Taz-Mania

For the videogame, see Taz-Mania (video game). For the Australian state, see Tasmania.
Taz-Mania
Genre Animated comedy
Created by Art Vitello
Developed by Jean MacCurdy
Tom Ruegger
Presented by Warner Bros. Animation
Voices of Jim Cummings
Maurice LaMarche
Miriam Flynn
Debi Derryberry
Kellie Martin
Rob Paulsen
Theme music composer Richard Stone
Opening theme "Come to Taz-Mania" by Jess Harnell and Jim Cummings
Ending theme "Come to Taz-Mania" (Instrumental)
Composer(s) Richard Stone
Mark Watters
Don Davis
Steve Bernstein
John Given
Carl Johnson
Harvey Cohen
Jerry Grant
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 65 (102 segments)
Production
Executive producer(s) Jean MacCurdy
Tom Ruegger
Producer(s) Art Vitello
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Warner Bros. Animation
Distributor Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network Fox (Fox Kids)
Original release September 7, 1991 (1991-09-07) – May 22, 1995 (1995-05-22)

Taz-Mania is an American cartoon sitcom produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 1991 to 1995, broadcast in the United States on Fox. The show follows the adventures of the Looney Tunes character Taz (The Tasmanian Devil) in the fictional land of Tazmania (based on Tasmania).[1]

Similar to other Warner Brothers cartoons of its time, such as Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures, Taz-Mania frequently broke the fourth wall, and often made jokes showing that Taz could actually speak perfectly normally when he wanted to. The intro indicates that, in this rendering of Tasmania, "the sky's always yellow, rain or shine". The title song is performed by Jess Harnell and Jim Cummings.

Characters

The Tazmanian Devil family

Hotel Tazmania staff

Outback characters

Minor characters

Looney Tunes characters

Episodes

Episodes are copyright 1991 (1-14), 1992 (15-47), or 1993 (48-65); note that this does not always correspond with when they originally aired.

