The Wind in the Willows (1996)

Director:

Terry Jones

Writers:

Kenneth Grahame (novel)
Terry Jones (writer)

Release Date:

31 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

Go wild in the country!

Plot:

Mole's underground home is bought by the Weasels from wealthy landowner Mr.Toad and Mole is thrown out...

Plot Keywords:

Fable | Based On Novel | Kids And Family

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Steve Coogan	...	Mole
Eric Idle	...	Rat
Terry Jones	...	Toad
Antony Sher	...	Chief Weasel
Nicol Williamson	...	Badger
John Cleese	...	Mr. Toad's Lawyer
Stephen Fry	...	The Judge
Bernard Hill	...	The Engine Driver
Michael Palin	...	The Sun
Nigel Planer	...	The Car Salesman
Julia Sawalha	...	The Jailer's Daughter
Victoria Wood	...	The Tea Lady
Robert Bathurst	...	St John Weasel
Don Henderson	...	The Sentry
Richard James	...	Geoffrey Weasel and Mole's Clock

Also Known As:

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for fanciful villainy and gunplay.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bluebell Railway, East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Allied Filmmakers

Quotes:

Chief Weasel: [shouting at the drunk weasels] I'm blowing up this place in ten minutes whether or not you lot are out of it!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Blue Peter: (1996-10-16)" (1996)

Slightly uneven but very enjoyable

It may take some adjusting to be able to appreciate this version of Wind in the Willows. Although now distributed by Disney on home video, the quick pacing and wild abandon of Disney's 1949 version, which was half of the film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, is not to be found here. Neither will you find the over-the-top absurdism of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (1969), despite the presence of four Pythoners, including The Wind in the Willows' screenwriter, director and star, Terry Jones.

On the other hand, wild abandon and Pythonesque absurdism are not completely absent, but this is usually a much more mild, subtle and deliberately-paced affair which more closely follows Kenneth Grahame's original book--except for the plot developments towards the end. Jones has made sure to retain much of the book's symbolism of ideas and phenomena such as class stratification, plus he adds some of his own with more fascistic weasels. But at the same time, he also manages to produce something family and kid-friendly.

Although filled with humor, The Wind in the Willows is rarely--and rarely tries to be--laugh-out-loud funny, even though it occasionally reaches the comedic heights of Python (for example, during the courtroom scene, which features a great cameo from John Cleese). But most of the Python crew have spent the majority of their careers in an attempt to avoid being pigeonholed in that particular style--while most Python fans have experienced years of at least slight frustration at the subsequent void. Jones strikes a nice balance here, and ends up producing a very enjoyable, slightly fantastic, slightly silly romp with its own dramatic sensibilities.