The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

For the next few days, we will look at movies that inspired some of the original attractions in Fantasyland.  First up is the movie The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

The Movie:

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is the 11th film in the Disney Animated Canon and the last of the 1940s package films.  During and immediately after World War II, instead of producing films like their earliest ones that had a single narrative, Disney put together movies that "packaged" 2 or more loosely related segments.  They had already used this structure with Fantasia, but these projects were not anywhere near the scale of that movie.  The final of these films paired two segments based on popular literary works that had one time been envisioned as separate projects before being placed together.

In the reverse of the title of the movie, the first segment tells the story of Mr. Toad and is based on Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows.  The title Mr. Toad is the owner of the mansion Toad Hall and is prone to recklessly pursue fads for adventure.  Toad's friends Mole, Ratty, and Badger (here re-imagined as the Scottish Angus MacBadger) attempt to contain his recklessness and soon must help him deal with the consequences of his actions.  This segment is narrated by Basil Rathbone.

The second segment tells the story of Ichabod Crane and is based on the Washington Irving short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  Ichabod Crane arrives in the town of Sleepy Hollow as the new schoolmaster, though he is mostly concerned with eating well and wooing the beautiful Katrina, daughter of the richest man in town, mostly for her money.  Ichabod's rival for Katrina's affection is the town's hero, Brom Bones.  On Halloween night, Brom tells the tale of the Headless Horseman, who is said to roam the surrounding area, and the tale soon comes to haunt Ichabod on his journey home.  This segment is narrated in speaking and singing by Bing Crosby.

Perhaps owing to the fact that this was the last of the package films, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad stands out a nice example of classic Disney animation.  Though as a movie it isn't very strong, both segments work well and do a nice job of putting classic literary tales on the screen.  The Wind in the Willows segment, being based on a much longer story, contains more alterations from the source material, and is the weaker of the the two segments.

The Sleepy Hollow segment is the stronger of the two, which is probably why it is the first part of the title and used more prominently in the marketing of the movie.  This segment is also notable in that there is no dialogue.  All voices are provided by Bing Crosby and the vocal group the Rhythmaires through narration and songs, though as part of the narration, both Ichabod and Brom appear to be singing with Crosby's voice.

The score to this movie is the classic Disney cartoon sound and written by longtime Disney composer Oliver Wallace.  The songs in the Sleepy Hollow segment were written by Songwriter Hall of Fame members Don Raye and Gene de Paul and add immensely to the storytelling of this segment.

On another note, each segment is introduced by a narrator voice-over with a shot of books in a library.  As part of the introduction, each narrator mentions other classic tales from each side of "the pond" that could have served for the basis of a segment of this film.  Notably, Rathbone mentions Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur, and Oliver Twist, all of which would become the basis of later Disney films.  (Rathbone is also famous for having played Sherlock Holmes.)  Meanwhile, among the characters Crosby mentions are Pecos Bill and Johnny Appleseed, who had their own segments in the previously released Melody Time, and Paul Bunyun and Davy Crockett, who would famously become part of later Disney projects.

Presence in the Parks:

Ironically, even though the Sleepy Hollow segment is the more famous of the two, among fans of the parks, Mr. Toad is quite well-known.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was one of the opening day attractions in Fantasyland at Disneyland in California.  The dark ride, which features scenes from the movie, and one that is notoriously not - a visit to hell, was replicated in Florida's Magic Kingdom when it opened in 1971.  The Magic Kingdom's version was notable that it featured two different tracks with mirrored layouts and two different sets of scenes, though both ended with the hell scene.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Magic Kingdom, July 1991

Whereas Disneyland's ride is still there, the one at the Magic Kingdom closed in 1998 to make way for a Winnie-the-Pooh, much to the dismay of many guests.  Several tributes to Mr. Toad still exist in the park, including a card in the Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom game and a tombstone in the graveyard of the Haunted Mansion.

Toad Hall is also one of the buildings in Disneyland's Storybook Land Canals, though in 1994 it was moved from its original prominent location to another one for Agrabah from Aladdin.  Toad Hall is also the name of a restaurant at Disneyland Paris.

Meanwhile, the Headless Horseman from the Sleepy Hollow segment gets trotted out as part of Halloween celebrations in the parks.  He also has a card in the Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom Game.