Wolf and Sheepdog
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(Ralph) Wolf and (Sam) Sheepdog is a series of animated cartoons in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies line 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, 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. Another crucial difference is that of personality: Ralph does not have the fanatical drive of the Coyote in pursuing his prey, preferring to abandon his chase at the end of the working day.
Sam, by contrast, is a large, burly sheepdog with white or tan fur and mop of red hair that usually covers his eyes. He very rarely runs and tends to be sedentary in his movements. He does, however, possess effective strength to incapacitate Ralph with a single punch once he catches him.
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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 conduct 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, probably named Fred and George, respectively (see Sheep Ahoy: Inconsistency in Naming). In some of their earlier appearances Sam and Ralph are named inconsistently: in particular the Sheepdog's shift replacement sometimes addresses him as "Ralph".
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] Shorts
- Don't Give Up the Sheep (1953)
- Sheep Ahoy (1954)
- Double or Mutton (1955)
- Steal Wool (1957)
- Ready, Woolen and Able (1960)
- A Sheep in the Deep (1962)
- Woolen Under Where (1963)
[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.
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 lunch, 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."
