February 8, 1952 – The Special Short Film Lambert, the Sheepish Lion Premieres in Theaters
“Lambert, the sheepish lion, Lambert, is always trying to be a wild and wooly sheep, Lambert, the sheepish lion.”
On February 8, 1952, the special short film Lambert, the Sheepish Lion premiered in theaters. The stork in this short should look familiar, as he is the same stork that was featured in Dumbo, which was also voiced by actor Sterling Holloway, who also narrated the short. An original print of the film was given to Emperor Hirohito as a gift, as it was his favorite Disney short film. The short was also nominated for an Academy Award, but lost to the Tom and Jerry short The Two Mouseketeers. The story was written by Bill Peet, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta, and was directed by Jack Hannah.
One spring evening, a stork delivers a bundle to a sleeping flock of sheep. He opens the bundle to reveal several newborn lambs, which scurry about to claim their mothers. One ewe, however, is skipped by all the lambs, and she goes off to cry. Meanwhile, the stork has one little “lamb” that won’t wake up. When he finally does get it to open its eyes, he realizes that it’s a lion cub named Lambert, and it has already bonded with the lonely ewe. The stork tries to take Lambert to his home in South Africa, but the ewe attacks the stork and keeps Lambert with her. The next morning, the lambs begin to play, and Lambert wishes to join in, but realizes right away that he’s different. The lambs make fun of poor Lambert, who goes back to his mother. He continues to watch the lambs play, and when he tries to join in, he is continually bullied.
Lambert has grown from a cub to a full lion, with his mother still being so proud of him
The seasons change, and soon the lambs are all grown up, and so is Lambert. However, although he is a full-grown lion, he still acts like a sheep, and is still the butt of the jokes of the rams. One night, as everyone is sleeping, the sound of a wolf wakes Lambert up, and he spies a hungry wolf surveying the flock. The wolf decides that Lambert’s mother is to be his meal, and the rams all hide behind trees. Although Lambert is terrified, he decides to screw up his courage and act like a raging lion, scaring the wolf silly. After saving his mother, the flock now considers Lambert one of them, and he lets out a triumphant “baa.”
disneydetail 