A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Peter and the Wolf

Date Viewed: 2/18/08

Details:

Written & directed by: Suzie Templeton

Producer: Hugh Welchman

Score: +

The Review: Claymation/CGI/dolls; drama. Its title should be clear enough for anyone familiar with the tale, but the first quarter or so does not seem obviously related to the canonical memory of a folkloric Peter or any wolf, so this connection soon moves into the background. But first impressions are often incorrect -- misdirection is especially common in this short form medium. Silent for at least the first six to seven minutes -- effectively establishing character and situation -- it then proudly introduces and uses Prokofiev's score and motifs for the remainder. As soon as the music starts, it's crystal clear what it really is, and the title reasserts itself. The story seemed to end rather differently from what I remember; that's not a problem, just the observation of a mutation. The duck and raven characters were excellently crafted and a lot of fun!

From the UK and Poland. Not undeserving winner of this year's (2008) Oscar for animated shorts. It was nominated along with Meme les Pigeons vont au Paradis, Moya Lyubov, Madame Tutli-Putli, I Met the Walrus, all available to the general public via digital video release into selected theatres (for the third year) from Magnolia. The highlights for me were My Love for artwork and Peter and the Wolf for characterization, but in general, this year's collection didn't seem to click quite so well as in previous years. Yes, each has its own distinctive signature quirk, animation style, and twist on the expected storyline -- it's easy to see why this broad representation was nominated. But it's hard to know what else was in the running through the year, and there's nothing that sticks out as prominently as my memories of The Passenger (from 2007), or especially 9 (from 2006). Maybe it's because there was no Pixar entry? The collection was reasonably good, overall, and an entertaining mix.

(22-Feb-08)

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