Episode #10 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
We’re skipping a few on the chronological movie list again. The next one we’ll be doing is The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Neither of us had heard or even seen this one prior to this endeavor. Here’s our thoughts on this cute little watch!
30 Word Disney Dash
Summary in 30 words or less:
The Wind in the Willows as an animated tale; Mr. Toad, Badger, Rat, and Mole. School teacher Ichabod wins over women despite Brom’s antics. Headless Horseman spirits him away.
History & Fun Facts
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is an animated package film produced by Disney in 1949. It is the 11th animated film that has 2 segments. It is based on literary works, introduced by live-action scenes in a library. The first is based on the novel, The Wind in the Willows, while the second is based on the story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It is the last of the package films of the 1940s (Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, and Melody Time). This film is the only one to star Bing Crosby. He narrated the second segment.
The Wind in the Willows is a tale about Mr Toad, who loves adventure and the newest fad no matter the cost. Exacerbated, his friend MacBadger becomes his bookkeeper to help keep his estate in order. MacBadger asks Toad’s friends, Ratty and Moley to persuade Toad to give up his latest interest. They can’t convince him and instead he’s taken up by a new machine: a motor car. They put him under house arrest, but he escapes and is charged with car theft. At his trial Toad represents himself. He calls his horse, Cyril, as his first witness, testifying that the car had already been stolen by a gang of weasels. Toad traded his estate to Mr. Winkie, a bartender, for the car. However, when Mr. Winkie is called to testify he says Toad tried to sell him the stolen car. Toad is found guilty and sentenced to 20yrs in the Tower of London. While imprisoned, Toad sees the error in his ways. Cyril visits Toad in disguise and helps him escape. Toad steals a train engine and drives away pursued by the police. He disappears by way of the river and arrives at Ratty’s house. Ratty and Moley don’t agree on if Toad should go back to prison. MacBadger arrives and informs them that Mr Winkie is in possession of Toad’s estate and is the leader of the weasel gang. The group sneaks into Toad Hall to get the deed bearing their signatures to prove Toad’s innocence. They almost don’t succeed and are chased around the estate, but end up with the deed. Toad is exonerated and back in his house. The group celebrates the New Year and toasts Toad. He hasn’t been reformed however and flies past on an airplane, his latest mania.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a story of Ichabod Crane, a lanky and charming man, who arrives in Sleepy Hollow, New York in 1790 to be the new schoolmaster. Ichabod wins the hearts of the village women despite his odd behavior and appearance. Brom Bones, the brutish town favorite, is jealous of Ichabod’s attention and tries to bully and prank him. These antics don’t phase Ichabod. At a town picnic, Ichabod falls in love with Katrina and wins her over. Katarina is only using Ichabod to make Bones jealous. The two rivals are invited to the town Halloween party. Both men try to outwit each other to dance with Katarina. Bones learns Ichabod is superstitious and tells the tale of the Headless Horseman to scare him. Everyone is amused, except for Ichabod who is terrified. Riding home from the party through the woods, Ichabod is paranoid of every sound. Suddenly, the real Headless Horseman appears and threatens with a sword. He rides for the covered bridge to stop the ghost’s pursuit, but Ichabod is stopped by the horseman, who throws his flaming Jack-o-lantern head at Ichabod. He is knocked out. The next morning, his hat is found at the bridge, but Ichabod is nowhere to be found. Katrina marries Brom Bones, yet there’s rumors Ichabod is alive and married to a wealthy widow in a distant county. The people of Sleepy Hollow refuse to believe the rumors and think he was “spirited away” by the Headless Horseman.
Disney acquired the rights to The Wind in the Willows shortly after the release of Snow White in 1938 when the idea was pitched to him. It was originally intended to be a single feature film. There were delays and by 1941 animation work began as Bambi was nearly complete. Disney decided to shelve the project soon after due to the quality being below standard, however. Production resumed in 1946 and was shortened to 25min. However, following layoffs in August, it was shelved yet again. In December, production of a new feature film adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was started. Plans to combine these two and The Gremlins (by Roald Dahl) into a package film titled Three Fabulous Characters was made. However, The Gremlins didn’t materialize. In 1947, the pair was made into a singular package film and finalized with Basil Rathbone and Bing Crosby as narrators to provide audience appeal.
Overall, reception of the film was positive. Some critics had praise for the animation and character portrayals of the literary works. Others thought it was lacking in some areas. The film grossed $1,200,000 in US & Canada rentals and $1,625,000 worldwide. It won the Best Cinematography Color award at the Golden Globes. It was aired on TV as part of a Disneyland anthology in 1955 along with other cartoon shorts. Later TV airings were in 1963, 1977, and 1982. It was released to home media in 1991 & 1992 and subsequently in 1999. It appeared on DVD for the first time in 2000. It is featured in Disneyland park as an attraction and dark ride titled Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. It’s one of the few remaining operational attractions since park opening in 1955. The current version opened in 1983, however. A variation was in Disney World from 1971 to 1998.
Favorite Characters
Lily: Cyril Proudbottom (Toad’s horse). I enjoyed a lot of the characters in The Wind in the Willows, primarily because of their fun accents. I think Cyril was my favorite though because he was funny and had quite the personality for a horse. He was also loyal to Toad and testified on his behalf.
Claire: Cyril. I thought he was funny and I like horses. I enjoyed the faces he made and the scene where we’re introduced to him. He made a funny first impression with the audience for them to like him.
Favorite Scenes
Lily: My favorite scene was when Brom Bones sings the tale of the Headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow. I love listening to Bing Crosby sing and thought the way they animated the tale was great to watch. It was comical how terrified Ichabod was during the telling of the story.
Claire: My favorite scene was the chase scene at Toad Hall. There were a lot of different obstacles for them to get away from. I enjoy action scenes that hold my attention and this one certainly did.
Takeaways
Lily: Be mindful that your interests in life don’t end up causing the end of life as you know and love it. Life is best enjoyed in moderation. It’s okay to be super passionate about something and enjoy a variety of things, but keeping in mind realistically what you can afford to buy/do is important in order to have a future to enjoy.
Claire: Good friends are important to have and can help you when you get into trouble in life.
Overall Thoughts
Lily: I liked this two part package film a lot more than I expected. Before going into it I had no idea what it was about. I like the idea of literary works being put to animation to reach a wider audience. It was entertaining to watch all the way through. I wouldn’t mind watching it again and I enjoyed the songs in it as well. They were catchy and likely to get stuck in my head.
My 5 Star Rating in the Other Category: **** (4/5)
Claire: This one was my favorite so far in the packaged films as it has two full stories with a conflict and solution. There was a storyline to keep me engaged and lots of action to be entertaining. I don’t like watching movies in general more than once, but this one I wouldn’t mind watching again. I also really liked the Headless Horseman story as I remembered references from the story in other films.
My 5 Star Rating in the Other Category: *** (3/5)
We hope you enjoyed our review of this interesting little film. Have you seen this one before? We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Until next time, happy viewing!
For More info:
Image credits: