The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
The final Disney movie of the 1940s, did it help end the decade for Disney on a good note?
Brief Backstory
The final of the six package movies (excluding The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh), The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is usually the most popular of them all. If it isn’t the Legend of Sleepy Hollow that made this memorable for so many, it was the Wind in the Willows.
Right after this movie came out, Disney returned to making single movies, starting with Cinderella and would not create other package movies excluding The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, roughly 30 years after this movie came out.
Story
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, like Fun and Fancy Free, is broken up into two short films.
The Wind in the Willows: J. Thaddeus Toad (Mr. Toad) and his noble steed Cyril have been racking up damages all over the town in a gypsy cart, disregarding pleas from his pals Angus MacBadger, Water Rat, and Mole to surrender the cart. Later Mr. Toad fetishizes motorcars, and trades Toad Hall for a motorcar to Mr. Winkie. However Mr. Winkie falsely accuses Mr. Toad of fencing, causing Mr. Toad to go directly to jail. After breaking out, he and his pals raid Toad Hall to recover the deed. Narrated by Basil Rathbone, known for playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Ichabod Crane, a gluttonous headmaster of Sleepy Hollow, inadvertently becomes a hostility toward Brom Bones because of his affection for Katrina. Later Ichabod and his horse encounter the Headless Horseman, who Brom Bones warns them about. Narrated by Bing Crosby, known for his Christmas songs throughout the 40s-60s.
Random Facts
The Jungle Book reuses part of the animation sequence involving the deed.
All four of Mr. Toad’s group and Cyril appear in Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Cyril is seen with Donald, Water Rat and Mole are money collectors for the poor, and Mr. Toad and Angus appear during the Ghost of Christmas Past’s scene. The weasels would appear many times in other Disney related material as villains as well as appearing as the gravediggers in Mickey’s Christmas Carol.
James Rolfe of Cinemassacre declared this movie (particularly The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) his 2nd favorite Disney movie.
Both segments were released separate by Walt Disney Home Video for the Walt Disney Mini Classics/Favorite Stories lineups. Prior to these two lineups, both were put out even earlier including a few cartoons prior to the movie itself. Because of this, I prefer the earliest releases instead.
The Headless Horseman sequence is often rated as one of the scariest moments in Disney history.
Random Opinions
I’m more familiar with The Wind in the Willows because I’ve seen it more often.
Naming a girl Katrina seems like back luck nowadays given the catastrophic hurricane that completely changed New Orleans forever in 2005, which to this date remains as the costliest hurricane (and natural disaster) in American history.
Water Rat looks oddly familiar to Basil of Baker Street from The Great Mouse Detective thought doesn’t sound anything like him.
Pros
- Phenomenal humor from both segments from the ridiculous jailbreak involving an Indiana Jones themed vehicle chase and the amount of abuse Brom Bones takes.
- The escape from the horseman is just another one of many great Disney moments. Prior to that, the build up to encounter goes wonderful.
- Both narrators are wonderful.
- Ichabod Ichabod Crane is a great introduction song to Ichabod himself.
- I’ve always loved the weasels in everything that they appear in. Their nasally sounding voices (think Chief Wiggum from The Simpsons) and their antics never fail to amuse me; it’s no surprise they were used in the Prince and the Pauper as enemies!
- Mr. Winkie’s heel face turn is sudden and clever. Compare that to Hans in Frozen!
Cons
- Contrary to James Rolfe’s views, I prefer The Wind in the Willows, but just by a little; the plot felt more interesting.
- Part of my problem with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow is that I didn’t really care much for Ichabod + Katrina, though it was still well made. Nothing compared to a hilarious jailbreak and a deed retrieval!
Rating: 8.5/10 – Great
I am of the opinion that this is easily my favorite of the package movies. Disney had some rough times in the 1940s, but much like how the studio started the decade strong with Pinocchio (which isn’t universally liked by everyone, such as my mother), it ended the decade strong with Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
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