The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Directors:

James Algar
Clyde Geronimi

Writers:

Washington Irving (story)
Kenneth Grahame (story)

Release Date:

5 October 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

HEAR BING SING: "THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN" "KATRINA" "ICHABOD CRANE" (original print media ad - all caps)

Plot:

Two animated adaptions of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "The Wind in the Willows."

Plot Keywords:

Headless Horseman | Car | Grand Theft Auto | Teacher | Based On Short Story

Awards:

Won Golden Globe.

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Narrator (segment "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow")
Basil Rathbone	...	Narrator (segment "The Wind in the Willows")
Eric Blore	...	Mr. Toad (voice)
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Cyril Proudbottom (voice) (as Pat O'Malley)
John McLeish	...	Prosecutor (voice) (as John Ployardt)
Colin Campbell	...	Mole (voice)
Campbell Grant	...	Angus MacBadger (voice)
Claud Allister	...	Rat (voice) (as Claude Allister)
The Rhythmaires	...	Additional voices (voice)

Also Known As:

Ichabod and Mr. Toad (USA) (promotional title)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (USA) (TV title)
Two Fabulous Characters (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-3 (2006) | USA:Approved (certificate #12133) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1971)

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Disney's original title for the movie was, "Two Fabulous Characters." Apparently, the only reason these two stories are linked together is the fact that their main characters are "prone to disaster".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mr. Toad first sees a motorcar, his trousers change from grey to orange between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: If you were asked to choose the most fabulous character in English literature, who would it be? Robin Hood? King Arthur? Sherlock Holmes? Becky Sharp? Oliver Twist, perhaps? Well, any one of them would be an excellent choice. Still, for the most fabulous character of all, I would nominate...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Truth About Mother Goose (1957)

Soundtrack:

Merrily on Our Way

Some of the best Disney work!

Having never seen 'Mr. Toad', I can only comment on the 'Legend of Sleepy Hollow', having seen it many times as a child when 'Disney's Wonderful World' was running on the CBC. This has got to be some of the greatest work of Walt Disney. Washington Irving's original story is closely followed, unlike Tim Burton's 1999 version (still an awesome movie in its own right). The sequence involving Ichabod Crane's terrifying ride through the woods is undoubtedly the best, from the toads croaking 'Ichabod' to the Headless Horseman chasing Ichabod through the woods - it's alternately funny and frightening. It always appeared at Halloween on the Disney show, and I can't remember ever missing it.