Magical Maestro
Magical Maestro | |
---|---|
Directed by | Tex Avery |
Story by | Rich Hogan |
Produced by | Fred Quimby |
Starring | Daws Butler (voice of Mysto, uncredited)[1] Carlos Julio Ramírez Tex Avery Paul Frees Frank Ross (voices of Poochini, uncredited)[1] The Mary Kaye Trio (Vocalists, uncredited)[1] |
Music by | Scott Bradley |
Animation by | Grant Simmons Michael Lah Walter Clinton |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 6 minutes and 30 seconds |
Language | English |
Magical Maestro is a 1952 American
Plot
Attention-craving Mysto the Magician rudely interrupts a world-famous
While on the ground, the self-pitying Mysto plays with his magic wand, but soon realizes he can pass it off as a conductor's baton; being further inspired by seeing himself in place of the conductor in a promotional poster outside the door and plans to get revenge on Poochini. Later, as the performance is starting he freezes the conductor, steals his tuxedo, nose and hair; then takes his place in front of the orchestra to conduct the Poochini, who is unaware of the imposter in front of him.
During the performance, in which Poochini (performed by the
Poochini is then transformed into a
Reaching the end of the number, Mysto's plan is finally revealed to Poochini as his wig falls off. Mysto quickly puts the wig back on, but it's too late. Now set for revenge of his own, Poochini furiously grabs the hairpiece and puts it on while a now defeated and exposed Mysto cowardly tries to flee; but Poochini, having also grabbed the magic wand, stops the magician by using the wand on him as placing Mysto to the stage and unleashes the same gimmicks on the hapless magician at high speed. A red curtain with the words "The End" then falls on the magician and the rabbits (at the end of the Hawaiian singer shtick) thus ending the cartoon.
Voice cast
- Daws Butler as Misto the Magician[1]
- Carlos Ramirez as The Great Poochini (main singing voice)[1]
- The Mary Kaye Trio as some of Pocchini's comic voices[1]
- Mary Kaye as Carmen Miranda Poochini[1]
- Frank Ross as Chinese, Cowboy, Square-Dancer and Little Boy Poochini[1]
- Frank Ross and Norman Kaye as Hawaiian singers[1]
- Paul Frees as high-pitiched blackface singer Poochini[1]
- Danny Webb as low-pitched blackface singer Poochini[1]
- Tex Avery as Poochini's speaking voice for a single line: "No!!!"[1]
- The Mary Kaye Trio as some of Pocchini's comic voices[1]
History
The concept of cartoons with insinuating situations is hardly new—Tex Avery especially featured a few quick jokes of this nature in his cartoons. Magical Maestro, for example, shows Poochini with a male and female rabbit on each arm. He lowers his arms behind his back and when he raises them again, he now has an additional dozen baby rabbits on them, six on each arm.
This cartoon features a gimmick only seen in Tex Avery films, the "hair gag". Because cartoons were shown originally in movie theatres, the film strip, if loaded incorrectly, would rub against the gate mechanism, shaving off tiny "hairs" of celluloid. These hairs would get caught in the "gate" of the projector. Sometimes it would skitter across the projection light, resulting in a gigantic hair appearing on the movie screen. In this cartoon, the opera singer pauses mid-song to pluck the offending hair from the film and tosses it aside,[5] one of Avery's many ways of his characters breaking the fourth wall. It wasn't the first time Avery used this gag: it was also used in Aviation Vacation (1941).
The role of Poochini is portrayed by
Influence
The "hair gag" would later be used by English comedian Benny Hill in the closing chase sequence of his April 25, 1984 show. As he is being chased by medical staff and an ambulance in and around a hospital area, he notices a hair moving around the bottom right corner of the screen, and at a certain point stops his pursuers long enough for him to pluck the hair out before the chase resumes.
Tom and Jerry Tales episode "Way-Off Broadway" features a gag similar to Poochini's transformations, in that Tom is forced to adapt to various pieces music when Jerry changes them on a radio.
Availability
- Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 2 (Blu-Ray)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "AVERY…. Vol. 2??? WELL, IMAGINE THAT!". cartoonresearch.com. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ "Librarian Announces National Film Registry Selections (March 7, 1994) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ISBN 1572152702.
External links
- Magical Maestro essay [1] by Thad Komorowski on the National Film Registry website
- Magical Maestro at IMDb
- Magical Maestro essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ISBN 0826429777, pages 454-456 [2]