Once Upon A Disney #11: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

It may have taken about four months longer than I imagined, but we've hit the last Disney animated film of the 1940s – thank sweet baby Jesus. While this week's film isn't a stone-cold classic, at least we have no pervy Donald Duck or creepy dummies. Instead, we get two somewhat familiar tales, with...

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

A candidate for the longest title in the challenge, this film retells one British and one American tale – a toad-centric version of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, followed by Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Why it's not called 'The Adventures of Mr. Toad and Ichabod' we'll never know. 

Baby Toady, Baby Toady, Riding on a horse, Baby Toady (OOH OOH)

Firstly, to Mr. Toad. Narrated by Sherlock Holmes actor Basil Rathbone, this is a largely accurate retelling of Grahame's classic, leaning heavily on toad's antics and replacing some humans with animals, and vice versa. In true Disney style, an elaborately decorated book opens, taking us into the world of Wind in the Willows.

The tale is traditionally told, with all the familiar characters – Mole, Ratty (who looks like a typical Disney rodent ala The Rescuers), Badger (who has a very dodgy Scottish accent), and – of course – Mr. J. Thaddeus Toad himself. Joining the story is his horsey friend and general mischief-maker Cyril Proudbottom.

'I've had this Argos tree for 10 years!' 

As in the original tale, Mr. Toad ricochets from one sticky situation to another, driven by his fickle nature and greed – and a song or two. However, instead of being the primary cause of his own downfall (stealing a car and getting thrown into jail), he is much more victim in this version. He's hoodwinked by the ridiculously named Mr. Winkie, a sly barman who persuades Toad to trade his estate for a motorcar, not disclosing that it is stolen.

Never trust a dude with no bottom teeth

After rollicking along for about half an hour, the climax of this first section is an impressive setpiece. Having escaped from prison to find Toad Hall overrun by weasels, Toad and his friends hatch a plan to claim back his home, which results in a chaotic but well-engineered fight scene, full of slapstick and tension. Think of the scene in Beauty and the Beast when the household items drive out Gaston and his gang, and you're along the right lines.

All in all, Mr. Toad's adventure was a pretty entertaining way to pass the time, and I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Sometimes you can judge a man by his horse

The second tale takes a sinister turn – but not as much as you'd think. Far from the version of Sleepy Hollow I'm familiar with (the Tim Burton masterpiece) Disney's adaptation is much closer to the original folk tale, centering on schoolmaster Ichabod Crane's attempted romantic conquest, with only a little bit of headlessness right at the end.

Narrated by the ever-smooth Bing Crosby, Ichabod's story is a swing-infused romp around the famous gothic village, as our protagonist woos Tinkerbell Katrina Van Tassel. Despite his unfortunate looks – his nose is quite literally 'stuck in a book' – he is full to the brim with charm and a crooning singing voice, thanks to Crosby's voice acting.

A far cry from Johnny Depp

It's only in the story's third act that the spookiness seeps in. At the Van Tassel party, Katrina's other potential suitor, the Gaston-like Brom Bones, gets fed up of dancing with the crazy fat chick (bless her) and decides to tell the story of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. Intended to drive his competitor away, he gets all the party guests to join in his joyously macabre rendition of 'Headless Horseman,' a Blues-inflected number, again performed by our man Bing.

The song does its job and lo-and-behold, Ichabod is chased out of town by the Headless Horseman, never to be seen again. Or so it's been told. Whilst I probably enjoyed the Mr. Toad section better, this is a decent, zippy retelling of a classic folktale, which watches a bit like a jazzy Beauty and the Beast with a Halloween vibe.

He is CARRYING A HUMAN WOMAN

And that's the 1940s DONE. Time for a good old string of classics until we hit the patchy 2000s (unless, of course, you're a closet Home on the Range fan).

Villain rating(s): 7/10 for Mr. Winkie, who, despite his name sounding like a Teletubby, is much more devious (but probably less creepy).

Best Song: 'Headless Horseman' is a BOP

Disney Detail: The Mr. Toad portion of the story inspired 'Mr. Toad's Wild Ride' at Disneyland California, where you ride in a motorcar, and the Toad Hall Restaurant at Disneyland Paris (where you can get fish and chips because Britain).

Why it's a Classic: It tells two well-loved stories with passable accuracy, and a dash of Disney magic thrown in. The storytelling techniques start to revert back to the OG classics, showing that the studio can still tell well-paced, long-form stories with catchy songs.