Do you ever sit back some nights and wonder what U2 frontman Bono does between recording, touring, and writing books? Well what if we told you that in 1995, he and The Edge wrote the theme to 007 film “GoldenEye“ sung by Tina Turner, you’d believe that, wouldn’t you? Of course you would, you can totally hear it in the melody the next time you listen to it. Well, in 2003 he contributed the artwork to a multi-media project of an adaptation of the famous Russian children’s musical tale, “Peter and the Wolf,” and now it’s coming to MAX.
MAX, if you’re curious, is the newly renamed and soon to be relaunched amalgam of Warner Bros. Discovery, replacing current streaming platform HBO Max.
Bono is friends with another Irish musician, Gavin Friday. In 2003, the two of them collaborated on an adaptation of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev‘s “Peter and the Wolf.” The children’s story about a young boy who captures a duck eating wolf is told through a combination of narration and various musical themes and instruments representing the characters. Bono and Friday decided to go in a similar direction, with Friday providing the narration and music but with Bono and his daughters contributing the artwork to a book that would accompany the record. Proceeds from the sales went to benefit the Irish Hospice Foundation.
20 years later, that project is back in a new form thanks to Cartoon Network and MAX. This new animated version will once again feature the music and narration of Friday, but with animation based off of Bono’s original artwork. Further expanding on the art design is how the 2D animation will be set in the backdrop of a “physical set-built world.” The story also expands upon the original narrative to incorporate themes of grief, loss, and acceptance in addition to the original ideals of bravery and ingenuity.
Created as a short film, this adaptation of “Peter & The Wolf” is set to premiere later this year on MAX, with no official date given as of this time.
