''Max and Moritz: A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks'' (original: ''Max und Moritz – Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen'') is a

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

illustrated story in verse. This highly inventive, blackly humorous tale, told entirely in rhymed couplets, was written and illustrated by

Wilhelm Busch Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch (14 April 1832 – 9 January 1908) was a German humorist, poet, illustrator, and painter. He published wildly innovative illustrated tales that remain influential to this day. Busch drew on the tropes of f ...

and published in 1865. It is among the early works of Busch, yet it already featured many substantial, effectually aesthetic and formal regularities, procedures and basic patterns of Busch's later works. Many familiar with comic strip history consider it to have been the direct inspiration for the ''

Katzenjammer Kids ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' is an American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897 and later drawn by Harold Knerr for 35 years (1914 to 1949).Quick & Flupke''. The German title satirizes the German custom of giving a subtitle to the name of dramas in the form of "Ein Drama in ... Akten" (''A Drama in ... Acts''), which became dictum in colloquial usage for any event with an unpleasant or dramatic course, e.g. "Bundespräsidentenwahl - Ein Drama in drei Akten" ('' Federal Presidential Elections - A drama in three acts'').

Cultural significance

Busch's classic tale of the terrible duo (now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

) has since become a proud part of the culture in German-speaking countries. Even today, parents usually read these tales to their not-yet-literate children. To this day in Germany,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and Switzerland, a certain familiarity with the story and its rhymes is still presumed, as it is often referenced in mass communication. The two leering faces are synonymous with mischief, and appear almost logo-like in advertising and even

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Red Baron,

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...

, named his dog Moritz, giving the name Max to another animal given to his friend. The two Sturer Emil vehicles produced in World War II were named Max and Moritz by their crews. These names can be seen in use in one of the documented engagements they took part in. ''Max and Moritz'' is the first published original foreign children's book in Japan which was translated into

rōmaji The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logographic characters borrowed from Ch ...

by Shinjirō Shibutani and Kaname Oyaizu in 1887 as ' ("Naughty stories"). Max and Moritz became the forerunners to the comic strip. The story inspired Rudolph Dirks to create

The Katzenjammer Kids ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' is an American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897 and later drawn by Harold Knerr for 35 years (1914 to 1949).Art Clokey Arthur "Art" Clokey (born Arthur Charles Farrington; October 12, 1921 – January 8, 2010) was an American pioneer in the popularization of stop-motion clay animation, best known as the creator of the character Gumby and the original voice o ...

to create his antagonists for

Gumby ''Gumby'' is an American clay animation franchise, centered on the titular green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey. Gumby stars in two television series, the feature-length '' Gumby: The Movie'', and other media. He im ...

, the Blockheads. Story has it that Max and Moritz (along with ''The Katzenjammer Kids'') also served as inspiration for Ragdoll Productions' British children's show '' Rosie and Jim'', Mike Judge's animated series '' Beavis and Butt-Head'', Terrence and Phillip of the Terrence and Phillip Show from '' South Park'' (The show's creators,

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...

, having said South Park was inspired by ''Beavis and Butt-Head''), and George Beard and Harold Hutchins in the " Captain Underpants" series by

Dav Pilkey David "Dav" Murray Pilkey Jr. (; born March 4, 1966) is an American cartoonist, author, and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book series, ''Captain Underpants'', and the chil ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, German-U.S. composer

Richard Mohaupt Richard Mohaupt (14 September 1904 – 3 July 1957) was a German composer and Kapellmeister. Life Richard Mohaupt was born in Breslau, where he studied music. After his studies he worked as a répétiteur and music director in Breslau, Aach ...

, together with choreographer , created , a burlesque dance (german: Tanzburleske, italics=no), which premiered at Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe on December 18, 1949. In the early 2020s, The

Efteling Efteling () is a fantasy-themed amusement park in Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands. The attractions reflect elements from ancient myths and legends, fairy tales, fables, and folklore. The park was opened on May 31, 1952. It evolved from a nature p ...

amusement Park would close the former Swiss Bob attraction due to being hard to operate and reportedly had some maintenance issues including technical failures, and replace it with a new Mack Rides family-friendly dueling steel powered

rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

named Max & Moritz, based on the German children's story of the same name. ''Max and Moritz'' are featured in '' The Defeated'', a streaming television series distributed by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

in 2021. Set in 1946, in post-war

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, the two main characters are brothers named "Max" and "Moritz", and the book ''Max and Moritz: A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks'' (german: Max und Moritz – Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen, italics=yes) also features prominently throughout the series.

The pranks

There have been several English translations of the original German verses over the years, but all have maintained the original

trochaic tetrameter Trochaic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. It refers to a line of four trochaic feet. The etymology of the word Trochaic is the Greek word ''trokhaios'', from the verb ''trecho'', which means "I run". In classical metre, a trochee is a foot cons ...

