Sergei Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf'

In 1936 Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by Natalya Sats and the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow to write a new musical symphony for children. The intent was to cultivate "musical tastes in children from the first years of school". Intrigued by the invitation, Prokofiev completed Peter and the Wolf in just four days. The debut on 2 May 1936 was, in the composer's words, inauspicious at best: "[attendance] was poor and failed to attract much attention". He could scarcely have foreseen quite how successful his playful classic would become or how consistently it would delight and inspire children and adults of all ages for years to come.

Fastforward to 2006, and British animator/director Suzie Templeton - inspired by Prokofiev's story - releases a 32min animated short named Peter & The Wolf. She does quite a good job of it. Good enough to win herself an Oscar, in fact.

Here it is in it's entirety on some Japanese website. I recommend checking it out if you've got a spare half hour. It's incredible.

Peter & The Wolf