The Tasmanian Devil Went Down To Georgia

This past weekend, I went to a wedding in Scottsboro, Alabama, and it got me thinking about the Tasmanian Devil.  Let me explain.  The Bride grew up in Alabama, and the Groom is Australian.  I have always been fascinated by Aussie wildlife, and animation, so naturally I'm familiar with the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil (or "Taz").  The character, voiced by Mel Blanc, debuted in 1954.  The appearance of the Tasmanian Devil has changed drastically over the years, particularly on merchandise.  I especially like this stuffed animal version of the character, sold in the 1970s (it actually looks a bit like a real Tasmanian Devil).

Taz has been a very popular merchandising character for Warner Brothers.  Over the years, stuffed animals of the Tasmanian Devil were produced by a company called Mighty Star.

The memorable Tasmanian Devil only appeared in a few animated Looney Tunes shorts from 1954 to 1964.

It seems Mighty Star began producing Taz stuffed animals in 1971.

Mighty Star plush toys were sold in many toy stores and theme parks.  Believe it or not, for a short time in the 1990s, the Mighty Star Looney Tunes plush were sold at the Looney Bin Roger Rabbit "toon" store at the Disney MGM Studios (now called Disney's Hollywood Studios) at Walt Disney World in Florida.

In 1976, Marriott's Great America amusement parks opened in Illinois and California.

The Tasmanian Devil and the rest of the Looney Tunes served as mascots for the parks.

The shops inside Marriott's Great America sold souvenirs featuring the Warner Brothers characters.

The Marriott Corporation sold the Great America parks in 1984.  The park in Illinois was purchased by Six Flags, which inherited the Looney Tunes characters.  The Great America Park in California eventually became part of the now-defunct Paramount Parks chain (which featured Hanna Barbera and Nickelodeon characters and included Kings Island in Ohio, Carowinds in North Carolina, and Kings Dominion in Virginia).

By 1985, Looney Tunes "lands" took over the kid sections in the Six Flags parks chain.

Growing up in Alabama, my "home park" was Six Flags Over Georgia.  Taz enjoyed taking the park's Mind Bender roller coaster for a spin.

Looney Tunes merchandise invaded Six Flags gift shops.  I made sure to get this five inch tall vinyl Tasmanian Devil figure (made in Hong Kong) in 1985.

The Tasmanian Devil of 1985 looks very different from the Tasmanian Devil of 2014.

Mighty Star plush Looney Tunes toys were sold inside Six Flags parks during the 1980s.

Mighty Star continued to tinker with the design of the Tasmanian Devil.

Gradually, the nose and mouth on the Taz toy got larger.

Taz became the "go-to" tough guy character for Warner Brothers.

The Tasmanian Devil stuffed toy gradually got shorter and stockier.

The 1979 Stephen King short story The Crate was apparently inspired by the Warner Brothers Tasmanian Devil.

By 1991, Taz got his own animated TV series, Taz-Mania.  The Tasmanian Devil was the star of the show, which was set in Australia.  Jim Cummings (the voice of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger for the past few decades) played Taz (and some other characters) on Taz-Mania.

This is what Mighty Star's Tasmanian Devil plush toy looked like in stores at Six Flags parks in the 1990s.  This version could also be found in Warner Brothers Studios Stores in shopping malls around the world, until Warner Brothers started designing their own plush toys in the mid-Nineties.  Then the stores closed.  Poor Taz!

Very different looking versions of Taz plush toys can be found today, even in "Claw" Machine Games at the grocery store or Walmart.

For more fun, check out Taz the Biker: Tasmanian Devil or Angel?

Yosemite Sam, Pirate Of The Caribbean

During Yosemite Sam's long career at Warner Brothers, he's caused trouble for many of the Looney Tunes characters. Most people probably remember Yosemite Sam as a cowboy with a bad temper, but during the 1970s, Yosemite Sam was also a pirate starring in his own comic book series.

The Looney Tunes became amusement park mascots in 1976 for Marriott's Great America theme parks in California and Illinois. Bugs Bunny and the gang greeted guests and performed in shows.

At Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, California, Yosemite Sam appeared as a cowboy riding a tiny horse. Great America has changed owners over the years, eventually becoming Paramount's Great America and ultimately California's Great America. The Looney Tunes characters later moved to Magic Mountain in Valencia, California when Warner Brothers joined forces with Six Flags theme parks.


At Marriott's Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, visitors could meet Pirate Yosemite Sam. Today, you can still find the Looney Tunes at the park, which is now called Six Flags Great America. I've never been to Illinois, but I can remember seeing commercials for Great America as a kid on the WGN Chicago cable channel.

