Peter & the Wolf () is a British-Norwegian-Polish stop-motion animated short film released in 2006. Written and directed by Suzie Templeton and scenography by Marek Skrobecki, it was made in Se-ma-for Studios in Łódź and has been shown in cinemas, sometimes with live musical accompaniment. The film won the Academy Award for the Best Animated Short Film at the 80th Academy Awards.
Plot
On the edge of the vast forests of Russia, where wolves still roam, lies a little cottage surrounded by a big, high fence. This is where Peter lives with his grumpy grandfather. Peter is an 11-year-old boy who is constantly picked on by the town's people and his grandfather will not let Peter go out into the forest. Peter has a friend, the lovable Duck (a runner duck in this version), with whom he hangs around his grandfather's yard. A bird (a hooded crow in this version) with a broken wing arrives in the yard. Bird is impatient with Peter and signals him to go into the forest. His heart beating fast, Peter tiptoes into the cottage and reaches over his sleeping grandfather and his snoring, overweight tabby cat. Ever so carefully Peter takes the keys to the gate.
Peter has the time of his life playing in the forest with his friends. He helps the bird to fly, using a balloon and some rope.
Then everyone skates on the frozen lake. Everyone, that is, except the cat. She lunges at the bird to eat him but is so fat that she crashes straight through the ice and into the freezing water. Grandfather awakes and sees that Peter is in the forest. Very angry, he grabs his shotgun and rushes outside. He grabs Peter off the ice, drags him back into the cottage, and locks the fence, angering Peter. Peter looks out through the fence and sees a Eurasian wolf on the edge of the forest. The cat manages to climb up the tree for safety, but the wolf swallows the duck whole. Peter slings a heavy net over his shoulder and climbs up the fence and into the tree. The bird fights with the wolf but ends in a stalemate. Peter falls from the tree and the wolf attacks him. Eventually, after a long and fierce struggle, Peter catches the wolf in the net after it tries to charge at him.
The bird hears two different sets of footsteps. It turns out to be two male hunters (the same hunters that threatened Peter in the town and chucked him in a large wheelie bin) in the distance. The hunters spot the wolf and try to shoot it, however, the bullets miss the wolf and instead hit the cat, who then passes out. They quickly flee and Peter and the bird find the cat lying motionless on the floor. All of a sudden, the cat wakes up, petrified when the wolf was nearby and on the verge of killing it, whilst still covered in the net. Peter's grandfather comes out with a shotgun and spots the wolf covered up by the net. He proceeds to shoot it, however, Peter stops him and hatches a plan.
Later at night, Peter's grandfather drives into town with the captured wolf. Peter is standing, triumphant, on top of the wolf's cage. However, the people do not acknowledge Peter's success and his grandfather takes credit for the wolf's capture. The bird's broken wing heals and it is able to fly again. The town bullies arrive and chastise the defenseless wolf with a gun. After looking into the wolf's sad eyes as well as having become disillusioned with both his grandfather and the townspeople for their poor treatment of them both, Peter opens the cage, and the wolf races back into the forest.
The ending is a complete departure from the original, in which the wolf is presumably left caged in the zoo. Throughout the latter parts of the story, the duck can be heard quacking inside the wolf, implying it is still alive.
Production and distribution
Peter & the Wolf was a multinational production. The main producers were UK production company BreakThru Films, and the co-producers were Se-ma-for Studios in Łódź, Poland and Storm Studios, based in Oslo, Norway. Additionally TV UNAM (XHUNAM-TV Mexico) and ArchAngel SA (Switzerland) participated in its production. All of the puppet animation was completed in Łódź with a mainly Polish crew. Special effect shots were made at Se-Ma-For Studios in Poland by a team run by VFX Supervisor Kamil and Artur Zicz VFX Coordinator of the show. Later in the process when film delivery was already severely delayed, part of the VFX was also done at Storm Studios in Oslo. Detailed use of car makes including the 1962 GAZ-21 Volga are referenced throughout the film.