Line #25 WesternAnimation/MagicalMaestro


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/magical_maestro_6980.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:For the record, the piece is "Largo al factotum."]]
3	''Magical Maestro'' is a 1952 animated short, directed by Creator/TexAvery. The plot of the cartoon is fairly simple. A magician tries to get a job in a theatre, but is kicked out by the opera singer of the house because the theatre is playing a concert, not a magic show. In an act of revenge the magician disguises himself as the conductor and changes the opera singer into all kinds of wacky characters by using his magic wand as a baton. Finally the magician's wig comes loose and the opera singer recognizes him. He runs off without his magic wand, but the singer brings him back and acts out a similar act of revenge on him.
4
5	''Magical Maestro'' is one of Avery's most famous and popular cartoons. It is inducted in the UsefulNotes/NationalFilmRegistry since 1993, the only Avery short so far to be inducted there.
6
7	----
8	!!''Magical Maestro'' provides examples of:
9
10	* AllAsiansWearConicalStrawHats: After being thrown a cymbal on his head the singer changes into a Chinese man from ImperialChina with a conical straw hat. This is typically cut from TV airings.
11	* AmusingInjuries: Even the obligatory anvil is dropped on the head.
12	* AnvilOnHead: The irate audience member drops one on the head of the opera singer.
13	* {{Blackface}}: In one gag that's almost always cut from TV airings, an irate audience member sprays Poochini with ink from a fountain pen, briefly turning him into a black singer.
14	* BornInTheTheatre: There appears an animated "hair" caught in the projector gate that was so realistic it drove projectionists crazy... until the action suddenly stops and the on-screen cartoon singer plucks it and throws it away (see the picture above). Supposedly the canister for the cartoon's film included a warning label to try and put the projectionists at ease.
15	* {{Bowdlerize}}: Understandably, several of the more racially-insensitive jokes, such as the cymbal turning Poochini into a Chinaman (as well as the magician also being briefly turned into a Chinaman at the end) and ink from a pen turning him into a [[{{Blackface}} black singer]], are often cut in syndication.
16	* BreakingTheFourthWall: One of the more famous bits not involving the magician's antics is when a stray hair appears in the corner of the screen, as if it got caught in the film reel. Poochini takes notice and plucks the errant hair and tosses it aside before continuing the show.
17	* CartoonConductor: Expected when you're using a magic wand as a conductor's baton.
18	* DisproportionateRetribution: Presto sabotages the Great Poochini's opera performance solely because he wasn't hired as an opening act -- not that opera is well known for opening with a magic show in the first place, mind you.
19	* TheDogBitesBack: A literal example. After the magician is outed, Poochini angrily grabs his wand, levitates him onto the stage and [[ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine forces him to reenact Poochini's entire performance in about five seconds]]. Including the hula and luaus.
20	* GettingTheBoot: Presto's audition for Poochini only gets him kicked out into the street.
21	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The climax, in which the magician's wig falls off and Poochini nails him with his own wand.
22	* MagiciansAreWizards: For a magician his magic skills sure go far! They defy the laws of gravity and physics in seconds.
23	* NinjaProp: A stray hair is seen shaking around at the bottom of the screen -- a common problem with films at the time. That is, until Poochini actually plucks the annoying hair out. (This gag is rumored to have turned a few projectionists bonkers as they tried to remove the way-too-realistic hair.)
24	* NotSoPhonyPsychic: After being kicked out of the theater, the magician waves his wand around nonchalantly, which causes rabbits to appear. Even ''he'' seems surprised that its magic is real, and that's what gave him his idea for revenge.
25	* ProducePelting: An irate audience member hurls a huge pile of fruit at the stage, just in time for the singer to get turned into Creator/CarmenMiranda.
26	* PullARabbitOutOfMyHat: Rabbits appear in the singer's hands. As he hides them away, and lifts his hands again, they reappear, only with their numerous offspring. They also provide background singing for the "Mamãe Eu Quero" and "Hawaiian War Chant" moments (and apparently are a guitar for "Darling Clementine").
27	* PunnyName: ''Poochini'' is a pun on the word ''pooch'' for dog and composer Music/GiacomoPuccini.
28	* ShoutOut:
29	** After being pelted with fruit, the opera singer changes into SpicyLatina singer Carmen Miranda, who was known for her TuttiFruttiHat.
30	** After getting sprayed with ink, the singer transforms into a black artist, mimicking the R&B group Music/TheInkSpots.
31	* TheDogBitesBack: Literally! In the climax, after the magician's wig falls off, Poochini grabs the wig off his head and his wand and makes the Magician go through all of the transformations that Poochini suffered.
32	* TheShowMustGoOn: It looks like nothing can prevent Poochini from singing "Largo al factotum", not even Presto's magical pranks.
33	* StandardSnippet: The only portion Poochini sings from ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville'' is the famous ''Figaro'' chorus.
34	* StealthPun:
35	** After the singer is sprayed with ink, he transforms into a black singer. An underlying joke that modern audiences will probably not ''get'' is that he is imitating the R&B group Music/TheInkSpots (specifically their frontman, Bill Kenny), again in line with the fact that his head is full of black ink.
36	** After having an anvil dropped on his head by the very same audience member, the singer's body is compressed, referencing both The Ink Spots' bass, "Hoppy" Jones, and the band's "Top & Bottom" song format.
37	* TuttiFruttiHat: The fruit the heckler throws at Poochini becomes a hat when Mysto turns him into Carmen Miranda.
38	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never know the fate of the conductor who had his hair, clothes, and ''nose'' stolen by the magician.

Context WesternAnimation / MagicalMaestro