Sam and Ralph:1960

"Ready, Woolen and Able" shows that Sam and Ralph are apparently moving up the corporate ladder, for they now have reserved parking spaces at thier job site. Sam, in his old jalopy, is left in the dust by Ralph in his dragster. Points go to Sam though for using the appropriate hand signal when turning.


In no hurry to start work, the two casually wait for the whistle to blow. As usual, Ralph's first attempt at thievery is to simply grab a sheep in plain view, and all it takes is an object, in this case a rake, dropped from above by Sam to foil the wolf.


Several gags that follow could easily have been placed in a Road Runner cartoon, such as Ralph's barrel of TNT conveniently bouncing over it's intended target and rather showering a storm of boulders upon the wolf. That tiny umbrella looks very familiar and if I recall, it ain't gonna save you, Ralph.


The final sequence takes the idea of Sam being able to apprear everywhere at once to an extreme and Ralph finds that not even a whale's mouth is to be refuge from the ever-watchful canine.


Ralph is finally driven insane, but as he is hauled away to the looney bin (pun intended I guess), he remains confident that he will be back to work tomorrow. Now that is job dedication.

Sam and Ralph:1957

In "Steal Wool", we get a glimpse into the home lives of Sam and Ralph, who are now neighbors. Sam shares his newspaper with Ralph before they head off to work, exchanging the usual pleasantries. At the job site, Ralph forces himself to change his facial expression to one of villainy, driving home the fact once more that this is simply his job.


Ralph usually tries the direct approach first...simply grabbing a sheep and trying to walk off with it. Then his schemes get a bit more elaborate. Of course when they don't work, he simply tries to murder Sam. Gotta love it.


One of my favorite gags of the entire series involves Ralph's giant rubber band. His expressions are just as comical as those of his coyote counterpart in the Road Runner series.


Maximum pain is inflicted on Ralph and, unlike the norm in which cartoon characters are injured but then are perfectly fine in the next scene, Ralph staggers home bandaged in a sling with a black eye.


Friends and neighbors once more, Sam shows concern and offers to let Ralph have a day off tomorrow. "I can handle both jobs." Now that I would love to see.

Sam and Ralph:1955

All of the elements of this series begin to fall into place in "Double or Mutton". Firstly, Sam is finally Sam and Ralph is finally Ralph. The two arrive at work, punch in on the timeclock and exchange those monotone greetings that we all know from our own jobs.


Another day on the job begins and within seconds Ralph has received a sledgehammer blow to the head compliments of Sam. Ralph dips into some heavy artillary such as a cannon and a rocket in attempts to dispose of Sam.
My favorite gag involves Ralph flying a helicopter, trying to nab sheep with a metal claw dangling from a rope. Sam strolls by below and nonchalantly yanks the rope, bringing the copter crashing to the ground. Ralph deploys his parachute just a little too late.


Sam begins to prove that he is a bizarre entity, transcending time and space. After dropping one end of Ralph's highwire, he instantly appears holding the opposite end.


Ralph's Little Bo Peep disguise seems to work until it is revealed that the sheep is actually Sam in disguise, when only moments before both Sam and the sheep that Ralph lures away were in the same space together.


The whistle blows during another thrashing of Ralph, signaling the end of the work day. The two punch out and, now that they are off the clock, resume being civil to one another. "See you tomorrow, Sam."

Sam and Ralph:1954

First things first: the characters names are still a jumble here. Sam is Fred, Ralph is Sam. All things in due time, I suppose.


"Sheep Ahoy" finds the wolf awaiting the shift change so he can nab some sheep but of course he isn't quick enough for the sheepdog. This cartoon features a more stationary Sam. He definetely doesn't move around as much as in the first film. I love the fact that not only can the Wolf/Wile E. Coyote not capture a fast character, but he also can't outwit an immobile one.


Here we see the wolf not only trying to aquire a sheep, but also turning to murderous plots as he tries to kill Sam, for example, with a boulder. For all of Sam's lethargy, he still packs a mean whallop.


As with the coyote, the wolf defeats himself a lot of the time, such as with a balloon/fishing pole scheme. The film ends with the inevitable shift change, but there's a new element that comes into play this time. Not only does Sam have to stop his thrashing of the wolf to allow his co-worker to take over, but it's quitting time for Ralph as well, who has a co-worker of his own take his place for the resumed beating.


One point that I always find amusing is this: I can see why someone would pay Sam to protect the sheep, but who in the world is paying Ralph to steal them (and most likely eat them)?

Sam and Ralph:1953

Chuck Jones' Sam and Ralph first appeared in 1953's "Don't Give Up the Sheep". As with most cartoon series, all of the elements didn't come together right from the start. The first obvious point is that Sam is named Ralph!


The series revolves around a sheepdog whose job is, of course, to guard a flock of sheep. The job aspect is amusingly highlighted by the dog punching a time clock and relieving his co-worker during a shift change. A hungry wolf creeps along, anxious for dinner. Another aspect of the series that would not emerge just yet is that of the wolf also punching the timeclock on his way into "work". For now he is just a predator trying to score a meal.


The sheepdog thwarts the wolf's attempts at sheep-nabbing in several "black-out" gags similar to the Road Runner series. After all, the wolf is just Wile E. Coyote with a red nose, although his design in this first cartoon is a bit more scraggly.


The sheepdog is a bit more active here than in later cartoons. Sure, he is always quick with a fist to the wolf's face, but the dog would eventually become much more stationary.
Messing with the timeclock, unleashing a wild cat (from Acme of course), and disguising himself as the Greek God, Pan, are some examples of the wolf's schemes.


