let's talk about Taz-Mania

[speedy fast]

Who saw Taz-Mania back when it was on the air? I remember watching Taz-Mania when it was originally being broadcast. I remember some episodes, but not too many, and I forget a lot of the details. I hope that this series eventually comes to DVD (I can't believe that this and Tiy Toons haven't had DVD releases yet, while Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain have).

There are some basic plots or situatiosn that I remember, such as an epsiode where the Platypus brothers try to cure Taz's toothache, and episode where Taz gets a broken leg, Bushwacker Bob gets mad at him for not showing up for work, Taz's mother filling in for Taz (I think Bushwacker Bob mistook her for Taz), and Taz struggling to answer the phone while in bed with a broken leg (he was watching a TV show where the host calls a random phone number and gives away a million dollar prize, and kept calling Taz's number by coincidence), an episode where Molly got a cat who Taz didn't get along with, a seuqel to that epsiode, an episode with the bushrats that had a scene that took place "behind the scenes", including a scene with Hugh saying "You're probably wondering why I'm not in this episode" and a scene where the Bushrats talk positively about the sponsors, an episode with Marvin the Martian (it's a shame that more classic Looney Tunes characters didn't make appearances, like on The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, but the original characters on thsi show were great), an episode where Jake complaisn about Taz liking his comic book collection better than him, and an epsiode where Taz took ballet.

I was looking at Wikipedia's page for this show, and it mentioned that Wendel T. Wolf only made a few appearances despite being listed as a main character in the opening (though I don't think the theme song actually said that he was a main character... It pretty much listed everybody, except for Willie Wombat, who was introduced later). I hd forgotten that he rarely appeared, but I felt like the Kiwi didn't make many appearances, either. Ditto with Bull Gator and Axle (I forgot about them, and then remembered their part of the opening... And I pretty much remember everything from the opening). According to Wikipedia, Wendell's appearances had in-jokes about the fact that Wendell was in the opening but his appearances were few and far between. Can somebody please give me some examples of those inside jokes, and possibly list all of his appearances and plots?

I liked most of the characters on the show. I didn't care much for the bushrats. Some of my favorites were Digetti Dingo, Wendel T. Wolf, The Kiwi, Francis X. Bushlad, Bushwacker Bob, The Platypus Brothers, and Buddy Boar. Has anybody played the video games? I have the Game Gear game, but was never able to beat the first level, in which a boulder chases Taz. I have also played the Sega Genesis game, but don't remember much about it.

[AardvarkDog]

Yah, I remember this show very well. It was unique as it really developed Taz's character other than the huge eating machine he was represented as in the old Bugs Bunny Cartoons. Some were just visual cartoons that showed a softer side to Taz when things aren't going AWOL, which I really liked. Also, according to a BTS magazine article, they split the show into three different formats for Taz: exporing his family life, his job at the Tasmania Hotel and the Outback itself for some chase episodes.

There were some episodes that were good, others that were great and then there are those I'd rather not watch too often. Episodes which they just make to include scenes edited out from previous episodes were intresting to see but, then again, seemed like a waste of time anyway to see them seperately from their original episodes.

But I really liked most of the characters as well. Buddy Boar I think is hilarious, notably when he and Taz were trying to catch the Kiwi. Bull and Axel make a perfect duo as their characterisations seem to really suit them well. Bushwacker Bob, IMHO, seems to represent how some Australians like to make themselves heard by having a good shout and grumble. He still makes me laugh, that Bob, as does Mr Thickley, who must represent the "other half" of Oz. The Kiwi reminds me of the Road Runner; doesn't say or do much but has got one heck of a design! And I love the Bushrats. Their hilarious French-type language, not to mention their episodes, are downright strange. (in a good way!)

The only characters I can't seem to enjoy are the Platypus Brothers. I don't hate them, really, it's just they seem too chatty and take up most of the screen time than Taz himself. But that's pretty much it anyways

In case anyone's wondering, I think you can find an episode guide of this show on Tv.com somewhere, although they're not completely up to date with the episode summeries.

