Sheep Ahoy
Encyclopedia
Sheep Ahoy is a 1954 American Merrie Melodies
cartoon directed by Chuck Jones
and released by Warner Bros. Pictures featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog
. Mel Blanc
provided for the voices of all the characters in this cartoon, however, like all Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf shorts, this short is mostly composed of visual gag
s.
This is the second short featuring Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf. The title is a play on the phrase "Ship ahoy!".
1. By the time Sam sits on the edge of his cliff to watch over the sheep, Ralph is already attempting to carry a sheep away. Sam casually pushes a rock over the ledge, which falls on Ralph's head. In a stupor, Ralph places the sheep on the ground and lets it go just before he falls unconscious and grows a large lump on his head.
2. Ralph next attempts to drop a large boulder on Sam, but a tree branch catches the boulder and propels it upwards again as it crushes Ralph.
3. Ralph's next attempt is to pole vault over Sam to get a sheep. Sam casually grabs the pole, lowers it over the edge until Ralph is eye level with Sam, and punches him in the face.
4. Next, Ralph attempts to sneak into the field by surrounding himself with a cloud of smoke from an Acme
smoke bomb
. Sam heads him off at the pass and drops a stick of dynamite in his smoke cloud. After the explosion, Ralph stumbles back in a cloud of black smoke. With his lack of vision and coordination, he accidentally falls off a cliff.
5. In Ralph's fifth attempt, he uses an Acme disguise. The box is labelled "Acme artificial rock. Have fun. Be popular. Be a rock!" Ralph attempts to sneak past Sam with the rock disguise, but Sam hits the fake rock with a sledge hammer. Ralph breaks apart into a number of pebbles which all move back into Ralph's cave.
6. Ralph's next attempt is to dive off a cliff while tied to a very large helium balloon and carrying a fishing rod to snag a sheep. As he casts his rod, he unwittingly snags his balloon with his fish hook
and rips the balloon, sending him flying into the horizon.
7. Ralph then attempts to tunnel under the field. As he reaches up through the holes, he feels what appears to be four sheep legs strapped on to a large drum of TNT. Believing this to be a sheep, he pulls it into his tunnel. After the explosion, he places the riven drum back where it was sitting. Blackened and dejected, he refills his tunnel.
8. In Ralph's eighth attempt he swims through a stream with a pedal-powered submarine to catch a sheep which is taking a drink of water. As he swims, Sam holds a sign in front of his periscope which reads "DETOUR". After following the arrow on the sign, Ralph falls off a waterfall.
9. Ralph next attempts to propel Sam off his perch by placing an improvised teeter totter under Sam and dropping a rock on it from a large height. Unfortunately for Ralph, Sam is propelled straight upward toward Ralph's cliff, upon where he grabs Ralph by the neck and begins punching him in the face.
Finally, the punch clock whistle blows and Ralph and Sam change shifts with their replacements George Wolf and Fred Sheepdog. Their replacements stand in the same position Sam and Ralph were standing in before the whistle blew and Fred begins punching George in the face.
, 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 Ralph. As the two pass, Ralph calls Sam "Fred". At the end of the short they reverse the names.
This is also the only episode where you see Ralph's replacement. Ralph's replacement refers to Ralph as "George", and Ralph refers to him as "Sam".
On ABC
, the end of the short where Sam and Fred take turns punching Ralph and George in the face was shortened. Also cut was the scene where Sam drops a stick of dynamite into Ralph's smoke cloud, making it appear as though Ralph's smoke cloud exploded on its own.
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
cartoon directed by Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and released by Warner Bros. Pictures featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog
Wolf and Sheepdog
Ralph E. Wolf and Sam Sheepdog are characters in a series of animated cartoons in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies line of cartoons. They were created by Chuck Jones....
. Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
provided for the voices of all the characters in this cartoon, however, like all Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf shorts, this short is mostly composed of visual gag
Visual gag
In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humor visually, often without words being used at all.There are numerous examples in cinema history of directors who based most of the humour in their films on visual gags, even to the point of using no or minimal dialogue...
s.
This is the second short featuring Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf. The title is a play on the phrase "Ship ahoy!".
