Don't Give Up the Sheep

Don't Give Up the Sheep
Production company	Warner Bros. Cartoons
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date	January 3, 1953
Run time	7:00
Starring	Mel Blanc
Music composed by	Carl Stalling
Story by	Michael Maltese
Animation	Ken Harris Ben Washam Lloyd Vaughan
Director(s)	Charles M. Jones
Series navigation
← Previous	Next →
Title card

Don't Give Up the Sheep, is the three-hundred and ninth Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was published by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on January 3, 1953. It was written by Michael Maltese, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and directed by Chuck Jones.

During a sheepdog's workshift of watching the sheep, a red-nosed wolf devises multiple schemes to capture sheep undercover.

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Sam Sheepdog	Mel Blanc
Ralph Wolf	Mel Blanc
Wild cat	Mel Blanc
Fred	Mel Blanc

Organizations

• Acme

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Sheep fields

Objects

• Punch clock
• Bone sandwich
• Greek Myths
• Pan costume
• Flute
• "Acme Wild-Cat" box
• Rope
• Saws
• Axe
• Pickaxe
• Hollowed rush
• Dynamite stick
• Club

Production

Development

The short was heavily inspired by the 1942 Merrie Melodies short The Sheepish Wolf, directed by Friz Freleng and featuring a similar plot centering on a sheepdog/wolf dynamic. The characters Ralph and Sam were inventions by Jones and Maltese for this short, also inspired by the earlier Freleng cartoon.

According to Jones, he wrote that he wanted to do the opposite of the formula used in the Road Runner cartoons, stating:

"In pitting Ralph Wolf against Sam Sheepdog, I was trying to discover if I could do the opposite of the chase at the heart of the Road Runner cartoons. The Road Runner is moving all the time, and at great speed. I, therefore, wanted the wolf’s opponent not to move at all. And that is exactly what happens–or doesn’t. Sam just sits very solidly on the ground. He doesn’t move: he is there."

- Chuck Jones, Chuck Reducks: Drawing from the Fun Side of Life (1996)

Ralph was similarly designed to resemble Wile E. Coyote, with the notable distinctions being his red nose and yellow eyes. He also sported tan-colored feet in this short, much like his jaws, eyebrows and chest, although this was later dropped in his following appearances.

Filming

It was copyrighted in 1951 (MCMLI).

Music

The music was composed by Carl W. Stalling.

It also uses the following cues:

• Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" by Mozart, also used for the melody for children's songs such as "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," plays during in the opening title cards. It also plays again when Sam retrieves a bunch of sheep, after punching Ralph in a hidden tree
• The prelude from the William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini plays during Sam's entrance to work. It also plays briefly before Ralph swims through the lake
• Sam plays Frühlingslied (also known as Spring Song) by Felix Mendelssohn on a flute
• "Five O'Clock Whistle" by Gene Irwin and Josef Myrow plays at the end of the short

Crew credits

• Layouts: Robert Gribbroek
• Backgrounds: Carlos Manriquez

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: January 3, 1953 in theatres

Behind the scenes

• The title is a pun on the phrase, "don't give up the ship".
• This was the last cartoon where Robert Gribbroek provided the layouts for the backgrounds for Chuck Jones, since he was replaced by Maurice Noble in Jones' unit. He would not return until he joined Robert McKimson's unit and helped out with the 1956 Merrie Melodies cartoon The High and the Flighty.

Legacy

• Ralph and Sam would go on to appear in five further theatrical shorts under Warner Bros. Cartoons: including Sheep Ahoy, Double or Mutton, Steal Wool, Ready, Woolen and Able, A Sheep in the Deep, and Woolen Under Where. In all of these shorts sans Woolen Under Where, they were directed by Jones, while the last was directed by Phil Monroe and Richard Thompson.
• While unnamed in this short, Ralph's name was later addressed in Double or Mutton, although he was referred previously to as "George" in Sheep Ahoy.
• The gag of Ralph attempting to use a wild cat was repurposed for a scene in A Mutt in a Rut, but with Elmer Fudd's dog Rover taking the backfire instead.

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • October 28, 2003: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 on DVD.
  • October 28, 2003: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection: Volume 1 on DVD.