[JPox]

I watched that show all the time when it was on FOX kids.
http://jedaniels-adventures.blogspot.com/2006/05/dvd-suggestion.html
I really liked the episodes directed by Keith Baxter. His style was very fluid and cartoony.
I'm not too sure of which episodes Wendal T. Wolf were in, he wasn't a favorite character of mine.
I liked Taz, Hugh Devil, the Kiwi Bird, The Platypus Brothers, Digerai Dingo, Francis X Bushlad, Willy Wombat and Bull & Axl (who really seemed like early versions of Pinky and the Brain too me...).
Did you ever see "Willy Wombat's last stand"? That episode had both Willy and Taz taking on the roles of various Looney Tunes characters because Willy is tired of "being some lazy writer's solution to a Bugs Bunny rip off..."
Funny stuff! Hope this hits DVD one day.

[speedy fast]

In case anyone's wondering, I think you can find an episode guide of this show on Tv.com somewhere, although they're not completely up to date with the episode summeries.

I've seen that guide, but hardly any page has good information about the episodes. It's too bad that Wikipedia doesn't have any episode pages. Has anybody ever considered attempting to make a Looney Tunes Wiki?

[JPox]

I was thinking about it and came up with a list of Looney Tunes that made appearances/cameos on the show.
Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Sam Sheepdog, Marvin the Martian, the Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote, Beaky Buzzard, Yosemite Sam(voice).
While the Willy Wombat episode made homage to Wile E. Coyote & Roadrunner, Tweety & Sylvester, Foghorn & Barnyard Dawg and Porky Pig.

[speedy fast]

I was thinking about it and came up with a list of Looney Tunes that made appearances/cameos on the show.
Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Sam Sheepdog, Marvin the Martian, the Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote, Beaky Buzzard, Yosemite Sam(voice).

Did they make appearances later in the shows run? I believe that I watched it less near the end of the run (I had gotten cable around that time and was watching Nickeldeon more).

Were there any epsiodes that actually featured either the entire cast or most of the cast? I wonder what the biggest number was for recurring characters being in a single episode.

[JPox]

i'm not sure how the episodes aired, in order or mixed.
With help from http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/tv/tazmania.html:
"The Man from M.A.R.S."- Taz has an adventure with a vacationing Marvin.
"Mutton for Nothing" - Taz fills in for Ralph Wolf and works with Sam.
"Taz Museum" - cameo of Wile being crushed by boalder.
"Enter the Devil" - cameo of Beaky nesting on Taz's head.
"Instant Replay" - Taz grabs the roadrunner in mid-run but gets interrupted by Bull & Axl.
"Gone with the Windbag" - Foghorn is mistaken for a hotel critic where Taz works.
"Wacky Wombat" - Willy calls Bugs Bunny for advice, Taz calls Yosemite Sam for advice.
I forget the title of the cartoon featuring the Bugs & Daffy cameo. Bushwacker Bob and Taz are trapped in quicksand when a jeep rolls out of the sand saving them. The wipers reveal Bugs with Daffy saying "I told you we shouldn't have taken that left turn...".

[captchucky]

I thought it was a fairly good show. It had slower pacing and more of the look of the 50's cartoons. I also enjoyed it because I got to draw a lot of the comic strips that WB was doing based on the series.

[JPox]

I also enjoyed it because I got to draw a lot of the comic strips that WB was doing based on the series.
I recently came across some pencil work for a strip by Stephanie Gladden. Where were these comic stories published? I've never seen them before....:confused:

[Tim Lones]

Here's the opening to Taz-Mania, from retrojunk.com


http://www.retrojunk.com/details_tvshows/442-tazmania

I thought the show was very good..The writing was hilarious..I always wondered why it wasnt shown much after it's first run.

[captchucky]

I recently came across some pencil work for a strip by Stephanie Gladden. Where were these comic stories published? I've never seen them before....:confused:
Yeah, they were printed everywhere except for the U.S.A. They sent me some copies of a newspaper for kids out of London that ran it.

[speedy fast]

You know that one part of the opening when the Kiwi falls on the Platypus brothers, crushing them, before the Bushrats suddenly appear and lift up the kiwi? Because of this scene (the part with him crushing the Platypus brothers), I thought that the Kiwi was supposed to be a giant bird. I was surprised when I finally saw an episode with the Kiwi and saw that he was really small (and it was a long wait between when I first saw the opening and when I first saw a Kiwi episode).

