Peter & The Wolf (2006)

The film was made at the Se-ma-for Studios in Łódź, Poland between February and August 2006. The live premier was held on September 29 2006 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then the film has toured with both live and recorded accompaniment around Britain, in Hong Kong and in Australia. The British television premier was shown on Channel 4 on Christmas Eve, 2006, and was accompanied by pre-recorded music performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra.
Peter & The Wolf took two of the top prizes at Annecy - the Annecy Crystal for Best Short and the coveted Audience Award.

Peter is a tormented soul, living as he does with an old drunken relative. On the edge of the vast forests of Russia, where wolves still roam, lies a little cottage surrounded by a big, high fence. This is where Peter lives with his grumpy Grandfather. Grandfather will not let Peter go out into the forest. "What if a wolf comes? What then?"
Peter and the Wolf is exceptional in its use of stop-frame animation to create serious movies with impact. The quality of the set and of the models is quite exceptional. The subtle expressions on the faces of all the parties is very revealing. The detail of the old house and the make-shift wall protecting it from all-comers put the best excesses of Waterworld in the shade. Without giving the game away for those yet to see this gem, not everything goes to plan.
In this version, instead of hunters there are two ugly and brutal militiamen. The grandfather is not a kindly old man, the house is a mess and Peter is bullied unmercifully by the neighbourhood thugs. The wolf is all menace. All this and no mention of the conclusion and theme. Templeton's adaptation is very modern, providing psychological depth. When Peter spares the wolf it is not out of naive sentimentality, but it's more of a statement against the brutality of our world!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely breathtaking!!!

Anonymous said...

You watch Templeton's short film and you soon desire to make animation

Anonymous said...

Just won an Oscar!!!!
Mosaic77