Basil Rathbone: Master of the Stage and Screen

1949, 68 min., color

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is an animated film produced by Walt Disney. It contains two stories in one film: the story of Ichabod Crane, from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, and the story of Mr. Toad, from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Bing Crosby narrates and sings in the story of Ichabod in the second half of the film. The first half of the film has Basil Rathbone narrating the story of Mr. Toad and his friends Mole, Rat and Badger (Angus MacBadger, as Disney has named him).


Mr. Toad	Mole	Rat	Angus MacBadger

The Wind in the Willows

Mr. Toad is the master of Toad Hall, a magnificent ancestral home rising alongside a peaceful English stream. The story of Mr. Toad tells how that volatile animal's succession of wild manias led to dreadful calamities.

Mr. Toad has a passion for action and excitement. Here he is as a big-game hunter.

Toad also has an obsession for fast-moving vehicles.

Toad's friends, Rat and Mole, are worried about Toad's reckless behavior.

When a car runs his horse-drawn cart off the road, Toad's mania for horse-drawn travel is replaced by a new mania for driving a sleek motor car.

The handsome motorcar which so excited Mr. Toad has actually been stolen by a gang of rascally weasels. He follows them into a pub and, to get possession of the car, gives them the deed to his home, Toad Hall.

Toad is arrested for stealing the car, convicted, and sent to prison. His ancestral home was taken over by a gang of criminals. Toad disguises himself to escape from prison, and then his faithful friends help him win back his house and prove his innocence.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Out of sight, out of mind might be a good adage, but it doesn't apply to this latest Walt Disney full-length cartoon. Even though you never see either Bing Crosby or Basil Rathbone, you're very much aware of them throughout the film since they narrate the two short stories. As a matter of fact, their voices sometimes outstep the visual material, especially in the case of Mr. Toad (whose voice is that of Eric Blore). Basil Rathbone, as the story teller, is excellent, but unfortunately, Mr. Toad's mad adventures fall short of expectations—perhaps it's because toads, any toad, don't appeal to some folks. On the other hand, the sad plight of poor, conniving Ichabod Crane, is more what one expects of Disney. It's cute and has the mellow Crosby voice breaking out into song.

—Screenland, September 1949

The Wind in the Willows, was originally written in 1908 by Kenneth Grahame, then secretary of the Bank of England, for his young son. He wrote only for children, but his book became vastly popular with adults for its sentiment and warmth, its misty, poetical landscapes and its spirited conversations. Disney's film leaves out all the poetry and most of the subtlety, but it still has action enough for the children and wit enough for everybody. It is pleasant throughout, ironic and goodhearted. Although the Ichabod half of the movie is rather goofy, Mr. Toad's half is good enough to please ardent Disney admirers.

The story of Mr. Toad is a great adventure and an endearing tale of friendship and loyalty. The magnificent animation, and the enchanting, delightful characters combined with the splendid narration by Basil Rathbone make this one of the best animated films ever made. A real classic.

Mr. Toad represents himself in court, where he is accused of stealing the car.	He claims he traded the deed to his home for the car.
Mr. Toad's friends testify on his behalf, but the dishonest pubkeeper Winkey has denied that Toad ever gave him the deed to Toad Hall. Toad is convicted and sent to prison.	In prison Mr. Toad receives a visit from his faithful horse Cyril, disguised as his grandmother. Cyril provides him with woman's attire, under which he can conceal his ball and chain. This fools the guards and he escapes into the night.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was released in the USA in 1949. Unlike most Disney films, it was never given a theatrical re-release.

In 1950, the film won a Golden Globe award for best color cinematography.

Beginning in 1955, the two portions of the film were separated, and televised as part of the Disneyland television series (later called Walt Disney Presents; Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color; and The Wonderful World of Disney). The two portions of the film were later marketed and sold separately on home video.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Excellent! Walt Disney has come through with another winner in this all-animated Technicolor feature, which is divided into two separate stories of approximately equal length, and which utilizes the voices of such actors as Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, and Eric Blore to fine advantage. Both stories, based on two famous literary works, are ideally suited to the Disney brand of craftsmanship, and the result is a gay and colorful show that is sure to delight not only the children but also adults. The picture bears comparison with the best of Disney's other feature-length cartoons and, technically, it is far superior to all of them. As in the other pictures, it is the original Disney characters and the ingenious touches that fascinate one.

