The Merlin the Magic Mouse cartoons generally were classic examples of how badly Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies declined in the mid-late-60s. 'Fistic Mystic' is one of the better entries of the short-lived series but still contains a lot of the cartoons' faults.
'Fistic Mystic' is compensated by some good voice work by Larry Storch and that there are a few amusing, if never hilarious, moments, and has more energy than in the previous three Merlin the Magic Mouse cartoons.
However, re-iterating all the faults listed in my previous reviews of the previous three Merlin the Magic Mouse cartoons, the animation clearly suffers from smaller budgets and tighter deadlines. Everything looks so flat, scrappy and rushed, none of the colour, liveliness and fluidity seen with Looney Tunes at its best. Have also rarely been a fan of the stock/canned music that Bill Lava adopted, and here it is cheap-sounding, annoying and ill-fitting.
As said, 'Fistic Mystic' has its moments, but the dialogue does lack wit and too many moments are tired and predictable. The story also continues to be repetitive, disjointed and inconsistent in pacing. Looney Tunes at their best are some of the zaniest, wildest, wittiest and liveliest cartoons ever. All the Merlin the Magic Mouse cartoons are an extremely pale shadow of all that, and actually don't feel like Looney Tunes, actually feeling a rejected and very low-budget Hanna-Barbera effort.
While one doesn't expect the iconic Looney Tunes to stick around forever, surely they could have come up with more memorable, interesting, likable and funnier characters than the characters here. Was especially irritated by the sidekick character Second Banana. Merlin generally lacks the charisma or comic timing to be a good lead character.
In conclusion, not great but an improvement over 'Merlin the Magic Mouse', 'Hocus Pocus Powow' and 'Feud with a Dude'. 4/10 Bethany Cox