The Wind in the Willows

"Wind in the Willows," a 1987 tv movie was brilliantly made, brilliantly casted, and was a departure from more commercialistic cartoons of its day.

This film starred Roddy McDowell and Jose Ferrer in the roles of Ratty and Badger, respectively in this children's classic. Whereas other cartoons of the '80's promoted products like action games (Q-bert) or toys (GI Joe) this cartoon movie does none of the above and is as well done as a Disney film.

The great performances from the actors are given an assist from a memorable score with a classic "Wind in the Willows" theme song: "Soon, soon you will forget," it goes, "The wind in the willow turns frolic to fret." There's also a song on Mr.Toad that's pretty catchy.

But what's best about this film is that it stay pretty true to the book "Wind in the Willows." Often times, a movie made from a book, especially a cartoon eschews the book to a degree that renders the translation unrecognizable from its original form.

But this version, enjoyable for kids or adults does not. It shows off the characters of Badger, Mole, Ratty, and Toad as representative of certain virtues or failings, much to the author's original intent. Toad is rich but wasteful as well as boastful; Ratty is full of wanderlust; Badger is unsociable but brave and smart; Mole is industrious and friendly. And the Wildwood is forever scary, forboding, mysterious-- everything a forest of fiction is supposed to be.

But together, the characters find they are inseparable-- in some way or another each character needs the others-- and this cartoon movie brings that out. There is a sense of community there among them, to the point that we non-animated humans could learn a little something from these characters!

True, the quality of animation isn't exactly Disney's finest, and some of the human cartoon characters are annoying to watch--especially when up against the animals, but viewers will ignore that in a heartbeat.

I saw this first when I was ten years old, I watched it again when I was 14, and if I still had it on video I would watch it again today. One of the best-- including Disney-- cartoons I have ever seen.

The 1987 Rankin/Bass version of Wind in the Willows is simply the best version of the story that I have seen today. The film remains very true to the story with only some minor variations (Portly becomes Badger's nephew instead of Otter's son), has some catchy songs (my very favorite is the one sung by the weasels and stoats as they have overrun Toad Hall), and does a wonderful job of characterization (Moley is insecure but loyal, Ratty is dreamy, Badger is gruff yet compassionate, and Toad is, well, Toad)! More importantly, I think the film better than any other has captured the true essence of Grahame's original work, something most film versions have just not been able to do. This was always one of my favorite movies as a child, and I long for it to be released on DVD! It is a truly great movie!

"Wind in the Willows" is one of the all-time classic children's books, no doubt about it. And this is quite a good production, made (I believe) for Saturday morning television. I was about 4 or 5 when this was first aired, we've taped it and had it for the ensuing 15 or 16 years. Even aside from the hilarious 80's commercials (remember how popular claymation was back then?), it's still a treat to pull out the old tape and run it through the VCR again. One of the keys to the cartoon's success was the excellent musical score, with some truly memorable songs (particularly the wistful title tune which perfectly captures the yearning spirit of Rattie). And there's a great sequence with the Seafaring Rat seducing Rattie with tales of the far-off wonders of the world...it gets right to the soul of every adventurous Englishman, divided between the serene comforts of home and the wide world beyond (it's almost a David Lean moment here). The animation is admittedly not up to Disney's caliber, but then neither was Disney at the time this was made (it would be a few years before "Little Mermaid" signified their renewal). Sometimes the drawings are a bit flat, but other times they're wonderfully evocative. All in all, I recommend this if you can find it--I really don't know if it's on video or not although it probably says so on this site. Oh, and one last thing: the voices are dead-on perfect, especially Roddy McDowell as the Rat (just found out it was him recently, but it makes perfect sense in retrospect. There have been many versions of "Wind in the Willows"--a stop-motion production done for PBS in the 90's, a lushly drawn cartoon introduced by Vanessa Redgrave, even a live action version starring the Monty Python crew, which is worth watching...and of course the Disney cartoon which is a big departure from the spirit and story of the book in many ways, but contains that irrestible Disney charm and enthusiasm. Still, in some ways, this remains my favorite production, both for personal reasons (it evokes as much nostalgia for me as Teddy Ruxpin and Mr. Potato Head) and because it is the movie which most lives up to the spiritual undertones in Graham's story.

...Well maybe I am a bit biased because I have such a ton of nostalgia for this movie. But I remember being six years old and constantly borrowing this film off my aunt, until she just let me keep it one day. I'm 25 now and all the songs and dialogue have stuck with me vividly ever since. The title song is beautiful, and the rest of the soundtrack is witty and catchy. The animation is perfectly acceptable and has a charm to it, but the main strength of this film is the great voice cast. Whenever I think of Toad, this is the one that comes to mind, wonderfully voiced by Charles Reilly. I thought he was hilarious and lively in his arrogance. Everyone else is just as wonderfully cast in their roles; special mention to Roddy Mcdowall, who is so heartwarming as Ratty. Badger is also a standout, though he is helped by his own song; "I hate company" which is a riot! I honestly can't say enough good things about this film! IMO it captures the spirit of the book best of all the adaptations I've seen. It has a real whimsy to it, and as I said before the theme song by Judy Collins is just beautiful and probably contributes a great deal of it's nostalgic charm for me. You could do far worse than watch this...I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on it. Definitely needs a DVD release pronto. And a soundtrack while they're at it!!

Perhaps you wouldn't immediately consider The Wind in The Willows a particularly difficult book to adapt for the silver screen, as it could be mistaken as a children's book, a simplistic animal fable. But that would truly under-appreciate a book, that in my opinion, is vastly underrated and incorrectly sold purely as children's reading.

The numerous attempts at filming Willows all seem to fail by varying degrees because they misinterpret the book's wonderful character nuances, the relationship between them, and a tale so beautifully written the story manages to be timeless, poignant, intelligent and relevant.

Most television or film attempts (either live action or animated) come across as simplistic, twee, saccharine-sickly or merely dull. This version, however, rises head and shoulders above the rest.

The Python version with its hideously conceived "dog-food" element, the Disney cartoon, the ITV animated version, and the Cosgrove Hall versions all, while competent, manage to somehow miss the essence of the book. This 1983 animated work of genius, however, is easily the finest.

The casting is truly inspired, the script superb, the songs perfectly judged, the spiritual, ethereal Piper scenes superbly done, and the animation, while a little simplistic, perfectly captures the atmosphere and tone of the British countryside.

The film manages to show the book almost complete, and whilst the songs are witty, and rousing for children, they also entertain adults, and the parts of the book that are a little more mature in scope (the religious/Christ vision of the Piper, the themes of greed and goodwill) are all left intact, and never condescend the younger viewer.

All in all, a magnificent achievement, and 90 minutes of the finest animated entertainment you could want. Shrek who...?