Peter and the Wolf (1946 film)

Last updated
Peter and the Wolf
Disney's Peter and the wolf.jpg
Directed by Clyde Geronimi
Story byEric Gurney
Dick Huemer
Based on Peter and the Wolf
by Sergei Prokofiev
Produced by Walt Disney
Starring Jimmy MacDonald
Pinto Colvig [1]
Narrated by Sterling Holloway
Music byEdward H. Plumb
Kurt Graunke (conductor)
Animation by Ollie Johnston
Ward Kimball
Eric Larson
John Lounsbery
George Rowley (effects)
Layouts byCharles Philippi
Hugh Hennessy
Backgrounds by Claude Coats
Production
company
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • August 15, 1946 (1946-08-15)(USA)
Running time
15 minutes
CountryUnited States

Peter and the Wolf is a 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 . [2] 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.

Contents

Background

Prokofiev, while touring the West in 1938, visited Los Angeles and met Walt Disney. Prokofiev performed the piano version of Peter and the Wolf for "le papa de Mickey Mouse", as Prokofiev described him in a letter to his sons. Disney was impressed, and considered adding an animated version of Peter and the Wolf to Fantasia, which was to be released in 1940. Due to the war, these plans fell through, and it was not until 1946 that Disney released his version of Peter and the Wolf. It is not known if Prokofiev, by that point behind the Iron Curtain, was aware of this. [3]

Plot

In Disney's animated adaptation of Prokofiev's masterpiece, in which every character is represented musically by a different instrument. The apparent setting is Russia. A young Peter decides to go hunting for the wolf that has been prowling around the village. Along the way, he is joined by his friends Sasha the songbird, Sonia the duck, and Ivan the cat. All the fun comes to end, however, when the hungry wolf makes an appearance. [4]

Differences from the original

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

In other media

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

Peter and the Wolf is featured on DVD in the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection release of Make Mine Music and in Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun! Vol. 2 . It is also featured on VHS 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 was featured in House of Mouse .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daisy Duck</span> Disney cartoon character

Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is often seen wearing a hair bow, blouse, and heeled shoes. Daisy was introduced in the short film Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940) and was incorporated into Donald's comic stories several months later. Carl Barks, the screenwriter and lead storyboard artist for the film, was inspired by the 1937 short, Don Donald, that featured a Latin character named Donna Duck, to revive the concept of a female counterpart for Donald.

Silly Symphony is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the Silly Symphonies were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces of music. As such, the films usually did not feature continuing characters, unlike the Mickey Mouse shorts produced by Disney at the same time. The series is notable for its innovation with Technicolor and the multiplane motion picture camera, as well as its introduction of the character Donald Duck making his first appearance in the Silly Symphony cartoon The Wise Little Hen in 1934. Seven shorts won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

<i>Peter and the Wolf</i> 1936 composition by Sergei Prokofiev

Peter and the Wolf Op. 67, a "symphonic fairy tale for children", is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children's story, while the orchestra illustrates it by using different instruments to play a "theme" that represents each character in the story. It is Prokofiev's most frequently performed work and one of the most frequently performed works in the entire classical repertoire.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1951 film) 1951 animated film by Walt Disney

Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the Alice books by Lewis Carroll. The 13th release of Disney's animated features, the film features the voices of Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna, Verna Felton, J. Pat O'Malley, Bill Thompson, and Heather Angel. The film follows a young girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole to enter Wonderland, ruled by the Queen of Hearts. Along the way, she encounters an odd assortment, including the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling Holloway</span> American actor (1905–1992)

Sterling Price Holloway Jr. was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in Dumbo, Adult Flower in Bambi, the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, Kaa in The Jungle Book, Roquefort the Mouse in The Aristocats, and the title character in Winnie the Pooh, among many others.

<i>Fun and Fancy Free</i> 1947 American animated musical fantasy package film

Fun and Fancy Free is a 1947 American animated musical fantasy package film produced by Walt Disney and released on September 27, 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the ninth Disney animated feature film and the fourth of the package films that the studio produced in the 1940s to save money during World War II. The Disney package films of the late 1940s helped finance Cinderella (1950) and subsequent others such as Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953).

