Looney Tunes Wiki
No edit summary
Tag: Visual edit
(29 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
  +
{{Infobox_Shorts
[[File:Sheep Ahoy.png|thumb|300px|right|Title Card]]
 
  +
|name = Sheep Ahoy
'''''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 gags.
 
  +
|image = Sheep_Ahoy.mkv_snapshot_00.33_-2017.07.31_02.04.39-.jpg
  +
|Director = [[Chuck Jones]]
  +
|producer = [[Eddie Selzer]] (uncredited)
  +
|airdate = December 11, 1954
 
|series = [[Merrie Melodies]]
  +
|Voice = [[Mel Blanc]]
  +
|Starring = [[Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog|Ralph Sheepdog and Sam Wolf]]<br>Fred Sheepdog<br>George Wolf<br>Sheep
  +
|previous = [[My Little Duckaroo]]
  +
|next = [[Baby Buggy Bunny]]
  +
|video = [[File:Ralph Wolf & Sam Sheepdog-Sheep Ahoy (1954)|center|280px]]
  +
|Writer = [[Michael Maltese]]
  +
|Animators = [[Richard Thompson]]<br>[[Abe Levitow]]
  +
|Layout-artist = [[Maurice Noble]]
  +
|Background-artist = [[Philip DeGuard]]
  +
|Sound effects = [[Treg Brown]] (uncredited)
  +
|Musician = [[Milt Franklyn]]}}
   
 
'''Sheep Ahoy''' is a 1954 American ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' cartoon directed by [[Chuck Jones]] and released by [[Warner Bros.|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 gags.
This is the second short featuring Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf. The title is a play on the phrase "Ship ahoy<!--LINK IS A MUSICAL COMEDY-->!".
 
  +
 
This is the second short featuring Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf.
  +
  +
This cartoon was produced before [[By Word of Mouse]], but wasn't released until after the studio shut down in 1953.
  +
  +
==Title==
  +
The title is a play on the phrase "Ship ahoy."
   
 
==Plot==
 
==Plot==
Line 13: Line 36:
 
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.
 
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.
+
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.
 
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.
Line 28: Line 51:
   
 
==Inconsistency in naming==
 
==Inconsistency in naming==
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 Ralph. As the two pass, Ralph calls Sam "Fred". At the end of the short they reverse the names.
+
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 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".
+
This is also the only episode where we see Ralph's replacement (who looks a lot like [[Wile E. Coyote]]). Ralph's replacement refers to Ralph as "George", and Ralph refers to him as "Sam".
   
 
==Censorship==
 
==Censorship==
 
[[File:Sheep Ahoy Censorship.png|thumb|This dynamite stick scene was censored on ABC]]
 
[[File:Sheep Ahoy Censorship.png|thumb|This dynamite stick scene was censored on ABC]]
On ABC, the end of the short where Sam and Fred take turns punching Ralph 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.<ref>{{Cite web
+
On ABC, part of the ending where Sam punches Ralph in the face was shortened (yet Fred doing the same to George was left alone). Also cut, at least from later broadcasts, 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.<ref>{{Cite web
 
| author = Cooke, John<!--FROM http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/-->
 
| author = Cooke, John<!--FROM http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/ltcuts/-->
 
| date = 2006 revision
 
| date = 2006 revision
Line 45: Line 68:
 
}}</ref>
 
}}</ref>
   
  +
==Availability==
==DVD availability==
 
  +
*VHS - ''[[Looney Tunes: The Collectors Edition]]'', Vol. 10: Canine Corps
{{As of|2007}}, this short is not available on DVD.
 
  +
  +
==Gallery==
  +
<gallery>
  +
Sheep Ahoy Censorship 2.png
  +
</gallery>
   
==See also==
+
==References==
  +
<references />
* [[Merrie Melodies]]
 
[[Category:Short films]]
+
[[Category:Shorts]]
[[Category:Animated short films]]
+
[[Category:Wolf and Sheepdog Shorts]]
[[Category:Looney Tunes shorts]]
+
[[Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones]]
  +
[[Category:1954]]
  +
[[Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons animated by Richard Thompson]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons animated by Abe Levitow]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Philip DeGuard]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc]]
  +
[[Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer]]

Revision as of 06:34, 18 October 2019

Deprecated

We have moved to portable infoboxes using the new Template:Shorts

Please do not use this template anymore. It is left here for reference purposes.

Sheep Ahoy
Sheep Ahoy.mkv snapshot 00.33 -2017.07.31 02.04.39-
Directed By: Chuck Jones
Produced By: Eddie Selzer (uncredited)
Released: December 11, 1954
Series: Merrie Melodies
Story: Michael Maltese
Animation: Richard Thompson
Abe Levitow
Layouts: Maurice Noble
Backgrounds: Philip DeGuard
Film Editor: Treg Brown (uncredited)
Voiced By: Mel Blanc
Music: Milt Franklyn
Starring: Ralph Sheepdog and Sam Wolf
Fred Sheepdog
George Wolf
Sheep
Preceded By: My Little Duckaroo
Succeeded By: Baby Buggy Bunny


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 gags.

This is the second short featuring Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf.

This cartoon was produced before By Word of Mouse, but wasn't released until after the studio shut down in 1953.

Title

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 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.

Inconsistency in naming

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 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 we see Ralph's replacement (who looks a lot like Wile E. Coyote). Ralph's replacement refers to Ralph as "George", and Ralph refers to him as "Sam".

Censorship

Sheep Ahoy Censorship

This dynamite stick scene was censored on ABC

On ABC, part of the ending where Sam punches Ralph in the face was shortened (yet Fred doing the same to George was left alone). Also cut, at least from later broadcasts, 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.[1]

Availability

Gallery

References

  1. Cooke, John (2006 revision). Censored Looney Tunes: S. Censored Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. Looney.GoldenAgeCartoons.com. Archived from the original on 2006-12-09.