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Taz-Mania

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This article refers to the cartoon. For the Australian island, see Tasmania
For the videogame, see Taz-Mania (video game).

Taz-Mania is a 1991-93 cartoon show, produced and directed by Art Vitello broadcast in the United States on FOX and elsewhere around the world. It follows the adventures of the classic Looney Tunes character, Taz (The Tasmanian Devil) in the fictional land of Tazmania (based on Tasmania). Unlike similar cartoons of its time, it frequently broke the fourth wall, and often made jokes from the fact that Taz could actually speak perfectly normally when he wanted to. The show's reruns are currently broadcast on AOL's In2TV.

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

Characters

Much like other early 1990s Warner Brothers animated series (such as Animaniacs and Tiny Toons), the cast of characters was immense, with upwards of 17 independent characters with their own motivations and plotlines. These characters (many of which are native Australian fauna) include:

  • Taz Tasmanian Devil,Our star best known for spinning. Taz sometimes gets into trouble with a lot of things.
  • Hugh Tazmanian Devil, Taz's Dad who talks like Bing Crosby and has an unknown occupation. Loves orange juice. His catchphrase is "blah, blah, blah, yakkity-shmakkity". This serves a similar purpose to what "yada, yada, yada" did on Seinfeld. In one episode Jean comments that Hugh used to be very rambunctious and uncontrollable, much like Taz; later in that same episode, Hugh goes insane when he can't make a house of cards stand up properly and enters into a manic, destructive whirlwind full of non-sensical slobbering similar to his son. He then asks Taz not to mention it to his mother and offers to split a bowling ball with him. In another episode the story of how he met his wife was shown in a flashback as a complete parody of Casablanca.
  • Jean Tazmanian Devil, Taz's Mom who's a homemaker/activist.
  • Molly Tazmanian Devil, Taz's sister. She considers Taz to be an annoying and immature brother and constantly threatens him with a bath if he misbehaves. She's artsy and listens to music.
  • Jake Tazmanian Devil, Taz's hyper-active and overly imaginative younger brother.
  • Dog, Taz's turtle who acts like a dog.
  • Drew Tazmanian Devil, Taz's Uncle who plays Bob Hope to Hugh's Bing Crosby. He appears in the three "Road to Taz-Mania" episodes (parodies of the Road to... series of films that Hope and Crosby starred in).
  • The Platypus Brothers, Timothy and Daniel, semi-successful inventors who draft Taz into testing various dangerous devices. They sound and look much like Daffy Duck, though they lack his short temper, being quite friendly and equitable instead, though not always in touch with reality. Similar to Warner Bros' Goofy Gophers characters.
  • Buddy Boar, Taz's best friend, a would-be Hollywood player who talks incessantly on a cell phone. His appearances became less and less frequent in later episodes. (In one 'behind the scenes' episode, where Taz and another character try to see the management responsible for making the show, they are forced to wait outside the boss' office, and every time an opportunity to speak with the boss came up, another executive rushed into the office ahead of them with a problem or issue to discuss; eventually, Buddy Boar rushes in ahead of them, and the receptionist explains brightly, "Oh, that's Buddy Boar. He used to be a character on the show, but no one liked him. So they made him a producer!")
  • The Bushrats, a tribe of tiny rats that speak in pseudo-German, subtitled for the viewer's understanding, although often the German words they use have humorous meanings that are quite different than what the subtitles read. For example, their battle cry is "Spanferkel" which is German for "suckling piglet".
  • The Kiwi bird, a tiny, yellow, incredibly fast bird sought after by Taz for food (a la Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner; also remembles Tweety somewhat, though actual kiwis are brown). Kiwi are actually found in New Zealand.
  • Wendell T. Wolf, supposedly the last surviving Tasmanian wolf or Thylacine (a real animal from Tasmania that scientists believe may have died out in the 1930s), who talks and behaves like Woody Allen. Incessantly clings to Taz, Wendell thinks he's his protector, and he is--in a twist of irony bitter in more ways than one--the only animal Taz can't comfortably eat. All attempts end in Taz yowling and spitting in disgust. Despite being one of the principal characters mentioned in the opening credits of the show, Wendell's appearances are very few and far between (a source of in-jokes for the few episodes in which Wendell did appear). It is later discovered that all the other Tasmanian wolves are living underground and all look and sound exactly like Wendell. Wendell more resembles a pathetic dog than an actual thylacine. He is grey like a placental wolf, not orange with black stripes--though he does have a pouch.
  • Francis X. Bushlad, a young Tazmanian bushman who is determined to hunt and slay Taz as his rite of manhood (a task that is both difficult and unprecedented for generations, according to his father and tribal elder). Although called a "Bushman" he talks like an Ivy League-er and is Caucasian and red-haired. The name might be a parody of old time actor Francis X. Bushman. His father, also a highly educated man, sounds like Jim Backus.
  • Bull Gator & Axl, two alligators wanting to capture Taz for the zoo so that the children can see him. Whenever Axl says "something stupid (again)", Bull Gator (voiced by John Astin) hits him with a club. In a later episode it is revealed Axl is actually well-educated in philosophy, among other subjects, but chooses to act stupid because being Bull's sidekick gave him meaning in a way intellectual pursuits did not. Many fans of Warner Bros. animation see Bull and Axl as the precursors to a later animated duo--Pinky and the Brain; it's worthy to note both Pinky and Axl share the same voice actor.
  • Didgeri Dingo, an egotisical bottlecap collector, who sometimes cons Taz out of his; sometimes his schemes rightfully backfire on him. His name is a pun of didgeridoo.
  • Bushwacker Bob, Taz's red-haired boss at the hotel he works at, thinks Taz is a slacker and a screw-up. His short temper and fiery rage (often turned on his employees) may be a take on the classic comedy character Basil Fawlty. He looks familiar to Dr. Robotnik from the Sonic the Hedgehog video games.
  • Bob's Mum, constantly insults her son but treats his employees (mainly Taz) with kindness.
  • Constance, a heavyset koala who works with Taz as a maid at Bob's hotel. She has a crush on Taz.
  • Mr. Thickley, a wallaby who works with Taz as a tour guide at Bob's hotel. He claims to be an expert in all things, but actually seems to be an expert in nothing.
  • Willie Wombat, a later addition in the show who aspires to be a famous cartoon star but is largely ignored. In the episodes that he did appear in he would often break the fourth wall complaining how he didn't want to do "old Bugs Bunny material" stating he wanted to star in a "kinder, gentler" cartoon series. In one particular episode he literally forces a stop to filming and drags Taz 'behind the scenes' to see the management behind Taz-Mania in order to get his own show.
  • Marvin the Martian,The aliens are attacking Earth. Then Marvin pays a visit to Tasmania. He appears in the episode,The Man from M.A.R.S..

Cast

External links

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