him up with
an equally insatiable female Devil. The character's
speech, peppered with growls, screeches, and raspberries,
is provided by Mel Blanc.
After the short entered theaters, producer Edward
Selzer, head of the Warner Bros. animation studio,
ordered McKimson to shelve the character since it
was "too obnoxious". After a time with no
new Devil shorts, however, Jack Warner asked what
had happened. He then saved Taz's career when he told
Selzer that he had received "boxes and boxes"
of letters from people who liked the character.
Later shorts
McKimson would go on to direct four more Tasmanian
Devil cartoons, beginning with Bedevilled Rabbit (relased
on April 13, 1957). The she-devil returns in this
cartoon, now as Mrs Tasmanian Devil, but Taz's romantic
feelings for her prove to be his Achilles heel when
Bugs uses a sexy female-devil costume to deliver some
explosives to him. McKimson would also pair the Devil
with
Daffy
Duck in "Ducking the Devil" (August
17, 1957) before pitting him once again against Bugs
in Bill of Hare (June 9, 1962) and Doctor Devil and
Mister Hare (March 28, 1964).
Marketing and later years
After Warner Bros. closed its animation studio in
1964, the Tasmanian Devil would remain a nostalgic
favorite for many filmgoers. The character also gained
new fans when the Looney Tunes shorts entered television
syndication. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Warner
Bros. marketers seized upon this, and through their
efforts, catapulted the character, now dubbed "Taz",
to even greater popularity. Today, Taz is one of the
most recognizable Looney Tunes stars, and his image
appears on more merchandise than many more prolific
Warners characters such as Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd.
This late-blossoming popularity would pay off for
Taz in Warner Bros. television animation. For example,
his miniature understudy, Dizzy Devil, is a recurring
character in the Fox TV series, Tiny Toon Adventures,
which debuted September 14, 1990. On September 7,
1991, Taz got his own show, Taz-mania, which ran for
three seasons on Fox. The show recasts the Devil as
a dim-witted teenager (voiced by Jim Cummings) who
lives in a warped 1950s-era sitcom household. Taz
now has an angsty teen sister, a rambunctious little
brother, a June Cleaver-esque mother, and a nonchalant
father (based on Bing Crosby). On September 7, 2002,
an infant version of Taz premiered as one of the regulars
of the Baby Looney Tunes series. Most recently, he
has had guest spots in Looney Tunes: Back in Action
(2003) and on a 2004 episode of Duck Dodgers.
Learn more about
Taz
the Tasmanian Devil !
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