“PETER & THE WOLF” (2006)

Animated by Adam Wyrwas with visual effects by Kamil Polak & Morten Moen, and photography by Mikolaj Jaroszewicz and Hugh Gordon
Music performed by The Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Mark Stephenson
Produced by Alan Dewhurst, Hugh Welchman, Zbigniew Zmudzki (co-producer), Simon Olswang (executive producer), Lars Hellebust (executive producer) & Luc Toutounghi (executive producer)
Co-written by Marianela Maldonado
Adapted & Directed by Suzie Templeton
BreakThru Films

Polly Staffle Rating: ****

Pyrotechnic special effects master Joe Viskocil has always said computer generated-imagery is a poor second to the real thing. He’s even gone as far as saying a man in a rubber suit like the old “Godzilla” movies works better on the audience’s emotional and psychological levels than CGI. Seeing as how he’s the man that blew up miniature models of the Death Star in “Star Wars” and the White House in “Independence Day” and made them seem so real, it’s pretty obvious he knows what he’s talking about.

There are exceptions now and again, but for the most part I’d have to agree with him. Computers simply lack the soul and the organic qualities of miniatures and actors in rubber suits. The same can be said for animated films. CGI animated films are usually unwatchable.
“TMNT” is a perfect example of a bad animated movie. I loved the 1990 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie and still do. Sure, the fiberglass and foam latex turtle suits might come off as a little cheesy these days, but the one hundred percent computer-generated imagery of “TMNT” lacks the heart and soul of the original film.

Suzie Templeton’s “Peter & the Wolf” is an example of great animation. That’s because Templeton’s short film was done with stop motion - the very same stop-frame model animation that was pioneered by “Wallace and Gromit” creators Aardman Animations. Though the film was shot using models and puppets, “Peter & the Wolf” has soul. It feels alive.

Templeton’s film is a retooling of Sergei Prokofiev’s classic story about a boy that captures a wolf. Peter lives on a small decrepit farm near a forest. He’s a sad and lonely boy that is kept locked up by his grandfather. Peter spends his days with his lone friend, a duck, peering out into the world on the other side his fence. He wants to go off and explore. Grandfather won’t allow it. It’s not that Gandfather is abusive, he just doesn’t want the boy to wonder off by himself. There’s no telling what danger awaits him outside.

Then one day, after encouragement from a bird, Peter sneaks the key from his grandfather. Peter and the duck go out to explore their surroundings. Grandfather’s fat cat follows. After some time frolicking in their freedom, the party is interrupted by Grandfather, who drags Peter back home. The bird, the cat and the duck are left out in the cold to fend for themselves. Along comes a wolf and that is where the real adventure begins.

This is a wonderful remake of Prokofiev’s 1936 story. The music, provided by the Philharmonia Orchestra, is grand with each character represented with different musical instruments. Peter is represented with the strings, the bird with the flute, the duck with the oboe, Grandfather with the bassoon and the cat with the clarinet. Despite such a wonderful soundtrack, what steals the show is the animation.

The eyes and movements of the film’s 19 characters are definitely key, especially those of Peter. Like the original “Peter & the Wolf” there is no dialogue. Templeton has even done away with narration, so aside from the musical score, the film is carried on the movements and emotions of its characters. This feat was pulled off thanks to the detail of the puppets used.

Peter stands about 12 inches tall. He has a silicone face and hands with a latex body that features ball-and-socket arms and eyes. Through the course of the film, he conveys boredom, sadness, anger, bewilderment, horror and amusement. Each different expression was accomplished with different puppet heads. The various other characters, such as Grandfather, hunters and town’s people, have as much detail, but vary in their sizes. Peter’s nemesis, the wolf, is another story. He took more than a month to cover with fur as each individual strand was implanted with tweezers.

Aside from the characters in the film, the world Templeton places them in is so very lifelike, not to mention beautiful. This accomplishment was made with the construction of unprecedented sets, including a 72-foot long by 52-foot wide forest that featured 360-degree horizons, over 1,700 trees, bushes and rocks, and over head skies.

Templeton’s film runs a half hour and is made up of 420 shots that run four seconds each. Each shot took anywhere from a day to a week to shoot over the course of an eight month period. In all, the film took five years to produce, including three years of development and preparation. So had this been a feature film, using that same time frame, it would have taken 15 years to complete as opposed to the one year turnaround of your average CGI animated film. So yeah, “Peter & the Wolf” has soul, as well as a lot of blood, sweat and tears. And it shows.

- CCF, February 2008