<i>Make Mine Music</i> 1946 animated film by Walt Disney

Make Mine Music is a 1946 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the eighth Disney feature animated film, released on April 20, 1946.

<i>Melody Time</i> 1948 animated film by Walt Disney

Melody Time is a 1948 American live-action/animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney. The tenth Disney animated feature film, it was released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of seven segments set to popular music and folk music, the film is, like Make Mine Music before it, the popular music version of Fantasia. Melody Time, while not meeting the artistic accomplishments of Fantasia, was mildly successful. It is the fifth Disney package film following Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, and Fun and Fancy Free.

"Disney's Halloween Treat" is a 1982 Halloween-themed episode of Walt Disney which originally aired on October 30, 1982.

<i>Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree</i> 1966 film directed by Wolfgang Reitherman

Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree is a 1966 American animated featurette based on the first two chapters of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions, and released by Buena Vista Distribution on February 4, 1966, as a double feature with The Ugly Dachshund. It was the last short film produced by Walt Disney, who died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966, ten months after its release. Its songs were written by the Sherman Brothers and the score was composed and conducted by Buddy Baker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnie the Pooh (Disney character)</span> Fictional teddy bear created by A. A. Milne

Winnie the Pooh is a fictional bear and the main character in Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise, based on the character Winnie-the-Pooh created by English author A. A. Milne and English artist and book illustrator E. H. Shepard, being one of the most popular characters adapted for film and television by The Walt Disney Company. Disney first received certain licensing rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, characters, and trademarks from Stephen Slesinger, Inc. and the estate of A. A. Milne in 1961.

<i>Lambert the Sheepish Lion</i> 1952 film by Jack Hannah

Lambert the Sheepish Lion is a Disney animated short film that was released in 1952. It was directed by Jack Hannah.

<i>The Reluctant Dragon</i> (1941 film) 1941 Disney film directed by Alfred L. Werker and Hamilton Luske

The Reluctant Dragon is a 1941 American comedy film produced by Walt Disney, directed by Alfred Werker, and released by RKO Radio Pictures on June 27, 1941. Essentially a tour of the then-new Walt Disney Studios facility in Burbank, California, the film stars Algonquin Round Table member, film actor, writer and comedian Robert Benchley and many Disney staffers such as Ward Kimball, Fred Moore, Norman Ferguson, Clarence Nash, and Walt Disney, all as themselves.

The second wave of Walt Disney Treasures was released December 3, 2002. This was the final wave with the tin's individual number embossed on the tin.

Peter and the Wolf is a 1936 composition by Sergei Prokofiev, which has been often performed, recorded and adapted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear</span> Fictional character

Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear are fictional characters from African-American oral traditions popular in the Southern United States. These characters have been recorded by many different folklorists, but are most well-known from the folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, featuring his character Uncle Remus.

<i>Mickeys PhilharMagic</i> 3D attraction at Disney theme parks

Mickey's PhilharMagic is a 4D film attraction found at several Disney theme parks around the world, including Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Park (Paris), and Disney California Adventure. The film was directed by George Scribner, who also directed Disney's 1988 animated film Oliver & Company. Mickey's PhilharMagic is a 12-minute-long show featuring 3D effects, scents, and water, as well as a number of characters from Disney movies. It is shown on the largest purpose-built 3D screen ever made, at 150 feet wide.

Birds of a Feather is a Silly Symphonies animated Disney short film. It was released on February 10, 1931, by Columbia Pictures.

<i>Commando Duck</i> 1944 Donald Duck cartoon

Commando Duck is a Walt Disney propaganda cartoon starring Donald Duck. It was released on June 2, 1944.

<i>Fantasia</i> (franchise)

Fantasia is an American media franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company that commenced in 1940 with the theatrical release of the film of the same name.

References

  1. Scott, Keith (3 October 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media. p. 262. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  2. "Peter and the Wolf (1946) Sparky: Trivia". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  3. Bartig, Kevin (4 April 2013). Composing for the Red Screen: Prokofiev and Soviet Film. Oxford University Press. p. 61. ISBN   9780199967605.
  4. Rocher, Jean-Marc. "Peter and the Wolf (1946): Plot Summary". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 24 June 2014.