Product Description

Elmo and all your favorite Sesame Street characters get together to show how music and imagination can tell a story in this delightful Sesame Street special! Watch special guest stars Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra, along with Elmo and your Sesame Street friends, tell the musical story of Prokofiev's children's classic "Peter and the Wolf."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16708 in DVD
• Brand: GENIUS PRODUCTS INC
• Released on: 2001-01-09
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 45 minutes

Amazon.com
Tag along for Elmo's musical adventure with Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and prepare to strike an unlikely pose, with one foot planted in the friendliest, furriest neighborhood anybody knows and the other in a sophisticated, sonically souped-up concert arena--Boston's Symphony Hall. The video unites the two seemingly mismatched worlds seamlessly, pulling off its unstated but pretty obvious goal, which is to siphon off the classical genre's outermost layer of stuffiness to make it more accessible to little kids, with Sesame-style punch and simplicity. Baby Bear leads viewers into Peter's forest by way of his ticket to see the Boston Pops Orchestra. Backstage he meets conductor Keith Lockhart, who serves as tour guide for a thorough but breezy showcase of various instruments, allowing the lisping little bear to get a grip on which sound portrays which character. Happy-go-lucky Peter, played by a peasant-costumed Elmo, is center stage during violin solos; the scary-sounding French horn signals the approach of the wolf--normally a ferocious fellow, but in this case a harmless furry purple guy. These days, with the gospel about the benefits of music education spreading at fever pitch, this 45-minute gem could be promoted as a way to get preschoolers in on the action. Beyond that, it's a charming chucklefest that's as effective as any intro you'll find to the classic tale. Elmo tickles audiences of all ages as Peter, and Big Bird, with help from the bassoon, spreads his wings in the role of the brave but foolhardy boy's grandfather. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews

Sesame Street's "Peter & the Wolf" is Brilliant
This video is brilliant, but I had not realized how brilliant until a few days ago when we picked up a book version of the story. [We have owned this tape for about 2 years.]

As we were going along my 3 year-old son was humming various --and appropriate!-- sections of the music that corresponded to the action on the page.

In addition, my 5 year-old daughter was telling me about what instrument was used to portray the characters. When I was humming she reminded me that I should try to sound more like an oboe (for the duck).

So Five BIG Stars for this video. Not only does it tell the classic Prokofiev tale, but it opened the doors to musical composition in ways that I had not even dared to hope for. Bravo!

Pam T~

A classic in every sense...
I am completely in love with this DVD, as is my 2 year old daughter. I picked it up wanting not only to entertain her, but also educate. Happily, this does both, and it will still be watchable when my little ones are older.
Baby Bear is taken by Papa Bear to see the Boston Pops Orchestra perform Peter and the Wolf, and the story is set in motion as Baby Bear listens to the music and imagines his Sesame St friends as the characters. Each character is followed in the story by a Boston Pops member playing the instrument respective to them, which will give children a clearer understanding of how the instrument voices the character. Elmo is adorable as Peter, Big Bird plays Grandfather, Oscar and Zoe accompany Elmo on his hunt as the Cat and Bird, and the wolf is of course, the Wolf!
The Boston Pops are at their finest here, and everything about the instruments, musicians, and the musical work itself are explained in a fun, funny, and educational way. One of the most wonderful things about the story was a slight change made in the fates of the Duck and the Wolf - when Telly (Duck) discovers he is to be eaten in the story, he is a bit shocked and decides to sit out, (a particularly funny moment!). And rather than shooting the wolf, the creative team here decided to catch him with butterfly nets and ropes and capture him without violence. For this mom, that was a welcome surprise.
For anyone with kids 2 to 12, Elmo lovers, or an adult like me who just appreciates great music and loves to see their little ones smile at a great show, pick this one up today.

ELMO lover
This is by far one of the best children's videos ever produced. It was so masterfully "orchestrated" . The way the concept of an orchestra was presented along with the instruments, the translation of sounds of each note by instrument to each character, the magical storytelling of Peter and the Wolf, and how the learning process presented by Baby Bear related to the unison of a music band, especially the "teamwork" concept. My son is only 17 months and is already LOVING every minute of it. He even gets into the suspense of the story when Peter (ELMO) is trapped and tries to find a way to get to the wolf. This musical production deserves an OSCAR!!!! By the way, my HUSBAND even looks forward to this video now everytime my son pops it in.