[David Gerstein]

Yeah, they were printed everywhere except for the U.S.A. They sent me some copies of a newspaper for kids out of London that ran it.I have one or two of these. The DC Comics creative team managed the production of LOONEY TUNES, TAZ-MANIA, and TINY TOON ADVENTURES comics beginning in 1991, but DC published only LT as a domestic comic book, and then only from 1994 on.
It was apparently a corporate catch-22 for awhile—insofar as WB, having purchased DC, would not license its properties to anyone else; and yet DC's marketing staff was ideologically opposed to printing funny animal comics, even when its own creative team was producing them.
All this, evidently, for no other reason than several powerful honchos' personal preference for superheroes.

[JPox]

I have one or two of these. The DC Comics creative team managed the production of LOONEY TUNES, TAZ-MANIA, and TINY TOON ADVENTURES comics beginning in 1991, but DC published only LT as a domestic comic book, and then only from 1994 on.
Would you be able to post a cover scan of each? I am curious to what they look like...:confused:

[UncleLina]

The UK has been showing it on the BBC and the CBBC childrens channel for a long time, I'm not sure if it's still on.
One thing i remember was the Aborigonalnatives in this cartoon, they weren't actually black and reminded me of Bushy Hare (1950) which is sort of banned now. Technicly Taz Mania should be banned.
Is this the cartoon that determine Taz's style for the 90s onwards?

[JPox]

Technicly Taz Mania should be banned.
Gonna have to disagree there.
The tribe was ficitional and they weren't potrayed as "savages" but an intelligent group of people. Notice Francis X Bushlad's vocabulary...

[Matthew Hunter]

By the way, Francis X. Bushlad's name was a parody of an old-time radio actor, Francis X. Bushman.

[captchucky]

I have one or two of these. The DC Comics creative team managed the production of LOONEY TUNES, TAZ-MANIA, and TINY TOON ADVENTURES comics beginning in 1991, but DC published only LT as a domestic comic book, and then only from 1994 on.
It was apparently a corporate catch-22 for awhile—insofar as WB, having purchased DC, would not license its properties to anyone else; and yet DC's marketing staff was ideologically opposed to printing funny animal comics, even when its own creative team was producing them.
All this, evidently, for no other reason than several powerful honchos' personal preference for superheroes.
I was told some of these things were printing in something like 90 countries. Of course, the U.S. wasn't one of them. The coolest version I saw was the Italian, "Bunny Band." which was a Tiny Toon Adventures - Looney Tunes combo, It was a slick magazine, heavy slick-stock cover - and all in Italian.

[Bricolo]

I live in the US and swear I saw something of some comic related Tiny Toon material and possibly some Taz-Mania as well. There was a Tiny Toons magazine for a short while, maybe one issue, like the longer running Muppets and He-Man magazines, with a few pages devoted to comics. Could this be from the same source?

[JPox]

There was a short run of Tiny Toon Adventures magazine, but there wasn't much of a comics section. Only one story featuring Babs, Buster and Montana Max come to mind, the others where mearly jokes put into comic strip form.
I never came across any Taz-mania publications though...

[Bricolo]

I know I never bought any thing Taz-Mania related but I keep picturing in my mind Taz's family in a comic strip. Now that I think about it there might have been some freebie promotional material for Fox Kids that had a page with some Taz-Mania stuff, the Fox station started out here at about the same time and they were trying to make an impression. There was a kids club promo thing going on for a while but soon after I joined I was ousted due to my birthday as I suddenly became too old for cartoons.

[Javeman]

I'm 100% sure that the episode where Dingo fakes a fractured leg so Taz and his family will take care of him was adapted into comic book form. It was released down here.

[David Gerstein]

I remember a story titled "Taz Gets Therapy." I believe it began with Bushwhacker Bob having a nervous breakdown—due to Taz—and Mum setting the wheels in motion for Taz to see a shrink. Unfortunately, all of this was ten years ago and I don't have the issue handy now...

[JPox]

Just to throw everyone off, DC Comics should include a new Taz-Mania story in the current Looney Tunes book. And a Tweety & Sylvester Mysteries tale.

[Der Captain]

My favorite episodes featured Taz's father Hugh, as well as Francis X. Bushlad and the Bushrats. My least favorite eps were centered at the Hotel Tazmania, which too often had a tired sitcom feel to them.

