Taz (Looney Tunes)

Tazmanian Devil
Looney Tunes character
First appearance Devil May Hare (1954)
Created by Robert McKimson
Voiced by Mel Blanc (1954–1989)
Jim Cummings (1991–present)
Dee Bradley Baker (1996; Space Jam)
Ian James Corlett (2001–2006; Baby Looney Tunes)
Brendan Fraser (2003; Looney Tunes: Back In Action)
Information
Species Tasmanian Devil
Gender Male
Relatives Hugh Tasmanian Devil (father)
Jean Tasmanian Devil (mother)
Molly Tasmanian Devil (sister)
Jake Tasmanian Devil (brother)
Drew Tasmanian Devil (uncle)
Tasmanian She-Devil (wife)
Unnamed wife
Unnamed son
Slam Tasmanian (descendant)
Nationality Tasmanian

The Tasmanian Devil, commonly referred to as Taz, is an animated cartoon character featured in the Warner Bros. "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" series of cartoons. Though the character appeared in only five shorts before Warner Bros. Cartoons closed down in 1964, marketing and television appearances later propelled the character to new popularity in the 1990s.

Personality

Taz is generally portrayed as a ferocious, albeit dim-witted, omnivore with a notoriously short temper and little patience. His enormous appetite seems to know no bounds, as he will eat anything in his path. He is best known for his speech consisting mostly of grunts, growls, and rasps (in his earlier appearances, he does speak English with primitive grammar) as well as his ability to spin like a vortex and bite through nearly anything.[1] Taz does have one weakness: he can be calmed by almost any music. While in this calm state, he can be easily dealt with.[2]

In 1991, Taz got his own show, Taz-Mania, which ran for four seasons, in which Taz was the protagonist.[3]

Creation

Robert McKimson based the character on the real-life Tasmanian devil, or more specifically its carnivorous nature, voracious appetite, and surly disposition. Owen and Pemberton suggest that the character of the Tasmanian Devil was inspired by Errol Flynn.[4]:153 The most noticeable resemblance between the Australian marsupial and McKimson's creation is their ravenous appetites and crazed behavior. Although the bipedal Tasmanian Devil's appearance does not resemble its marsupial inspiration, it contains multilayered references to other "devils": he has horn-shaped tufts of fur on his head (similar to the Devil's appearance) and whirls about like a dust devil (similar in appearance to a tornado) which sounds like several motors whirring in unison. Taz is constantly ravenously hungry. His efforts to find more food (animate or inanimate) are always a central plot device of his cartoons.

Appearances

In fact, this appetite serves as the impetus for McKimson's Devil May Hare (first released on June 19, 1954). In the short, Taz stalks Bugs Bunny, but due to his dimwittedness 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 Tasmanian Devil. The character's speech, a deep, gravelly voice peppered with growls, screeches, and raspberries, is provided by Mel Blanc. Only occasionally would Taz actually speak, usually to utter some incongruous punchline, (e.g. "What for you bury me in the cold, cold ground?") and yet the character is capable of writing and reading. A running gag is that when Bugs Bunny hears of the approach of "Taz" and looks him up in an encyclopedia and starts reading off a list of animals that "Taz" eats; Bugs finds "rabbits" not listed until "Taz" enters and either points out that "rabbits" are listed or writes rabbits on the list.

After the film short debuted at theaters, producer Edward Selzer, head of the Warner Bros. animation studio, ordered McKimson to shelve the character, feeling that it was too violent for children, and that parents would dislike this.[4]:157 After a time with no new Taz shorts, studio head Jack L. Warner asked what had happened to the character. Warner saved Taz' career when he told Selzer that he had received "boxes and boxes" of letters from people who liked the character and wanted to see more of him.

McKimson would go on to direct four more Taz cartoons, beginning with Bedevilled Rabbit (released on April 13, 1957). 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 Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (March 28, 1964). His last two appearances done by the classic Warner Brothers directors, writers, and voice actors were in Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales appearing in The Fright Before Christmas segment and at the very end eating the sleigh full of presents.

Later appearances

Taz appeared in the 1983 movie Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island as Yosemite Sam's first mate.

