The Cartoonist

Walter walked the studio grounds, lost in concentration.
He needed a new character. Mickey had been packing theatres for years – not bad for a lousy cartoon short! – but rentals had begun to sag.
Face it. The Mouse was a victim of his own success. Originally a mischievous trickster, he was now good-natured and bland. Booooring.
What he needed was a foil. A character with a rotten disposition, to create dramatic tension. But who?
He almost tripped on the duck’s carcass. It lay by the side of the pond, half-eaten.
Two months later, /Morty Maggot/ opened to rave reviews.