The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Excellent feature comprising of 2 half-hour segments. The animation is first rate, particularly on Ichabod's journey home through the woods, which is the highlight of the film. The quality of the direction and storytelling is excellent, and though both are quite short, they are remarkably concise and fully formed, and actually feel like they are both feature length. They are both highly atmospheric, and the characterisations are top-notch. There are some aspects of the film which have dated it somewhat, but you get past that soon enough. This film is also notable for it's fine use of colour. Anyone with an interest in animation should see this film.

They got the title wrong. It should be "The Adventures of Mr. Toad and Ichabod" as the Wind and the Willows story comes first. And what a great story it is. Set mostly at Christmas, the Mr. Toad story has a wonderful festive feel and really does stand on its own. It's such a shame that the dull, boring Legend of Sleepy Hollow story bogs it down. I wasn't particularly entertained by the Tim Burton film but at least stuff happened in it. More than 25 minutes of this version is dedicated to Ichabod romancing some woman and only 60 seconds from the end to we get to see a headless horseman. Since I bought the DVD after the halloween-ish cover caught my interest I was kinda annoyed that it failed on this promise but delivered a nice Xmas story, if entirely unexpected. This was my first encounter with a Disney "Package" film and I have to admit that Mr. Toad should have been released independently as a short and Ichabod forgotten about completely.

Having never seen 'Mr. Toad', I can only comment on the 'Legend of Sleepy Hollow', having seen it many times as a child when 'Disney's Wonderful World' was running on the CBC. This has got to be some of the greatest work of Walt Disney. Washington Irving's original story is closely followed, unlike Tim Burton's 1999 version (still an awesome movie in its own right). The sequence involving Ichabod Crane's terrifying ride through the woods is undoubtedly the best, from the toads croaking 'Ichabod' to the Headless Horseman chasing Ichabod through the woods - it's alternately funny and frightening. It always appeared at Halloween on the Disney show, and I can't remember ever missing it.

Two handsomely-presented featurettes from Walt Disney could maybe use more of the studio's patented cute humor. The adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" is a bit high-brow for little ones, though it has an appropriate clipped wit, muted colors and a delightful narration by Basil Rathbone. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", with Bing Crosby narrating, is brighter and faster, featuring some spectacular, scary animation. A virtually slapstick-free package, though the second chapter is a lively one! **1/2 from ****

The Adventures of Ichabod is an October favorite for us; this year we watched both together. The adventures of Mr. Toad is a bit slower, and mostly of interest because of the wonderful Disneyland ride. Seb seems to have loved "Mr. Winkie," and seemed surprised that he was evil, despite the name. Reviewing in 2020, the first time we watched it after a fabulous weekend in Sleepy Hollow last year. I was struck by how much they laughed at the first part of the show, which is almost entirely slapstick/romantic comedy, followed by a sudden shift in mood at the Halloween party, where Brom Bones sings his song about the horsemen, leading into terror for the rest of the film. My kids made a great observation: there's no dialogue in Ichabod, only the voice of the narrator, Bing Crosby, and Brom Bones' song.

Made at the end of the first age of Disney animation, "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" consists of two separate animated adaptations of classic stories. The Ichabod of the title is Ichabod Crane from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", and the Mr. Toad is J. Thaddeus Toad from the "Wind in the Willows". Each is short, running only about 35 minutes apiece, and is narrated by top of the line actors, Basil Rathbone doing the honors for "The Wind in the Willows", and Bing Crosby for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". I've not read either story so can't judge the adaptations accuracy, but it doesn't matter. Both stories are highly entertaining, and if you like the old school Disney animation, you won't be disappointed.