Fairy Tales: Peter & the Wolf

Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev shows up in the fairy tale section.

However, unlike Hoffmann's Nutcracker, which was created in literary form before moving over to music, Peter and the Wolf was created as a musical piece from the beginning.

I saw Peter and the Wolf live at some point in my childhood. Unfortunately, I didn't remember it enough to know the answer to Jane's question, posed to a deceptive mother (who didn't actually attend the concert).

I recently picked up a picture book version and quickly lost interest--there is not, in fact, much of a plot: boy with animals catches wolf against his grandfather's wishes. Without the music, the story is somewhat blah.

So I determined that, like with Shakespeare's plays, the only way to truly appreciate the work was to watch it as it was meant to be watched: action with music. 

Walt Disney (1946)

Walt Disney's version is entirely appropriate to Sergei Prokofiev's vision. He visited Disney in 1938 (the studio and the man). The animated version was created in 1940 and released in 1946, just after World War II. It is likely that had the studio waited even a little longer, the short never would have been released due to its Russian setting. The Cold War and McCarthyism was looming.

It is worth watching, namely, to be honest, for its nostalgic factor. It's classic and again, does Prokofiev's score justice.

It also doesn't go anywhere. It is better than the picture books but as a plot with an arc...eh.

Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman (2006)

The 2006 stop-motion animated feature is a marvel!

I confess to being a little worried beforehand since I knew about some of the changes. Due to the age in which we live, I fretted that the short would be heavy-handed with the theme.

I shouldn't have worried. (Hey, this was 2006, not 2023!) Yes, the true villains are the bullies in town. And Peter does free the wolf.

He frees the wolf after it eats the friendly, silly duck (eats it whole, which is in keeping with the original story). He still frees it. The boy who desperately wants to get out into the woods and nature and explore makes the tough choice because he is tough enough to handle it. He isn't afraid of the bullies now OR the wolf. He knows he can face the world. He knows he handle whatever comes, including risks.

The boy, Peter, is pure boy and lovely to watch as he gets scratched up and his hair goes wild.

The short is also very funny. The cat was animated by someone who "gets" cats. In fact, the cat receives a surprising amount of air time as it chases the bird, tries to act dignified after falling through an ice hole, stands off with the wolf in a gangster type gesture, and weaves around the grandfather's legs.

The music is also perfectly used. It doesn't begin until the boy finally gets outside the house and town. Then it bursts out of the screen, Dorothy entering Oz, only the woods are like the half-swamp I grew up next to, rather than some gorgeous, perfect nature preserve.

My siblings and I still loved the half-swamp. Similarly, the freedom and pleasure the boy finds in the small iced-over pond is worth all that music. 

I highly recommend the short, which won an Oscar (another red flag for me--but turns out to be justified in this case). It is available on Amazon to rent and buy.