Musical Tales, Vol. 1: The Nutcracker And Petrushka

Excellent puppet animation brings to life Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" and Stravinsky's "Petrushka," in these faithful adaptations of the originals. In "The Nutcracker," young Clara takes the side of a toy soldier who must overcome the dreaded seven-headed mouse king in order to return to human form. Fluid animation and colorful sequences (the dancing goodies in the Kingdom of Sweets scene is a tantalizing marvel) make "The Nutcracker" a joy for young and old alike. "Petrushka," however, while featuring the same excellent technical standards as "The Nutcracker" has a fatal flaw in its stereotypical portrait of a black puppet. Set at the Shrovetide fair in St. Petersburg, the story revolves around the love triangle in a puppet theatre between the sad clown Petrushka, a lovely girl puppet, and a black king puppet. The English, who are not the most enlightened people when it comes to stereotypical portraits, have had an historical tendency to portray blacks along the lines of early 20th-century America. The exaggerated features and speech of the black king in "Petrushka" will offend American audiences and confuse children who, being unfamiliar with the stereotypes, won't find a corresponding match in the real world for the black king. Technically, Musical Tales is excellent and, were it not for the offending portrayal, would be highly recommended. As it is, however, we cannot recommend this tape. Interestingly this, as well as Ivor, Jimbo, and Little Nezha, carries a "PTVA approval" seal. The acronym stands for the Parent Teacher Video Association of North America, a group I know nothing about, except for the fact that they don't seem to know much about children's video. (See IVOR THE ENGINE AND THE ELEPHANTS for availability.)