utgard14 Originally part of the movie The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, this condensed version of the Kenneth Grahame novel tells the story of madcap Mr. Toad's obsession with the newfangled automobile and how his friends try to help him. It's a fun, well-paced cartoon with lots of humor and action. The courtroom scene is a treat. It features the talented voice work of Eric Blore, Pat O'Malley, Claude Allister, Campbell Grant, Colin Campbell, and the great Basil Rathbone as narrator. The music is lively and cheerful. The animation is just gorgeous! The characters and backgrounds are beautifully-drawn and the Technicolor is so rich it's a feast for the eyes. Classic Disney animation was so attractive and so much fun to watch. This is a perfect example of that.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "The Wind in the Willows" is a Disney animated short film, which runs for slightly over half an hour and was made over 65 years ago. I have to say from that duology I found the Ichabod part more interesting. This one here is basically about the adventures of a toad and it's again made in a way that it's not only for children, but also includes some more serious references here and there although not as many as Ichabod and also no horror references. I personally felt that this film here dragged on several occasions and did not really have too many memorable characters. For Ichabod they got Bing Crosby as the narrator and for this one here they got Basil Rathbone, a two-time Academy Award nominated actor who is today mostly known for his participation in the Robin Hood film and for his Sherlock Holmes performances of course. The rest of the cast here I am not familiar with. All in all, I must say the animation was okay, but the story just did not feel memorable at all to me this time. Not recommended.

TheLittleSongbird While the story does drag in places, this is a lively and cute animated cartoon based on a truly great book. It mayn't be the best adaptation of the book, that goes to the animated film with Rik Mayall as the voice of Toad, but it is so worthwhile. It is for one thing lovingly animated, with some beautiful backgrounds and lovely colours. The music is also terrific, with some lyrical, rousing and fun themes that are certainly memorable. The story while understandably condensed is still effective, and the scripting is good. The voice acting is very expressive, with Basil Rathbone who I best know as Sherlock Holmes brilliant as the narrator and Eric Blore a lot of fun as Toad, who is just as rascally as he is in the book. I also liked Badger, the gruff and firm character who in the book tries to make Toad change his ways and Cyril, the horse. Plus the courtroom scene is hilarious. Overall, a fun and worthwhile cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox

joseph-51 It's a shame that the Wind in the Willows was made into a 30 minute film. It would've made a good feature length film, as it's not too long or too short a story to dramatize in under 90 minutes. And where was the rowing boat, the Otter, the rabbits and the willow tree? Needless to say, the characters are cute and it's better than some films like Lady and the Tramp and The Jungle Book.