Preface

Ah, how oft we read or hear of
Boys we almost stand in fear of!
For example, take these stories
Of two youths, named Max and Moritz,
Who, instead of early turning
Their young minds to useful learning,
Often leered with horrid features
At their lessons and their teachers. Look now at the empty head: he
Is for mischief always ready.
Teasing creatures - climbing fences,
Stealing apples, pears, and quinces,
Is, of course, a deal more pleasant,
And far easier for the present,
Than to sit in schools or churches,
Fixed like roosters on their perches But O dear, O dear, O deary,
When the end comes sad and dreary!
'Tis a dreadful thing to tell
That on Max and Moritz fell!
All they did this book rehearses,
Both in pictures and in verses.

First Trick: The Widow

The boys tie several crusts of bread together with thread, and lay this trap in the chicken yard of Bolte (or "Tibbets" in the English version), an old widow, causing all the chickens to become fatally entangled. This prank is remarkably similar to the eighth history of the classic German prankster tales of

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore. Eulenspiegel is a ...

Second Trick: The Widow II

As the widow cooks her chickens, the boys sneak onto her roof. When she leaves her kitchen momentarily, the boys steal the chickens using a fishing pole down the chimney. The widow hears her dog ("Spitz" in the English version) barking and hurries upstairs, finds the hearth empty and beats the dog.

Third Trick: The Tailor

The boys torment Böck (or "Buck" in the English version), a well-liked tailor who has a fast stream flowing in front of his house. They saw through the planks of his wooden bridge, making a precarious gap, then taunt him by making goat noises (a pun on his name being similar to the zoological expression 'buck'; in the English version they use his name for a straight pun), until he runs outside. The bridge breaks; the tailor is swept away and nearly drowns (but for two geese, which he grabs a hold of and which fly high to safety). Although Till removes the planks of the bridge instead of sawing them there are some similarities to Till Eulenspiegel (32nd History).

Fourth Trick: The Teacher

While their devout teacher, Lämpel, is busy at church, the boys invade his home and fill his favorite pipe with gunpowder. When he lights the pipe, the blast knocks him unconscious, blackens his skin and burns away all his hair. But: "Time that comes will quick repair; yet the pipe retains its share."

Fifth Trick: The Uncle

The boys collect bags full of May bugs, which they promptly deposit in their Uncle Fritz's bed. Uncle is nearly asleep when he feels the bugs walking on his nose. Horrified, he goes into a frenzy, killing them all before going back to sleep.

Sixth Trick: The Baker

The boys invade a closed bakery to steal some Easter sweets. Attempting to steal pretzels, they fall into a vat of dough. The baker returns, catches the breaded pair, and bakes them. But they survive, and escape by gnawing through their crusts.

Final Trick: The Farmer

Hiding out in the grain storage area of a farmer, Mecke (unnamed in the English version), the boys slit some grain sacks. Carrying away one of the sacks, farmer Mecke immediately notices the problem. He puts the boys in the sack instead, then takes it to the mill. The boys are ground to bits and devoured by the miller's ducks. Later, no one expresses regret.

Media

''Max und Moritz'' was adapted into a ballet by Richard Mohaupt and Alfredo Bortuluzzi. In 1956

Norbert Schultze Norbert Arnold Wilhelm Richard Schultze (26 January 1911 in Brunswick – 14 October 2002 in Bad Tölz) was a prolific German composer of film music and a member of the NSDAP and of Joseph Goebbels' staff during World War II. He is best remem ...

adapted it into a straightforward children's film, '' Max and Moritz (1956)''.

Film and television

Animated

* ''Spuk mit Max und Moritz'' (1951), by Diehl Film, a production company lead by brothers , and * ' (1978) by

Halas and Batchelor Halas and Batchelor was a British animation company founded by husband and wife John Halas and Joy Batchelor. Halas was a Hungarian émigré to the United Kingdom. The company had studios in London and Cainscross, in the Stroud District of Glouce ...

* ''Max und Moritz'' (TV series, 39 episodes, 1999)

Live action

* ''Max and Moritz'' (1956) * ' (1965) * ' (2005)

Literature

*''Der Fall Max und Moritz'' ( en, The Max and Moritz Case, italics=yes), 1988 () by Jörg M. Günther, a satirical treatment in which the various misdeeds in the story - both by the protagonists and their surroundings - are analyzed via the regulations of the German

Strafgesetzbuch ''Strafgesetzbuch'' (), abbreviated to ''StGB'', is the German penal code. History In Germany the ''Strafgesetzbuch'' goes back to the Penal Code of the German Empire passed in the year 1871 on May 15 in Reichstag which was largely identica ...

References

External links

in German for a single work
''Max und Moritz''

''Max & Maurice'', a Juvenile History in Seven Tricks (German/English)
App for iPad iPhone iPod, told with animated pictures and readout function {{Authority control Literary duos Comic strip duos German comic strips German children's literature Fictional German people Fictional tricksters German comics characters Comedy literature characters Humor comics Children's comics Gag-a-day comics Text comics 1860s comics 1865 books Child characters in comics Male characters in comics Child characters in literature Male characters in literature Public domain comics Comics characters introduced in 1865 Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into plays German comics adapted into films 1860s children's books