The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Segments[]

There are two segments in the film both based upon popular works of literature:

• The adventures ofMr. Toad, based on Kenneth Grahame'sThe Wind in the Willows (narrated byBasil Rathbone). In this story, the charismaticJ. Thaddeus Toad, Esq., the happy-go-lucky upper-class proprietor of Toad Hall who believes in fun and adventure, has built a great deal of debt from disregarding the financial responsibilities of his insatiable love for transportation vehicles, such as the newfangled motor car. His friends,Mole,Water Rat, andAngus MacBadger try to help him when his mania leads to the loss of the deed to Toad Hall and a charge of car theft. Even after hearing all the testimonies from Cyril, Winnie says that Toad stole the car and Toad is thrown in jail but Toad's loyal horseCyril Proudbottom pays a visit and inspires him to escape, which he does, only to learn thatWinky, the tavernkeeper is the leader of a gang of weasels and they have taken over Toad Hall. With his friends, Toad redeems his good name by recovering the deed to the estate. Toad promises to reform until he eyes a 1908 biplane.
• The story ofIchabod Crane and theHeadless Horseman, based on Washington Irving'sThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow (narrated byBing Crosby). The gangly and lanky Ichabod Crane is the new schoolmaster in Sleepy Hollow. His somewhat odd behaviors make him the ridicule of the rambunctious and robust town bullyBrom Bones, who ridesDaredevil. Despite his unattractive appearance, he quickly proves to be a ladies man who charms the local town beauty,Katrina Van Tassel, a beautiful young daughter of a wealthy farmer, much to Brom Bones' displeasure. Ichabod has his eye on the Van Tassel wealth. His subtle rivalry decides that he is a little too successful and needs "convincing" that Katrina is not for him. After a number of unsuccessful efforts, the situation changes when Brom decides to take advantage of Ichabod's superstitions. Brom musically tells the tale of theHeadless Horseman to frighten the schoolteacher, everyone else has no issue with the story. That Halloween night, Crane's lonely ride home on his old plowhorse,Gunpowder, becomes more lively than he ever imagined as he at first encounters frightening sounds thinking that the horseman is following him. However it was just his mind playing tricks on him, causes Ichabod to laugh wildly. Seconds later, however, he encounters the terrifying phantom himself and even after making to the bridge (which the horseman cannot cross) is mysteriously missing the next morning with only his hat and a shattered pumpkin are found at the bridge. The story ends stating that Katrina Van Tassel married Brom months later and there are still rumors going around that Crane survived the attack and resides in another town where he married a widow but lots of people don't believe the rumor and know that Ichabod got killed by the Headless Horseman.
• Later, this Sleepy Hollow portion of the film was separated from the companion Mr. Toad film, and screened, aired, marketed, and sold separately asThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow beginning in 1958.

Production[]

During the 1940s, much of Disney's feature output was made up of so-called "package films". Beginning withSaludos Amigos in 1943, Disney ceased making feature films with a single narrative, due to the higher costs for such films, as well as the drain on the studio's resources caused by World War II, even though almost all of these package films were fairly successful. Instead, Disney features would have two or more stories linked together through a variety of means.The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was the last of these "package" films, and Disney returned to single narrative features with 1950'sCinderella.

Worldwide release dates[]

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was released in Mexico, on October 10,1951.

Subsequent usage and home video release[]

Main article:The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (video)

The copyright forThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was renewed onJuly 6,1976.^[1] Despite this, it was not available for viewing in its original form for a number of years after its first release. The two segments had been split up by Disney in the 1950s and were usually seen as individual items. When first released on home video, the Ichabod segment was released asThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Toad segment asThe Wind in the Willows, taking their names from the original stories.

Some of the scenes were cut when the stories were split up.

The Wind in the Willows

• Part of the introduction was cut because of the new music added.
• The part where McBadger confronts the angry townspeople who are suing Toad, although in some home video releases this part is intact.
• And they cut when in the papers where McBadger,Rat andMole are reopening Toad's case.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

• The only thing that was cut fromThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow was the introduction ofIchabod Crane.

In1978,The Wind in the Willows segment was re-released to theaters under the new titleThe Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad to accompany Disney's feature filmHot Lead and Cold Feet.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad received its first complete home video release in1992, when it was released byWalt Disney Home Video on LaserDisc. A subsequent complete release on VHS followed in1999 (and was the last video release in theWalt Disney Masterpiece Collection line and althoughPinocchio was not released in the series, some copies of the1999 60th anniversary edition seem to feature the logo for the series, resulting as a video editing error, due to the fact that the print logo does not appear on this movie and that it came out October 29,1999, which was afterThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad came out on May 25,1999) with a DVD appearing in2000. The movie was released on Blu-ray and in a2-Movie Collection withFun and Fancy Free onAugust 12,2014.

