Contes d'automne et de printemps

The Disney animators were still at the height of their genius when they made this double featurette based on classic American folklore. The clever humor and artful animation brighten both tales, but it's likely to be the Ichabod tale based on "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" that you're going to remember...especially for that final confrontation of the frightened Ichabod with the Headless Horseman! And there hasn't been a funnier minor character in a Disney film than the chubby Tilda who finds herself being whirled onto the dance floor by Bram Bones when he seeks revenge on Ichabod. This sequence is one of the funniest ever in a Disney film and is followed by the payoff "fright" sequence as Ichabod makes his way home after the party.

The toad story is a bit ponderous but is also brightened by clever animation and bits of humor with some droll voice overs supplied by Eric Blore and Pat O'Malley.

It's pure fantasy with all the Disney magic on hand. And that final encounter with the Headless Horseman makes this ideal for viewing on Halloween!

From English and American literature come two fabulous characters who will forever excite readers with THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD.

This was the last of Disney's compilation or anthology films - a form necessitated by the exigencies of the War years - and is actually a double featurette. Both halves would eventually be spun off into individual short subjects and work very well independently of each other. Their connections are quite tenuous: besides featuring 'fabulous characters' each story showcases a celebrated wild ride - one of which would, indeed, provide a long-lasting 'dark show' attraction at Disneyland.

First up is THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, which gives a drastically shortened & much revised view of Kenneth Grahame's classic book, focusing entirely on the chapters dealing with the exploits of the marvelous Mr. Toad and the troubles arising from his fixation with motorcars & speed (although much more time is spent showing him in his canary-coloured gypsy cart). As such, it is a fine introduction to Toad Hall, but one can only wonder what Disney would have done with a feature length animated film that included the bucolic charm of the novel, the glories of the Riverbank & the terrors of the Wild Wood as well as the high jinks. The production values are excellent, with narration by the inimitable Basil Rathbone, and Eric Blore & J. Pat O'Malley obviously have a high time voicing the wanton Toad and his equine pal Cyril Proudbottom, but a true fan of Grahame's original creation can't help longing for a little more...

Washington Irving's famous story, THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, comes alive in the second half of the movie. Bing Crosby's singing narration and the top-notch animation tell a tale of humor and genuine fright. Ichabod Crane, the pedantic pedagogue, is a triumph of the animators' art, while the film's climax - the ride through the Hollow & the appearance of the hideous Hessian - is a celebration of pacing and stylistic understatement. Based on material much shorter than Grahame's, the plot fits into the half hour time slot more easily and still has the luxury of introducing a wholly original & hilarious minor character in the chubby little Tilda, who completely steals the dancing sequence. It is the Horseman, however, who should remain the longest in the viewer's uneasy dreams - the embodiment of every Halloween nightmare.

I am a huge Disney fan at 17, and while The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad is not the best of the Disney canon, it is hugely enjoyable and definitely worth seeing. While I would rank both The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow a 9/10, personally if I were to say which was better, the latter but only marginally. Merely because it holds more of a nostalgic value.

The Wind in the Willows is a condensed but very faithful 30 minute or so cartoon, based on the Kenneth Graheme literary classic. While it does drag in places, it does very well with what it crams into such a short running time. It is very lovingly animated, with some rich backgrounds and lovely colours. I also liked the music, it was lyrical, rousing and fun, the sort of music you will find in a Silly Symphony. Also the voice acting is very expressive, Basil Rathbone who I know best as Sherlock Holmes(well one of the actors playing the fictional detective) is brilliant as the narrator and Eric Blore is a lot of fun as Toad. Other characters I liked were Badger, who is very firm and gruff and Cyril, the Horse, a character who featured in one of the more memorable scenes from the cartoon, second only to the hilarious Courtroom scene.

On the other hand, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a terrifying yet worthwhile classic. One of my favourite moments in anything to do with Disney along with Willie the Operatic Whale. Bing Crosby is sublime as the narrator, never overdoing it, it was just right. The animation has an appropriately dark visual style, and the music is also memorable and fitting. The famous story features a schoolmaster named Ichabod Crane, and his love for Katrina and rivalry between him and Brom Bones, who like Gaston is a handsome tower of strength. Perhaps the most memorable moment of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the part when Ichabod meets the Headless Horseman, a character that was so scary he gave me nightmares when I was little. The Headless Horseman is the sort of character who is imitated in stuff like Scooby Doo yet never as well, the very look of him here makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

Overall, this is an excellent binding of two classic stories. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Having never seen 'Mr. Toad', I can only comment on the 'Legend of Sleepy Hollow', having seen it many times as a child when 'Disney's Wonderful World' was running on the CBC. This has got to be some of the greatest work of Walt Disney. Washington Irving's original story is closely followed, unlike Tim Burton's 1999 version (still an awesome movie in its own right). The sequence involving Ichabod Crane's terrifying ride through the woods is undoubtedly the best, from the toads croaking 'Ichabod' to the Headless Horseman chasing Ichabod through the woods - it's alternately funny and frightening. It always appeared at Halloween on the Disney show, and I can't remember ever missing it.

I guess you describe this Walt Disney classic as a cartoon/cartoon. Two separate stories done to fill out one barely over an hour film. After 63 years it still has enough magic to entertain.

Why Disney reversed the order of The Adventures Of Ichabod and Mr. Toad I've not figured out since the Mr. Toad story comes first. Basil Rathbone narrates this part and Eric Blore is delightful as that rascally scamp J. Thaddeus Toad who has the finest estate on riverbank. But he's a spendthrift and really needs a keeper. Which his friends the badger, the rabbit and the mole supply.

Blore reached back to his own career in interpreting Toad and I think Disney and his staff of animators must have seen him in The Road To Zanzibar and his character of Bates the valet to The Lone Wolf in that series. In Zanzibar Blore has a brief but memorable part as an eccentric millionaire who sells Crosby and Hope and diamond mine, but he's also the family idiot and he has no mines to sell or rights to sell them. And seeing how his Toad character escapes from the law reminds me so much of Bates making fools of the law in helping Warren William outwit them.

Washington Irving's Legend Of Sleepy Hollow is the basis for Ichabod and Bing Crosby narrates and sings with Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires backing him up and occasionally providing a voice. Ichabod Crane the new schoolmaster is cutting in on Brom Bones and his wooing of the richest girl in town Katrina Von Tassel. We all know how Brom Bones got Ichabod out of town on a stormy Halloween night, but you have to see the fine animation that Disney did for this film to really appreciate it.

Bing gets three songs to sing in this film, Ichabod Crane, Katrina, and The Headless Horseman. The last is really memorable and a great song for kids of all ages on a Halloween night.

Remember folks, you can't reason with a headless man.