Danny is a little black lamb in Disney's So Dear to My Heart. He appears in two forms as a live-action black lamb and an animated character in the Kincaid family scrapbooks that comprise the film's animated segments.
Appearances[]
So Dear to My Heart[]
Danny is a black lamb born on the Kincaid family farm that was primarily raised by Jeremiah Kincaid when his mother abandoned him. He was named after the famous racehorse, Dan Patch, who Jeremiah saw when Dan's railway tour stopped in his small town. Wanting everyone to appreciate Danny as much as he did, he sought to enter him in a contest at the Pike County Fair, though his grandmother becomes critical of this ambition, seeing that he might care more about winning then Danny's wellbeing.
Jeremiah's hopes for Danny to find success are illustrated in the film's animated sequences, which take the form of scrapbooks and postcards where a wise owl advises the animated Danny in lessons of courage and determination, telling him that being a champion like Dan Patch is very difficult just as the Wise Old Owl offers the lamb some advice from the Wisdom Book to which Danny curiously explores the Owl turning pages which would help him just as the Owl gives Danny a topic, "It's what you do with what you got that counts," just as the Owl and the bluebirds sing to Danny fulfill his purpose of being a champion just like Dan Patch, the champion horse while illustrations of a bull, a ram, a pig, and a rooster continue singing to give Danny advice while the Owl teaches Danny a story of what David did to Goliath where he tells him that despite his small size, he was able to defeat Goliath who is of gigantic size. Danny then finds himself lying on a basket of roses next to a text reading, "Life is no bed of roses" just as Danny approaches the Owl to a horseshoe decoration with words engraved on it: "The road to success is rocky" telling him the importance of working hard to become the champion horse like Dan Patch and following the Wise Old Owl's advice.
Later, Danny is now revealed to be a grown-up sheep in the live-action sequence just as Granny feels upset about the damage Danny is doing to the Kincaid family's house, deciding to put him in the sheep pen, much to Granny feeling upset about Jeremiah for neglecting the chores of caring the garden or piling the wood for the winter with Danny being a nuisance. While doing chores, Jeremiah hears Danny bleating just as Jeremiah plans to big a pen outdoor that is big enough for Danny in order to cheer him up. Danny impatiently attempts to get Jeremiah's attention to which he tells the sheep only if he promises to behave. Soon as Jeremiah takes Danny for a walk, the sheep starts causing havoc inside Grundy's Mercantile Store much to Jeremiah's worry just as Mr. Grundy feels furious of the damage caused by Danny. At the smithy, Jeremiah tells his Uncle Hiram about Danny's bad reputation describing Danny about his abilities no other sheep can do while telling Hiram about what if Dan Stamp wins against Danny for the county fair to which Jeremiah decides to prepare Danny for the fair. Hiram then measures Danny to know if he is ready for the fair as Hiram tells Jeremiah about Danny's weight telling him that if Danny wins the county fair, he will be rewarded a grand champion blue ribbon as well as a cash award.
Jeremiah and Tildy then take Danny across the countryside in a plan to help Danny win the blue ribbon at the county fair just as Jeremiah explains to Tildy that if Danny eats enough clovers, he might be ranked as champion just as the train to the county fair arrives leading to Jeremiah and Tildy chasing after him just as Danny runs past the area where Uncle Hiram is talking to Granny about Danny's bad reputation as he runs past a wagon which crashes into the chicken coop as Hiram plans to stop Danny from causing more mess around the countryside only for Danny to slow down on a field of crops, much to Jeremiah's worry.
