A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

A Disappointing Continuation

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This short deservedly won the Academy Award for Animated Short. There will be mild spoilers ahead: I could talk about the story or the music, which are quite well known to most people and which are quite effectively done here. But I want to talk about the animation (it is an animated short, after all).The animation is is simply breathtaking. The detail is magnificent. Particularly watch the scenes with the cat. The cat sleeping on the grandfather's chest, the cat stalking the bird and in turn being stalked by the wolf. The duck on the ice. It's just a beautifully done short. Moya Lyubov (My Love) is as impressive among the other nominees and Madame Tutli Putli comes close. But Peter and the Wolf is a hair or two better.This short is available on DVD and is most definitely worth tracking down, as it's a most remarkable short film. Most highly recommended.

This one might be controversial. In a time when animation studios like Pixar or DreamWorks create tons of successful high-budget animation films with lots of action and tension in it, one might wonder if there's still a place for films like these. Well, in my opinion, those are two very different animals. If you want action and suspense and you don't care about anything else, then go see "Toy Story 3" or "The Incredibles" and forget about this one.This story is from a time when nothing of the above-mentioned existed and people weren't dreaming of flying superheroes. This is a down-to- earth picture which deals with philosophical issues, without being pretentious and without demanding to much of its viewers.This particular realisation of that powerful and touching story is perfect in every way. Wonderful figures, a great attention to detail and an adequate rendition of Prokofiev's Suite altogether create a very genuine "Russian atmosphere". It is a true masterpiece and definitely deserves a wider audience.

I have to disagree with LDB Movies from Culver City. If they cannot sit through 29 minutes of this beautiful work of art, then how do they feel about sitting through a 2 hour movie that is a masterpiece? To watch "Peter and the Wolf" you first off have to have an imagination. It is a thought provoking story with morals. I actually wanted the story to go on and was sad that it was only 29 minutes long. Between the sets, the music and the time that was put into the project is mind blowing. Watch it again if you have to - to appreciate it for what it is. We first see Peter as this shy boy who is afraid of his own shadow. But thanks to his animal friends and even the Wolf who at a point thinks of him as a meal, we see Peter mature and gain confidence in a short amount of time. Every time I watch this short movie I pick up a new lesson that maybe others to not see. That is why I suggest you watch it over again.

I saw Peter & the Wolf at its world premier in the Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by the Philharmonia orchestra. That's an electric experience that will be hard to duplicate… But it certainly won't detract from watching the film in future. Is it a re-imagining of P&TW, a reinterpretation, or a modernisation? Actually, it's all three. Peter's stamping ground is visualised in a depressed, cold and windswept forest somewhere in Eastern Europe; it's hard to tell if it's pre or post Soviet economic bloc. It could be any time, and that is the first great achievement of the film. Peter is a wan, pale and sullen young boy, garbed in hoody and dirty trousers, a stroppy kid, the type who lives down the road – yet his surroundings are timeless. It raises the themes of conflict between rural and urban, youth and age and cruelty and compassion with great dexterity. It's an adaptation that speaks both to the past and the present, which is no mean feat.The plot is well-known and well-worn: the down-trodden Peter escapes the confines of grim homestead and taciturn, unsentimental grand-pappy with his pet duck and a bird with a broken wing (supported by a balloon, in a very nice touch) to go playing in the unbounded, frosty woods. Until the wolf creeps in. After suffering a great loss at the wolf's paws, Peter must rise to the occasion and capture the beast, who is much stronger and more ferocious than Peter is, but less clever… A rites of passage tale and an introduction to the orchestra for children, this version is actually quite gruelling in some respects. Impoverished and inhospitable, Peter's home life is plausibly miserable, and also easy to relate to: his run-ins with better clothed-and-fed peers and ugly hunters convey beautifully the threat of bullies and ignorant adults. Sharp and clever, but morose, Peter is a compelling hero, and the coda with him standing triumphant and grown, will provoke cheering and a quickened heartbeat.The stop-motion animation is far less slick than that seen in Wallace and Gromit, but extends a naturalistic, un-burnished and at times almost ghoulish appeal. The slightly jerky movements, warped faces and grimy sets combine to create a world at once familiar yet also deformed, blighted by neglect and insensitivity. The animation also works amazingly well with the music, the movements of people and animals alike assuming the beats, leaps and whirls of the instruments. I guess you could call this a true musical, because while the characters may not leap into spontaneous song and dance, the music actually speaks for them. I'm not much of a music critic, nor do I know Sergei Prokofiev's piece (or any of his music, for that matter) at all well, but I still loved the soundtrack. It did sound modern, and had obviously adapted and moulded to fit the film with small nuances and flourishes, but I'm sure Prokofiev would have approved.Considering the applause the film got, I'm certain no one else minded either.