- "I'm ruined! RUINED!"
- — Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (Michelangelo for short) was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. What is commonly regarded as his greatest achievement is the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which features numerous scenes from Book of Genesis (most prominently The Creation of Adam). The process behind his masterpiece is satirized in the Animaniacs cartoon "Hooked on a Ceiling." The tortured genius was voiced by Maurice LaMarche.
Appearance
Michelangelo was depicted as a blonde man wearing a toga. He bore a great physical resemblance to actor Kirk Douglas, right down to his hair-style, and even spoke like him.
Personality
The brilliant artist was portrayed as easily irritable and stressed, with an overly-ambitious drive to create masterpieces to impress "his eminence," assumed to be the Pope. His ego often gets in the way of his thinking, even going as far as firing his assistants out of frustration. Additionally, his frustration appears to give him a boost in strength, as he is able to smash a concrete pillar with his fist to make it into a statue (also showing the strengths of his artistic talent).
History
Animaniacs (Original Series)
Michelangelo is first encountered at the height of the Italian Renaissance, where he is struggling to finish painting the Sistine Chapel's ceiling in time for "his eminence's" impending arrival. After firing all of his assistants, he is left alone without help to finish his biblical masterpiece. After asking Heaven for help, his prayers are answered when ceiling painters Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner arrive.
As they settle in, the siblings gradually annoy Michelangelo when they try to "help" him, despite his reluctance. The artist tries to show the siblings his biblical masterpiece intended for the ceiling, but they dismiss it as inappropriate for a church setting due to the presence of naked people. They do understand, however, his desire to put "pictures" on the ceiling. He eventually breaks-down when he sees what the Warners paint over his original painting -- Margaret Keane-style children, Cassius Marcellus Coolidge's Dogs Playing Poker, and a portrait of an older Elvis Presley.
He eventually convinces the siblings to restore and finish the painting as intended, which is fueled by the siblings' bizarre fondness of painting naked people. With the ceiling restored and almost finished, he is still left without a centerpiece. When "his eminence" arrives, he reluctantly leaves the Warners to make one while greeting him. After this, Michelangelo is shocked to see what the centerpiece is -- an E.T.-oriented take on The Creation of Adam, with the titular alien in God's place and Elliott Taylor in Adam's place. He is left standing astounded that his eminence, revealed to be Steven Spielberg, enjoys it. He looks on in awe as the Warners pour him cereal. ("Hooked on a Ceiling")
Later on, Wakko seeks out Michelangelo's advice on his new gookie face. Michelangelo gives constructive criticism to Wakko, saying his new face is more like a "mookie." ("Wakko's New Gookie")
Appearances
Animaniacs (Original Series)
Gallery
Trivia
General
- The Animaniacs incarnation of Michelangelo would later return in an episode of the educational WB series Histeria!, entitled "Euro-Mania."
- As previously mentioned, Michelangelo's physical and vocal mannerisms are a caricature of actor Kirk Douglas, with his voice being imitated by Maurice LaMarche. Notably, LaMarche would later repurpose the voice for the villainous Father in the Cartoon Network series Codename: Kids Next Door.
- Another LaMarche-voiced Douglas caricature briefly appears in "The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special," referred to as "Spartacus."
- Ironically, the actual Kirk Douglas never got a chance to portray Michelangelo (Charlton Heston notably portrayed him in the 1965 film The Agony and the Ecstasy). Douglas did however, portray another historical artist, Vincent van Gogh in the 1956 film Lust for Life.