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 Warner Bros Animation closed down in 1963, 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. The most noticeable resemblance between the Australian marsupial and McKimson's creation is their ravenous appetites and crazed behavior. Although the Tasmanian Devil's appearance does not exactly resemble the real marsupial, it instead contains multilayered references to other "devils"; he has horn-shaped 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 hungry and devours everything, animate or inanimate. 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. Only occasionally would Taz actually speak, usually to utter some incongruous punchline, (eg. "What for you bury me in the cold, cold ground?") and yet is capable of writing and reading.
After the short entered theaters, producer Eddie 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 Bedeviled Rabbit (released 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 Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (March 28, 1964). His final appearance done by the classic Warner Brothers directors, writers, and voice actors was 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.
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 broadcast 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.
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. Taz himself appeared on several episodes of the show, where he was voiced by Mel Blanc's son, Noel.
Then 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). In the 1996 film Space Jam, Taz was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
Taz also made a cameo in 1995's The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, in the second season's The Scare Up There (November 2, 1996).
Taz was seen endorsing the "Mega Meal" in 1994 in a commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken, which was a large meal intended to feed several. Taz's animation is shown in conjunction with a live-action KFC restaurant, where Taz says "Taz like Mega Meal", and proceeds to wolf it down in his infamous messy and devil-may-care manner. A narrator says it is "big enough to feed your whole family....or one Tazmanian devil". For some time with a purchase of the Mega Meal, KFC would give out promotional mugs featuring Taz and other Looney Tunes characters.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Taz was used extensively in Chevrolet Monte Carlo advertisements featuring the late Dale Earnhardt, intended to show the dual nature of the personal sports coupe. The ads used the tagline - "The side you show the world is up to you."
In a Subway commercial advertising the year 2000 with party subs featured the Looney Tunes characters, when they were about to eat, Taz ended up eating the whole thing we then find out Daffy had hidden a piece and Taz snatches it from him, the toys also featured Looney Tunes character keychains.
On September 7, 2002, an infant version of Taz appeared as one of the regulars of the Baby Looney Tunes series. The infant version of him was voiced by Ian James Corlett. Most recently, he has had guest spots in Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) (where he was voiced by the main actor in the movie, Brendan Fraser) as part of the ACME team and two episodes of Duck Dodgers. In addition, the Histeria! portrayal of Attila the Hun is directly based on Taz.
The character of Slam Tasmanian on Loonatics Unleashed, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, is portrayed as a descendent of Taz. His surname is unique among Warner Bros. Tasmanian Devil characters, who generally adopt the "Devil" part of Taz's name.
A brief clip from a Taz cartoon appeared prior to the opening credits of the movie Twister. The clip was also seen on the VHS release of the movie, but it was cut out when the DVD was released.
Taz also had his own chocolate bar in the UK, It was a caramel version of the Cadbury's 10p Freddo Frog bar.
Relationship with the Tasmanian Government
After much lobbying from the Tasmanian state government in Australia, Warner Bros. decided to assist the fight against extinction of the Tasmanian Devil due to Devil Facial Tumour Disease.
Tasmanian Environment Minister Judy Jackson, prior to the company's support, 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. allows the Tasmanian Government to manufacture and sell up to 5000 special edition Taz plush toys with all profit going towards funding scientific research into the Devil Facial Tumour Disease.[1][2] The deal also aims to increase public attention towards the threatening disease.
The Tasmanian Government and Warner Bros. have previously disputed the government's right to use the character as a tourism promotion, which Warner Bros. offered if they paid for it. The government refused this offer.[citation needed]
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