Merlin the Magic Mouse (Merrie Melodies)

Merlin the Magic Mouse (episode 982)
There's a good reason why the house is empty besides one cat -- it's because no one even wants to watch this.
Directed by: Alex Lovy Written by: Cal Howard Release date: November 18, 1967 Franchise: Looney Tunes Prequel: "Cool Cat" (previous short) Sequel: "Fiesta Fiasco" (next short)

Merlin the Magic Mouse is a 1967 Merrie Melodies short directed by Alex Lovy. This short marks the debut of the titular magician mouse, Merlin, and his sidekick Second Banana. It is the last cartoon in the Golden Age to feature Sam Cat.

Why It Lacks the Magic

1. The short marks the debut of the bland and boring Merlin the Magic Mouse (and his equally unfunny sidekick Second Banana). None of the jokes that Merlin does in this short are funny whatsoever, with the best gag he can do being the applauding machine handled by Second Banana. Due to poor reception of the two, they were completely scrapped by the end of the Seven Arts era and have not reappeared past a non-speaking cameo in The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries.
2. Extremely weak writing that feels close to ripping off the 1965 Tom and Jerry short Haunted Mouse.
3. Flat and rushed background designs.
4. Sam Cat has notably been flanderized in this short to be more incompetent and dumber than his previous shorts with Sylvester. Notably, he does not manage to even see Merlin's fake mustache disguise even though it's blatantly obvious the fake moustache does not conceal his mouse identity.
5. Typical to any Seven Arts short, the animation is extremely poor, notably with Sam Cat, who suffers most from being off model much like Daffy and Speedy.
6. Limited stock Hanna-Barbera sound effects as per every other Seven Arts short.
7. Cheesy dialogue, such as Sam Cat's whining when he has to enter the boxes to be magically "sawed" in half.
8. Stock-like and rather plain music from William Lava.
9. The ending has no conclusion leaving Sam trying to chase the mice in an wooden boat, tied with balloons in the air, only to lose sight, not even realizing the mice were behind him.
10. Overall, this short ended Sam Cat's career in the Golden Age on a sour note.

Redeeming Qualities

1. Daws Butler does an amazing job voicing Merlin, Second Banana and Sam Cat. It is notably the last short that Daws Butler worked on for Warner Bros., and he easily shows that he gives it all out in this cartoon, especially in comparison to Larry Storch's voice in later Merlin shorts.
2. At least Sam Cat appeared in this short (probably Ted Bonnicksen's idea). Additionally, he does have some moments of being smart, albeit incompetent and still stupid.
3. While William Lava's music is not good here in this short, he provides a nice theme tune for Merlin the Magic Mouse (though depending on your view), that continues to appear throughout his and Second Banana's cartoons.

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