{"id":33720,"date":"2014-06-17T09:36:58","date_gmt":"2014-06-17T13:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/?p=33720"},"modified":"2022-02-06T00:08:41","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T05:08:41","slug":"movie-review-adventures-ichabod-mr-toad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/movie-review-adventures-ichabod-mr-toad\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DVD<\/a>
DVD cover Copyright Disney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Based on Washington Irving\u2019s 1820 short story \u201cThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow\u201d and Kenneth Grahame\u2019s 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows<\/em>, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad <\/em>was theatrically released on October 5, 1949 as the 11th<\/sup> full-length animated feature in Disney history. The 68-minute flick culminated a string of six consecutive package films released by Disney.<\/p>\n

The two segments have since been released separately as \u201cThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow\u201d and \u201cThe Wind in the Willows,\u201d respectively.<\/p>\n

Package Films<\/strong><\/p>\n

The package films incorporated multiple animated shorts based around a common theme, in this case literature, instead of a single plot-based story. Since the release of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad<\/em>, Disney has produced only one additional package film: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh <\/em>(1977).<\/p>\n

In contrast to the title, the first half of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad<\/em> is the Mr. Toad segment. It is narrated by Basil Rathbone, who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in several mystery films.<\/p>\n

The Ichabod segment comprises the latter half of the flick and is narrated by Bing Crosby.<\/p>\n

The segments are connected by a bookshelf. This transition definitely wasn\u2019t Walt Disney\u2019s most creative idea, but it suffices.<\/p>\n

Plot Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Mr. Toad segment, J. Thaddeus Toad is enduring financial problems. His friends, Mole, Water Rat, and Angus MacBadger, understand the severity of the situation, but Mr. Toad doesn\u2019t care. Rather, he buys a gypsy cart and a horse named Cyril Proudbottom, and he trades his valuable estate, Toad Hall, to a barman named Winkie for a motorcar.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Toad, the motorcar had been stolen by Winkie and his gang of Weasels. Somebody has to pay a debt to society, and that somebody turns out to be Toad. He\u2019s innocent, but nobody believes his story. Will justice eventually prevail?<\/p>\n

The Sleepy Hollow portion is a tale of love and horror. Brom Bones, the town bully, especially hates the new schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, and this disdain intensifies when a beautiful and wealthy young woman named Katrina Van Tassel emerges. Bones soon realizes that his only chance of charming Katrina is to somehow eliminate Crane; he tells the superstitious schoolmaster the legend of the Headless Horseman in hope of achieving this end.<\/p>\n

Of course, Bones\u2019 tale is a fictional story, and the Headless Horseman won\u2019t really kill Crane. Right?<\/p>\n

True Friendship<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friendship is a key theme in the Mr. Toad segment. Mole, Rat, and MacBadger may be tough on Toad, but unlike the sleazy Winkie, they have Toad\u2019s best interests in mind. Most notably, MacBadger works tirelessly and with little appreciation to help his amphibian buddy.<\/p>\n

Curiosities<\/strong><\/p>\n

I question whether Crane truly loves Katrina. Crane acts kindly towards her, but he also admits that he is eager to inherit her father\u2019s wealth.<\/p>\n

On a related note, I find the interactions between the anthropomorphic animals and humans in \u201cThe Wind in the Willows\u201d interesting. There are many humans in the segment, including a postman, the court officials, a conductor, and the police.<\/p>\n

Elements<\/strong><\/p>\n

I find two scenes in the feature, one in each portion, to be especially well animated. The flight segment in Mr. Toad beautifully captures a dusk sky, and all aspects of the Headless Horseman are dark yet bold. The figure really stands out.<\/p>\n

Sound effects are also well utilized. When Toad and Cyril cover their ears to avoid hearing Rat\u2019s finance lecture, the audio from the film correspondingly silences. Also, during Crane\u2019s ride towards Sleepy Hollow through the forest, intermittent sound effects are limited to the horse\u2019s steps, an owl, Crane\u2019s whistle, and the wind. The scarcity of sound creates an eerie and suspenseful scene, which solidly sets the stage for Crane\u2019s encounter with the Headless Horseman.<\/p>\n

