The film was rejected by more than 90 producers, broadcasters and financiers over two years, but its little known British makers refused to give up. Yesterday, they were pinching themselves after it won them the industry’s ultimate accolade, an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

Having been hurled under the spotlight at the Academy Awards ceremony, Hugh Welchman, its 33-year-old producer, told The Times: “I had been getting more and more excited over the past couple of days, but when they read out our names, everything went into slow motion. I felt I was floating up there. I was so excited, I couldn’t stop grinning. I still can’t.”

Their winning entry was a 32-minute animated film version of Prokofiev’s 1936 classic Peter and the Wolf, aimed at both children and adults and set to a special new recording by the Philharmonia Orchestra.

The story of Peter, a boy who discovers the dangers that lie in the forest, has delighted generations of children worldwide. Prokofiev designed the piece to introduce young listeners to the orchestral palette, so that each character is represented by a different instrument. The duck, Peter’s sweet and gentle friend who is eaten by the wolf, is brought to life by the oboe.

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But such was the difficulty of getting this new version off the ground that Welchman estimates that he endured as many as 700 meetings with potential investors. Eventually it was Channel 4’s belief in his film that made it possible, encouraging some of those who had initially rejected it to lend their support.

Investors were nervous, he recalled. Some were concerned that it was too short. Others were worried that the film-maker’s approach was too dark.

Welchman said: “But the wolf is scary, delightfully funny and scary.”

The puppets are made of silicone and latex with a realistic finish. The wolf has hair and the duck has feathers.

They were filmed with stop-frame model animation at the Se-Ma-For Studios in Poland. Each puppet has a steel armature, with a ball and socket joint and a foam latex body. Pinned to the set, each puppet was moved 2mm and photographed before being moved another 2 mm and photographed again - 24 times for a single second of screen footage.

Welchman said: “That’s what gives it its magic... You have to be a very particular kind of person to do it.”

The sets were enormous. The forest was recreated with some 1,700 trees, up to six foot high.

Welchman, the son of a retired computer salesman and a potter, read PPE at Oxford University before completing a postgraduate degree at the National Film and Television School in London. There, he was spotted by Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director, who awarded him a scholarship in scriptwriting. His graduation film, Crowstone, went on to win the Cinefoundation Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

While he produced Peter and the Wolf, coming up with the original concept, its writer and director was Suzie Templeton, 40, who also designed the puppets.

She said: “My desire was to create a film which works on many levels for both children and adults, exploring our fear of, and fascination with the wild beast, and witnessing a young boy discover his own strength and integrity...

“In my childhood, the most delicious and shiver-inducing moment of Peter and the Wolf was the moment we hear the duck quacking from inside the wolf. In this film I could not find a way to represent this visually without being grotesque or too graphic in this rather realistic visual form. But the spirit of the duck lives on and we are reminded of her at Peter’s moment of greatest heroism and understanding. I hope this Peter is faithful to the spirit and intention of Prokofiev 70 years ago.”

The film was first broadcast on Channel 4 at Christmas 2006, a few weeks after a world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall. It wowed the critics. While The Times applauded its charm, describing the animals as “beautifully made and very funny”, The Independent wrote: “The joy of this film is the care, sensitivity and imagination that matches even Prokofiev’s work.”

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