No. Title Director(s) Writer(s) Production Code Original airdate
1"The Dog the Turtle Story"Douglas McCarthyBill Kopp406-401September 7, 1991 (1991-09-07)
Taz rescues a turtle, which acts like a dog, from a trap and adopts him as a pet, but then he and him visit his outback family and they all rescue Taz from Bull Gator and Axl.
2"Like Father, Like Son; Frights of Passage"Keith BaxterMark Saraceni, Art Vitello, Keith Baxter, Bill Kopp406-402September 14, 1991 (1991-09-14)
Hugh takes Taz out for a father-son bonding experience./Francis X. Bushlad of the Mudpeople sets out to hunt a Tasmanian Devil as his proof of manhood.
3"War & Pieces; Airbourne Airhead"Lenord RobinsonMark Saraceni406-403September 21, 1991 (1991-09-21)
Taz and his younger siblings Molly and Jake are left to run the house while their parents visit Grandma./With help from the Platypus Brothers Daniel and Timothy, Taz attempts to climb Pointy Peak and obtain giant bird eggs with which to make a Taz-sized omelet.
4"It's No Picnic; Kee-Wee ala King"Greg Duffell, Gary HartleMark Saraceni, Art Vitello, Henry T. Gilroy406-404September 28, 1991 (1991-09-28)
The Tasmanian Devil family head out on a picnic, unaware that Bull Gator and Axl are looking to capture all of them./Taz and Buddy Boar go hunting for a Kee-Wee Bird, which quickly turns into disaster for the pair.
5"A Devil of a Job"Douglas McCarthyGordon Kent406-405October 5, 1991 (1991-10-05)
Taz gets a job at the Hotel Tazmania to earn the money for a motorcycle.
6"Battling Bushrats; Devil in the Deep Blue Sea"Keith BaxterBill Kopp, Chris Otsuki, Art Vitello406-406October 12, 1991 (1991-10-12)
Taz must protect his mom's turkey dinner from both the Bushrats and an army of ants./Despite his hatred of water, Taz is manipulated by Digeri Dingo to scuba-dive into the ocean and find a sunken treasure.
7"Woeful Wolf"Lenord RobinsonGordon Kent406-407October 19, 1991 (1991-10-19)
The neurotic Wendal T. Wolf looks to Taz for friendship, but Taz just finds him as an annoying and needy pest.
8"Devil with the Violet Dress On; Kidnapped Koala"Gary HartleGordon Kent, Mark Saraceni406-408October 26, 1991 (1991-10-26)
Jean insists on spending the day with her son Taz, for better or for worse./Bull Gator and Axl attempts to capture Constance Koala.
9"Mishap in the Mist; Toothache Taz"Keith Baxter, Douglas McCarthyBill Kopp, Art Vitello406-409November 2, 1991 (1991-11-02)
A woman studies the Tasmanian Devil family in its natural habitat./Taz gets a toothache and turns to the Platypus Brothers for help, but their cures end up being worse than the toothache by itself.
10"Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty; Enter the Devil"Keith Baxter, Art VitelloChris Otsuki, Keith Baxter, Art Vitello406-410November 9, 1991 (1991-11-09)
Molly gets a cute cat for a pet, but this new addition to the family quickly becomes Taz's worst nightmare that he tries to get rid of./Mr. Thickley trains Taz to be a kung-fu master.
11"Bewitched Bob"Lenord RobinsonGordon Kent406-411November 16, 1991 (1991-11-16)
A new visitor to the Hotel Tazmania has Bushwhacker Bob wrapped around her finger.
12"Instant Replay; Taz and the Pterodactyl"Jon McClenahanHenry T. Gilroy, Art Vitello, Chris Otsuki406-412November 23, 1991 (1991-11-23)
Bull Gator and Axl film their exploits in order to learn the best way to capture Taz./Taz meets a living Pterodactyl and is taken on a flight across the Outback.
13"Pup Goes the Wendal; I'm Okay, You're Taz"Douglas McCarthyGordon Kent, Art Vitello, Mark Saraceni406-413November 30, 1991 (1991-11-30)
Wendal Wolf kicks Dog the Turtle out of Taz's house and inserts himself as the new family pet./Buddy Boar tries to improve Taz's personality.
14"Comic Madness; Blunders Never Cease"Keith BaxterHenry Gilroy; Art Vitello; Bill Kopp406-414December 7, 1991 (1991-12-07)
The family is worried that Taz is spending too much time with his comic books./Francis resorts to taking tribal potions in his quest to capture Taz.
15"Amazing Shrinking Taz & Co."Keith BaxterBill Kopp, Art Vitello406-418September 5, 1992 (1992-09-05)
