Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad Part 1: The Wind and The Willows

Welcome back to Deep Dive Disney and the Start of a two-part look at one of my favorites. But before we get into all that, yes, I skipped Bambi. I re-watched Bambi. I have nothing to say about Bambi. I have zero nostalgic connection to Bambi. Bambi’s mother got shot, children were traumatized and years later Animaniacs would make fun of it to hilarious effect. Anywho, let’s discuss today’s offering, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, which combines two short films, The Wind and the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, into one. You’re probably wondering why that is exactly. Well, Disney actually had a lot of projects planned around this time, but then a little thing called World War II happened which forced a lot of productions to be scrapped. So, Disney was forced to improvise and combine the remnants of those projects into anthology films, hence why we ended up with films like Melody Time, Saludos Amigos and of course, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Today we’ll be focusing on The Wind and The Willows half of the film, which tells the story of some rich jackass who’s recklessness and obsession alienates his friends and gets him tossed in jail. (He’s the Hero by the way, but we’ll get to that.) Our film opens up in a Library where a narration asks who we think of when we try to imagine the greatest character in English literature. By the way, I’d be remiss if I did not mention that the narrator is none other than the great Basil Rathbone, aka, the greatest live action Sherlock Holmes of all time. That’s right, I said it. Eat my ass Cumberbatch! Anywho, the narrator rattles off the names of a few classic characters of English literature, including a few who will eventually get their own movies before finally settling on J. Thaddeus Toad. Let’s discuss him shall we.

Main Character:

So, I’ll say this right off the bat. Toad is an asshole. No, I mean it. Toad is an absolute selfish prick who frivolously spends all his money, causes chaos and destruction in his wake, gives in to his addictive personalities and lets his friends clean up his messes for him. This jerk is the greatest character in English Literature? Greater than Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur and Robin Hood? I still love ya, but I think you were a touch off the mark with that one, Rathbone. The whole film, Toad goes off following the latest fads, piling up depts that he doesn’t care enough to pay, his friend running himself ragged trying to put his depts in order. When Toad becomes aware of this new-fangled mode of transportation known as a motorcar, his obsession with fads and thrill-seeking increases to the point where he’s barely coherent and he has to be physically restrained so he’ll no longer be a danger to himself and others. But does that stop old Toad, hell no, in fact, it only forces him to get more creative, trading his billion-dollar estate to some shady looking weasels for a red car that turns out to have been stolen. And when Toad is locked in jail, does he repent? For about maybe... three minutes at most. Then, he breaks out of prison, commits several legitimate crimes during his escape. And then, when he gets the deed to Toad Hall back from the Weasels, does he finally recognize how his callous behavior has hurt those who most care about him? Fuck No! He’s right back to his old tricks. After all he goes through, Toad still wins in the end and learns nothing! So, let’s summarize. Toad is an immature idiot who sees something he wants, makes a deal with some shady characters in order to obtain it, gives away something of far greater value in exchange, has it blow up in his face, goes through a great ordeal to put things right, and in the end still gets exactly what he wants, learns no lessons and suffers no consequences. I think I just figured out why Toad irks me so much. His story is remarkably similar to that some dumbass red-haired fish girl I also can’t stand. Don’t worry, that rant is coming and it will be epic. But that’s all I really have to say about Toad, let’s move on.

Villain:

I suppose we should talk about Winkie and the Weasels. Even though they are the primary tangible antagonistic force in this story, they’re not really the main villains. They’re more the beneficiary of Toad’s short-sighted idiocy. Yeah, they’re bad dudes, they did steal the car after all, but if someone walks into your pub, offers you the deed to a billion dollar estate in exchange for a stolen jalopy, of course you’re going to take it, and if the rich sap doesn’t see your entire gang diving under the table and pulling firearms at the mention of the hot carriage as a red flag, more’s the better. Really, you can argue that Toad is the villain of his own story, the Weasels are just a result of Toad being a privileged jackass.

Side Characters:

Rat, Mole and Badger are Toad’s only real friends, in that they’re the only ones who care about him, not his money, and they’re the only ones who have his best interest at heart. Honestly, I think they give him one too many chances, but they are the only ones who try to keep Toad in check, despite the fact that he treats them all like dirt. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s Cyril the Horse, who is NOT a good friend to Toad. Cyril is a complete enabler who encourages Toad to follow his obsessions like the devil on his shoulder.

Songs:

Only one actual song in this segment, On Our Way To Nowhere. It’s fine, and I actually remember it popping up on one of those Disney Sing-a-Long VHS tapes that were popular when I was a toddler long before I saw the actual film, but it’s nothing to write home about.

Memorable Scenes:

I actually really like the courtroom scene. There’s just something hilarious about Toad’s callous attitude to the whole affair while his friends are slowly freaking out. Badger feinting when he learns that Toad gave away Toad Hall always gets a laugh. The increasingly frustrated lawyer, Cyril sassing everybody and delivering his testimony in rhyme, Toad confidently strolling towards the door while Winky gives his testimony only to have it all blow up in his face, it’s all really funny stuff.

Story:

Well, one would think that this story is meant to show you that obsession with material possessions and irresponsible spending is bad, and that certainly comes across, but if that’s the case, why have Toad lapse into his old ways at the end? Yeah, Toad may have been framed for stealing the car, but he still commits enough legitimate crimes throughout the course of the story to end up in prison anyway. It’s a good message but muddled by the main character’s inability to learn it.

The Dark Disney Factor:

Not really much to comment on here, other than Toad looking like he’s on drugs when he first sees the motor car. However, there is a scene in the Ride at Disneyland based on the film that I think is worth discussing. In the ride, the final scene has Toad crash a train during his escape from prison and you end up in hell. The room is heated, the judge from the courtroom scene is dressed as Satan and the last thing you see is an enormous fire breathing demon. Why wasn’t that in the movie? Maybe it was supposed to be part of the story. and it got cut because they were forced to double up the film or it was deemed too dark. I suppose we’ll never know. Don’t worry though, there will be plenty of Dark Disney Factor to go around next time

And that’s all I have to say about The Wind and The Willows. A shorter article for a shorter story. Despite my dislike of the main character, this one is still a fun watch. Next time, we get to the much more celebrated half of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad when we cover The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.