InAustralia,The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad had received 2 VHS releases in 1987 (Roadshow Entertainment) and 2000 (Walt Disney Classics Collection) and were the only Australian Home Video releases of the film for over 20 years. In December 2020, a boxset containing the first 57Walt Disney Animation Studios films was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia (and the UK), and the Boxset debuted The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad for the first time on DVD in Australia.

TheHeadless Horseman is a main villain from segment ofThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow fromDisney's Haunted Halloween.

Mr. Toad, theWeasels, Ichabod, Katrina, theHeadless Horseman, andTilda were featured as guests inHouse of Mouse, as audience members/attendees and in various spots.

Disney Parks[]

Perhaps the greatest legacy left behind by the film would be theFantasyland dark rideMr. Toad's Wild Ride. An opening day attraction at bothDisneyland andWalt Disney World, it veers away from a direct retelling of the story in favor of focusing on Toad's motor mania landing him in court and the pits of hell. The Disneyland attraction underwent an update in 1983 that gave it a Toad Hall-based facade. TheMagic Kingdom version, utilizing two tracks, was removed in1998 to make way forThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which was faced with great fandom backlash. Toad still lingers inMagic Kingdom with references to Toad being included in the Pooh attraction, the Haunted Mansion's Pet Cemetery, and a card for theSorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game (with the Headless Horseman also being part of the set).

Additionally, Toad Hall is featured in theStorybook Land Canal Boats and as the facade for theToad Hall Restaurant atDisneyland Paris.

The Sleepy Hollow segment became an element of Disney's various Halloween celebrations. The Headless Horseman headlines to Boo to You parade for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom was featured in haunted hayrides held at the Fort Wilderness Campground and atHong Kong Disneyland, was the focus of the 2011 Haunted Halloween celebration.

Merchandising[]

In2000, theWalt Disney Gold Classic Collection, which is a collection of officially released Disney statue and pin merchandise (not to be confused with theWalt Disney Classics Collection, which was a video series of Disney animated features in the 80s and early 90s), released 3,500 limited edition statue sets of the two main Sleepy Hollow characters Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. The figures were originally sold for $695 together as a set. The pair has since been retired from the collection and its value has risen dramatically each year.

Songs[]

• "The Merrily Song"
• "Ichabod Crane"
• "Katrina"
• "Headless Horseman"

Voice cast[]

• Eric Blore -Mr. Toad
• Colin Campbell -Mole
• Claud Allister -Water Rat
• Campbell Grant -Angus MacBadger
• Basil Rathbone - Narrator (The Wind in the Willows)
• Bing Crosby - Narrator (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow),Ichabod Crane, andBrom Bones
• Pat O'Malley -Cyril Proudbottom
• John Ployardt -Prosecutor, News Announcer
• The Rhythmaires - Sleepy Hollow Villagers
• Pinto Colvig -Ichabod Crane (vocal effects),Daredevil
• Leslie Denison - Judge,Weasel #1
• Clarence Nash -Old Gunpowder
• Edmond Stevens -Weasel #2, Policeman, Court Clerk
• Alec Harford -Mr. Winky, Jailer, Postman
• Oliver Wallace - Ichabod Crane (whistling)
• Aileen Carlisle - Tilda (laughter and giggles)

Directing animators[]

• Frank Thomas (Ichabod Crane)
• Ollie Johnston (The District Attorney, Ichabod Crane)
• John Lounsbery
• Wolfgang Reitherman (Headless Horseman chase scene)
• Milt Kahl
• Ward Kimball

Videos[]

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 1949 Trailer - Bing Crosby-2

Original 1949 Theatrical Trailer

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad - 50th Anniversary (1949-1999) Promo (VHS Capture)-2

1999 Home Video Trailer

Gallery[]

Title card toThe Wind in the Willows.

Title card toThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Poster from the release inAustralia onMay 11,1951

Lobby card from the release inMexico onOctober 10,1951

Another lobby card from the 1951 Mexico release

Poster for the release in theUnited Kingdom onMay 19,1950, on a double bill with a non-Disney movie,The Capture

See also[]

• Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

References[]

External links[]

• The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad onWikipedia
• The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad onIMDb

• The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
• Disney theatrical animated features

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