Disney's Peter and the Wolf (and Sterling Holloway)

I found this classic Disney tale, and I thought I'd share it with yoU!

Peter and the Wolf was released in 1946 as part of the compilation film, Make Mine Music. It was re-released in 1947, played as a short before the re-issue release of Fantasia (which was originally released in 1940).

PART 1:



PART 2:




This is where Peter and the Wolf fitted on Disney's release canon...


Full Features:

1 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, December 21, 1937 (premiere)

2 Pinocchio, February 7, 1940 (premiere)

3 Fantasia, November 13, 1940 (premiere/roadshow)

4 Dumbo, October 23, 1941

5 Bambi, August 13, 1942 (limited)


World War 2 Budget Issues and Compilation Features:

6 Saludos Amigos, August 24, 1942 (premiere)

7 The Three Caballeros, December 21, 1944 (premiere)

8 Make Mine Music (featuring Peter and the Wolf, April 20, 1946 (premiere)

9 Fun and Fancy Free, September 27, 1947

10 Melody Time, May 27, 1948

11 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, October 5, 1949


Back to Full Features:

12 Cinderella, February 15, 1950

13 Alice in Wonderland, July 26, 1951 (limited)

14 Peter Pan, February 5, 1953

15 Lady and the Tramp, June 16, 1955 (premiere)

16 Sleeping Beauty, 6 January 29, 1959

17 One Hundred and One Dalmatians, January 25, 1961

18 The Sword in the Stone, December 25, 1963

19 The Jungle Book, October 18, 1967


The rest are post Walt Disney. With one exception (it was a compilation of shorts Walt had already released or was planning)...

22 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, March 11, 1977

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Peter and the Wolf is a composition by Sergei Prokofiev written in 1936 after his return to the Soviet Union. It is a children's story (with both music and text by Prokofiev), spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra.

Disney obviously rewrote it a little to add in Sterling's character/personality and some new character differences.

In this photo, you can tell that Sterling was a comedic actor:



The narrator was played by Sterling Holloway, who was a professional actor in live-action shorts. He also played:

- The Frog in a 1933 non-Disney, live-action version of Alice in Wonderland (Disney's version came in 1951, where he played the Cheshire Cat).

- In 1937, Disney considered him for "Sleepy" in Snow White, but they decided against it.

- Mr. Stork in Dumbo (1941)

- Adult Flower in Bambi (1942)

- Narrator in The Pelican and the Snipe (1942) - Originally made to be released in The Three Caballeros, it didn't fit well, so it was pulled out and released as a "special short"

- Narrator of "The Cold-Blooded Penguin" in The Three Caballeros (1944)

- Narrator of "Peter and the Wolf" in Make Mine Music (1946)

- Narrator of "Mickey and the Beanstalk" in Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

- Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (1951)

- Narrator and Mr. Stork in Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952)

- Narrator in Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952)

- Narrator in The Little House (1952)

- Amos Mouse in Ben and Me (1953)

- Prof. Oscar Quinn in "Adventures of Superman" (3 episodes, 1953-1955)

- Narrator in Adventures in Fantasy from "Disneyland" (1957)

- Narrator in Goliath II (1960)

- Winnie the Pooh in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966)

- Kaa in The Jungle Book (1967)

- Winnie the Pooh in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968)

- Roquefort in The AristoCats (1970)

- Winnie the Pooh in Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974)

- Winnie the Pooh in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)



Thanks for reading!

- TAE