The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Directed by Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, and James Algar
Written by Erdman Pnner, Winston Hibler, Joe Rinaldi, Ted Sears, Homer Brightman and Harry Reeves. Based on The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.
Premiered October 5, 1949
68 minutes
Rated G

Synopsis
In this two part film, Basil Rathbone narrates the story of J. Thaddeus Toad, esq. (Eric Blore), a wealthy toad who develops a mania for motorcars. He is accused, tried, and convicted of stealing a a car and it's up to his friends, uptight Rat (Claude Allister), sweetie pie Mole (Colin Campbell), his put-upon bookkeeper Angus MacBadger (Campbell Grant), and his cockney horseCyril Proudfoot (J. Pat O'Malley) to rescue him. The second story is narrated by American crooner Bing Crosby and tells of gangly, gold-digging school teacher Ichabod Crane who sets his sights on Katrina van Tassel, daughter of the richest land owner in Tarrytown, New York. However, Katrina is the apple of local bully Brom Bones's eyes and he refuses to see her fall under Icky's spell. He plans to take his revenge at the van Tassels' annual Halloween party.

Before We Begin
Package films. This is the very last one. (If you ignore the likes of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Fantasia 2000 which are segmented films, but not package films. And if you want to be a stickler, Ichabod has less "segments" than Many Adventures.) But this is 1949, still the Package Film era. This the last gasp. WWII has been over for four years. Disney has Cinderella in their fucking hand.

...but before that Grand Return to Form, we get The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, formerly titled TWO FABULOUS CHARACTERS--one from 20th century British literature and the other from 19th century American literature. This "theme" makes a lot more sense than the throwing together of "Bongo" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" which is akin to eating a handful of Cheez-Its followed by a handful of M&Ms--not the best idea, not the worst.

Before the war, The Wind in the Willows was set to be a stand alone, shortish cheapy film like Dumbo, but only parts of it got animated before Pearl Harbor. So it sat on the shelves while things like "Blame it on the Samba" came to be. After the war, Disney started to develop Sleepy Hollow into its own feature, but found it to be too short. Mr. Toad was just sitting there, collecting dust, so why not put them together?

Even if Mr. Toad and Ichabod Crane are sort of B-List lit characters (my apologies, but Elizabeth Bennett and Scarlett O'Hara they ain't), these are two short stories that work well when given the Disney treatment. Like many an American child, I recall watching the Ichabod half of this film at grade school Halloween parties. Mr. Toad was a stranger to me. I didn't see the whole thing until high school.

Mötley Müsings
• You should know I have not read The Wind in the Willows nor The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I've seen Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. (Heh) So I won't be able to share what is "accurate" or not. Both are in the public domain. Maybe I should read them....

• The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad won the Golden Globe for Best Cinematography-Color. #themoreyouknow

• So even though Ichabod comes first in the title, we begin with Mr. Toad.

• Robin Hood. King Arthur. Becky Sharp, Sherlock Holmes. Oliver Twist. Four of these characters get the Disney treatment. Oh how I would love to see Disney take on Vanity Fair, though.

• I love Mr. Toad. So very British. I want tea and crumpets!

• MOLE! I love Mole! So adorable.

• This score sounds eerily similar to parts used in Cinderella.

• I am not going to question the logic of a toad owning a grand English manor house in a world where humans coexist.

• All right...you might wonder how I can like Toad while disliking Tigger so much since they share a manic energy. Well...Toad has a British accent.

• Oh, Mole. You are too cute for your britches.

• "A bit of a trotter, a bit of a rotter. How do you do? How do you do? How do you DO?"

• I like this edit. Toad badly wants a car and then he is shown on trial for stealing one. The audience doesn't know if he is guilty or not. (I mean, it's Disney, so probably not...but.)

• Fast talking bailiff is like fast talking Grand Duke at the end of Cinderella...hmmmmm...

• "Lord love a duck, yes! He's one of the jolliest chaps I've ever run across!"

• Weasels look like 30s gangsters to me.

• Toad sniffing exhaust...um

• Mr. Winkie is a dick.

• And suddenly it's Christmas.

• Toad is learning his lesson, but here comes Cyril--in drag--to break him out of the pen. And now Toad is dressed in drag. And they almost escape undetected.

• "And bless poor Toad." "And may he get time off for good behavior."

• "Well, this is a Merry Christmas."

• "The POLICE."

• Winkie in charge of the weasels is like Scar being in charge of the hyenas.

• Winkie and the Weasels is the name of my early 80s new wave band.

• "They been hittin' the bottle."

• This music is SO from Cinderella.

• And now it's New Year's.

• But joke's on them! Toad has a plane now! What next? A space ship? HAHAHAHAHA

• Meanwhile, across the pond...

