If you want to know how far friends can go in helping each other, if you want to see to what extent a kid would go to rescue his/her father, and if you want to check the importance of food in our lives, you should watch, Taz: Quest for Burger. The Tasmanian Devil, usually a sidekick in the Looney Tunes universe, this time gets a film of his own, where he brings out his terror and love of burgers.
Set in Australia, the movie gives a good account of the region before moving ahead. The story revolves around a tribe of bandicoots, small terrestrial marsupials who are found mostly in Australia, like the kangaroos and koalas. Quinn, a young bandicoot girl, belongs to a tribe that stores food for winter, eating out the entire season from the stashed supply.
Daughter of an expert cook, Quinn is asked to follow in her father’s footsteps, but she is not very fond of it. Being good at storytelling, Quinn is inspired by the hero of her favourite book, the “lone buckaroo,” and loves telling the story about the Tasmanian Devil, aka ‘Taz’, who no one has seen before. When her father goes missing, Quinn sets off to Tasmania to find Taz and recruit him to help her save the day. Thus begins the cute tale of friendship and adventure.
Hadley Gannaway, who voiced young Anna in Frozen 2, does an excellent job as the talkative and confident Quinn, while Taz is voiced by the veteran Steve Blum, who has voiced Wolverine, Lex Luthor, Bane, Penguin and Darksied in movies. Personality-wise, Quinn and Taz are poles apart as Quinn is smart, determined and kind as compared to ill-tempered Taz. Quinn is wise beyond her years, while Taz, despite a fearsome reputation, is very loyal to his bandicoot friend. Quinn has to dodge hungry crocodiles, outrun snakes and outsmart giant birds, and Taz is always there to bring her to safety. Taz reminds us of a friend who never hesitates to help, whenever there is trouble.
The 76-minute animated film has lots of messages for kids. They get to know the value of friendship and are shown that they can easily make friends with kids from different backgrounds. It also promotes book reading and appreciates drawing inspiration from the characters. One should never hesitate to ask others for help, as friends and family help each other when in need.
Published in Dawn, Young World, December 30th, 2023
