A Year in Shorts Day 73: "Lambert the Sheepish Lion"

Emperor Hirohito remains a highly controversial figure in world history, with his level of involvement in World War II still being debated to this day. Such things are far beyond the purview of The Great Oscar Baiter, and yet for the second time in a month it seems necessary to discuss the late Emperor of Japan. First we discussed his brief and fairly problematic depiction in Der Fuehrer’s Face. And now we have to mention him again as we discuss 1952’s Lambert the Sheepish Lion. Why? Well, let’s find out!


(via Wikipedia)


Directed by Jack Hannah, whose name certainly gets a lot of play in our Year in Shorts, Lambert the Sheepish Lion is at heart a "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" type story. A misfit animal is shunned by his peers for his differences until there comes a day when said difference proves to be useful for them, in which case they all celebrate him. It's actually an incredibly dark kind of story for kids, but I suppose it does a better job for preparing them for the real world than most cartoons. The major change to the formula in this case is that Lambert's difference is that he's a lion accidentally delivered by the stork to a flock of sheep. And Lambert's change in fortune comes as a result of him proving himself to be incredibly good at violence. Sort an anti-Ferdinand if you will.


(via TV Tropes)


Lambert the Sheepish Lion is a weird short, but it's pleasant enough. I've spoken of my love for 1950s Disney animation before, and even if it's not as good here as it is in other films from the time, it's still pleasant enough. The short is narrated by Disney mainstay Sterling Holloway, whose voice work is always welcome as far as I'm concerned. And the music is just catchy enough to only be mildly annoying. It's definitely not Disney's best, but it's far from their worst work.


(via IMDb)


Of course "far from their worst work" only wins people Oscars in the Acting categories, and it certainly wasn't enough for Lambert, which rightfully lost to the Tom and Jerry Short The Two Mouseketeers. But as great as Tom and Jerry are, I'm fairly certain none of their shorts have been singled out for praise by any sitting monarchs.

Yes, Lambert the Sheepish Lion was apparently Emperor Hirohito's favorite Disney cartoon, and as such the original print was gifted to him by Disney. There's something deeply strange about that, not the least of which is wondering what exactly it was about this film which appealed to the Emperor. But that's for the historians to decide, once they figure out the answers to all the more infinitely more questions out there. Until then, we can only speculate. And try to get the "Lambert the Sheepish Lion" song out of our heads.


Keep up with the Oscar Baiting here on Letterboxd!


"Lambert the Sheepish Lion" is available on Disney +


The Great Oscar Baiter is a not-for-profit work of criticism. All images herein are property of their respective owners and are protected under Fair Use.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Song of the Week #15: "Take My Breath Away"

Image
I’ll put myself on a consistent schedule for these things one day, I promise. In my defense, there are a lot of movies to catch up on, and isn’t that what Oscar Baiting is all about? For instance- until recently, I’d never seen the original Top Gun! But with Top Gun: Maverick holding its spot as the biggest hit of the year (probably only to be dethroned by Black Panther or Avatar ) and even potentially soaring into the obligatory crowd pleaser Best Picture slot, I figured it was time to see where things began. Because while the Oscars Top Gun: Maverick may win have yet to be decided, the first Top Gun only went home with one- for the love theme, “Take My Breath Away.” (via Wikipedia) Love themes for films have gone a bit out of style these days, although for a long time it seemed to be a surefire way to nab a Best Song nomination. Seriously, look through the Wikipedia article and count how many times you see "Title Seemingly Chosen at Random (Love Theme from Movie You Didn...
Read more

Song of the Week #6: "The Ballad of High Noon"

Image
I was finally able to catch Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast this weekend, and I have to say it certainly lived up to the hype. There’s a lot to love about this movie, from the gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, the exquisite performances from both the seasoned veterans and newcomers in the cast, to a script that’s brimming with heart and humor. But one aspect of the film I don’t see a lot of people mention is the way it incorporates footage from other films- most notably Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon, using not only a scene from the movie itself but scoring two pivotal scenes with the film’s theme song, the aptly-named (and Oscar-winning) “The Ballad of High Noon.” It was a bold choice to be sure, but who could blame Branagh? It’s a great movie, and a great song- and the subject for today’s installment in Song of the Week. (via Wikipedia) For those of you haven't seen High Noon... well, you really should get on that, it's a classic! Aside from being a taut, tightly edited thril...
Read more

Song of the Week #14- "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

Image
I was watching Belfast with my friend last week, and- like all great films- it raised a lot of questions. Questions like, “Hey, remember the last time I watched Belfast and was inspired to write a blog post because of it ?” and “Hey, why haven’t I written anything Oscar Bait related in a while?” Well, luckily for all of us “The Ballad of High Noon” wasn’t the only Oscar-nominated song featured in Belfast. Unluckily for us, that other song just happens to be “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” (via Wikipedia) Readers of this blog will hopefully remember that I love a good movie musical. Sadly, those were few and far between in the 1960s. Oh sure, movie musicals certainly had a brief resurgence in those days. Many of them were big hits, both critically and commercially. Hell, Best Picture went to a musical on four separate occasions in that decade! But how many of them were actually any good? Not a lot. Oh sure, The Music Man is great fun and Mary Poppins is a classic. But far too many mu...
Read more