Pretty Good

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

. . . is the advertising slogan for Acme Artificial Rocks, as revealed by this classic offering from Warner Bros.' always prophetic Animated Shorts Seers division (aka, The Looney Tuners). SHEEP AHOY stars George Wolf as the would-be infiltrator of America's hen house (or, in this case, George is presented as a wolf in sheep's clothing, as he schemes to decimate the USA's too docile flock of citizen sheep). Fred and Ralph Sheepdog are put forth during SHEEP AHOY as the critters who have sworn their Constitutional Oath to protect the sheep against all enemies, foreign or domestic. However, these putative public defenders sport thick mops of hair over their eyes, as Warner warns We Americans of (The Then) Far Future that it's going to be a rocky ride through the early portion of our 21st Century. Our foreign enemies will test us with one explosion after another, many timed to coincide with Presidential Shift Changes. Not all Presidents will prove to be equal to this task. Warner alerts us that the news media will be prone to lose sight of the sheep, as there is just one lone sheep sighting during the course of SHEEP AHOY. Instead, the media focus will be upon painting a "fair and balanced" portrait of the dirty tricksters, as if it's more important to appreciate a devious stable genius than to defeat one.

The Ralph Wolf and Sam the Sheepdog series was short-lived and overlooked, and unjustly so. It was a very good, and at its best brilliant, series of cartoons, and some of the best of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies later output.'Sheep Ahoy' is another jewel in this great series, where the weakest cartoon was still good. It is more of the same plot-wise, with a somewhat typical and familiar set-up, and not quite as creative with the concept as the previous cartoon 'Don't Give Up the Sheep'. The different names are somewhat confusing as well at first. However there is so much good about 'Sheep Ahoy', a cartoon once again filled with gags and laughs that come thick and fast but still paced adeptly.Animation-wise, 'Sheep Ahoy' is animated beautifully, for a series of cartoons made late in Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies' prolific output the Ralph and Sam cartoons were generally some of the better-looking cartoons from this period, being colourful and inventively detailed with smooth and fluid character designs. The music is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed.Chuck Jones' trademark visual style and humour is all over the cartoon, and has lost none of its imagination or the clever and razor-sharp wit present throughout his career. The sight gags are unmistakably Jones and there is not a misfire among them, all of them are hilarious, unpredictable, inventive and remarkably for so many in a short space of time never feel incomplete. The ending especially is one of the series' cleverest and most riotous.Both characters are strong and interact brilliantly together, Ralph being the slightly funnier and more interesting of the two. Mel Blanc continues to delight with exuberant vocal characterisations.In summary, yet another jewel and makes one wonder why this great series of cartoons didn't get more attention than they deserved. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This is the second short of what would come to be known as the Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf series (although the characters are named differently here). Created by the great Chuck Jones, the premise of them all is that the sheepdog watches over the sheep while the wolf tries to steal them, usually resulting in the wolf getting beaten up. The primary joke is that the wolf and dog are just doing their jobs (even punching a clock) and, when the work day is done, they're friends. It's one of the best Looney Tunes (or Merrie Melodies) series that didn't involve one of their main characters. Ralph Wolf is certainly similar to Wile E. Coyote, in appearance and actions, but he's a little less crafty and more obvious than Wile E. Coyote. This is a very funny short with a lot of sight gags that work well. The animation is bright and colorful. The music is lively and fun. It's not the best of the Ralph & Sam shorts but it's a good one.

The second of Chuck Jones' Wolf vs Sheepdog series... but before he and Michael Maltese settled into the format most of us remember for this series -- with the two adversaries being named Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, and both good friends away from "the office". This cartoon begins with the dog coming on shift being called "Fred" by the dog he's relieving, who is called "Ralph"....although at the end of the cartoon, they reverse the names. Meantime, it turns out the wolf is called "George" -- and he's relieved (and for him, it really IS a relief!) at the end of HIS shift by another wolf.. who's named "Sam". Confused? Well, it doesn't really matter, because once the action starts, it's the same plot as always: the wolf, who looks even more like Wile E Coyote in this episode than he did in the first one ("Don't Give Up the Sheep"), tries all sorts of devious means to try to get at those sheep, and is constantly thwarted by the sheepdog. There are all sorts of funny scenes, involving a waterfall, an Acme "Smoke Screen" bomb and an Acme "Artificial Rock" disguise ("Have Fun! Be Popular! Be A Rock!" says the packaging). Overall, "Sheep Ahoy" is a pretty enjoyable cartoon, but I think this series really hit its stride with the next episode ("Double or Mutton").