The latest invention of the Platypus Brothers shrinks Taz, Bull Gator, and Axl to microscopic size.
16"Oh, Brother; Taz-Babies"Lenord RobinsonHenry Gilroy, Mark Saraceni, Art Vitello406-419September 12, 1992 (1992-09-12)
A giant gorilla is goaded by his little brother to attack Jake, but Taz does not take his attacks lightly./Taz-Mania is presented to the network vice-president, who has his own ideas on what Taz's show should be like.
17"Jake's Big Date; Taz Live"Douglas McCarthyHenry Gilroy, Mark Saraceni, Art Vitello406-421September 19, 1992 (1992-09-19)
Jake is set up on a play-date with his friend Heather./When Hotel Tazmania is unable to deliver with its scheduled comedy act, Taz and his friends stall for time with their own acts.
18"A Midsummer Night's Scream; Astro Taz"Douglas McCarthyMark Zaslove, Art Vitello, Mark Saraceni406-434September 26, 1992 (1992-09-26)
Lost in the mountains, Taz and Bushwhacker Bob are forced to spend the night in a creepy motel./Taz mistakes a space shuttle for an arcade game.
19"Tazmanian Lullaby; Deer Taz; A Taz-Manian Moment"Keith Baxter, Art VitelloKeith Baxter, Chris Otsuki, Art Vitello406-437October 3, 1992 (1992-10-03)
Francis discovers Taz's love of accordion music and uses it to capture him./Taz must compete with other predators over an adorable baby deer that he can't bring himself to eat./In an "unused" scene from Ticket Taker Taz, Molly uses her paddleball to scam Taz out of the concert tickets.
20"The Outer Taz-Manian Zone; Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Part 2"Keith BaxterChris Otsuki, Gordon Kent, Art Vitello406-422October 10, 1992 (1992-10-10)
Taz and Molly switch bodies after an argument over their personal lives./Molly's cat returns, and the feline wastes no time in terrorizing Taz out of revenge.
21"Taz-Mania's Funniest Home Videos; Bottle Cap Blues"Lenord RobinsonBill Kopp, Henry Gilroy, Art Vitello406-423October 17, 1992 (1992-10-17)
To win a trip to the Bora Bora Islands, Taz attempts to film some candid videos of his family./Taz and Dingo pursue a Kee-Wee Bird for the rare bottle cap it's carrying.
22"Hypnotazed; Mum's n' Taz's"Douglas McCarthy, Jon McClenahanHenry Gilroy, Gordon Kent, Art Vitello406-438October 24, 1992 (1992-10-24)
Bull Gator accidentally hypnotizes himself into thinking he's a Tasmanian Devil./Taz and Mum get trapped in an abandoned mine shaft.
23"Boys Just Wanna Have Fun; Unhappy Together"Douglas McCarthyMark Saraceni, Gordon Kent, Art Vitello406-417October 31, 1992 (1992-10-31)
With Jean and Molly out at a swim meet, Hugh, Taz, and Jake have a guys' night at home./Taz's presence ends up driving a wedge between the Platypus Brothers's relationship.
24"Food for Thought; Gone to Pieces"Keith BaxterGordon Kent, Chris Otsuki, Art Vitello406-433November 7, 1992 (1992-11-07)
Taz attempts to cross a piranha-filled lake in order to grab an egg for lunch./Taz's game of bottlecap tiddlywinks ends up breaking his mother's valuable vase. He now tries to hide the accident from Mom.
25"Kee-Wee Cornered; But Is It Taz?"Lenord RobinsonGordon Kent, Art Vitello, Bill Kopp406-439November 14, 1992 (1992-11-14)
Fed up with Taz eating all of her pet birds, Molly goes out and gets a Kee-Wee Bird./Taz quits the show out of anger for all of the abuse he takes every episode and gets a fast-food job instead.
26"Mall Wrecked; A Dingo's Guide to Magic"Lenord RobinsonHenry Gilroy, Mark Saraceni, Art Vitello406-415November 21, 1992 (1992-11-21)
When the car breaks down, Taz, Jean, and Molly are left stranded in an empty mall parking lot./Dingo uses a magic kit to trick the gullible Taz out of a giant gold nugget he's found.
27"The Man from M.A.R.S.; Friends for Strife"Doug McCarthyBill Kopp, Art Vitello, Sindy McKay406-442November 28, 1992 (1992-11-28)
After hearing a scary sci-fi program on the radio, Taz attacks a vacationing Marvin the Martian out of fear that he wants to conquer the Earth./Dingo shares with Taz all of the adventures they've shared since they first met.
28"Wacky Wombat; Molly's Folly"Gary HartleSindy McKay, Mark Zaslove, Art Vitello406-440September 4, 1993 (1993-09-04)
