Merlin the Magic Mouse (character)

This article is about the character, for other uses see "Merlin the Magic Mouse".

Merlin the Magic Mouse
Are you ready to see something incredible? Well, too bad, you're gonna see it anyway!
Species	Mouse
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Second Banana Buster Bunny, in Tiny Toons Looniversity
Father	Unnamed father
Mother	Unnamed mother
Marital status	Single
First appearance	LT: Merlin The Magic Mouse (1967)
Played by	Daws Butler (1967) Larry Storch (1968-1969) J.P Karliak (2023)
Tiny Toons Looniversity

Merlin, the Magic Mouse is a character who appeared in five late entries the Looney Tunes theatrical series, during the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts era. His voice was originated by Daws Butler.

Character description

Merlin is a grey-furred mouse with a big red nose, who consistently wears a red jacket with patches and a top hat; the hat's color varies from black to green.

Appearances

TV series

• The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries
  • 3.04b "El Dia De los Pussygatos"
• Tiny Toons Looniversity
  • 1.03 "Extra, So Extra"

Shorts

• Looney Tunes
  • Merlin The Magic Mouse
  • Hocus Pocus Powwow
  • Feud with a Dude
  • Fistic Mystic
  • Shamrock and Roll

Development

Following the restructuring of Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1967, company CEO Jack L. Warner hired animator Alex Lovy–an employee of Hanna-Barbera Productions–to handle the creation of new cartoon characters, in addition to supervising its last two classic stars Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales. The two characters Lovy invented were Merlin the Magic Mouse and Cool Cat.

Merlin's speech mannerisms and appearance were based on comedic actor W.C. Fields, who already appeared beforehand as caricature in several entries of both the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. Unlike Merlin — who is presented as an all-powerful character despite his inept behavior — Fields' stage persona was that of a cantankerous, yet funny egotist, who had a penchant for drinking liquor and mild contempt for his targets, primarily children or women.

Gallery

Main article: Merlin the Magic Mouse (character)/Gallery

Behind the scenes

• His name likely originates from Merlin, a magician who appears in tales of the King Arthur legend.