Login
Finally, as we reach the end of the package years, Disney produces a classic. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad combines two disparate literary adaptations, both originally intended to be expanded into features, with a solidly imagined wraparound segment to tie them together. By copying the formula from Fun and Fancy Free, Disney was able to make two completely solid shorts that are highly enjoyable on their own, and surprisingly work well together.
In their own ways, both of the stories contained here are morality plays. The Wind in the Willows, the Mr. Toad section of the title, tries to teach its hero a lesson in slowing down and thinking before acting, to questionable success. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow punishes Ichabod Crane for purposefully trying to swindle and gold-dig into a marriage with a wealthy land heiress. That’s about it for the similarities.
Basil Rathbone narrates The Wind in the Willows, and this short works exceptionally well for the economy in which it burns through the original story. Granted, like many Disney films, it plays fast and loose with the material. The Wind in the Willows tells the story of Mr. Toad and his close friends who must constantly keep a close eye on him and clean up his many messes. Mr. Toad is also a bit of a bored upper class individual who must blindly and mindlessly buy the latest gadget to demonstrate his status and provide a few minutes entertainment before zipping off to his newest obsession. There's a timely and timeless element to a story of a crassly spending character, bankruptcy and foreclosure. It probably will go over the heads of many children, but for the adults there's something smarter going on in this one.
But it's still one of the better shorts to come out the 1940s package films that the studio turned out. It features the watercolor backgrounds of the Golden Era, and the solid character animation that the Disney studio did so well. It’s easy to see where the plot could be expand to spin the narrative out to feature-length, as was originally intended. While it would have been a charming feature, it’s pretty perfect in its thirty-five minute incarnation.
In contrast, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is narrated and sung by Bing Crosby, who excels here, and done in a more angular style. Naturally, Mary Blair provides the backgrounds for this short. All warm, autumnal colors, rounded geometric shapes, and equally severe characters, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is every bit as lovely to behold as the prior segment, contrasting that pastoral England for a lively colonial Americana. Crosby’s sleepy voice is perfect for Ichabod, and the title character bares a passing resemblance to the crooner.
Much like the original story, this version is mostly a pastoral story of a schoolteacher trying to marry rich before the climax diverts over into supernatural and horror territory. The Headless Horseman is all inky blacks with large blocky bits of blues or purples as highlights. This segment is probably the most famous piece of animation from the short, even though it only occupies the last five minutes or so. It really is that memorable and well done to justify its omnipresence.
After The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Disney would return to single-narrative feature films. While numerous other package films contained moments of greatness, Disney spirited itself for its final release of the era and crafted a truly great film. Not a moment is wasted, nor is anything too bloated. It’s no wonder that this film and Fun and Fancy Free have been paired together recently for home video release, they’re the only two films in the entire era that Disney seems proud of. With good reason, among the four segments across the two films, three of them can claim full-on classic status.
