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.
Even the weakest of their cartoons, for me their last cartoon, is still solid, and of the short-lived series in the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies output featuring less famous and less iconic characters the Ralph vs. Sam series is a contender for the best and most consistent. 'Steal Wool' is one of the series' funniest, another treasure in a rare series of cartoons where none of the cartoons are bad.
It is more-of-the-same somewhat plot-wise, but that doesn't really matter because the Ralph vs. Sam cartoons featured one of Chuck Jones' best and most creative concepts, seen at its best in 'Don't Give Up the Sheep'. There is so much good about 'Steal Wool', a cartoon once again filled with gags and laughs that come thick and fast but still paced adeptly.
Animation-wise, 'Steal Wool' 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.
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, while the whole stuff with the bridge is the series at its most imaginative perhaps..
Both characters are strong and interact brilliantly together, Ralph being the slightly funnier and more interesting of the two with his facial expressions also providing some of the cartoon's funniest moments. Mel Blanc continues to delight with exuberant vocal characterisations.
In conclusion, another treasure in a great series of cartoons worthy of far more attention than it gets. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Even the weakest of their cartoons, for me their last cartoon, is still solid, and of the short-lived series in the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies output featuring less famous and less iconic characters the Ralph vs. Sam series is a contender for the best and most consistent. 'Steal Wool' is one of the series' funniest, another treasure in a rare series of cartoons where none of the cartoons are bad.
It is more-of-the-same somewhat plot-wise, but that doesn't really matter because the Ralph vs. Sam cartoons featured one of Chuck Jones' best and most creative concepts, seen at its best in 'Don't Give Up the Sheep'. There is so much good about 'Steal Wool', a cartoon once again filled with gags and laughs that come thick and fast but still paced adeptly.
Animation-wise, 'Steal Wool' 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.
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, while the whole stuff with the bridge is the series at its most imaginative perhaps..
Both characters are strong and interact brilliantly together, Ralph being the slightly funnier and more interesting of the two with his facial expressions also providing some of the cartoon's funniest moments. Mel Blanc continues to delight with exuberant vocal characterisations.
In conclusion, another treasure in a great series of cartoons worthy of far more attention than it gets. 10/10 Bethany Cox