Willie Wombat is cast as Taz's foil in a semi-parody of the original Taz cartoons./Taz gets roped into taking ballet classes with Molly.
29"A Flea for Me; A Young Taz's Fancy"Keith BaxterChris Otsuki, Art Vitello, Keith Baxter406-445September 11, 1993 (1993-09-11)
Taz gets an unwelcome guest in his fur: a flea, which he tries to get rid of./Taz falls for a Tasmanian She-Devil, but is unaware that it's really Francis in disguise.
30"Never Cry Taz; Bully for Bull"Lenord RobinsonBill Kopp, Art Vitello406-451September 18, 1993 (1993-09-18)
The Platypus Brothers find the entrance to a new world in their attic during Spring Cleaning./Bull Gator falls into depression over his constant failures, leaving Axl to try and cheer him up.
31"Of Bushrats and Hugh"Doug McCarthyHenry Gilroy, Art Vitello406-450September 25, 1993 (1993-09-25)
Taz and Hugh protect their precious orange tree from a hoard of hungry Bushrats.
32"Merit Badgered"Lenord RobinsonHenry Gilroy, Art Vitello406-443October 2, 1993 (1993-10-02)
Taz accompanies Jake on a camping trip.
33"Devil Indemnity"Gary HartleGordon Kent, Art Vitello406-460October 16, 1993 (1993-10-16)
Taz is at home and stuck in a full-body cast. While he struggles to answer the phone and win a TV contest, Jean fills in for his bellhop job at Hotel Tazmania and struggles with Bushwhacker Bob's abuse.
34"Willie Wombat's Deja Boo-Boo; To Catch a Taz"Lenord RobinsonSindy McKay, Art Vitello, Gordon Kent406-455October 23, 1993 (1993-10-23)
Willie Wombat tries to get roles in other cartoons, but cannot escape being typecasted as Taz's foil./Taz is framed for the consumption of a birthday cake, and Wendal T. Wolf is the police officer determined to catch him.
35"The Thing that Ate the Outback; Because It's There"Keith BaxterChris Otsuki, Art Vitello, Mark Zaslove406-449October 30, 1993 (1993-10-30)
Taz creates a blob monster with his new chemistry set: one that just keeps eating and growing./Taz and Dingo attempt to climb a mountain.
36"Antenna Dilemma; Autograph Pound"Gary HartleGordon Kent, Art Vitello, Sindy McKay406-444November 6, 1993 (1993-11-06)
Taz visits the Platypus Brothers from some TV time when a thunderstorm cuts his cable./Constance is smitten with a wrestling champion staying at the hotel, but Taz is simply terrorized.
37"Taz and the Emu Egg; Willy Wombat's Last Stand; K-Taz Commercial"Keith BaxterChris Otsuki, Art Vitello, Sindy McKay406-461November 13, 1993 (1993-11-13)
Taz hunts a surprisingly-swift unhatched emu egg./Finally fed up with his typecasting, Willie Wombat takes his case to the network itself./Taz's "unique" singing talents are advertised as part of a CD collection.
38"Doubting Dingo; Sub Commander Taz"Gary HartleHenry T. Gilroy, Art Vitello, Alan Katz406-464November 20, 1993 (1993-11-20)
Dingo suspects that Taz is plotting to get rid of him./Taz places a mail-order for a submarine, but the wait for its arrival tests his patience.
39"Feed a Cold; Sidekick for a Day"Doug McCarthyHenry Gilroy, Art Vitello406-462November 27, 1993 (1993-11-27)
Taz is sick with a cold, and his sneezes become overwhelmingly powerful. However, the Platypus Brothers suffer the abuse of his illness even more when they try to find a cure for it./Bull Gator fires Axl and hires Taz as his new sidekick.
40"No Time for Christmas"Doug McCarthyMark Zaslove, Art Vitello406-446December 25, 1993 (1993-12-25)
With everybody in Tazmania getting ready for Christmas, Taz makes a trip across the Outback to deliver gifts to his friends.
41"Road to Tazmania"Gary HartleMark Saraceni406-416September 13, 1994 (1994-09-13)
Taz's Uncle Drew comes to visit, and he and Hugh take Taz along on a trip to pick up some orange juice. However, only Taz seems to notice the spies that apparently want the OJ they bought.
42"Taz-Manian Theatre; The Bushrats Must Be Crazy"Gary HartleGordon Kent, Art Vitello, Bill Kopp406-420September 14, 1994 (1994-09-14)
Taz and Wendal are stranded on a desert island in Mr. Thickley's thrilling tale of Taz-Manian Theatre./The Bushrats embark on a journey to retrieve their idol of worship: Jake's rubber duck.
