Taz is generally portrayed as a dim-witted teenager-type with a notoriously short temper and has little patience. He then saved the Tasmanian Devil's career when he told Selzer that he had received "boxes and boxes" of fan mail from people who liked the character and wanted to see more of him.Īccording to the Toonheads episode "Tasmanian Devil", Taz "had the temper of Yosemite Sam" and is "dumber than Elmer Fudd". animation studio, ordered Robert to retire the character since it was "too obnoxious." After three years with no new Tasmanian Devil shorts, Jack Warner asked Selzer, what had happened. Producer Edward Selzer, head of the Warner Bros. The character's speech, peppered with growls, screeches, and raspberries, is provided by Mel Blanc and now provided by Jim Cummings, who is most famous for voicing Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Peg-Leg Pete from Disney. Bugs eventually gets rid of him in the most logical way possible – matching him up with an equally insatiable female Devil. The Tasmanian Devil stalks Bugs, but due to his dim wits and inability to frame complete, rational sentences, he serves as little more than a nuisance. It is this hunger that serves as the impetus for Robert McKimson's Devil May Hare (first released on June 19, 1954). There have been some descriptions about the Tasmanian Devil in some cartoons. The top of the next page adds " and especially RABBITS!"Īs well, in the Looney Tunes Show episode "Devil Dog," Daffy described it as: " A wild beast whose insatiable hunger for violence and destruction, combined with his sharp teeth and claws make him the perfect killing machine!". Page two: Moose, Mice, Moles, Snipes, Elk, Wapati, Tortoise, Road Runner, Elands, Foxes, Wolves, Guinea Hen, Vultures, Eagles, Humming Birds, Squids, Salamanders, Water Buffalo, Bison, Kangaroos, Pigeons, Daws, Unicorns, Vixens, Octopus, Ox, Penguins, Widgeons, Wart Hogs, Yaks, Newts, Walrus, Gnus, Wildebeests.
Page one: Aardvarks, Ants, Bears, Boars, Cats, Bats, Dogs, Hogs, Elephants, Antelopes, Pheasants, Ferrets, Giraffes, Gazelles, Stoats, Goats, Shoats, Ostriches, Lions, Jackals, Muskrats, Minks, Dingoes, Zebras, Foxes, Boxes, Octopus, Penguins, People, Warthogs, Yaks, Gnus, Newts, Walrus-Wildebeests. " Beware of the TASMANIAN DEVIL a vicious ravenous brute with powerful jaws like a steel trap." It also gives a two-page list of what a Tasmanian Devil eats.
In "Bedevilled Rabbit", in a Tasmania Brochure, it gives this description: In "Ducking the Devil", it described " WARNING: The TASMANIAN DEVIL is a powerful, vicious, evil-tempered brute - hungry at all times - it will eat anything, but is especially fond of wild duck." In "Devil May Hare", it described as " A strong murderous beast - jaws as a steel steel trap - has ravenous appetite - eats tigers, lions, elephants, buffaloes, donkeys, giraffes, octopuses, rhinoceroses, moose, ducks" and of course Taz added in ". The Devil devours everything in sight, including boulders, trees, shrubs, and hills, all the while whirling about like a miniature cyclone that sounds like a dozen motors all whirring in unison. In fact, it is this appetite that serves as Taz's main characteristic. Robert McKimson designed the character after the real-life Tasmanian devil, an animal native to Australia, and the Tennessee Top of American folklore however, the only real resemblance between the real-life marsupial and Robert's beast is their ravenous appetite.
Taz also harbors a special craving for rabbits.Īccording to the Toonheads episode "Tasmanian Devil", Robert created Taz when he and screenwriter Sid Marcus were discussing about new foes to challenge Bugs Bunny, and even commented that of all the animals, the only creature they haven't used against Bugs was the Tasmanian devil.