This page...Tazmaniacs...is dedicated to the much loved Warner Bros® animated cartoon known to all simply as Taz. Directed by Robert  McKimson, Taz first starred with Bugs Bunny in "Devil May Hare" in 1954. Mel Blanc was hired to do the voice of Taz, since there is no real known sound for a Tasmanian Devil, Mel developed his own style for Taz, the  sounds and voice that would bring the true Taz character to life. 

The Definitive Inimitable

Taz wins hearts and minds and is one of the most heavily merchandised characters from the Warner Bros studios, from mugs, pens, doormats, t-shirts, plastic models, watches, lampshades and well anything else.

The 1990's  television series ' Taz mania ' was the characters best over-exposure, first run on the Fox network. Taz was never regularly seen in Warner Bros classic cartoons and only five actual cartoons in the Warner Bros classic era were ever produced with a sixth short cartoon produced in 1979 for Bugs Bunny's Christmas tales. Taz was Yosemite Sam's stooge in the 1983 production ' Daffy Ducks Fantastic Island ' and also made a few diminutive appearances along side Bugs Bunny in the Bugs Bunny show in 1960-62.

With only a few relative appearances why did Taz become so popular ?

The Tasmanian Devil was conceived by director Robert McKimson and writer Sid Marcus in 1954 as an appropriate opponent for Bugs Bunny. McKimson designed a creature that was based around a mouth with lots of teeth and a stomach on little legs.

Taz's first cartoon, "Devil May Hare" (1954), involves Taz  escaping captivity and frightening all of the animals in a forest, all of whom stampede past Bugs' Rabbit hole. Bugs stops  a fleeing turtle and asks what all the fuss is about, and the turtle replies that, "The Tasmanian Devil is on the loose! Run! Run! Run for your lives! " Bugs reads an encyclopedia to find out what a Taz is, and discovers that Taz's eat anything. Taz sees bugs as a likely dinner, but Bugs promises to prepare for Taz a bigger animal to eat and Bugs tricks him into digging for ground hogs, to slingshot a wooden deer, and to eat a bubble gum chicken and an inflatable raft adjusted by Bugs to look  like a pig. the raft inflates inside Taz and takes him into the sky.

In "Bedeviled Rabbit" in 1957, this scene was repeated, the only significant difference being that instead of the Tasmanian Devil wreaking havoc in Bugs' territory, this time Bugs is in Tasmania.  Of course, the Tasmanian Devil, in his native habitat, is just as ferociously hungry. These two films established the short-lived formula in which all characters try to evade the hungry Taz. The premise usually sees that Taz encounters Bugs and thinks of him as dinner, leaving Bugs to outwit the 'dim but nice' Taz, this done by offering  better things to eat.

Three years passed between the first two films this was due to the fact that "Devil May Hare" was not the success that was at first hoped.  General producer Eddie Selzer,  requested McKimson not to make any more cartoons featuring Taz. But in 1956, Selzer was asked by Jack Warner what had become of the Tasmanian Devil, and Selzer replied that Taz had just been a one-off.

Warner told Selzer to produce two more films with Taz, and Selzer passed this on to McKimson, who, with writer Tedd Pierce, created the film "Bedevilled Rabbit" closely followed by "Ducking the Devil" (1957) along with the talents of Mel Blanc, which saw Daffy Duck and Taz together.

One of McKimson's most successful films " Ducking The Devil", combines the aggression of Taz  with the mild almost pacifistic avarice of Daffy Duck. Daffy  learns that there's a  reward of $5,000 if he can get Taz back to the Zoo...

..So Daffy uses the Pied piper of Hamlet style to lure Taz.  who goes all soft at the sound of music and scenes of Daffy desperately trying to provide music, first from a radio whose plug cord is too short, next from a trombone that flies apart, then trying to sing , each time creating music at the last possible moment before Taz try's to devour  him, are all carried off to a tee.

Taz did not appear again, until in 1962 with the film "Bill of Hare", which again returned him to confronting arch enemy Bugs Bunny, who again hoodwinks Taz by promising to help him to get a better dinner. He tricks Taz into hunting for a moose on a train track and into swallowing dynamite made up as food.

Senior director Friz Freleng thought that McKimson's Taz character was depleted and could go no further after the first five films. Maybe it was a tribute to McKimson who had died two years earlier in 1976 that Freleng saw that Taz appeared with Bugs Bunny in ' Christmas Tales ' in 1979.

Taz had a short, very routine, and simple career, compared to that of other Looney Tune™ characters, who starred in over 100 classic cartoons. So why has Taz become so popular even to icon status,  enough to have all six of his cartoons released on home video. With the demand for more Taz cartoons to be made.

I tend to think that many people have fallen in love with this cartoon and like to identify a part of themselves with its funny nature, talking in an unintelligible manner, spinning round in circles, and snarling at all and sundry, well...almost !

 Taz is a likeable rogue. FanTAZtick.

 The idea for creating this character came from the real Tasmanian Devil that resides in ......of all places. Tasmania, I bet you would never have guessed, and I am including some information about this elusive animal below.

The Real Devil

This is a picture of the real Tasmanian Devil, it is a relatively  shy animal that only comes out at night, making it a nocturnal beast.  This photo was taken in the daytime which is why presumably its yawning its head off. 

It weighs from 13 to 18 lbs, its tail is 9 to 12 inches in length and it is the size of a medium  sized dog. It has never been known to attack a human, only when cornered like a rat. The main diet of this animal is carrion, which is animals that are already dead, it will eat the bones and even the fur too! The original vacuum cleaner of the wild!

They are aggressive and often fight with one another, with many devils showing scars of past conflicts.

Ah !, So that's where Tasmania is I hear you cry, well you weren't the only ones and its the only place that you will find our furry friend too, as it is totally indigenous to this land.