43"Return of the Road to Taz-Mania Strikes Back"Keith BaxterMark Saraceni, Art Vitello406-426September 15, 1994 (1994-09-15)
With Taz as their caddy, Hugh and Uncle Drew head out to the golf course to play against a pair of old golfing rivals, whose own caddy is another sneaky spy that's out to get them.
44"Taz Like Dingo"Lenord RobinsonHenry Gilroy, Art Vitello406-427September 16, 1994 (1994-09-16)
Digeri Dingo finds a lamp that holds a genie. With his first wish, Dingo wishes for Taz to like him, no matter what, but this turns out to be a bad idea later.
45"The Pied Piper of Taz-Mania; The Treasure of the Burnt Sienna"Gary HartleMark Saraceni, Gordon Kent406-428September 19, 1994 (1994-09-19)
Hotel Tazmania faces a Bushrat infestation./Bushwhacker Bob drags Taz on a treasure hunt.
46"Not a Shadow of a Doubt; Nursemaid Taz"Keith BaxterChris Otsuki, Art Vitello, Sindy McKay406-429September 20, 1994 (1994-09-20)
Taz's shadow comes to life for a day./Dingo fakes a broken leg to get sympathy (and free food) from Taz and his family.
47"Home Despair; Take All of Me"Doug McCarthyBill Kopp, Gordon Kent, Mark Saraceni, Earl Kress406-430September 21, 1994 (1994-09-21)
Taz gets the Platypus Brothers to repair the house, but they only make things worse./Wendal pesters Bull Gator and Axl into capturing him so that he can relish the zoo life.
48"Bird-Brained Beast; Ready, Willing, Unable"Lenord RobinsonHenry Gilroy, Bruce Morris406-431September 22, 1994 (1994-09-22)
Taz and the Platypus Brothers hit the road to catch a Kee-Wee Bird./Unaware of their true goal to capture Taz, Mr. Thickley lends his advice to Bull Gator and Axl.
49"We'll Always Have Taz-Mania; Moments You've Missed"Gary HartleHenry Gilroy, Art Vitello, Bill Kopp, Mark Saraceni406-432September 23, 1994 (1994-09-23)
With the TV broken, Hugh and Jean entertains the kids with the story of how they first met./Bull Gator and Axl host a show featuring "removed" segments from previous episodes.
50"Sidekicked; Gone with the Windbag"Douglas McCarthyMark Saraceni, Art Vitello, Bill Kopp, Gordon Kent406-425November 7, 1994 (1994-11-07)
Axl is force to hunt Taz on his own when Bull Gator leaves for the Tazmania Hula-Hooping Championship Finals./Hotel critic F.H. Leghorn has come to the Hotel Tazmania, and Bushwhacker Bob is determined to get a passing review from him.
51"Driving Mr. Taz; Mean Bear; Taz Museum"Lenord RobinsonGordon Kent, Bill Kopp, Art Vitello406-435November 8, 1994 (1994-11-08)
Taz is taken out for a driving lesson./The Bushrats call upon Taz to defeat a cruel bear./The show advertises the Boulder Museum.
52"Ticket Taker Taz; Taz2"Gary HartleSindy McKay, Mark Zaslove406-436November 14, 1994 (1994-11-14)
Taz wins a pair of concert tickets, which Molly wants to relieve him of./The Platypus Brothers develop a cloning machine and use it on Taz, creating an army of Tasmanian Devils that are all hungry for platypus.
53"Mutton for Nothing; Dr. Wendal and Mr. Taz"Keith BaxterChris Otsuki, Art Vitello, Keith Baxter406-441November 15, 1994 (1994-11-15)
Taz arrives at the sheep meadow to fill in for Ralph Wolf, where Sam Sheepdog performs his usual predator-pounding job on him./Wendal Wolf mistakes a gamma-radiation chamber for a tanning booth, causing him to transform into a violent monster whenever Taz gets him upset.
54"Taz-Mania Confidential; The Platypi Psonic Psensation Psimulator"Lenord RobinsonAlan Katz, Art Vitello, Sindy McKay406-447November 21, 1994 (1994-11-21)
A film crew has arrived to expose every humiliating detail of the Tasmanian Devil family, even those that they make up./The Platypus Brothers use their new invention to probe Taz's memories for "unused" episode segments.
55"The Not-So-Gladiators; One Ring Taz"Gary HartleGordon Kent, Art Vitello, Sindy McKay406-448November 22, 1994 (1994-11-22)
Taz and Jean go on "Grub Gladiators" (a food-themed spoof of American Gladiators)./Taz wants to join the circus, so Mr. Thickley "helps" him find an act.
56"Retakes Not Included; Pledge Dredge"Gary HartleSindy McKay, Art Vitello, Gordon Kent406-452February 6, 1995 (1995-02-06)