At worst these cartoons were too talky and in-jokey. At best they gave Taz more dimension than he ever had in the original Warner toons. There was sly satire in some stories and subtle pantomime in others (usually the ones where our hero goes solo throughout). The first few seasons were the most consistent and overall I really think this show was an undervalued gem that was hastily dismissed by a lot of Looney Tunes purists, which led to it being less celebrated by those other shows -Tiny Toons and Animaniacs - which impress me less.

[speedy fast]

Can anybody remind me which characters were bad guys to Taz? I know that Francis X Bushlad, The Bushrats, Bull Gator and Axyl were all villians to Taz. Molly often got annoyed by Taz but wasn't really a villian. I know that Bushwacker Bob often got frusterated with Taz, but I can't remember if he was ever portrayed as a bad guy for Taz. I've read at Wikipedia that Diggety Dingo often tried to con Taz out of his bottle caps, but for some reason my childhood memories tell me that he was a friend to Taz, so I'm not sure if he was a bad guy, or if Taz was aware of him being a bad guy.

[JPox]

You pretty much named them right there. But really the only advasary Taz had, would have to be Francis X Bushlad.
The other characters had good intentions for doing what they were doing. Bull and Axl only wanted to capture Taz for "the zoo-going children of the world".
There were a couple of episodes that featured a crazy kitty that Molly brought home. It was constantly trying to get Taz in trouble. "Here Kitty Kitty" and "Here Kitty Kitty Part II", I believe were the names.

[Kyle G.]

For those not aware, In2TV now has episodes of Taz-Mania (http://video.aol.com/video-category/taz-mania/2784).

[speedy fast]

Has anybody else ever noticed how similar Diggety Dingo and Mr. Thickly look? Besides Mr. Thickly's clothing, does anybody recall any significant differences in the two characters, appearance-wise?

Also, I've read that Dan Castlenetta was the voice of Mr. Thickly. I forget what he sounds like. Can anybody tell me which Simpsons character he sounds like? Does he sound like Homer, Krusty, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Burns' Lawyer, Mayor Quimby, or another Simpsons character voiced by Dan Castlenetta? Weird how somebody who voiced many Simpsons characters only voiced one recurring Taz-Mania character.

[JPox]

Well, Didgeri Dingo is a tad smaller than Mr.Thickly. Not to mention that one is a dingo, the other a kangaroo.
Dan Castellaneta voiced Mr.Thickly like Burn's lawyer only with an Australian accent.
Personally I always liked Rob Paulsen's work on Didgeri.

[speedy fast]

Were there ever any episodes where Bushwacker Bob fired, or almost fired, Taz?

[speedy fast]

Wikipedia has character pages for The Platypus Brothers and Digety Dingo, but not anybody else. Oddly enough, they are categorized as "Looney Tunes Characters", not "Taz-Mania Characters" (there isn't such a category yet). Should the characters created for Taz-Mania be considered Looney Tunes characters? Did any of them ever cross-over into Animaniacs, or any Looney Tunes-related productions outside of Taz-Mania?

[David Gerstein]

Note—it's Didgeri Dingo (a la didgeridoo), not Digety.

[JPox]

Did any of them ever cross-over into Animaniacs, or any Looney Tunes-related productions outside of Taz-Mania?
In the Warner Bros cartoon, "Draculee Draculaa", Taz shows up at the end while the Taz-mania theme plays.
In the Hip Hippos cartoon, "Noah's Lark", the Indiana Jones character is chased away by 3 little natives that resemble Francis X Bushlad, only colored wrong, to the Taz-mania theme.
In the Rita & Runt cartoon, "KiKi's Kitten", when the rampaging gorilla throws a hut against the wall, a little figure jumps out and runs away. It also looks like a mis-colored Francis X.
In the Waners cartoon, "Cutie and the Beast", when the Warners realize the role of the beast is being played by Taz, the Taz-mania theme plays.

[speedy fast]

In the Warner Bros cartoon, "Draculee Draculaa", Taz shows up at the end while the Taz-mania theme plays.

I knew about that scene. I didn't really count it because only Taz appeared in the scene, but I was aware that the Warner brothers and sister accidently went to Taz-Mania. I forgot about the theme playing.

[JPox]

Yeah, usually when the theme is played, it's always
"Down in Taz-mania, Come to Taz-mania..."
or however the words go.