Magical Maestro
Magical Maestro
NR | 09 February 1952 (USA)
Magical Maestro Trailers

After he is rejected by the Great Poochini as an opening act, Mysto the Magician gets his revenge by conducting his next operatic performance.

Reviews
tavm

I first remember watching this particular cartoon as a kid visiting New York at an electronics store whose wall of TVs were on a particular channel that showed this particular cartoon. What I saw that day was so hilarious I was enthralled throughout the whole six minutes I was watching it. In a nutshell, a magician dog attempts to get into an opera-singing bulldog's stage only to get thrown out. Needless to say, this magician doesn't take it lying down and then takes the conductor's place causing lots of chaotic things to happen on stage! Watching this again on YouTube just now, I still found plenty to laugh at despite now knowing the offensive stereotypes involving Asians and African-Americans that are partially presented here. So on that note, I highly recommend Magical Maestro.

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jonathan_zuckerman

Presto the Magician is a sapient dog-person who can make flowerpots and rabbits appear out of thin air. He decides, rather impulsively to audition for Poochini, another sapient dog-person who sings "Largo al Factotum" on a bare stage, dressed in a tuxedo. Presto thinks the tenor needs an opening act, and he's the guy to provide it! Poocini rudely kicks him out, and Presto decides to take revenge by impersonating the conductor of the orchestra in order to play tricks on Poochini as he performs. He puts the conductor in a trance and leaves him hypnotized, standing at the back of the orchestra pit, bald, nose less, and in his long johns.Poochini sings and Presto changes him into different styles of singers with comical results. His two rabbits appear on stage to add accompaniment as Poochini changes into a lot of crazy things. When Presto's wig falls off during a high note—Poochini gets his revenge.

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Lee Eisenberg

As long as we understand that "Magical Maestro" contains some politically incorrect scenes, we can enjoy it for the purely crazy, as a sadistic magician plays all sorts of tricks on a snobbish opera singer by changing the guy's persona every couple of seconds. I think that my favorite one was the little kid.I believe that it was the Klingons on "Star Trek" who declared "Revenge is a dish best served cold." Maybe the magician doesn't go quite that far, but he sure has some funny things up his sleeve! It just goes to show that while Tex Avery may not have been as clever as the people behind the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons, he certainly had some great ideas. Worth seeing.

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kydar

One of the best gags of the toon, IMHO, is the stray fleck on the film. We've all seen them in old films, but nobody would ever expect what happens with this one!

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