Peter and the Wolf (1946 film)

Peter and the Wolf
Directed by	Clyde Geronimi
Produced by	Walt Disney
Written by	Eric Gurney Dick Huemer Sergei Prokofiev
Based on	Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev
Narrated by	Sterling Holloway
Music by	Edward H. Plumb Kurt Graunke (conductor)
Production company	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release dates	August 15, 1946 (1946-08-15) (USA)
Running time	15 minutes
Country	USA

Peter and the Wolf is an 1946 animated short based on the 1936 musical composition/fairy tale by Sergei Prokofiev, produced by Walt Disney and narrated by Sterling Holloway. It was originally released theatrically as a segment in Make Mine Music.^[1] It was re-issued the following year accompanying a re-issue of Fantasia (as a short subject before the film), then released separately on home video in the 1990s. Notable for that era, this film offers a rather positive view of Russians, and the Russian language features prominently.

Plot

In Disney's animated adaptation of Prokofiev's masterpiece, in which every character is represented musically by a different instrument, a young Peter decides to go hunting for the wolf that's been prowling around the village. Along the way, he is joined by his friends the bird, the duck and the cat. ^[2]

Differences from the original

This version makes several changes to the original story, for example:

• During the character introduction, the animals are given names: "Sasha" the bird, "Sonia" the duck, and "Ivan" the cat.
• As the cartoon begins, Peter and his friends already know there is a wolf nearby, and are preparing to catch him.
• The hunters get names at a later point in the story: "Misha", "Yasha" and "Vladimir".
• Peter day-dreams of hunting and catching the wolf and exits the garden carrying a wooden "pop-gun" rifle with the purpose of hunting the wolf down.
• At the end, in a complete reversal of the original (and to make the story more child-friendly), it turns out that the duck has not been eaten by the wolf. (The wolf is shown chasing the duck, who hides in an old tree's hollow trunk. The wolf attacks out of view, and returns in view with some of the duck's feathers in his mouth and licking his jaws in visible satisfaction. Peter, the cat, and the bird assume the duck has been eaten. After the wolf has been caught, the bird is shown mourning the duck. The duck comes out of the tree trunk at that point and they are happily reunited).

In other media

An audio recording of this version with expanded narration by Sterling Holloway was released on Disneyland Records (DQ-1242).

In Belle's Tales of Friendship, the Disney version of Peter and the Wolf is featured and narrated by Belle instead of Sterling Holloway. This version of Peter and the Wolf was featured in House of Mouse and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

External links

• Peter and the Wolf at the Internet Movie Database

References