A Sheep in the Deep

A Sheep in the Deep
Lobby card.
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	February 10, 1962
Run time	6:35
Starring	Mel Blanc
Producer(s)	David H. DePatie
Music composed by	Milt Franklyn
Story by	Chuck Jones
Animation	Tom Ray Ken Harris Richard Thompson Bob Bransford
Director(s)	Chuck Jones
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Title card

A Sheep in the Deep is the four hundred and sixty-second Merrie Melodies theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures on February 10, 1962. It was produced by David H. DePatie, and was both written and directed by Chuck Jones.

Having almost being late for work, Ralph once again attempts to steal a sheep from the flock while Sam thwarts his attempts.

Memorable quotes

Sam: It's too close to quittin' time, Ralph. Let's pick it up there in the morning.
Ralph: Ok, Sam. Good night.
Sam: Good night, Ralph. Pleasant dreams.

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Ralph Wolf	Mel Blanc
Sam Sheepdog	Mel Blanc

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Sam's residence
    • Ralph's residence
    • Sheep fields

Organizations

• Acme

Objects

• Punch-In clock
• Acme Instant Awakener
• Lassoes
• Banana Peel
• Jack winch
• Corkscrew
• Balloons
• Dried raisins
• Peashooter straw
• Ladder
• Shotput and chute
• Springcoil
• Music to Put Sheepdogs to Sleep By
• Record player
• Wolf costume
• Sheep costume
• Sheepdog costume
• Dynamite stick

Production

Second Lobby Card

Music

The music was composed by Milt Franklyn.

Crew credits

• Co-director: Maurice Noble
• Layouts: Maurice Noble
• Assistant layout: Corny Cole
• Backgrounds: Phillip DeGuard and William Butler
• Film editor: Treg Brown

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: February 10, 1962 in theaters

Behind the scenes

• The title is a pun of the phrase, "A ship in the deep." It is also a pun of the 1897 song, "Asleep in the Deep."
• It is the last Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf cartoon to be directed by Chuck Jones. However, Ralph and Sam's final theatrical appearances would be in the 1963 entry, Woolen Under Where, which were directed by Phil Monroe and Richard Thompson of Jones' unit.
  • The stories of these two shorts were written by Chuck Jones since the previous cartoons with these characters were written by Michael Maltese, who had already left for Hanna-Barbera sometime back in 1960.

Everlasting Influence/Error

• A Sheep in the Deep was initially used for the theatrical release of Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales, but it was taken out for unknown reasons. A version of the film aired with this short on CBS in the mid-80s, then on Disney Channel and Family Channel in the 1990s. The version seen on current TV airings and home video releases did not have this cartoon.