Saturday, November 6, 2010

Peter and the Wolf

I've really liked this animation since I first saw it a few weeks ago. The characters are adorable and engaging, the music is integrated flawlessly into the story, and I find the whole story to be charming, even including the darker aspects.
I want to draw my comic on the ending scene in Peter and the Wolf, starting with Peter riding in on top of the cart holding the wolf, looking wild and triumphant, back lit by that enormous full moon. I like how he drapes himself over the cart while his grandfather talks to the various potential buyers for the wolf, and his wild joy at the fear of his fellow children when the angry, trapped wolf is revealed to be in the cart. I like how much Peter and the Wolf resemble each other by the end, Peter with his dark hair sticking out in all directions, just like the dark hair of the wolf, their eyes the exact same shade of ice blue. The wolf trapped in the cage mirrors Peter being trapped in the house at the beginning of the movie, and when Peter frees the wolf, it's as if they are the same, and see themselves reflected in each other. Both Peter and the wolf have a sort of dangerous, fearsome air about them by the end of the animation, a sort of wildness held in check, that I find rather fascinating.
The scene will start with Peter perched atop the cart, with the full moon behind him and the raven on his shoulder. The cart comes to a rest next to the dancing bear's cart, and the grandfather starts to talk with the dancing bear man while children crowd curiously around the cart. Peter opens up a hatch, revealing the wolf trapped inside, and the children all jump, making Peter grin. The girl he likes is there, just as impressed as all the other children. The raven, no longer trapped by its broken wing, flies away, free, soaring upward while Peter watches with a delighted grin. The two hunters push their way to the front, and start taunting the captured wolf with the point of their rifle, just as they taunted Peter at the beginning of the movie. Peter doesn't like that, and tosses a net over them, and they fall back, caught. Peter moves to the back of the cart, and unlocks the door, opening it to reveal the wolf. Everyone falls back as the wolf leaps out, and walks side by side with Peter, like an equal, before running off into the full moon.

No comments:

Post a Comment