Taz, Granny and other Looney Tunes you may remember

Everyone knows Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. But what about Miss Prissy and Gossamer?

The new Looney Tunes movie, "Coyote vs. Acme," which opened Friday, focuses on the titular Wile E. Coyote and the elusive Road Runner while including some of the better-known figures from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies universe. There are several lesser-known characters, however, that hard-core Looney fans will be pleased to see. Stop reading now if you want their appearances to remain a surprise; otherwise, here’s a quick guide to who’s who in "Coyote vs. Acme."

Granny

Kindly, bespectacled and gray-haired, she is best known as the protective owner of Tweety, and sometimes of the predatory cat Sylvester. Granny was created by Friz Freleng (later of "The Pink Panther" cartoons) who first cast her in 1950’s "Canary Row." For the most part, the source of Granny’s humor is her age: She dresses in yesteryear’s outfits, drives a Model T and once changed into a "new bikini" that turned out to be a Victorian-era swimsuit (seen in 1955’s "Sandy Claws"). Fun fact: According to clues in two cartoons — 1953’s "Hare Trimmed" and 1965’s "Corn on the Cop" — Granny’s real name must be Emma Webster.

The Tasmanian Devil

When standing still, he’s depicted as an upright creature with a large head, carnivorous fangs and a lolling tongue. In motion, he becomes a scribbled tornado that can chew trees into sawdust and split boulders into pebbles. When he made his debut in 1954’s "Devil May Hare," he spoke sporadic but fluent English ("Flattery’ll get you nowhere," he tells Bugs), but over time his speech devolved into grunts, gasps and the occasional raspberry.

Taz, as he’s known to fans, appeared in only five classic-era theatrical shorts but seemed to grow in popularity over the years; in 1991 he starred in his own show, "Taz-Mania." He’s currently one of the few characters with his own T-shirt at the official Looney Tunes store online.

Miss Prissy

A long, drawled "yes" is the trademark of this spinster hen who first appeared in 1950’s "An Egg Scramble." Much like Granny, she’s a throwback to a distant era, wearing a frilly blue bonnet and "American Gothic" spectacles. (Both characters were created by Robert McKimson.)

From today’s perspective, Prissy is not exactly a feminist figure: Her main concerns are family and fertility, which means either chasing a man (such as Foghorn Leghorn) or striving to lay eggs. (In one short, "Little Boy Boo," she is a widow with a bookish son named Egghead Jr.) Keep an eye out — and an ear — for Prissy’s brief turn in "Coyote vs. Acme."

Dr. Lorre

Several generations of kids saw this character well before they knew about his inspiration: Peter Lorre, the Austro-Hungarian actor who played memorable villains in such Hollywood classics as "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) and "Casablanca" (1942) Lorre’s unusual face — almost perfectly round, with wide-set eyes and full lips — must have been irresistible to the Looney animators, who transformed him into Dr. Lorre, a mad scientist with a listless voice and a panting laugh. He appeared in only a couple of classic shorts, "Hair-Raising Hare" (1946) and "Birth of a Notion" (1947).

Gossamer

You may not know his name, but you’ll certainly recognize him: A tall monster with orange fur, a heart-shaped head and a pair of tennis shoes. He’s among the rarest of Looney Tunes characters, appearing in only two classic shorts as the pet of the aforementioned Dr. Lorre, but he’s since become a fan favorite. (A collectible Gossamer drinking glass might go for nearly $80 on eBay.)

It’s hard to put a finger on the monster’s appeal, but it may have something to do with his hidden sensitivity (he’s afraid of people). One bit of trivia: Not until the 1980 televised short "Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century," would Gossamer get his name, from none other than Marvin the Martian.