It’s weird how many films in the Disney canon are compilations of shorter films. In some of these portmanteaus, the associations between the films will be stronger than in others. It was a trend starting with Fantasia, and look at how tenuous the connections are between the pieces of that film.
1949’s The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is one such odd duck. It is jarring to see an adaptation of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” alongside an animated segment of only part of The Wind in the Willows. So, we have Disney’s take on a part of Kenneth Grahame’s book that was so light it felt out of place even there, followed by one of the darkest works of the studio’s golden years.
Basil Rathbone narrates the Mr. Toad story, which isn’t a bad match for the material. Eric Blore voices Toad, bringing the same kind crazed energy and ace comic timing he brought to such movies as The Lady Eve. As for the style of the piece, it is closer to something I would expect from Warner Bros than the House the Mouse Built.
I am a pretty big fan of the original book, though curiously really only of one chapter. There’s a reason the chapter “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” inspired Pink Floyd to use it as the title of their debut album.
But that isn’t the part of the book adapted here, so we’re stuck with the selfish, destructive Toad. He’s a constant threat to himself and others, especially once he becomes obsessed with automobiles. When he first sees one, he gets a look like he has suddenly taken strong hallucinogens. Has he been licking one of his toxic cousins from South America?
And those “others” include humans. I’m always confused when the world of a movie includes both humans and anthropomorphic animals. In movies such as The Great Mouse Detective, these groups live in parallel worlds that don’t seem to intersect. The rat Holmes and Watson, for example, have their own rodent-sized apartment that is in 221 Baker Street. But here, we have a rat whose house is inexplicably human-sized. This rat also interacts civilly with a human postman. I just never felt like this environment jelled, and I was thinking too much about the rules of it.
Anyway, a human judge sends Toad to prison. He escapes, but the ball and chain he’s wearing pulls him to the bottom of a lake. It is made to look as if he drowned, though he somehow turns up later. Conveniently, there is no explanation provided for how he survived what appeared to be a watery demise.
Bing Crosby narrates the Ichabod Crane half of the picture. His trademark laconic style makes it feel like he is mocking the material at times. And, aside from the weird horror aspects of the tale, Disney has provided much to mock here.
One problem is the titular protagonist. I wouldn’t call him a hero. This school teacher is shallow, greedy and a glutton. Crosby calls the character “Icky” at one point, and that is spot-on.
And yet he is inexplicably desired by the inordinate number of single moms in this little hamlet. They pay for his services as a music teacher by providing him food for his seemingly endless appetite. Given the effect he has on the three women he gives singing lessons to, I wonder if there are any other services they provide him.
But Ichabod is obsessed with the same beautiful woman every other guy there is infatuated with, except he is actually smitten with her wealthy father’s money. Icky imagines a future with her, in which he has a gold tooth. I found myself rooting for the town bully, who is his competition for her hand.
The best part of the either story is the finale to this one, where it becomes genuinely creepy—well, as much as Disney in this era would get. There were many little details I appreciated, such as clouds that look like curved fingers closing in on the moon. Then there’s the frog croaking, “Headless horseman. Headless horseman.” Top that, Budweiser frogs.
The alleged link between the tales in The Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad is each is from a great work of literature. Just imagine if they had grabbed any two books at random. Maybe we would see one story from something by Roald Dahl and another from The 120 Days of Sodom.
Dir: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney
Starring Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, Eric Blore
Watched on blu-ray