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The largest surviving carnivorous marsupial of Australia found a new
face when a cartoon based on this mammal was created by the Warner Bros.
Tasmanian Devils, which rule the mainland of Tasmania was made into a
cartoon character that featured in a number of Looney Tunes cartoon
series of the Warner Bros.
Creation of Taz
The character often referred as ‘Taz’ was created by Robert McKimson.
Taz made its first appearance in 1954. The character appeared only in
five shorts before Warner Bros. Animation was closed in 1964. During the
early 90s, both marketing and television appearances took Taz to new
heights of popularity.
Taz is one of the most popular cartoon characters, and is known to have
given tough competition to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. This
cartoon character of the Warner Bros. is preferred by kids of all ages.
Taz makes a debut
Taz made its first appearance in 1954 in the cartoon short ‘Devil May
Hare,’ which became an instant hit. The Tasmanian Devil cartoon show
‘Taz-Mania’ was first screened on Fox in the early 90s. The show was
aired for three long years on Fox. In this television show, Taz is shown
as a dim-witted teenager, who lives in a warped 50s era sitcom
household. The voice of ‘Taz’ was dubbed by Jim Cummings. Taz has a teen
sister, a little brother with a Cleaver-esque mother, who is career
woman instead of a homemaker and a father based on Bing Crosby.
Film and television career of Taz
The 1996 film ‘Space Jam’ of Warner Bros, had Taz, where the voice
was dubbed by Dee Bradley Baker. In 1995, Taz has made a cameo on ‘The
Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries’ and in the second season of ‘The Scare
Up’ in 1996. Apart from these, Taz has made appearances in Animaniacs
first in ‘Draculee, Draculaa’ and in ‘Cutie and the Beast’ where he
played the part of the Beast.
Baby Taz, an infant version of Taz appeared in one of the regulars of
the Baby Looney Tunes series on September 2002. Taz has also appeared in
‘Looney Tunes: Back in Action’ in 2003 and the ‘Histeria! Portrayal of
Attila, the Hun’ was based on Taz.
Commercial appearances
In the 1994 commercial for KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), Taz was seen
advertising the ‘Mega Meal’, intended to feed several people. The main
motive behind the commercial was ‘big enough to feed your whole
family....or one Tazmanian Devil’.
Devil Taz has also appeared in the late 90s and early 2000s in Chevrolet
Monte Carlo advertisements that featured the late Dale Earnhardt. The
advertisement was meant to show the dual nature of the personal sports
coupe. Taz has also appeared in a Subway commercial in the year 2000
with other Looney Tunes characters including Daffy Duck.
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