Humor<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think Cyril is the film\u2019s funniest character. The horse makes numerous awkward facial expressions, recites poetry, and impersonates with relative ease. Some of my favorite moments in the film involve Cyril\u2019s diverse wardrobe.<\/p>\n

A battle scene at Toad Hall proves frenetic and amusing with various characters attempting to avoid hammers, swords, paper airplanes, and revolving doors.<\/p>\n

Finally, I enjoy Bones\u2019 attempts to outdo Crane and win Katrina\u2019s love. It\u2019s almost like the two men are playing leap toad\u2026err frog\u2026to gain the upper hand.<\/p>\n

Music<\/strong><\/p>\n

Performed by Eric Blore, the voice of Toad, and J. Pat O’Malley, the voice of Cyril, \u201cMerrily on Our Way (to Nowhere in Particular)\u201d is the main song in the Mr. Toad segment. The lyrics depict Toad\u2019s joyful but directionless life. This fast-paced and upbeat number reminds me of \u201cThe Walrus and the Carpenter\u201d from\u00a0Alice in Wonderland<\/em>\u00a0(1951) because O\u2019Malley also sang the latter tune.<\/p>\n

Moving to the Sleepy Hollow portion, \u201cKatrina\u201d is a soothing love song.<\/p>\n

Additionally, \u201cThe Headless Horseman\u201d uses poetic lyrics to set up the frantic final scenes.<\/p>\n

Relationship to Other Disney Films<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bones reminds me of Gaston from\u00a0Beauty and the Beast\u00a0<\/em>(1991) both in appearance and demeanor.<\/p>\n

Prior to the Mr. Toad segment, other notable characters from English literature, including King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Oliver Twist, are mentioned. These protagonists respectively formed the basis for\u00a0The<\/em>\u00a0Sword in the Stone<\/em>\u00a0(1963),\u00a0Robin Hood<\/em>\u00a0(1973), and\u00a0Oliver and Company<\/em>\u00a0(1988).<\/p>\n

Similarly, other famous characters from American literature, such as Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed, and Davy Crockett, are mentioned before \u201cThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow.\u201d Pecos Bill and Appleseed were the protagonists of two of the shorts in the package film\u00a0Melody Time<\/em>\u00a0(1948), while Crockett was the focus of Disney\u2019s\u00a0Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier<\/em>\u00a0(1955).<\/p>\n

In the Parks<\/strong><\/p>\n

At Disneyland Park in California, guests can partake in Toad\u2019s adventures on \u201cMr. Toad\u2019s Wild Ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mr.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Though Walt Disney World\u2019s version of \u201cMr. Toad\u2019s Wild Ride\u201d was replaced in 1999 by \u201cThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,\u201d Toad wasn\u2019t completely evicted from his Florida residence. He is shown handing the building deed to Owl from the Pooh franchise in the new attraction.<\/p>\n

The \u201cSleepy Hollow\u201d counter service restaurant at Florida\u2019s Magic Kingdom offers waffle sandwiches, ice cream, funnel cakes, and beverages throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Guests at Disneyland Paris can enjoy a counter service meal at the \u201cToad Hall Restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, the Headless Horseman is among the highlights of the \u201cMickey’s \u2018Boo-to-You\u2019 Halloween Parade\u201d at Walt Disney World\u2019s \u201cMickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.\u201d This hard-ticket party, which requires a separate admission fee, is held at the Magic Kingdom on select nights during the weeks prior to Halloween.<\/p>\n

Overall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad<\/em> is more of a way to integrate shorts than a traditional movie, the two segments are well done with a good mix of music, humor, and story.<\/p>\n

What do you think of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad? Let me know in a comment!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sponsored Ad:<\/strong>\u00a0 Would you like to help support The Mouse For Less website in continuing their mission of being THE Disney vacation planning resource?\u00a0 You can do so by purchasing\u00a0The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad<\/i><\/a><\/span>\u00a0from our affiliate link through Amazon<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Based on Washington Irving\u2019s 1820 short story \u201cThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow\u201d and Kenneth Grahame\u2019s 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was theatrically released on October 5, 1949 as the 11th full-length animated feature in Disney history. The 68-minute flick culminated a string of six consecutive package…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":33722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disney-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33720"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82628,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33720\/revisions\/82628"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}