Granny then explains to Jeremiah that Mr. Turner will take Danny away so that he will find a home so that he can take good care of the sheep just as Granny tells Jeremiah that she didn't say he can keep the lamb but rather see him, just as she feels upset if Jeremiah is deaf if he understood what she told him only to find Jeremiah out of his room just as she finds Jeremiah sleeping with Danny on a patch of hay. The next day, Uncle Hiram is singing about Danny having one last chance of being kept just before he is taken away for being an uncontrollable sheep just as a new pen for Danny is built so that he may not have a chance to escape and cause the mess he did before just as Hiram privately tells Jeremiah and Tildy about keeping the county fair a secret so Granny won't know about Danny. Later at home, Granny explains to Jeremiah to know if he has a notion about taking Danny to the county fair which Hiram denies, explaining to her that anyone at Pike County who participates would win a blue ribbon and a cash award.
In the next animated sequence, Danny's animated form appears alongside the Wise Old Owl who teaches Danny about Christopher Columbus' hard work in exploring the Americas and upon explaining to Danny about the challenges Columbus faced, a portrait of Christopher Columbus who sings to Danny about sticking to positivity when facing many adversities while singing to musical number "Stick-to-it-ivity" just as the Owl tells Danny to remember what the portrait of Columbus told him, he brings him to an illustration of Robert Bruce who was the bravest man of Scotland which tells the story of Robert who helped win against a mighty battle thanks to the help of a spider, just as Jeremiah sees a poster to the county fair feeling determined that he will help Danny win a blue ribbon at the county fair.
Later while trying to look for Danny so that he can bring to the county fair, Jeremiah somehow found him with his cousin Tildy which the two approach Uncle Hiram as well as Granny just as Jeremiah is happy to see his sheep back and before planning to bring him to the county fair, Hiram then decides to get tickets for the fair while Jeremiah starts cleaning the foxtails off of him as it is found out that Danny was found without any injuries during his search just as Granny suddenly changes her mind of bringing Danny to the county fair in keeping her promise and before planning to take Danny to the fair, Granny tells her grandson to get Danny clean so he can get ready.
In the third animated sequence, Danny's animated form on Jeremiah's scrapbook comes to life just as the Wise Old Owl and the three bluebirds sing along to which throughout the sequence, Danny appears next to a poster of the Pike County Fair which loops to Jeremiah waiting for Danny to win the contest. A judge then announces the judging for the Champion Ram Lamb of the Pike County Agricultural Livestock Fair taking place at the arena. Jeremiah is excited for Danny who would win the contest to know whose sheep is the best in the fair. Jeremiah brings his black sheep into the arena just as the judge announces the winners of this year's Champion Ram Lamb while the crowd watches the event while the judge questions about Jeremiah's sheep upon noticing his strength to which Jeremiah explains to the judge that he has been feeding him oatmeal mash. The head judge then announces the blue ribbon award for Mr. Marshall's sheep instead of Jeremiah's to which the judge then compliments on Danny about his uniqueness to which he explains to Jeremiah that the only problem about Danny is his black wool, explaining that the contest goes to show what extra special care will do to him in the raising of fine livestock. He then explains to Jeremiah that Danny is the Champion Ram Lamb, allowing the judge himself to award a special merit to Jeremiah Kincaid just as the crowd cheers for Jeremiah's pet sheep who is awarded a very special ribbon for him just as Jeremiah is proud of Danny who won the contest.
Back at the countryside, Uncle Hiram presents the townspeople the Champion Ram Lamb of the Pike County Agricultural Livestock Fair just as the crowd cheers for Danny just as Mr. Grundy tells the town to bring in Danny to his mercantile store as a celebration for being ranked as the champion. Danny's ribbon is then placed on Jeremiah's scrapbook, ending the film.
Other appearances[]
Who Framed Roger Rabbit[]
Danny made a slight cameo in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Danny is seen along with The Reluctant Dragon in Toontown.
Disney Parks[]
In 2015, for the Chinese Zodiac "Year of the Lamb", Danny became the central focus of a plush merchandising line at Tokyo Disneyland similar to Duffy the Disney Bear, with collectible ribbons serving as a means of customizing Danny plush toys. A statue of him in his animated form was installed in Westernland wearing a prize ribbon as part of that.
Gallery[]
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