Taz-Manía

This one might be either on the same level or better than Looney tunes and Bugs Bunny and so on. It has more dialogue and seems smarter. It's pretty funny. Taz is crazy but very lovable too.

It's wonderful that so many of you have such fond memories of Taz-mania. It was probably the most enjoyable two years of my animation career. Unfortunately, Warner Animation seems to have disowned the show. But in it's initial run, it tied Tiny Toons as the highest rated animated series that year! It was also nominated for best written daytime series. Taz-mania suffered from not being a Steven Spielberg Presents... show. If you remember Tiny Toons And Animaniacs had Mr. Spielberg's name on them. Taz-mania was a top rated series in spite of Warner Bros. giving it the short shrift. I did catch it several years ago on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon, I can't remember which, but I don't think it's been broadcast in more than ten years.

Considering how famous Taz as a character is as part of all the Looney Tunes franchise, it's surprising how relatively unknown the show has become. To me, it's one of the greatest if not the greatest animated series ever.

All episodes are fast-paced and entertaining, blending usually inventinve slapstick, parody and satire with slick, intelligent dialogue (except for the always brief-spoken Taz), sometimes going full out into sheer"wackyness" but there's always a plot behind it. In fact a lot of it is deeper and more meaningful than it might seem at first!

The writers managed to keep the show open-ended and unpredictable, and it could probably have gone on much longer than it did. There was a few sharkjumping moments (the eating contest, the third "Road to Taz-Mania" episode and Wendal trying to be like Taz) but the rest is worth seeing for yourself. And beware! There's a bit of Taz in all of us...

The whole series is based on the character of Taz who alone with his angry and stupid character alone supports the plot of each episode. The rest of the family are just supporting actors.

As a kid I liked Taz-Mania very much but re-watching the show after many years I like it even more. Taz-Mania is such a fun, underrated little show, with so much to like. The animation has so much vibrancy and colour especially in the backgrounds that make you wish you were there, and the theme song is one of the catchiest ones I've heard in a while. While I had always considered the writing and slapstick smart and funny, as an adult I could also appreciate it for how sophisticated it was, something that for some reason I missed from a child perspective. The story lines were bright and breezy, not as formulaic as I expected them to be. The characters are very engaging with great, memorable personalities, and I have to say Taz-Mania changed my perception of Taz. The show actually to me expanded on the slightly bland personality he had(especially opposite Bugs) in the Looney Tunes cartoons and here he is rather sweet and likable. I love the family members, his boss and the hunters just as much, while some of the characters have the occasional annoying moment the lively personalities really grow on you. The voice acting, from some of the best voice actors of the day(Jim Cummings, Rob Paulsen, Maurice LaMarche and more), I have no qualms with at all. 10/10 Bethany Cox