Pedro y el lobo

This film earned the Oscar it got. Some very excellent traditional stop motion animation, combined with modern editing techniques.

The story is placed in a more modern world and given some new twists. A modern but deteriorating Russia set against an almost primal wilderness. The main character, Peter, has lost his Disney-like cuteness. And that's a good thing! He's a more streetwise but daydreaming Peter. Tough but lonely. The animation on the characters is simply superb. They even animated the fur of the wolf and cat!

Go see this animation as well as Dog, another one of Suzie Templeton's great little shorts.

I loved this, watched with my 8 year old daughter. It has laughs and suspense and sadness and happiness.

The animation is incredible, especially the cat, and the characters are so endearing.

I enjoy having films for my daughter that aren't filled with inane dialogue and cute little witticisms, as there are really so few nowadays that are really funny for kids. She enjoyed just watching and listening to the music, as she was able to comment on what was happening, or what she thought of the characters, without being afraid of missing a line.

We recommend it to all.

Peter and the Wolf is one of Prokoviev's best and most accessible works, one of my first introductions to classical music as well. This animated short film is just outstanding(even better than Disney's version and the excellent ballet production with if memory serves correct Anthony Dowell as the grandfather), highly acclaimed and wholly deserving of it. The animation is great, very professional and detailed if not quite as refined as other animations seen. The atmosphere it evokes too is naturalistic, charming, sinister(but not too scary) and very Russian. The characters are modelled very well, standouts being the cat and the wolf. Prokoviev's music is fantastic as expected, the orchestra perform it beautifully and bring out the different personalities of their characters through the different instruments very successfully. The strings and horns are particularly good. The story has been tinkered a little, but the spirit is there as are the basic details, and it's still engaging and touching. The characters are very well-defined, Peter's a likable hero and the wolf is a very scary nemesis. In conclusion, an outstanding short film. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I saw this film almost by accident, and I am very grateful. Everything to the last detail is meticulously cared for. The puppets are incredibly detailed, the animation perfectly done, the lighting excellent and the acting superb. But most of all, the story... this story has a little but very meaningful twist at the end and still manages to be true to the original. Disney's Peter and the Wolf may be cute and charming, but lacks the depth of this masterpiece. Tempelton's Peter has some strong personality and penetrating eyes. Some people might find it slow, but only if they want to watch everything move at the pace of Fairly Odd Parents. I'm glad I lived to see this work and I hope many people has the opportunity and disposition to watch this.

In interviews on the DVD, Templeton says that hers is a darker Peter & The Wolf than others. Compared to Templeton's other work (the brilliantly crafted, deeply moving, but thoroughly distressing "Dog" and the creepy "Stanley", for instance), and considering the way she ends her "Peter", I'm not sure it's as dark as she thinks it is.

This Peter and the Wolf is clearly not for little kids (when the wolf eats Duck, Peter's best friend, there's no hint that she — swallowed whole in a single gulp in Prokofiev's tale, but taken in several gore-free bites here — is alive and quacking in the end), but for anyone old enough to appreciate the scope of this mini masterpiece, a rewarding discovery awaits.

The sense of connection between Peter and the Wolf is palpable. Two starving beasts get a taste of what they crave: The Wolf, a scrawny duck, and Peter, escape from his grandfather's stern, austere care. If you crave stop-animation with depth, substance, and beauty, you will find this brief film a 30-minute treat, too.