A stork delivers a flock of newborn lambs to their expectant mothers but finds that he had mistakenly brought a lion named Lambert, which was supposed to go toSouth Africa, along; one of the mother sheep, who was heartbroken at not receiving a lamb, forcefully demands the stork leave Lambert with her. Lambert lives his life thinking he is a sheep, but is ostracized by his peers for being and acting different; he is also defenseless against the other lambs' head-butts. One night, a hungry wolf, attacks the flock. At first timid like the other sheep, Lambert's lion instincts kick in when the wolf corners Lambert's mother; with an aggressive roar, the wolf falls off a ledge. Thereafter, the now-adult Lambert is wholeheartedly accepted by the other sheep as one of the flock and the narrator tells us to not worry about that wolf, which hangs precariously from a bush—the berries on the bush will sustain him.
Cast
The voice of the narrator and the stork was provided by actor and Disney legendSterling Holloway. Holloway also was the voice for the stork in Dumbo, in which the character plays a very similar role in the plot. Uncredited roles include June Foray, who made the sounds of the sheep, Lambert's sheep mother and Lambert's purrs and growls, and Stan Freberg, who voiced Lambert's only spoken line, "Mama!"
Repercussion
In 1952, the film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Short Subject, Cartoons but lost to The Two Mouseketeers, a Tom and Jerry cartoon which shared one of 7 Oscars for the Tom and Jerry series. A picture book adaptation for children was also released in the 1970s as part of the "Disney's Wonderful World of Reading" series. The original print of the film was given as a gift to Emperor Hirohito of Japan because it was his favorite Disney cartoon.
The short was included as an extra on the 25th anniversary DVD release of The Fox and the Hound. It also aired as a prelude to Disney's The Lion King when originally released on the big screen in some countries. In the late 1980s it was seen on NBC television as a prelude to the network's prime-time airing of Dumbo, likely because of the presence of the stork character in both films. It was also included on the VHS release of Limited Gold Edition: Disney's Best - The Fabulous 50's in 1984, and also appears in the Walt Disney Mini Classics release of Willie the Operatic Whale in 1991. The short was later included on the Gold Classic Collection DVD of Melody Time and on Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities.
