The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Disney’s last package film until 1977 was released October 5, 1949. Composed of two segments, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad features retellings of the stories The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. The film stars Eric Blore, Pat O’Malley, Colin Campbell, John McLeish, Campbell Grant, Claude Allister, Leslie Denison, Edmond Stevens, and the Rhythmaries with narration by Basil Rathbone and Bing Crosby.

Set in a live-action library which divides the two animated shorts, The Wind and the Willows is first, narrated by Basil Rathbone.

In 1906, J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq, is the wealthy proprietor of Toad Hall. Toad, who believes in fun, adventure and traveling to “Nowhere in Particular,” has built a great deal of debt from disregarding his financial responsibilities accrued due to his mania for fads, such as carelessly crashing through obstacles on his gypsy cart with his horse, Cyril Proudbottom. Angus MacBadger tells Toad’s friends, Ratty and Moley, to talk some sense into him, but Toad is distracted by a motorcar. He makes it his goal to get his own and trades the deed to Toad Hall for a car belonging to tavernkeeper Mr. Winkie and a gang of weasels. He is then sentenced to twenty years of solitary confinement in the Tower of London when Winkie testifies in court that Toad tried to sell him the stolen car. On Christmas Eve, Cyril visits the imprisoned toad to assist him in escaping. After a police chase, Toad finds Ratty and Moley who are informed by MacBadger that Winkie hand the weasels have taken over Toad Hall. Toad then redeems himself by recovering the deed, but ends up destroying most of his estate. He promises to reform, but when toasted by his friends on New Years Day in 1907, he finds a new mania with flying biplanes.

The secont short, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is narrated by Bing Crosby.

In 1790, Ichabod Crane, arrives in Sleepy Hollow, which is famous for ghostly hauntings, to be the new schoolmaster Despite his odd behavior and appearance, Ichabod wins the hearts of the village women. Brom Bones, the town hero, bullies Ichabod, who falls in love with Katrina van Tassel, the daughter of wealthy Baltus van Tassel. He intends to take the family’s money for himself. But Brom is also in love with her and competes with Ichabod for Katrina’s love. Ichabod wins, but Katrina is only using him Brom jealous.

At the van Tassel Halloween party, Brom notices Ichabod’s superstitious side and tells the story of the Headless Horseman through song. Said to be the ghost of a soldier whose head was lost in battle, he rises every Halloween to seek a new head. Brom claims that after crossing a wooden bridge, the ghost will disappear. Ichabod takes it seriously.

On his way home, Ichabod becomes paranoid about everything while riding through the woods. He travels through the cemetery and believes he hears the horse, but finds it to be nearby cattails. While he laughs, the Headless Horseman appears and chases Ichabod. Remembering Brom’s advice, he crosses the bridge, but the horseman throws his flaming jack-o-lantern head.

The next morning, Ichabod’s hat is found at a bridge next to a shattered pumpkin, but Ichabod cannot be found. Brom marries Katrina and the people of Sleepy Hollow insist that he was taken by the horseman.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is honestly the best of the 1940s Disney package movies. The frame for the stories may be short and simple, but it works to set them up. Whereas Fun and Fancy Free had a feeling that the frame with Jiminy felt forced, this it makes sense for this film to be in a library as it is based off of two well-known stories. And having Bing Crosby narrate the second portion certainly gives the segment a more old-timey feel.

On the other hand, while Sleepy Hollow is true to the original story, The Wind and the Willows segment departs heavily from the source material. It still manages to be quite entertaining.

Final Call: It’s mixed on remaining true to the source material, but is still enjoyable with a frame that works. Passes the Edge of Satisfaction and overtakes Pinocchio to become #3. 

So Dear to My Heart

It wasn’t long before Disney decided to produce another hybrid film and So Dear to My Heart was released January 19, 1949. Based on the Sterling North book, Midnight and Jeremiah, the film stars Bobby Driscoll, Luana Patten, Beulah Bondi, and Burl Ives.

Set in 1903 Indiana, the film tells the tale of Jeremiah Kincaid and his determination to raise a black-wool lamb that had been rejected by its mother. Jeremiah names it Danny after the race horse Dan Patch and has the dram of showing him in the county fair. To do so, Jeremiah must get around the objections of his grandmother while Uncle Hiram remains the boy’s ally. Eventually, Jeremiah is able to enter Danny in the fair and while he doesn’t win best in show, he wins a special award.  The animation is presented in musical interludes between points in the plot.

Originally, Disney wasn’t going to have any animation in the film, but decided to put it in there at the last minute as people were expecting animation in a Disney movie. It should have been left out. Sure the animated sequences are beautiful and present great music, but they serve no purpose other than to be there. As such, it feels like they ruin the pacing of the story. At least in Song of the South, the animated sequences served as parables told by Uncle Remus to teach Johnny a lesson.

Everything else about the story is fairly decent. The visuals are better than Song of the South, which makes sense since it was supposed to be fully live action. The acting is ok, with Beulah Bondi giving the best performance as a cantankerous old woman.

Final Call: a decent live action film, but the animated interludes feel out of place. It won’t get very far at #11, but it will escape the Edge of Dissatisfaction.