Sheep Ahoy | |
---|---|
Title card | |
Directed by | Charles M. Jones |
Story by | Michael Maltese |
Produced by | Edward Selzer (uncredited) |
Starring | Mel Blanc |
Music by | Milt Franklyn |
Animation by | Richard Thompson Abe Levitow |
Layouts by | Maurice Noble |
Backgrounds by | Philip DeGuard |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date | December 11, 1954 |
Running time | 6 minutes and 40 seconds |
Language | English |
Sheep Ahoy is a 1954 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones.[1] The short was released on December 11, 1954, and stars Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog.[2]
Mel Blanc provided for the voices of all the characters in this cartoon, however, like all Sam Wolf and Ralph Sheepdog shorts, this short is mostly composed of visual gags.
This is the second short featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog. The title is a play on the phrase "Ship ahoy!"
This story revolves around Ralph Wolf (here named George) trying to steal the sheep guarded by Sam Sheepdog (here called Fred), who has just exchanged shifts with co-worker Fred Sheepdog (here called Ralph). As Ralph runs off with a sheep, Sam pushes a rock over the ledge, which falls on the wolf's head. Ralph promptly lets the sheep go before falling over in a daze, a lump consequently growing on his head.
Eventually, the time clock whistle blows and Ralph and Sam change shifts with their replacements Wile E. Coyote (here called Sam) and Fred Sheepdog. Their replacements stand in the same position that Sam and Ralph were standing in before the whistle blew and Fred begins punching Wile E. in the face.
Like Don't Give Up the Sheep, the names of the characters are inconsistent in this short compared to the rest of the shorts. At the beginning of the short, Sam the sheepdog is coming on duty to replace another sheepdog named Fred. As the two pass, Fred calls Sam "Fred" and Sam calls Fred "Ralph". At the end of the short they reverse the names.
This is also the only Ralph Wolf/Sam Sheepdog cartoon to feature Wile E. Coyote, he appears as Ralph's replacement and he refers to Ralph as "George", and Ralph refers to Wile E. as "Sam".
This short is available on the Looney Tunes Collectors Edition: Canine Corps VHS from Columbia House.