• Bing Crosby. I am apparently related to him. #doxyfacts

• "Speaking of fabulous characters, England has produced a bumper crop of them. But don't forget, over here in the colonies, we've managed to come up with a few of our own. How about Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed, Black Bart, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone and, of course, the one and only Ichabod Crane."

Um, John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman, Davy Crockett, and Daniel Boone were real people. And who the hell is Black Bart? (Er...apparently he was an outlaw in the Old West. Also a real guy.)

Let me help you out, Bing. "Speaking of fabulous characters, England has produced a bumper crop of them. But don't forget, over here in the colonies, we've managed to come up with a few of our own. How about Huckleberry Finn, Hester Prynne, Tom Joad, Captain Ahab, Jo March, and, of course, the one and only Ichabod Crane."

• Halloween is 11 days away.

• Ichabod is a name you don't hear any more. Kind of like Ebenezer. Or Adolf.

• Ye Olde Schnooker and Schnappes Shoppe

• Brom Bones is the 1940s Gaston.

• "No one gets animals drunk like Brom Bones."

• So...even though Ichabod looks like a lanky scarecrow and is a NERD, women seem to be very attracted to him. Is this from the original story?

• "Women's Tatting and Chatting Club". When can I join?

• He's a school teacher AND a singing coach?

• Katrina van Tassel, blooming lass, plump as a partridge. Totally looks like a sexier version of Cinderella. Probably the most ridiculous figure in animation history until Jessica Rabbit.

• "Well, the old goat can't take it with him." I ain't saying he's a gold digger, but he ain't messin' with no broke-broke.

• Ichabod is an unlikable character. I will not root for him. Now, of course, Brom Bones isn't very likable either. And Katrina is a tart. She's only toying with Ichabod to make Brom jealous. Ugh. What a mess. Who cares who ends up with who?

•All right. Here comes the Halloween part! I feel ever so festive! I think I'll light a pumpkin scented candle.

• Dude, Katrina's pigtails are so inaccurate. What is this hairstyle?

• Brom is going to dance with the fat chick to get close to Katrina...oh boy...this is uncomfortable.

• This is the first mention of the Headless Horseman. Would have been better if they mentioned him earlier. Foreshadowing and all that.

• That poor horse. He don't know what he's in for.

• Whoa.

• But, like, you know it's Brom.

• I want to carve a pumpkin.

• Brom and Katrina get married. Surprise, surprise. Are we, the audience, supposed to be happy? Or are we supposed to feel bad for Ichabod? Frankly, I think he got what he deserved. Losing Katrina, not "disappearing". Brom is a bully but we don't know for sure that he was after her just for her money. Oh lord. I'm over thinking it.

• Heh. And Ichabod has a fat wife and a bunch of ugly kids.

• But seriously, how many times did I mention Cinderella?

Final Thoughts
You might have surmised that I like the Mr. Toad half more than the Ichabod half. This is what lands Disney's 6th and final package film On the Fence. If it were all Wind in the Willows, we wouldn't be talking just yet. As it is, we have The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to answer to. Mind you, I don't dislike the second segment, but it has a hard act to follow.

It comes down to characters. Moley is adorable. I am drawn to Toad's charisma. Even Angus MacBadger and Ratty's stick-in-the-mudness is coming from a good hearted place . (I have an affinity for grumpy fusspot characters anyway.) Ratty, Moley, and MacBadger have good intentions trying to save Toad from himself. When that fails and Toad goes to the Tower, he does some serious soul searching and decides to change, thinking of his friends as inspiration. Finally, when Toad proves his innocence, the vermin risk life and limb to get the deed to Toad Hall back from the weasels. And maybe it's because we're pressed for time, but I appreciate the lack of petty high school bickering. Ratty apologizes and then they're merrily on their way to somewhere particular.

It's a story about friendship, really, which is why it's such a shame it never became it's own movie. Bummer.

On the other end, you have gold-digging Ichabod Crane and bully Brom Bones vying for the affections of shameless flirt Katrina van Tassel. Who am I to root for? Why am I to care for these characters? Since I care so much for the first batch, I'm expecting to care of the second batch even more. Momentum and all that. But that's not what happens. Sleepy Hollow is lacking in the feels department which would be fine if it was paired with another short lacking feels, like "Bongo" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk". Pretty much no feels there.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad always leaves me feeling frustrated. Maybe if they had just put Ichabod first...or tried to make him a bit more sympathetic...or not bothered with him at all. I just don't know.

Favorite Character

Moley

Favorite Moment -- Toad "driving" down the road on his butt.
Favorite Song -- "Merrily On Our Way" performed by Eric Blore and J. Pat O'Malley