Taz appeared in "The Looney Tunes Show" episode "Devil Dog" voiced by Jim Cummings. In the show, he is portrayed walking on four legs like a real Tasmanian devil and his eyes are bloodshot red (later turned yellow when Bugs uses a taming trick that Speedy Gonzales taught him). Initially, Bugs believed Taz to be a dog and kept him as a house pet much to his roommate Daffy Duck's discomfort. Eventually, Bugs learned the truth and tried to return him to his home in Tasmania, only to find out that Taz would rather live with him, naming him "Poochie". Taz subsequently appears in the following episodes "The Foghorn Leghorn Story", "Newspaper Thief", and "Bugs and Daffy Get A Job". Taz later played a major part in "Ridiculous Journey" where he, Sylvester (who Taz tried to eat), and Tweety end up accidentally sent to Alaska by Yosemite Sam. The three of them work to get home while encountering other characters and avoiding tracker Blacque Jacque Shellacque. Eventually, they make it home when it turned out that Blacque was hired by Yosemite Sam to retrieve the three on behalf of Bugs and Granny.

Taz appeared in the new series Wabbit as Theodore Tasmanian, an accountant at Chesterfield Consultants who tries to repress his vicious side. Unlike most versions of the character, he speaks more coherently. He is also married and has a kid.

Home video

All five of the original Taz cartoons are included in Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1 as is "The Fright Before Christmas".

In popular culture

The character's first video game outing was in a title from the later days of the Atari 2600, in a 1983 release entitled "Taz". The 1990s saw a return of the character to video games in Taz-Mania and its semi-sequel Taz in Escape from Mars. Both titles appeared on the Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System & Game Gear systems. There were other Taz-Mania games released on the Nintendo SNES and Game Boy systems. He also costarred in the PlayStation/PC game Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters, and in 2002's Taz: Wanted on PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox and PC. He also appeared in the video games The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2, The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout, Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal, Looney Tunes: Space Race, Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3, Bugs Bunny in Crazy Castle 4, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

In the late 1990's to early 2000's, when Chevrolet used the Looney Tunes as part of their NASCAR campaign, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo racing teams were referenced as Team Monte Carlo, with the Tasmanian Devil as the mascot.

Taz appeared in a 2014 GEICO commercial, where he drinks a "certain energy drink" and goes on a rampage.

Lawsuits

In 1997, a newspaper report noted that Warner Bros had "trademarked the character and registered the name Tasmanian Devil", and that this trademark "was policed", including an eight-year legal battle to allow a Tasmanian company to call its fishing lure the "Tasmanian Devil". Debate followed, and a delegation from the Tasmanian state government met with Warner Bros.[4]:161–164 Ray Groom, the Tourism Minister, later announced that a "verbal agreement" had been reached. An annual fee would be paid to Warner Bros in return for the Government of Tasmania being able to use the image of Taz for "marketing purposes". This agreement later lapsed.[4]:167–169

In 1997, the Tasmanian government and Warner Bros. disputed the government's right to use the character as a tourism promotion, which was offered only if a fee was paid. The government refused to pay a fee to Warner Bros.[5]

In 2006, after much lobbying from the Tasmanian government, Warner Bros decided to assist the fight against extinction of the Tasmanian Devil due to devil facial tumour disease (DFTD).[5] Tasmanian Environment Minister Judy Jackson, prior to the agreement, had heavily criticised Warner Bros., stating that the company had made millions of dollars from the character, but did not put up any money when other companies had.

The deal with Warner Bros allowed the Tasmanian government to manufacture and sell up to 5,000 special edition Taz plush toys, with all profit going towards funding scientific research into DFTD.[6][7] The deal also aimed to increase public attention towards the threatening disease.

Notes

  1. ↑ Warner Bros – The Lineup – Taz – retrieved December 23, 2012
  2. ↑ Warner Bros. "Merrie Melody," Ducking the Devil, 1957.
  3. ↑ Trusdell, Brian (May 28, 1995). "Focus : Warner's Toon Factory for the '90s". The Los Angeles Times (USA). Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Owen, David; Pemberton, David (2005). Tasmanian Devil: A unique and threatened animal. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74114-368-3. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Warner Bros to help save Tassie devils". The Sydney Morning Herald. June 20, 2006.
  6. ↑ "Taz Lends a Hand to his Devil Mates". Tourism Tasmania. 2006-06-21. Archived from the original on 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2006-08-14.
  7. ↑ "Warner joins the Fight". The Mercury. 2006-06-20. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved 2006-08-14.

References

External links

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