The pictures of Yosemite Sam at Marriott's Great America parks are from a book by Tim Onosko called "Fun Land U.S.A." from 1978. I got this book for 50 cents back in the 1980s at a store called Zayre (anyone else remember Zayre?).

The Yosemite Sam comic book was a bit different from Sam's Looney Tunes cartoons. Pirate Yosemite Sam was a rowdy treasure hunter and explorer.

Sam was often paired up with Bugs Bunny, who was often an assistant rather than a foe. Bugs finds a message in a bottle in a story from 1977. Yosemite Sam helps him solve the mystery of the message, and then yada, yada yada...

These stories are still pretty funny after all these years. It's interesting to see Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny as a team.

In 1985, The Looney Tunes teamed up with Six Flags theme parks across the United States.

The Looney Tunes gang took control of the areas of the Six Flags parks aimed at kids.

The park closest to me was Six Flags Over Georgia.

The biggest attraction at Looney Tunes Land was the Yosemite Sam Playfort. Sam also got a new ride, the Yosemite Sam Buccaneer Boats (a flying pirate ship ride). This picture is from 1988, when Six Flags Over Georgia got a new roller coaster called Z-Force (which later moved to Six Flags Magic Mountain and was renamed "Flashback").


This map of Looney Tunes Land at Six Flags Over Georgia is from 1988 and features Cowboy Yosemite Sam at the Pirate themed Buccaneer Boats.

The attraction roster and names of rides in Looney Tunes Land changed quite a bit over the years. The Mini-Mine Train was removed to make way for more flat rides. The land itself later became known as Bugs Bunny Land. The Elmer Fudd Fewwis Wheel is one of the funniest ride names I've seen. Other rides included the Road Runner Runaround and the Henery Hawk Happy Worm.

Henery Hawk took time off from chasing Foghorn Leghorn to team up with Pirate Sam in a story from 1979.

What? Sam has a tough time keeping someone working with him? I can't imagine why!

Sam kidnaps Henrey. That's not very nice, but it does make Sam an interesting "bad guy main character" in the story.

Henrey was never nice in the Foghorn Leghorn stories, so maybe he and Yosemite Sam are a good match as a team.

Wow! Sam kidnaps Henrey then maroons Henery on an island. Then Henrey eats the natives!


Yosemite Sam (as a cowboy) and the Looney Tunes also had their own town at Six Flags St. Louis.

Yosemite Sam was the corrupt Sheriff of Looney Tunes Town, which was a bit different from the Spanish themed Looney Tunes Land at Six Flags Over Georgia.


The Looney Tunes had to wear name tags at Six Flags St. Louis. I'm not sure why. Maybe Daffy was tired of people in Missouri calling him Donald.

This Six Flags St. Louis picture, featuring Cowboy Yosemite Sam, is from 1986. By this time, I think Pirate Sam was being phased out.


In 1977, the Yosemite Sam Pirate origin story was told, thanks to a nice set-up courtesy of Daffy Duck.

Here's a rare glimpse of Yosemite Sam as a baby, and his parents.

Artists and writers were not credited at this time, so I don't know who came up with this story. It's fun and different.

I think Yosemite Sam works well as the main character. Maybe Warner Brothers could do a Yosemite Sam show. After all, the Tasmanian Devil had his own TV show and he barely talked.

Six Flags Over Texas has a boat ride called "Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure." It's a western themed dark boat ride with animatronic Looney Tunes, and it opened in 1992, replacing an original Six Flags dark ride called "Speelunker's Cave".

It's too bad the Yosemite Sam boat ride at Six Flags Over Texas did not have a pirate theme. It could have been a clever spoof on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.

This version of Yosemite Sam could be a good mascot for Captain D's or Long John Silver's restaurants.

Daffy Duck loves to break the fourth wall.


In 1992, Pirate Sam appeared as a mug in the Warner Brothers Catalog. This is a mug that looks like it's ready to mug someone.

I bet the designers chose this version of the character because the sword was a clever way to make the handle.


In 1993, Yosemite Sam got his own ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California.

The Yosemite Sam Sierra Falls water ride features Cowboy Sam (or is that Prospector Sam?).

I've never been to Magic Mountain. I wonder if the actual ride looks like the artwork. It looks really nice!


If your biscuits are burnin' (as Sam says in Who Framed Roger Rabbit) this ride should cool them off.

These days, Yosemite Sam is primarily seen as a cowboy, and is still a mascot at Six Flags parks.


Yosemite Sam has been getting angry at various Looney Tunes characters since 1945. He's been a cowboy, a pirate, a knight, a viking and more. As long as that "rackin', frackin' varmint" Bugs Bunny stays busy, Yosemite Sam should have no problem staying in trouble.