Taz und Bugs

When Bugs is disturbed by a stampede of forest animals, Bugs comes out of the hole to find out what's going on. Stopping a speeding turtle, Bugs finds out that a Tasmanian Devil has escaped and is heading his way. With no time to run Bugs is forced to try and outsmart the forever-hungry beast.

Many of the Taz and Bugs cartoons are about as bad as I've seen Bugs Bunny in, but this appears to be an exception. The jokes here are actually pretty funny and I found myself laughing most of the way through the cartoon.

A big, big reason for this is that Taz is given a voice and a character whereas usually he is just a fairly meaningless spinning creature that Bugs easily tricks. Here he is still that but the voice really helps him deliver the laughs instead of just being the brunt of each joke. Bugs rises to this well; together they make a good team here and the cartoon is very funny and imaginative. Even the addition of another devil near the end doesn't spoil it!

Overall, as someone who has pretty much hated every Bugs & Taz cartoon that I have seen, this was a very pleasant surprise. Taz is actually a very good character here and the end result is a very funny cartoon where Bugs is able to actually use Taz as a good partner for once.

Definitely not the best of the Looney Tunes canon, but an entertaining one at that. The animation is beautiful and colourful, and the vocal performances as usual are stellar. Also the music is wonderful, and the gags come by thick and fast and are funny. Bugs is still his funny and somewhat arrogant self, and Taz in his debut despite his ravenous appetite is immensely huggable. I did think though that the story was a little on the predictable side, the gags were well done on the whole, but knowing the plot line before watching the cartoon I kind of knew what I had in store. That said, it was a very entertaining short, and works on repeated viewings.

8/10 Bethany Cox

This is the first of four (or five, if you include a cartoon done in 1979 as part of a special half-hour Christmas cartoon) battles between Bugs and the Tasmanian Devil and in many ways it's the best of them. While Taz is really a one-note character in these and was only in five cartoons between 1954 and 1964, the cartoons are all very good. The ones with Bugs pretty much all revolve around Taz's efforts to have rabbit added to his diet. Mostly sight gags, mainly revolving around food, but Taz has some good lines, particularly in the effort. The ending on this one is very funny. Recommended.

Bugs Bunny is doing some housekeeping, vacuuming carrot roots out of his rabbit hole when he peeps his head out and sees a stampede racing by. He finally stops a turtle and asks (after some "What's up doc? queries go unanswered), "What's cookin'?"

The turtle tells him, "The Tasmanian Devil" is on the loose. Who? Bugs looks it up in his dictionary and finds out it is "a strong murderous beast, jaws as powerful as a steel trap - has ravenous appetite," etc etc. (Obviously, this was the first time The Tasmanian Devil appeared in a Bugs Bunny animated short.

Main, the "Devil" wants to devour everything in sight. He's got an appetite like "Baby Huey," but Bugs tricks him every time. In fact, Bugs in kind of sadistic to the newcomer.

Overall, okay but nothing hilarious. Hey, nobody ever said "the Devil" was ever funny.

Devil May Hare (1954)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

All of the animals in the forest are running away when a Tasmanian Devil is on the loose. All except for Bugs Bunny who decides to stay and mess with the creature. This is a wonderful Looney Tunes short that contains great action, wonderful characters and an even better amount of laughs. The movie contains one great scene after another and we also get some rather cute ones including one scene with a baby deer. The best moment has to be the sequence where Bugs gives the Devil a lot of bubble gum and you know madness is going to follow. Another plus is that the Devil actually has some rather funny lines instead of just being a fast mess.