The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Voices of: Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, Eric Blore, J. Pat O'Brien, Colin Campbell, Claud Allister
Directed by: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney
Rating: Approved
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama
1949

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Tells two stories- Mr. Toad's friends worry when he obsessively spends money, and Ichabod Crane vies for the affections of a girl before confronting the Headless Horseman.

Review:

Tim: The history of Disney's animation division is an interesting one. After beginning with animated classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio, the studio had to shift tactics in the 1940s due to minimal staff and capital due to World War II. Instead of their full-length story films, they created package films, made up of several smaller stories, packaged together. As you might expect, these films are a bit rough. They were all uneven- although you might deliver a solid story, the next one likely wouldn't be as effective, and the whole movie suffers as a result. It's not the best era of Disney films.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was Disney's last package film of the 1940s. It might be their best, as it only delivers two stories, both of which are at least decent. But still, this is an era I'm glad to see gone. This film puts the story of Mr. Toad first, which is wise, because it's the less effective one. The story isn't bad, taking its cues from the 1908 novel, The Wind in the Willows. We learn that Mr. Toad, an adventuring aristocrat who carelessly spends his money on various adventurers. His friends are enlisted to reign him in and help him take a more conservative approach- namely, stop cavorting around the countryside in a horse and carriage (and then soon after, to give up his pursuit of motor cars). It's honestly a bit of an odd story for kids. It's delivered in a fine manner, but I never really cared about Toad, his friends, or the whole scheme. It feels like the whole premise is a bit too elevated for younger viewers and too simplistic for older viewers. I watched this with my 8 year-old and he was okay with it. I don't think he grasped the overall thrust of the story- several times I tried to clarify what was happening and why it mattered. He did like the climax, when Mr. Toad and his friends infiltrate Toad Manor and clash with the weasel gang. That's definitely the highlight of the first story, as the animation and action is strong. It's humorous to watch these animals barely escape a series of predicaments. My son was laughing and I was quite entertained myself. Sadly, the scene ends too soon. The good thing is that the story wraps up soon after. It's perfectly fine. Nothing special, but not especially bad. Basil Rathbone does a nice job narrating it.

Disney put the better story on the back half. The Headless Horseman is a wonderfully frightening creation of Washington Irving and it was fun to see it depicted here. The overall story of Ichabod Crane is fine, but not always great for kids. The bulk of the story is between two men competing for the romantic interest of Katrina and it honestly felt too mature for most viewers. It's not all that interesting, although some of the hijinks are fairly clever. That's what entertained my son and honestly, me, too. It's kind of odd, how the story is very romantic-focused and then randomly switches gears into this frightening horror story. I'd never noticed how jarring the transition is. I imagine Washington Irving's story feels like a more natural progression. The scenes with the Headless Horseman are fairly intense and while my son insisted he wasn't scared, he was definitely pulled into the story. The music, sound effects, the visuals are all especially creepy. I vaguely remember watching this movie as a child and feeling quite frightened by the Headless Horseman (which is why my five year-old daughter was in the other room, watching Elsia and Annia on Youtube Kids). It's scary, but it's exciting and the film throws in some nice humor moments during the chase, too. My son was definitely laughing at that sequence where they're going around the tree in circles. That part of the story is intense but quite exciting. It ends this film on a high note. It also helps that Bing Crosby does an exceptionally strong job of narrating this story.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad suffers a similar fate to other Disney package films. It helps that there's only two stories this time around, but the Mr. Toad one is definitely weaker. There's some staying power, because I do vaguely recall the Headless Horseman scenes, although it had been over three decades since I last saw them. That doesn't make this a good movie, though. It might be the best package film Disney produced during the decade, but it's a relief to see them move on.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



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