19 June: Tasmanian Devil (Taz)

On this date in 1954, Tasmanian Devil, or "Taz" made his début in the cartoon Devil May Hare by Warner Bros. Here are 10 things you might not know about this character.

1. The character was created by Robert McKimson and was loosely based on the Tasmanian Devil animal, although it has also been suggested that he was also inspired by the actor Errol Flynn.
2. The Tasmanian Devil is commonly known as "Taz" to his fans, but his actual first name, as revealed in a short film in 1957, is "Claude".
3. He is portrayed as short-tempered, impatient, devious and not particularly clever most of the time, but with an occasional sweet side.
4. While he can speak English, albeit with limited grammar, he mostly communicates with grunts, growls and rasps.
5. He can whirl like a vortex and devour anything in his path. He is always hungry.
6. In his first film appearance, Devil May Hare, Taz hopes to make Bugs Bunny his next meal, but Bugs outwits him at every turn, finally getting rid of him by finding him a girlfriend, a female Tasmanian devil who is exactly like him.
7. His one weakness is Music - play music to him and he becomes calm and easy to deal with - unless it's bagpipes, which he detests.
8. His first film was nearly his last as some studio heads deemed him too violent for children and feared backlash from parents. However, Jack L Warner himself stepped in and pointed out that he'd received "boxes and boxes" of fan mail from people wanting more of the character.
9. Despite almost getting eaten, Bugs Bunny, in a later short film, believes Taz is a Dog and adopts him as a pet. When Bugs finds out he's actually a Tasmanian devil, he tries to send Taz back to Tasmania, but Taz makes it clear he wants to stay with Bugs.
10. In 2017, Taz appeared in a crossover comic series with DC Comics, in which he is pitted against a teenage Wonder Woman as part of her trials to become an Amazon Warrior. She beats him by playing the harp and snips of some of his fur as a trophy. In a later story, Wonder Woman needs to ask for his help, and it's revealed that he wasn't angry at being tricked, but had enjoyed the music and was more upset when the young Diana had gone away and taken the music with her.

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