Michael Maltese was born on 6 February 1908.
You’ve probably never heard of him. I hadn’t! Why would anyone? He wrote most of the best Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons. And, you know, he was a writer.
I have a long history of criticizing Stan Lee. He was actually a good guy. I like his politics! But he was also a shit when it came to taking credit for things. Jack Kirby is what made the golden age of Marvel great. My point is that comic books are a visual art form and we should hold up artists and not writers.
There is a major problem with Stan Lee “writing” the comics. He didn’t. Kirby created the stories and Lee (and later, others) wrote the dialogue. That isn’t writing!
Anyway, Michael Maltese wrote the stories for literally hundreds of Warner Bros cartoons. And yes! I understand that the animation is critical. But I also know that these films wouldn’t be remembered if the stories didn’t work. Writing these stories — with the gags they include — is essential.
Perhaps most important: Maltese brought opera to people who never would have encountered it. The opera-oriented cartoons are now something of a trope. And the truth is, Warner Bros didn’t release nearly as many as most of us remember.
But Maltese wrote the three most important of these:
- Herr Meets Hare: Bugs ends up in Germany in 1945 while trying to make his way to Las Vegas. He engages with a German in a very operatic way. It isn’t what we now expect but it was the first move in this direction. It’s a great example of anti-Nazi propaganda. It also establishes Bugs as a genderfluid character. The current US administration would probably have Maltese arrested for both!
- Rabbit of Seville: This one establishes the formula. Bugs tricks Elmer Fudd into a theater and the two perform The Barber of Seville.
- What’s Opera, Doc?: Finally, we get the ultimate rendering of the opera plot. This isn’t due to Maltese though. It’s really the animation. “Rabbit of Seville” fully established the writing.
But let me leave you with one of the most iconic Merrie Melodies, “Duck Amuck.” Like almost every Warner Bros cartoon you love, it was written by Michael Maltese:
Michael Maltese via Wikipedia under Fair Use.