The latest episode is filled with animation errors, and director Buddy Boar doesn't seem to grasp the concept of retakes./Mr. Thickley hosts a telethon to raise money for the show.
57"Bushlad's Lament; Taz-Mania Comedy Institute"Keith BaxterKeith Baxter406-453February 13, 1995 (1995-02-13)
An elderly Francis, still having not achieved his manhood, is forced to pursue an equally-elderly Taz./A documentary on 16-ton weights is featured.
58"Heartbreak Taz; Just Be 'Cuz"Gary HartleGordon Kent, Bill Kopp406-424February 14, 1995 (1995-02-14)
Constance Koala develops a very one-sided infatuation with Taz./Francis is stuck watching his little cousin Edgar, so he takes him along on his hunt for Taz.
59"The Taz Story Primer; Ask Taz"Douglas McCarthyAlan Katz, Art Vitello, Mark Zaslove406-454February 20, 1995 (1995-02-20)
Molly is called on by the network to provide the plot for the week's episode./Everybody seems to find great wisdom in Taz's frequent line of "Taz hate water", so Bushwhacker Bob exploits it as a way to make money.
60"It's a Taz's Life; Gee Bull!"Gary HartleGordon Kent, Art Vitello; Mark Zaslove406-456February 27, 1995 (1995-02-27)
Taz gets chosen by a TV host to have his life examined in retrospect./Bull Gator resorts to extreme teaching methods in order to knock some sense into Axl.
61"Taz in Keeweeland; Stuck for Bucks; A Philosophical Taz Moment"Keith BaxterChris Otsuki, Art Vitello406-457May 1, 1995 (1995-05-01)
Taz finds himself in a world filled with Kee-Wee birds, though it proves more dangerous than it looks./The need for immediate funds brings Taz into battle with his seemingly-indestructible piggy bank./Taz contemplates nature and his enslavement for food.
62"The Origin of the Beginning of the Incredible Taz-Man; Francis Takes a Stand"Keith BaxterKeith Baxter, Henry T. Gilroy, Chris Otsuki406-465May 2, 1995 (1995-05-02)
Taz takes advice from Mr. Thickley on how to become a real-life superhero./Taz and Francis set up competing lemonade stands in hopes of making big money.
63"Yet Another Road to Taz-Mania"Douglas McCarthyHenry Gilroy, Art Vitello406-458May 8, 1995 (1995-05-08)
Once more, Taz is stuck on a road trip with Hugh and Uncle Drew. This time, they're going bowling, and the spies are after their new bowling ball.
64"Bad Luck Bottlecap; A Story with a Moral"Lenord RobinsonSindy McKay, Art Vitello, Alan Katz406-459May 15, 1995 (1995-05-15)
Dingo tries to get rid of a cursed bottlecap by passing it on to Taz, but his attempts continue to backfire./An injured Taz is being nursed back to health by an overbearing (and clumsy) Scotsman.
65"One Saturday in Taz-Mania; Platypi on Film"Lenord RobinsonSindy McKay, Art Vitello, Mark Zaslove406-463May 22, 1995 (1995-05-22)
Taz's lazy Saturday is continuously interrupted by Jake./The Platypus Brothers critique their favorite movies (all of them Taz-themed parodies of famous films).

Video games

Five video games based on the show were made, two by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear and three by Sunsoft consisting in one for the SNES and two for the Game Boy.

Home media release

Three VHS tapes were released in 1993.

A DVD containing the first four episodes of the series was released in Europe in April 2010, whilst later released in the UK in 2011 under the title "Taz and Friends" as part of the Kids' WB "Big Faces" series.

On May 14, 2013 Warner Home Video released Taz Mania - Season 1, Part 1: Taz on the Loose on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.[2] Season 1, Part 2 was released on August 6, 2013.[3]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete Season 1 13 May 14, 2013
The Complete Season 2 13 August 6, 2013
The Complete Season 3 13 TBA
The Complete Season 4 26 TBA

Other appearances

In the Duck Dodgers episode "M.M.O.R.P.D.", one of the forms that Duck Dodgers turns himself into Axl. In this brief appearance, Axl's vocal effects are reprised by Rob Paulsen. Taz himself appears with Duck Dodgers in the episode "Deathmatch Duck".

References

External links

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