Shamrock and Roll (Merrie Melodies)

All of this just works. ― Todd Howard

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Shamrock and Roll (episode 998)
It's even worse when you realize that it ended the careers of two bland and boring Looney Tunes characters on an (unsurprisingly) sour note.
Directed by: Robert McKimson Produced by: Ted Bonnicksen Jim Davis Laverne Harding Norm McCabe Ed Solomon Written by: Cal Howard Release date: June 28, 1969 Franchise: Looney Tunes Prequel: "Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too!" Sequel: "Bugged By a Bee"

Shamrock and Roll is a Merrie Melodies short from 1969.

Summary

In this short, Merlin the Magic Mouse and his sidekick Second Banana encounter a rascally leprechaun named O'Reilly in Ireland.

Why It's Isn't A Gold One

1. The cartoon is basically a complete rehash of the 1951 Porky Pig cartoon "The Wearing of the Grin" but without the charm and likability from it.
   • The only difference is the setting is lighter and softer than the 1951 short, lacking a dark castle and replacing it with a leprechaun village.
2. The cartoon suffered a slow-paced beginning. Merlin and Second Banana used a national globe to search for where they want to go. The plot doesn't start until after they reached Ireland and met up with a leprechaun.
3. Like most cartoons in the Seven Arts era, the character designs are simplistic and resemble an attempt to copy the Hanna-Barbera style.
4. O'Reilly is a blatant Irish stereotype with magical powers making him far more invincible than the other characters, without any dimension to him like the Leprechauns in said Porky Pig short from 1951.
5. Mostly lackluster music from the likes of William Lava.
6. The concept of the story was pretty good, but its execution is paper-thin and the pacing of the gags are pretty slow.
   • Most of the jokes don't help matters any, making them cringworthy and laughable rather than clever and hilarious.
7. As with most of the Seven Arts shorts, it has an overuse of Hanna-Barbera sound effects.
8. The ending was pretty cruel to Merlin and Second Banana, as the Leprechaun had tricked them out of his gold.
9. The color of the leprechaun's skin is pale green yellow, whereas most leprechauns in Looney Tunes have a flesh skin tone. This short tried to go into a more abstract direction, but fails due to the skin color looking tasteless in the eyes of Looney Tunes fans.
10. This short ended the careers of Merlin and Second Banana on a sour note. They never returned in future media, let alone a few cameos.

Redeeming Qualities

1. Merlin and Second Banana are likable characters, despite their campiness.
2. Larry Storch's voice acting on the characters is passable at best.
3. Some funny moments, such as O'Reilly pointing out how dull and childish Merlin's magic is.
4. Although the ending was terrible, both Merlin and Second Banana had it coming to them (since they were both flat in personality).

Trivia

• This is the only Merlin cartoon where he was beaten by his opponent.
• This is also the only cartoon in the series where Merlin does not say his magic words, "Atascadero Escondido!"
• This would be the final appearance of Merlin and Second Banana, due to Warner Bros.-Seven Arts' final shut down shortly after its release to theaters.
• This is the final classic WB cartoon to credit Norman McCabe as an animator.
• HBO Max's remastered print of the cartoon retains the famous original MPAA "Rated G" screen (accompanied by William Lava's unused take of "Merrily We Roll Around" that would later become the theme to The Merrie Melodies Show) before the "Abstract W7" Merrie Melodies intro sequence on its theatrical release.

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