The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (2004, DVD)

This is one of those rare Disney movies where there really isn't one character to like or root for. This works in the second half of the movie, with the second tale. But the first story is definitely the most obnoxious, grating thing Disney has ever committed to film. I'm not very familiar with The Wind in the Willows, and I can't imagine watching this first segment that anyone would want to see anymore of Mr. Toad. This story, and this character, might work in print and in the books, but in translating this character to film, they've put too much of the movie on a weak character. He has what the narrator refers to as "manias". Now that is interesting... to hint at. But the way this film carries on with it is another thing. The song Mr. Toad is singing when we first meet him is one of the worst songs I've ever heard in a Disney film, I think it's called the "Merry Ride" song or something, I don't know though.

Another thing about this first segment of the film is, you can barely hear half the things that are said by the characters, the English accents are too thick. We see Mr. Toad get into all sorts of mischief and he's so careless and a little devious, that when he's not crying wolf, nobody believes him. And we don't care either. I also can't imagine one person watching this movie who could identify with him- "yeah, I've been there. After a long day of taking advantage of people, you run into trouble and need a helping hand out of it." The only moment where you are really with the character and want to see him get out of trouble is when he and his friends are trying to fish the deed out of the baddies' clutches, leading to a very cool chase scene that throws everything in plus the kitchen sink.

The second tale fairs a lot better. Ichabod Crane is a character with a lot of personality, and best yet- we don't hear him speak. He, unlike Toad, is a very snobby, elitist kind of guy, only he comes from very low class surroundings. Meaning, he lives in a tiny bedroom, but is accustomed to dreaming about something better for himself. He has the properish breeding but not the means. So even though he's very devious too, we are drawn into the story because we know, famously, that there is a very interesting payoff to this build-up. Starting with his courtship of the lovely Katrina and therefore incurring the wrath of her other main suitor, Brom. Brom is very different from Ichabod, in almost every way possible- he has the wealth and influence but no class or any real breeding. It looks like Katrina is stuck between the two.

Then comes the Halloween party where things come to ahead, pun intended. When Brom tells that fateful story of the Headless Horseman, from that point on, nothing we see or experience can be known as truth in the story. And boy is this scene, Ichabod riding home, powerful! We have every classic atmospheric element thrown in to give us little gasps and make us think something is creeping up on us. Then we see the action unfolding but after it's finished, the narrator lets us know that the events of that night after the party are all based on heresay. We first see Ichabod in the fantasy situation of being with a good cook, where he would definitely be if he survived that night. But then, that is kind of dashed to pieces by that last ominous shot of dark clouds in the shape of hands covering the full moon and the narrator starts to get a chill down his spine as well.

These two stories don't fit together well. Because while the first is made difficult to enjoy because of it's characters, the second is made rich and the ending made scary because of it's characters, like Ichabod being a very superstitious man. Then Brom and Katrina get married and while we don't know if Ichabod actually made it through his encounter with the headless horseman, I think we get the hint that if this was an act of revenge, Brom could very well have perpetrated it. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow portion is timeless and classic and is required viewing for every Halloween in my opinion. The Wind and the Willows portion is boring and manic just for the sake of trying to take a character from a series of stories and take only enough from the stories to make one story work.