The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

An animated adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" followed by an adaptation of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".

Directors:

James Algar, Clyde Geronimi

Writers:

Washington Irving (story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"), Kenneth Grahame (story "The Wind in the Willows")

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, Eric Blore

Won 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bing Crosby	...	Relating the Story of Ichabod Crane (voice)
Basil Rathbone	...	Narrating the Story of Mr. Toad / Policeman (voice)
Eric Blore	...	Mr. Toad (voice)
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Cyril Proudbottom (voice) (as Pat O'Malley)
John McLeish	...	Prosecutor (voice) (as John Ployardt)
Colin Campbell	...	Mole (voice)
Campbell Grant	...	Angus MacBadger (voice)
Claud Allister	...	Water Rat (voice) (as Claude Allister)
Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires	...	Additional voices (voice) (as The Rhythmaires)

Storyline

Two stories. The Wind in the Willows: Concise version of Kenneth Grahame's story of the same name. J. Thaddeus Toad, owner of Toad Hall, is prone to fads, such as the newfangled motor car. This desire for the very latest lands him in much trouble with the wrong crowd, and it is up to his friends, Mole, Rat and Badger to save him from himself. - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Retelling of Washington Irving's story set in a tiny New England town. Ichabod Crane, the new schoolmaster, falls for the town beauty, Katrina Van Tassel, and the town Bully Brom Bones decides that he is a little too successful and needs "convincing" that Katrina is not for him.

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Plot Keywords:

headless horseman | thought bubble | bowler hat | gun battle | monocle | 

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Taglines:

Bing and Walt ride herd on The Headless Horseman!

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Two Fabulous Characters

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production of the Disney adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" (1908) begun in early 1941, but the film project was put on hold by October. Production would not start again until 1945.

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Goofs

When Brom Bones grabs the barrel of ale, the side with the corked hole is pointed away from him. When the camera moves to show him pulling the cork out it is suddenly facing him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: If you were asked to choose the most fabulous character in English literature, who would it be? Robin Hood? King Arthur? Becky Sharp? Sherlock Holmes? Oliver Twist, perhaps? Well, any one of them would be an excellent choice. Still, for the most fabulous character of all, I would nominate... a toad - J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq. Have you ever met him? You'll find his story in this delightful little book, "The Wind In the Willows". Toad, you might say, was the one disturbing element: ...

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Alternate Versions

Debuted on home video as part of a 1983 VHS compilation entitled Disney's Scary Tales.

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Connections

Referenced in The Magical World of Disney: This Is Your Life Donald Duck (1960)

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Soundtracks

Ichabod
(1949) (uncredited)
Written by Don Raye and Gene de Paul
Performed by Bing Crosby and Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires

User Reviews

J. Thaddeus Toad and Old Icky

I guess you describe this Walt Disney classic as a cartoon/cartoon. Two separate stories done to fill out one barely over an hour film. After 63 years it still has enough magic to entertain.

Why Disney reversed the order of The Adventures Of Ichabod and Mr. Toad I've not figured out since the Mr. Toad story comes first. Basil Rathbone narrates this part and Eric Blore is delightful as that rascally scamp J. Thaddeus Toad who has the finest estate on riverbank. But he's a spendthrift and really needs a keeper. Which his friends the badger, the rabbit and the mole supply.

Blore reached back to his own career in interpreting Toad and I think Disney and his staff of animators must have seen him in The Road To Zanzibar and his character of Bates the valet to The Lone Wolf in that series. In Zanzibar Blore has a brief but memorable part as an eccentric millionaire who sells Crosby and Hope and diamond mine, but he's also the family idiot and he has no mines to sell or rights to sell them. And seeing how his Toad character escapes from the law reminds me so much of Bates making fools of the law in helping Warren William outwit them.

Washington Irving's Legend Of Sleepy Hollow is the basis for Ichabod and Bing Crosby narrates and sings with Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires backing him up and occasionally providing a voice. Ichabod Crane the new schoolmaster is cutting in on Brom Bones and his wooing of the richest girl in town Katrina Von Tassel. We all know how Brom Bones got Ichabod out of town on a stormy Halloween night, but you have to see the fine animation that Disney did for this film to really appreciate it.

Bing gets three songs to sing in this film, Ichabod Crane, Katrina, and The Headless Horseman. The last is really memorable and a great song for kids of all ages on a Halloween night.

Remember folks, you can't reason with a headless man.