StreamFocus: Peter and the Wolf

Peter and the Wolf (UK / Poland)
Runtime: 30 min, Grade: A, Netflix Page

Retelling the classic Russian orchestral fable from Sergei Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf follows a young boy as he is locked up by his grandfather for playing by a lake (frozen for this telling) with his animal friends, a duck and a blackbird. Shortly after he is throw "behind bars", a wolf surfaces from the woods and causes a scene with the animals around the lake. Once the wolf grows more and more violent, Peter takes it upon himself to act out revenge upon the evil beast. No fear exists in Peter's eyes, especially when revenge is at stake for his friends.

Symbolism runs rampant in Peter and the Wolf, ranging from the veracity behind the wolf's place in this conflict to Peter's imprisonment for simple activities. But that's neither here nor there, as most people have some bearings on the tale; Suzie Templeton's rendition, however, adds so much potent emotionality behind each other characters, especially Peter, which it takes the timeless fable and infuses it with a modern sensitivity. The animation adds a haunted, painful visage to the "prisoner", while also creating an overwhelmingly strong link between the audience and Peter's animal friends. Plus, the stop-motion achieved in crafting the movement of the wolf is phenomenal. Peter and the Wolf, at just under 30 (thirty) minutes in length, is an emotional and sensory tour de force that packs a fluid punch inside and out.