Woolen Under Where is a 1963 Merrie Melodies short planned by Chuck Jones and finished by Phil Monroe and Richard Thompson.
Title[]
The title is a play on "woolen underwear".
Plot[]
Sam and Ralph enjoy breakfast and walk to work. However, Sam appears far more bumbling while off duty in this short than in all the others, and he walks into trees on his way to work. Before the whistle blows, Sam falls off the end of his cliff, just barely catching the cliff with his foot.
- As the whistle blows, Ralph is prepared to sprint toward the sheep, and even has a starting line drawn at his position. As he grabs a sheep and races back, Sam is climbing back onto his perch and unwittingly looses a rock on top of Ralph's head. Ralph races back to the position where he stole the sheep, puts it down, then races back to where the rock fell on his head, all while balancing the rock in position. Finally, he drops to the ground.
- Ralph's next plan is to crawl under the grass of the field, lifting it like a carpet. After crawling under a sheep and trying to carry it away, Ralph is met with Sam, who has also crawled under the grass. Ralph attempts to run, but he's caught up in the grass, in much the same way as he was caught in the parachute in Ready, Woolen and Able. Sam punches Ralph and send him sliding to the edge of the grass, where his head sticks out and the bump on his head lifts the grass up further.
- Ralph now decides to try using plate armor to protect himself from Sam. He fearlessly walks up to Sam and gives him a raspberry. Sam pulls Ralph out through his helmet by his tongue, then shoves him back through the helmet, upside down. Ralph walks away, frustrated and upside down.
- Ralph takes the idea of using armor further and fashions a tank out of a cannon, some metal shielding, and a unicycle. It takes Ralph some time to get into position with the unwieldy unicycle, and almost falls off the cliff. Once he does get into position, Sam simply closes the flap over Ralph's gun, causing Ralph to blow himself up. Ralph circles around uncoordinated, and finally suffers gravity.
- Ralph now attempts to burrow under Sam and deposit a reservoir of dynamite. After firing off the dynamite, the earth directly beneath Sam remains, while the circle of earth around him flies into the air. Naturally, one of the boulders lands on Ralph.
- Ralph then notices a sheep drinking by the edge of the pond. He dons a full suit of diving gear and jumps off his own diving board made out of a plank and a rock. However, he doesn't jump forward enough and lands on the plank, which falls, sending the rock after it. Ralph and the plank land on another rock, creating a teeter totter, and when the falling rock lands on the other side Ralph is launched into the air and falls into Sam's arms. Ralph stands up and dives from there, falling head-first into the ground. Unfettered, Ralph swims through the earth with a front crawl.
- Ralph finally decides to attempt every possible attack he can on Sam, all at once. Around Sam, he places a guillotine, two average sized cannons, two large cannons, an extremely large rocket, various melee weapons, and a series of gears under Ralph intends to pull the ground out from under him, dropping him into a pool of alligators. However, before he can pull the master control switch, the punch clock whistle blows and he has to go home. The two wish each other a good night.
Notes[]
- This is the seventh and final short featuring Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog in the Golden Age of American Animation.
- This cartoon is notable in being the only Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog short which was not directed by Chuck Jones, who was fired early in production. However, Jones was still responsible for the story and is credited as such.
- The wool strings are edited and arranged differently to fit the words on the Portuguese title card.
Availability[]
(1999) VHS
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 15: A Battle of Wits
Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition Volume 15: A Battle of Wits
Streaming[]
Gallery[]
Title card (unrestored)
Title card (restored)
Title card (VHS rip)
Title card translated in Portuguese
Production cel
TV Title Cards[]
