Peter & the Wolf (2007)

I saw this film for the first time this evening when it was shown at my university just before my animation course leader interviewed Suzie Templeton, director of this masterpiece. It's hard to determine if this is the first or second adaptation of 'Peter and the Wolf' I have ever seen - I probably saw the Disney Mini Classics version when I was a child or just its trailer.Further to this version, the characters are well-crafted and their poses and facial expressions, particularly on the humans, the wolf and the cat, are natural but their movements are quite jerky and sometimes slow, whereas the animation on the bird trying to steal Peter's balloon is well-done since attempting to animate a bird flying in stop- motion is believed to be difficult to master. The backgrounds on the other hand are detailed and realistic. Although there is no spoken dialogue, there are still human vocal sounds like grunts, growls, gasps and laughter and the facial animation is expressive enough to communicate the characters' feelings. The music is sparse to begin with but I like the main composition because it is cheerful, memorable and is played in different arrangements. The music is variable with different instruments representing each character and changing its mood. It does a sound job with driving the narrative while The sound effects are plentiful and also realistic. There are few humorous moments such as the bird pooing on the cat if this is crude. There are also poignant and tense moments. Water is used well, especially when the cat falls through the frozen pond and tears form in Peter's eyes before he sees the wolf for the first time. The ending was tense but quite abrupt.Overall, this is an intricately detailed if slightly unevenly-animated stop-motion piece with its music being the strongest point. 9/10.

In a time of endless 3D superhero films from the likes of Dreamworks and Disney/Pixar (to mention but two), this piece from the Academy Award- winning Suzie Templeton offers a somewhat unique experience. Templeton presents an animated adaption of Prokofiev's children's story "Peter and the Wolf". Set to the score written by Prokofiev in 1936, giving the film a somewhat operatic feel. Much like the Snowman (Dir. Dianne Jackson), Peter and the Wolf contains no dialogue- the score instead providing its own narrative. This simple, heart-warming, down-to-Earth masterpiece shows animation at its finest- a million miles away from the superficiality of today's high- budget, Digitized animated films churned out by companies such as Dreamworks and Disney/Pixar. Fantastic animation, a traditional story, and a beautiful score- this work deserves a much bigger audience.

I heard about this film on the news, from director Suzie Templeton, from Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire, England (which I know very well) won the Oscar for Best Short Animated Film, and deservedly so. It is a film based on the piece of music by Sergei Prokofiev, so like Fantasia, a story is added with the music to guide. Basically Peter is the young boy locked out the woods by his protective grandfather, and his only friend is a duck, he is bullied in town. Peter manages to steal the gate keys from his sleeping grandfather and enters the woods with the duck, and an ill-flying bird. They have a little fun on the frozen lake, with the grandfather's cat joining them. Soon though they encounter a wolf, and when it eats the duck, Peter wants to get revenge and capture the wolf with a near netting. He succeeds, and his grandfather sees it too, but in the end, when taking the caged animal into town, Peter can't let the wolf be either put in a stage show, or killed by hunters, he just lets it go. The stop-motion animation, particularly for the ginger cat and wolf, is extraordinary. Templeton apparently spent a year making this half hour film, and she deservedly won the Oscar for Best Short Animated Film (also nominated the BAFTA), a great triumph. Very good!

Peter lives in the countryside with his oppressive and restrictive grandfather. He is unwelcome in the town and his only friend appears to be his duck. Playing outside on the ice one day, Peter's grandfather takes and locks him in the house – leaving the duck unprotected when a wolf comes. Witnessing the death of his friend in the jaws of the wolf, Peter sets out to get instant revenge with a deadly and dangerous plan.In this updating of the famous story, we find ourselves in a modern (yet also ancient) setting that feels like it is Eastern Europe. The story is well delivered and is a good mix of issues regarding the young boy Peter and the variety of emotions he goes through across the film. Although it is short it is engaging and interesting and I found all of it to be easy to watch and enjoyable. The plot is easy to follow but will provide food for thought for older pre-teens. Animation wise the film looks great. Some viewers will bemoan the washed out and depressed look of the film but for me this was a strength as it allows the touching moments of happiness to stand out more but more importantly gives the whole thing a nice edge that I thought worked and drew me in.It also suits the character of Peter as here he is dead eyed and worn down but yet with sparks still in him. It is an interesting character and one that the silent "script" brings out well. Of course this is more to do with the skill of the animators as they bring out so much with the stop motion figures. It does lack the smoothness that modern child audiences will be used to but it is better for it, suiting the rough, bleak feel of the film and, despite what I said about not being "smooth", it looks great throughout. The music is good as well, matching the mood of any individual scene and shifting well when required – as another reviewer commented, it is a good way of getting children into this type of music.Overall then an engaging and enjoyable animated take on a famous story. It has a great bleak atmosphere and a strong story and central character. Shown over Christmas 2006, it proved to be a welcome break from mass produced cartoons with simple cloying messages and is worth seeing if you get the chance.