The Wind in the Willows is the first segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, narrated by Basil Rathbone. The other half of the animated feature was based on the unrelated short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". It was reissued as a stand-alone short in the 1950s.
When it was re-released in 1978, it was re-titled The Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad.
Plot[]
The segment was based on Kenneth Grahame's novel of the same name (narrated by Basil Rathbone). The protagonist Mr. J. Thaddeus Toad is introduced as an "incurable adventurer" who "never counted the cost". Although he is the wealthy proprietor of the Toad Hall estate, Toad's adventures and "positive mania for fads" have brought him to the brink of bankruptcy, much to the frustration of Toad's bookkeeper, Angus MacBadger, who is too stressed to pay Toad's bills for damaged property and help Toad keep Toad Hall which is a source of pride in the community.
One day, MacBadger asks Toad's best friends Ratty (a water rat) and Mole (a mole) to persuade Toad to give up his latest mania of recklessly driving about the countryside with his horse Cyril Proudbottom and gypsy cart, which could accumulate a great deal of financial liability in damaged property. Ratty and Mole confront Toad who has been riding around recklessly and singing (We're Merrily on our way) but cannot change his mind. Toad then sees a motor car for the first time and becomes entranced by the new machine, having been taken over by "motor-mania."
To cure Toad's new mania, Ratty and Moley put Toad under house arrest. However, Toad escapes from the window and is later arrested and charged with car theft. At his trial, Toad represents himself and calls Cyril as his first witness. Cyril testifies that the car which Toad was accused of stealing was the very same one that had already been stolen by a gang of weasels. Toad had entered a tavern where the car was parked and offered to buy the car from the weasels. However, since Toad had no money, he instead offered to trade Toad Hall for the car. As nobody believes it, Toad then calls the bartender Mr. Winky as a witness to the agreement; however, when told by Toad to tell the court what actually happened, Winky falsely testifies that Toad had tried to sell him the stolen car. Toad is found guilty on the spot and sentenced to twenty years in the Tower of London. Toad's friends make every effort to appeal his case to practically every court, but they have no success and eventually the case is closed.
That Christmas Eve, Cyril visits Toad in disguise as his grandmother and helps him escape by giving him a disguise of his own. Toad is able to fool a constable at least until he reveals his chain and ball and bounces away. Toad runs over to a railway station when he hijacks Basil, a British 0-4-0 engine, just while Kidaroo, another 0-4-0 engine with policemen, pursues them when Toad jumps off into the river and swims for shore. Ratty and Mole are having Christmas dinner together when Toad comes in from the cold and mistaken for a lady until the chain falls on Ratty's foot, the two are surprised that it is Toad. Seconds later, there is a pound on the door at first Toad thinks it's the police and begs them to hide him, Ratty refuses as he is a fugitive and must be turned in. When Mole opens the door, it is only MacBadger, he has discovered that Winkie is the leader of the weasel gang and that Toad had indeed traded his estate for the stolen car; Winkie himself is in possession of the deed. Realizing this, Ratty apologize for misjudging Toad, he forgives him and Mole, but McBadger points out he is still guilty in the eyes of the law. Knowing that the deed bearing Toad and Winkie's signature would prove Toad's innocence, the four friends sneak into Toad Hall and take the document after a grueling chase around the estate.
The film then ends with Toad regaining his house while it implied Winky and the weasels have been arrested and imprisoned. As MacBadger, Ratty, and Moley celebrate the New Year with a toast to Toad, who they believe has completely reformed, Toad and Cyril recklessly fly past on a Wright Flyer; Toad has not truly reformed and developed a mania for airplanes.
Characters[]
- J. Thaddeus Toad (voiced by Eric Blore)
- Cyril Proudbottom (voiced by J. Pat O'Malley)
- Angus MacBadger (voiced by Campbell Grant)
- Water Rat (voiced by Claud Allister)
- Mole (voiced by Colin Campbell)
- Mr. Winky (voiced by Alec Harford)
- Weasels
- The Prosecutor (voiced by John McLeish)
Trivia[]
- A.A. Milne adapted The Wind in the Willows into a play, Toad of Toad Hall which debuted in London at the Lyric Theatre on December 17, 1929. The play involved such elements as Toad's caravan and auto, as well as his imprisonment, escape, and fight with the weasels to regain Toad Hall with the help of his friends.
- In a similar way to Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk from Fun and Fancy Free, The Wind in the Willows was originally intended to be a full-length feature film, but due to the studio switched to focusing on package films, Walt Disney decided to instead put it on a package film.
- Before being paired off with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this short went through a lengthy process being paired off with many different shorts before what eventually came to be. Originally the short was to be apart of a film entitled "Three Fabulous Characters" which would've also featured Mickey and the Beanstalk and The Gremlins but after canceling the Gremlins project, the film was to be entitled "Two Fabulous Characters" until Walt Disney decided to switch out Mickey and the Beanstalk to be seen in Fun and Fancy Free. It was decided to have the short be included with Pecos Bill and The Brave Engineer in a film entitled "All In Fun", but ultimately Pecos Bill was then moved into Melody Time and The Brave Engineer was released on its own as a stand alone short.
- In an introduction about the great British fictional characters, others are mentioned of note that will eventually be adapted into Disney films, including Robin Hood, King Arthur, Sherlock Holmes and Oliver Twist. (a fifth also mentioned is Becky Sharp from the novel Vanity Fair).
- Regarding Sherlock Holmes, Basil Rathbone will make his only other Disney appearance post-mortem in a vocal cameo as Holmes in The Great Mouse Detective. (Rathbone passed in 1967; The Great Mouse Detective was released in 1986)
Gallery[]
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Miscellaneous[]
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