1951. Warner and Disney were no longer trading blows as such, but had defined their audiences. Warner had always been edgier and more risk-taking, while Disney had tended to be more family-oriented, sentimental, and technically flawless. In the late 30's and 40's, though, there was some overlap. Disney weren't afraid of a bit of questionable material now and then. By 1951 however, if this were the only thing you had to go by, you'd have to guess that they'd lodged for good in the 'old yeller' camp.
Lambert is a lion cub who is wrongly delivered to a flock of ewes (by a stork played by Sterling Hollway, reprising his role from 'Dumbo'. He's the narrator, too.) The waterworks start early on when one poor mother sheep is left without a baby, but Lambert picks her. She's proud of him, even though all the other sheep make fun of him because he can't butt heads or go 'baaaa', even when he's about the size of a pocket battleship.
Since I've given half the story away, I'll stop there, suffice to say that this is a coming of age story; an 'ugly duckling' tale transposed into the world of lions and lambs.
On repeated viewings this short has worn just a little thin for me. Don't get me wrong - it's still an effortlessly memorable Disney 'classic', and the production is as flawless as you'd expect, without being epecially inventive or breathtaking. It's just that it's an eensy-weensy bit TOO sentimental while lacking some stylistic or technical sucker-punch to render any such objections irrelevant.
Still a very good cartoon, and absolutely worth having, but Disney have milked this kind of extreme soppiness to better effect.
All the same, nearly a 3.5.
/ 3 reviews)
Reviews for Lambert the Sheepish Lion
