Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf
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Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf are animated cartoon characters in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.
Ralph (named after a Warner Bros. employee) has virtually the same character design as another Warners character, Wile E. Coyote—brown fur, wiry body, and huge ears, but with a red nose in place of the Coyote's black one. He also shares the same appetite, fanatical persistence and use of Acme Corporation products, but he covets sheep instead of road runners and, when he speaks, doesn't have the upper-class accent or the egotistical bearing of the Coyote. Sam, by contrast, is a large, burly sheepdog with yellow fur and mop of red hair that usually covers his eyes.
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[edit] Original appearances
Inspired by the Friz Freleng cartoon "The Sheepish Wolf" of a decade earlier (October 17, 1942), Animator Chuck Jones created Sam and Ralph for a series of shorts. The first of these shorts was "Don't Give Up the Sheep", released on January 3, 1953.
Most of the cartoons begin at the beginning of the workday, in which Ralph and Sam go to a meadow where sheep graze, exchange chitchat, and punch into the same time clock. Work having officially begun, Ralph repeatedly tries to abduct the helpless sheep and invariably fails, either through his own ineptitude or the minimal efforts of Sam (who always brutally punishes Ralph for the attempt). At the end-of-the-day whistle, Sam and Ralph punch out their time cards, chat amiably, and leave, presumably only to come back the next day and do it all again. Both Sam and Ralph are performed by voice actor Mel Blanc. In at least one instance, the workday is interrupted by a lunch break which they conducted amiably. The operation seems to run 24 hours a day or at least into another shift, as when Ralph and Sam "punch out" they may also run into their replacements for the rest of the day, Bret and Enoch, respectively.
The cartoon proved a success, prompting Jones to repeat it five more times between 1953 and 1962. In 1963, animators Phil Monroe and Richard Thompson also starred the duo in their cartoon Woolen Under Where.
[edit] Derivative appearances
Sam and Ralph have featured in a handful of Warner Bros. projects since the closing of the studio's animation department. Sam has a cameo in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and they occasionally feature in the Looney Tunes comic book published by DC Comics. They appear from time to time on the television series The New Looney Tunes Show, now voiced by Joe Alaskey.
Sam and Ralph also serve as the main characters in a 2001 PlayStation video game called Sheep Raider (also known as Sheep, Dog, 'n' Wolf), produced by Infogrames. The game puts the player in the role of Ralph Wolf, who must steal sheep in a Tomb Raider-like world while evading Sam Sheepdog.
Sam and Ralph also make a brief cameo in the 2003 feature film Looney Tunes: Back in Action. In the movie, Sam and Ralph are sitting at the same table eating dinner, when Ralph reveals to Sam that he finally caught a sheep, Sam grabs him by the neck and continually slaps him across the face.
Sam also appeared in a Taz-Mania episode, where Taz was the one trying to abduct sheep.
[edit] Pop culture references
Ralph and Sam have become a sort of American cultural shorthand for "the usual suspects" or "the loyal opposition," describing two adversaries who have opposed each other for so long and become so familiar with each other that they've come full circle and are now nearly friendly.
One example of this was on the episode "Donut Run" of the television program Veronica Mars, wherein Veronica greeted rival private detective Vinnie Van Lowe with "Mornin' Sam," and he replied, in kind, "Mornin' Ralph."
Chris Rock mentions Ralph and Sam in his book Rock This!. According to the text, a white classmate of Rock's who racially harassed him in high school not only resurfaced years later as his chauffeur, but also attempted to be amicable and suggest they get together for coffee. Rock employs the "time clock" concept to racial tensions in schools by asserting his tormentor was simply playing the role he was dealt.
The NewsRadio episode "Twins" played with the reference in reverse. Bill McNeal and Jimmy James pass each other while stepping through Dave's window. Jimmy (the station owner) says, "Mornin' Sam," Bill (the office troublemaker) replies, "Mornin' Ralph," and Jimmy comments, "I love that joke."
