Boys Like Peter Are Not Afraid Of Wolves

Today the Oscar nominations were announced. I was very disappointed that Denzel Washington and his film the Great Debaters were shut out. But I was intrigued by one nomination in the category for best animated short film. So I saw a familiar title in the rundown of nominees. And I took a look for it online.

Prokofiev's Peter & The Wolf has long been one of my favorite pieces of music. I got an LP of it as a small child for my birthday, the flipside was the Nutcracker Suite (both conducted by the impeccable Leonard Bernstein). In fact, Bernstein narrated Peter. This version is a brilliant stop-motion animated telling of Prokofiev's tale.

One thing I always thought was bad about the Oscars was that they gave out these awards for short subjects and you really couldn't actually view them anywhere. Thanks to the advent of YouTube, now you can. And I highly recommend it. P&TW runs just under 30 minutes, so it must be watched in 3 ten minute increments. But here are the links.

Peter & The Wolf pt. 1

Peter & The Wolf pt. 2
Peter & The Wolf pt. 3
Enjoy. Best of luck to the filmmakers at the Oscars.

Peace & Disco Beats

P.S. sad news about Heath Ledger. Talented kid.