The first story, narrated by Basil Rathbone, is taken from Kenneth Grahame's English fairy tale, "The Wind and the Willows," and revolves around the giddy adventures of J. Thaddeus Toad, a wealthy sportsman and seeker of perpetual excitement, whose extravagances and wild escapades are a constant source of worry to his three staunch friends, McBadger, Water Rat, and Mole, whose efforts to keep him out of trouble are in vain. He gives up his madcap adventures in a Gypsy cart pulled by his raffish horse companion, Cyril, when he takes a fancy to a snappy motor car owned by a gang of Weasels and, in a reckless deal, trades his vast estate for the auto. It proves to be a stolen car, and its possession quickly lands him in jail after a farcical trial. How he escapes from the jail, outruns his pursuers, recovers the deed to his property, and proves his innocence after a riotous battle with the Weasels is so cleverly and humorously depicted that one is kept howling with glee throughout. All the characters speak with English accents, and their British mannerisms are burlesqued in a highly diverting way.

—Harrison's Report, August 27, 1949

"This film is sometimes referred to as Ichabod and Mr. Toad by both contemporary and modern sources. working titles for the picture, which at various times in its production history was to include other characters that do not appear in the competed film, were Wind in the Willows, The Magnificent Mr. Toad, Three Fabulous Characters and Two Fabulous Characters. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, producer Walt Disney purchased the right to Kenneth Grahames' classic children's book in late June 1938, and in 1941 news items not that the studio originally intended to produce the subject as a single, feature-length picture called Wind in the Willows." —Turner Classic Movies. Read more at https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/622839/the-adventures-of-ichabod-and-mr-toad#notes

Watch the trailer for The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad :

Go to Page Two for more reviews, and pictures of posters, lobby cards and promo photos.

Cast
Basil Rathbone ...	Narrator of "Mr Toad" / Policeman
Bing Crosby ...	Narrator of "Ichabod"
Eric Blore ...	Mr. Toad
Pat O'Malley ...	Cyril
Colin Campbell ...	Mole
Campbell Grant ...	Angus MacBadger
Claud Allister ...	Rat
John Floyardt ...	Prosecutor
Oliver Wallace ...	Gang Leader
Pinto Colvig ...	Ichabod Crane (screaming)
Leslie Denison ...	Judge / First Weasel
Alec Harford ...	Mr. Winky
Clarence Nash ...	Ichabod's Horse / Owl / Frog / Crow
Edmond Stevens ...	Second Weasel

Credits
Production Company ...	Walt Disney
Producer ...	Walt Disney
Directors ...	Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronomi and James Algar
Writers ...	Erdman Penner, Winston Hibler, Joe Rinaldi, Ted Sears, Homer Brightman, Harry Reeves
Writing based on stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving and "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame
Production supervisor ...	Ben Sharpsteen
Asst. Directors ...	Jack Bruner, Ted Sebern
Film Editing ...	John O. Young
Illustrator ...	Rick Law
Character animators ...	Hal Ambro, Marc Davis, Hugh Fraser, Don Lusk, Hal King, Fred Moore, John Sibley
Backgrounds ...	Dick Anthony, Merle Cox, Ray Huffine, Brice Mack, Art Riley
Color and styling ...	Mary Blair, Claude Coats, Don da Gradi, John Hench,
Directing animators ...	Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman, Frank Thomas
Layout ...	Tom Codrick, Hugh Hennesy, Lance Nolley, Charles Philippi, Thor Putnam, Al Zinnen
Effects animators ...	Jack Boyd, George Rowley
Special processes ...	Ub Iwerks
Music ...	Oliver Wallace
Music editor ...	Al Teeter
Orchestrator ...	Joseph Dublin
Vocal arranger ...	Ken Darby
Songs ...	Gene de Paul, Don Raye
Sound director ...	C.O. Slyfield
Sound recordist ...	Robert O. Cook
Sound effects ...	James MacDonald

Images on this page are from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, copyright Walt Disney Studios.

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