The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is the eleventh full-length animated feature film in the Disney canon.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is an animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters on October 5, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the eleventh animated feature in the Disney animated features canon as well as the final of the "Package films" that Disney made during the 1940s.

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


 * The adventures of Mr. Toad, based on Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (narrated by Basil Rathbone). In this story, the charismatic J. 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, and Angus MacBadger, try to help him when his mania leads to the loss of the deed to Toad Hall and a charge of car theft. Toad is thrown in jail but Toad's loyal horse Cyril Proudbottom pays a visit and inspires him to escape, which he does, only to learn that Winkie, the tavernkeeper, and the weasels 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 of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, based on Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (narrated by Bing 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 bully Brom Bones. 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's displeasure. Ichabod has his eye on the Van Tassel wealth. His subtle rivarly 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 belief in superstitions. Brom musically tells the tale of the Headless Horseman to frighten the teacher. That Halloween night, Crane's lonely ride home becomes more lively than he ever imagined as he encounters the terrifying phantom and is mysteriously missing the next morning. Later this Sleepy Hollow portion of the film was separated from the companion Mr. Toad film, and screened, aired, marketed, and sold separately as The 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 with Saludos 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 studios 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's Cinderella.

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

Subsequent usage and home video release
For many years following its original release, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was not available for viewing in its original form. 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 as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Toad segment as The Wind in the Willows, taking their names from the original stories.

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

For Example:


 * 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.
 * And they cut when in the papers where McBadger, Rat and Mole are reopening Toad's case.
 * The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
 * The only thing that was cut from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was the introduction of Ichabod Crane

In 1978, The Wind in the Willows segment was re-released to theaters under the new title The Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad to accompany Disney's feature film Hot Lead and Cold Feet.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad received its first complete home video release in 1988, when it was released by Walt Disney Home Video on laserdisc. A subsequent complete release on VHS followed in 1999 (and was the last video release in the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection line and although Pinocchio was not released in the series, some copies of the 1999 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 after The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad came out on May 25, 1999) with a DVD appearing in 2000.

Mr. Toad, the Weasels, Ichabod, Katrina, the Headless Horseman and Tilda were featured as guests in House of Mouse, as audience members/attendees and in various spots.

The Headless Horseman is a main villain from segment of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" from Disney's Haunted Halloween.

Merchandising
In 2000 the Walt Disney Gold Classics Collection, which is a collection of officially released Disney statue and pin merchandise (not to be confused with the Walt 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 have since been retired from the collection and its value has risen dramatically each year.

Voice cast

 * Bing Crosby - Narrator ("The Legend of Sleepy Hollow") and Brom Bones
 * Eric Blore - J. Thaddeus Toad
 * Basil Rathbone - Narrator ("The Wind In the Willows")
 * J. Pat O'Malley - Cyril Proudbottom and paper boy (unseen) that yells "Toad Guilty!"
 * Colin Campbell - Mole
 * John McLeish - Prosecutor
 * Campbell Grant - Mr. Badger
 * Claud Allister - Ratty
 * Leslie Denison - Judge; Weasel #1
 * Edmond Stevens - Weasel #2
 * Oliver Wallace - Winkie
 * The Rhythmaires

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
Video:The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad part1|The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad part1

Video:The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad part 2|The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad part 2

Video:The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad part 3|The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad part 3

Video:The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad part 4|The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad part 4