Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog

Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog
Looney Tunes characters
Sam (left) and Ralph (right) punching in to work in A Sheep in the Deep
First appearanceDon't Give Up the Sheep (January 3, 1953; 71 years ago (1953-01-03))
Created byChuck Jones
Voiced byRalph Wolf:
Mel Blanc (1953–1963)
Bob Bergen (1998)[1][2]
Jeff Bergman (2001, 2020–present)[3][4][5]
Eric Bauza (2018)
Sam Sheepdog:
Mel Blanc (1953–1963)
Jim Cummings (1994)
Jeff Bergman (2001, 2023–present)[3][4]
Eric Bauza (2018)[6]
Fred Tatasciore (2020–present)[5]
In-universe information
SpeciesRalph Wolf: Wolf
Sam Sheepdog: Sheepdog
GenderMale (both)
NationalityAmerican

Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog are characters in a series of animated cartoons in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by Chuck Jones.[7]

Ralph Wolf has virtually the same character design as another Chuck Jones character, Wile E. Coyote—brown fur, wiry body, and huge ears, but with a red nose in place of the Coyote's black one; (usually) white eyes instead of the Coyote's yellow ones; and, occasionally, a fang protruding from his mouth. He also shares the Coyote's appetite and persistent use of Acme Corporation products, but he covets sheep instead of roadrunners and, when he speaks (which is only in some cartoons, and even then usually only at the start and end of the cartoon), does not have the upper-class accent or the egotistical bearing of the Coyote. Another crucial difference is that of personality: Ralph does not have the fanatical drive of the Coyote in pursuing his prey; instead catching the sheep is only his weekday job as indicated by the time clock both he and Sam the Sheepdog punch at the start and end of the workday.

Sam Sheepdog, by contrast, is a large, burly Berger de Brie (Briard) with white or tan fur and a mop of red hair that usually covers his eyes. He very rarely runs and tends to be sedentary in his movements. He does, however, possess sufficient strength to incapacitate Ralph with a single punch once he catches him. Sam has a coworker named Fred that he occasionally changes shifts with. They are similar looking, but Fred has a lighter voice. Ralph has even attempted to dress as Fred to sneak in, but failed to fool Sam and was hit on the head; revealing Ralph's head under the costume.

  1. ^ "Looney Tunes DVD and Video Guide: VHS: Misc". The Inernet Animation Database. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "Ralph Wolf". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Captain Planet--Recycle This!". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Hanna-Barbera ScreenCaps on Twitter: "Happy Earth Day!"". Twitter. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Trumbore, Dave (5 May 2020). "First Images from HBO Max's 'Looney Tunes Cartoons' Go All-In on the Classic Characters". Collider. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Looney Tunes World of Mayhem". Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  7. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 128. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.