The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

Starring:Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, Eric Blore, J. Pat O'Malley, Colin Campbell, John McLeish, Campbell Grant, Claud Allister, Edmond Stevens (II), Leslie Denison, Ollie Wallace, The Rhythmaires
Director: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Product Type: DVD

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This 1949 Disney feature has never been available on video in its original form until now. The 68-minute film contains two shorts: The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The former is a lively version of Kenneth Grahame's book of animal adventures, including Mr. Toad, a rambunctious sort with a passion for motorcars. Basil Rathbone narrates the story. Sleepy Hollow is the Washington Irving story of a stuffy schoolmaster and his ability to win the love of the fair Katrina from the brutish Brom Van Brunt. Many fans will see a resemblance to Disney's masterpiece created some 40 years later, Beauty and the Beast, in style and story. The end is still scary enough to send youngsters under the table. Bing Crosby supplies the narration, character voices, and songs. The opening number in a library including two stories has been included in this good-looking restoration. The shorts were made in Disney's prime, a year before Cinderella, and the look is wondrous. The exaggeration of Ichabod's skinny frame and his slumping horse is a glorious example. --Doug Thomas

Description

In the great tradition of SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS and CINDERELLA, Disney's 11th animated masterpiece, THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD, introduced two literary classics to the screen. Through award-winning Disney-animated wizardry, these unforgettable children's stories come together as one fabulous adventure. THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS follows the wild ride of J. Thaddeus Toad, squire of Toad Hall. Smitten with motorcars, the wealthy and reckless sportsman soon drives his close friends Mole, Rat, and Angus MacBadger into a worried frenzy! Then meet Ichabod Crane, the spindly schoolteacher who dreams of sweeping the lovely Katrina off her feet -- until Brom Bones, the town bully, gets involved. Their comic rivalry introduces Ichabod to THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, the fabled Headless Horseman, and a hair-raising, heart-thumping climax. Narrated by legendary stars Basil Rathbone and Bing Crosby, THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD is brimming with high-spirited adventure, brilliant animation, and captivating music -- now available for the first time in keeping with Walt's original theatrical vision.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Disney movie!.......2007-05-24

This DVD has two of my most favorite Disney classics! My Disney collection is complete!

Well Done Disney.......2007-05-13

It's great that Disney are re-releasing their product for todays generation of young children.
I hope they get as much pleasure watching these timeless animated features as I did when I was their age.

i wonder if bing & basil woulda been a good team?.......2007-03-30

financial stress (not to mention ww2) caused the disney studio to give up feature-length animation for most of the 1940s; instead, we frequently got programmers like this double bill based on tales by washington irving ("the legend of sleepy hollow") and kenneth grahame ("wind in the willows"): masterpieces of fiction but only adequate transfers to screen. voiced with some charm by bing crosby and basil rathbone respectively, they are entertaining and inoffensive, tho hardly major works of the disney canon.

good dvd.......2007-03-25

we only watch the headless horseman story and the kids (boys and girls ages 3-9 all like it

One hilarious short and a great spooky one.......2007-03-16

It's strange to see 2 shorts so different and opposing yet fit so well. You know something still resonates with you where you can almost actually nail the timing of it from the dialogue to the songs and specific scenes. Watching both brought back quite a bit of memories and both were still entertaining in their own rights without that kind of aged quality. They were fun and scary at age 6 and they're fun now as well. The only thing I wish was different was the transfer. It's almost like Disney didn't even bother to clean this up like they just slapped on the negative and left it. You get colored dots, specks of dusts and scratches and the image as that flickering quality you might've seen on VHS.

The Wind in the Willows, based on the book by Kenneth Grahame and narrated by Basil Rathbone, follows Mr. Toad, an incredibly impulsive character prone to overspending and just as much in fees who gets into so-called "manias". He spots a motorcar one day and is obsessed to the point where he's framed and thrown in jail. With help from his friends MacBadger, Moley and Rat, he has to get his deed back and prove his innocence. The short is funny and even a bit touching in a couple of places.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, based on the story by Washington Irving and narrated by Bing Crosby, has Ichabod coming to the town of Sleepy Hollow and becomes a school teacher. He falls instantly smitten with Katrina and tries to gain her favor from the brutish, pre-Gaston resident Brom Bones. Brom, to get even with him, tells him the story of the Headless Horseman, a black rider who rides the woods one night a year in search of a head. Even with the controversy they get from parents, Disney can do some pretty heavy scenes, as evidenced by Bambi's mother, the Black Cauldron or the meteor hit from the recent Dinosaur. Add to that is Ichabod's travel through the woods which is an excellent study in sound and imagery to creep you out. Even in older years, it still is an effective scene and most likely the highlight of the whole disc.

This seriously needs a remaster, not simply because of the transfer but also since you get the feeling both stories deserve a better look.

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