The end of the cartoon sees another shift change occur during the sheepdog's beating of the wolf. The canine co-worker takes over the thrashing with barely missing a beat.

Mornin' Sam...Mornin' Ralph

Next up in the spotlight here at the Factory are Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf.
When I was a kid, the Roadrunner/Coyote series were my favorite Looney Tunes. I think it was the lack of dialogue that made the cartoons so easy to follow. So to find "the Coyote" in two other series of cartoons always made it worth it to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings.

Hearing Wile E. Coyote speak in the cartoons with Bugs Bunny was never really appreciated until I was older, but the Wolf/Sheepdog films were right up my alley and I appreciate them still, but on a completely different level.

Once I entered the world of labor, I began to appreciate the antics of Sam and Ralph all the more. We all have had to do things that we really didn't want to, but we had to because it was our job. Our business lives are completely different from our social lives. There are the themes of the Wolf/Sheepdog cartoons.

An advantage to such a timeline is that I won't have to choose just one film per year, for there was only one Wolf/Sheepdog cartoon released in any given year. Not only will every Sam/Ralph film be highlighted but I get to glorify one of my favorite cartoon series. Stay tooned!

Daffy:2006/Conclusion

In 2006, Daffy starred in the direct-to-video film "Bah Humduck: A Looney Tunes Christmas". I did not bother to buy it, but I did see it on Cartoon Network last year.
Basically, it is another rendition of "A Christmas Carol" with Daffy in the Scrooge role.

So what does the future hold for Daffy? Well, we can only hope for the best, but things are definetely going to have to change if we are ever going to escape from "Baby Looney Tunes" and "Loonatics Unleashed".

For almost 2 months now, we have journeyed through the career of one of the best cartoon characters of all time. This has been just the tip of the iceberg however. There are so many more of Daffy's films to be remembered.

As this blog is about to hit 1,000 visits, I feel it is appropriate to take a minute to express my thanks to everyone who stops by here. I hope you have enjoyed the tribute to Daffy Duck and I promise to try to keep everyone interested in the future.

Stay tooned for our next "character timeline" starting tomorrow. Peace!

Daffy:2004

One of the great things about Daffy's films is that there is never any lesson to be learned from them. This is not the case with "Daffy Duck For President", which tries to teach the audience a bit about the government.


Daffy seems to think that if he becomes president, he will be able to extend rabbit season forever and finally rid himself of Bugs, not to mention save his own hide.


Bugs teaches Daffy that presidential power is not as total as the duck thinks. Bugs' delivers the schoolroom teachings as Daffy tries to find loopholes in the Constitution.


The story was a concept by Chuck Jones before he passed away and the film is respectively dedicated to his memory.

Daffy:2003

"Looney Tunes: Back In Action" is clearly Daffy's movie.





Hey, it was better than "Space Jam".

Daffy:1996

As I have mentioned, it is hard for me to ever call a cartoon horrible. I always try to find at least one redeeming quality in even the most lackluster offering. It is with this spirit that I will comment on "Superior Duck".


Super-hero Daffy has problems with the film's narrator, who can never seem to get his lines right. "Faster than a speeding snail!" That could be funny...I guess...*ahem*...


A gag involving a disintegration-proof vest from "Duck Dodgers" is reused. It was funny the first time, so it surely must work here just as effectively...right?


Several other characters make appearances as well. Foghorn Leghorn assaults Daffy for no real reason and Tweety is a toy-train conductor who "tawt he taw a putty duck". Now, I'm not quite sure what a "putty duck" is, other than an attempt to twist Tweety's classic line about a "putty tat", but....ok, I can handle this...
Taz makes an appearance. Taz is cool, right?...erm...right?


After an encounter with Superman, Daffy decides to become "Superior Bug", who is faster than a speeding flyswatter and....and...I can't do it! I just can't do it! It's horrible! Horrible, I say! What were you thinking, Chuck Jones? After all the good you have done, why would you lure us into this seething cauldron of pain?! It hurts! Oh God, why?!?!?! Why?!?!?! *uncontrollable sobbing*

Daffy:1995

Any fan of "Casablanca" can appreciate "Carrotblanca", the Looney Tunes homage to the classic film. Daffy Duck takes on the role of Sam (Dooley Wilson).


Other characters include Bugs Bunny as Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), Sylvester as Victor Laszo (Paul Henreid), Tweety as Ugart (Peter Lorre) and filling the role of Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) is the cat from the Pepe Le Pew cartoons (who has several names, making me unable to pick just one).


Daffy's "Knock on Wood" rendition involves self-inflicted pain and he is quick to blame Kitty when Bugs recognizes just one note of "As Time Goes By".


Numerous Looney Tunes characters make cameos, but as always, Daffy clearly steals the show. Not much more to say really. This is another one of those films that speaks for itself.

Daffy:1992

Daffy has a part in 1992's "Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers" so it is worthy of mention here.


Bugs is going about his daily business, foiling Elmer Fudd and proving that Daffy still hasn't figured how to end up the winner in another round of "duck season, rabbit season".


Bugs notices piles of suspicious, glowing carrots periodically, but dismisses them until the following morning when he finds that Elmer and Daffy have become pale stereotypes of thier former selves. "Dare I say, badly drawn?"


Bugs' doppleganger tries to kill him with an axe, convincing him to assume the role of hero once more by thwarting the evilness of the clones.


I mention this cartoon here not only for completion, but also because how often do you see Daffy looking like he does above? (except for maybe on some PD video covers)