Peter & the Wolf Review

Peter & the Wolf is an universal animated story adapted from the 2006 stop animation movie of the same name directed by Suzie Tempelton, based on the children’s story by Sergei Prokofiev about Peter, a boy who defeats a dangerous wolf.

The 2006 film does a wonderful job of retelling this story, here modernized, as well as changing the ending of this tale from the wolf being taken to a zoo per the original story to being set free by Peter.

The big difference I see comparing the film to this application adaptation is that within the movie, there is no narration - yet the music from Peter and the Wolf is used with great effect. This app includes both text as well as narration that one can choose to listen to or not, yet the use of music is missing from this animated story, an issue I was surprised by and which may disappoint adults expecting to hear this classical score.

I also thought it was odd that a moral was accompanying this version of the story, both within movie as well as app, as at the ending of this tale includes the text - “There is nothing to fear but fear itself” - seen on one screen after Peter releases the wolf from his cage, which for me, does not fit with what the audience knows about this wolf - dangerous and feral. This animal is not even relocated distantly from the village but is allowed to simply escape his cage and wander back into the woods - presumably to cause more havoc in the future.

The stop motion animation features here are, however, simply stunning, creating a sense of hyper-reality where the most minute, realistic-looking details or textures become mesmerizing elements that would not stand out in a live action film, such as Peter unlocking the game with his hand or the spot-on texture of cloth another fabrics mixed together with the puppets used throughout, making this film and the animated storybook images contained within this app worth gazing at if for nothing more than their sheer beauty and craftsmanship.

Not enough can be said about the breathtaking animation, yet the momentary black pauses the between pages of this app, and again when the narration begins on each page create a choppy effect that diminishes the effect of such a smooth job of stop motion animation.

Even with these notes, I am happy to see another app based on an award-winning animated film. I hope that this trend continues and that other films like this will be offered to new audiences for the first time.