Plot
Introduction: Like all Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf shorts, this one revolves around Ralph Wolf trying to steal the sheep guarded by Sam Sheepdog. Unlike later episodes where Ralph will not attempt to steal any sheep until Ralph and Sam have officially started work, in this short Ralph uses the time between the shifts of the two sheepdogs to make his first move.1. By the time Sam sits on the edge of his cliff to watch over the sheep, Ralph is already attempting to carry a sheep away. Sam casually pushes a rock over the ledge, which falls on Ralph's head. In a stupor, Ralph places the sheep on the ground and lets it go just before he falls unconscious and grows a large lump on his head.
2. Ralph next attempts to drop a large boulder on Sam, but a tree branch catches the boulder and propels it upwards again as it crushes Ralph.
3. Ralph's next attempt is to pole vault over Sam to get a sheep. Sam casually grabs the pole, lowers it over the edge until Ralph is eye level with Sam, and punches him in the face.
4. Next, Ralph attempts to sneak into the field by surrounding himself with a cloud of smoke from an Acme
Acme Corporation
The Acme Corporation is a fictional corporation that features prominently in the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons as a running gag featuring outlandish products that fail catastrophically at the worst possible times...
smoke bomb
Smoke bomb
A smoke bomb is a firework designed to produce smoke upon ignition. Smoke bombs are useful to military units, airsoft games, paintball games, self defense and pranks...
. Sam heads him off at the pass and drops a stick of dynamite in his smoke cloud. After the explosion, Ralph stumbles back in a cloud of black smoke. With his lack of vision and coordination, he accidentally falls off a cliff.
5. In Ralph's fifth attempt, he uses an Acme disguise. The box is labelled "Acme artificial rock. Have fun. Be popular. Be a rock!" Ralph attempts to sneak past Sam with the rock disguise, but Sam hits the fake rock with a sledge hammer. Ralph breaks apart into a number of pebbles which all move back into Ralph's cave.
6. Ralph's next attempt is to dive off a cliff while tied to a very large helium balloon and carrying a fishing rod to snag a sheep. As he casts his rod, he unwittingly snags his balloon with his fish hook
Fish hook
A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fishermen to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...
and rips the balloon, sending him flying into the horizon.
7. Ralph then attempts to tunnel under the field. As he reaches up through the holes, he feels what appears to be four sheep legs strapped on to a large drum of TNT. Believing this to be a sheep, he pulls it into his tunnel. After the explosion, he places the riven drum back where it was sitting. Blackened and dejected, he refills his tunnel.
8. In Ralph's eighth attempt he swims through a stream with a pedal-powered submarine to catch a sheep which is taking a drink of water. As he swims, Sam holds a sign in front of his periscope which reads "DETOUR". After following the arrow on the sign, Ralph falls off a waterfall.
9. Ralph next attempts to propel Sam off his perch by placing an improvised teeter totter under Sam and dropping a rock on it from a large height. Unfortunately for Ralph, Sam is propelled straight upward toward Ralph's cliff, upon where he grabs Ralph by the neck and begins punching him in the face.
Finally, the punch clock whistle blows and Ralph and Sam change shifts with their replacements George Wolf and Fred Sheepdog. Their replacements stand in the same position Sam and Ralph were standing in before the whistle blew and Fred begins punching George in the face.
Inconsistency in naming
Like Don't Give Up the SheepDon't Give Up the Sheep
Don't Give Up the Sheep is a 1953 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and released by Warner Bros. Pictures featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog...
, 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 Ralph. As the two pass, Ralph calls Sam "Fred". At the end of the short they reverse the names.
This is also the only episode where you see Ralph's replacement. Ralph's replacement refers to Ralph as "George", and Ralph refers to him as "Sam".
Censorship
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, the end of the short where Sam and Fred take turns punching Ralph and George in the face was shortened. Also cut was the scene where Sam drops a stick of dynamite into Ralph's smoke cloud, making it appear as though Ralph's smoke cloud exploded on its own.
See also
- Sam Sheepdog and Ralph WolfWolf and SheepdogRalph E. Wolf and Sam Sheepdog are characters in a series of animated cartoons in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies line of cartoons. They were created by Chuck Jones....
- Merrie MelodiesMerrie MelodiesMerrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1950–1959)