The Wind in the Willows

Venturing out from his underground home, Mole joins Ratty for a river trip. They come across the rich Mr Toad, who has taken up caravanning as a new hobby. However this hobby is replaced by a new one when he is run off the road by a motorcar – sparking a new passion in his life. While Badger, Mole and Ratty try to cure Toad of his car obsession, the weasels use it against him in order to get the deeds to Toad Hall.

That this was screened on New Years Day in the early evening slot should give you a clue about what to expect from this version. On the final day of the Christmas holiday, this is aimed at families with the parents enjoying the final day off work, looking for something warm, familiar and undemanding to watch that has enough of a family glow and wholesome feel to it to do the job. And that is just what this delivers nad it has the perfect material to do it with since Wind in the Willows is a family classic that many of us have affection for. Of course that is not saying that it is brilliant (it is not) but rather it is just safe family warmth without too much to really mark it out or justify watching it when not in a turkey-and-wine-induced stupor. The plot is well known and the film delivers it with a "jolly-old-England" air and light humour but not much else. It isn't that funny or inventive but again it does what it needed to do. Fans might also be narked that the weasels are squeezed into a silly panto action conclusion which seems like an afterthought for all concern.

Visually the film looks good and the minimal design of the characters was a nice touch. The sets look good but the jump-edits and backgrounds were modern touches that jarred with the rest of the film and didn't work – the very occasional use of special effects were terrible too. The cast has one or two "holiday BBC family drama" faces in there to draw the audience but nobody does that well. Lucas hams it up in the main role and he seems to be enjoying himself. He will amuse children but he is closer to "silly" than "funny" from where I was coming from. Gatiss is a solid "Oxford-type" as Ratty and he is OK without being distinguished; likewise Ingleby's mole – good but not really memorable. Hoskins was a good piece of casting and he gives good badger with his constant grump. The weasels are poor characters and not that well delivered by a group cast for their tumbling ability rather than anything else but small turns from Staunton and a few others are amusing.

Overall then a warm and basic bit of family entertainment that more or less did the job over the Christmas holidays by being pitched at a sedated family audience on their last day off work together and recovering from a New Year's Eve hangover. However it is not good enough to offer much if you are approaching it without this reduced set of requirements, not being funny, imaginative or engaging enough to stick in the mind even an hour after watching it. Of course it isn't helped by me having the memory of the 1996 version which, to be blunt, sh1ts on this version. OK it was floated down the river by Disney but it is better in almost every way and should be sought out by anything considering watching this because this 2006 version isn't a patch on it.

A quintessentially British classic, brought back for a new generation.

It's a pleasure to watch a new children's movie without dead parents or body fluid slapstick. The film is surprisingly close to the book, with saturated colours director Talalay seems to have been denied with her TV work.

Most of the casting is superb; standouts are Mark Gatiss as Ratty, Bob Hoskins as growly Badger and Oscar-nominee Imelda Staunton as the Barge Lady, with some surprisingly attractive Romanian weasels and underrated Canadian Mary Walsh as the unattractive bosom-rearranging washerwoman. Little Britain's Matt Lucas is a scenery-chewing disappointment as Toad, driving down the stars from 8 to 7; whenever he's on screen, despite his good music-hall turns with the songs, he jars us back to the 21st century.

Like most great stories, 'Willows' survives beyond its period-piece setting with a moral for young and old. Whether you subscribe to the id/ego/superego trio, or the class structure of the stupid rich Toad, proper Rat and afraid-but-brave homebody Mole, there's more to the tale than Toad's latest toy.

Children younger than 6 likely won't stand more than a few minutes of this, but nostalgic adults will enjoy watching this with school-age children who hopefully will ask for the whole story.

A highly enjoyable made-for-TV version of the story. The subtle costumes and understated acting are perfectly suited to the subject. Toad's frivolous and irresponsible behavior are well-captured, though I found him more childish than anything else.

There are undertones of class separation and hints of the poverty of some of the characters that I found touching, and will go over the heads of many children, which to me is a plus.

Bob Hoskins' Badger is a delight, and I have a soft spot for Mary Walsh, no matter how large or small the part she's in. The British and Canadian actors all bring their considerable talent to the table, despite the fact that most of them are relatively unknown (at least to the best of my knowledge).

All-in-all, well worth renting or downloading, if you want a simple family movie for the holidays, or just a family movie night.

The Wind in the Willows is a live action adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's famous book. A nervous Mole (Lee Ingleby) emerges from his hole and ventures out to the river where he encounters Ratty (Mark Gatiss) who takes him on a boat trip. They get taken on a caravan ride by Toad of Toad Hall (Matt Lucas) who then goes dashing about recklessly in a motorcar.

Mole and Ratty join up with Badger (Bob Hoskins) to save Mr Toad from his reckless need for speed but he ends up in jail and then the weasles take over his manor.

This is a fun family drama directed with some style by Rachel Talalay. Hoskins is suitably grumpy as Badger, Lucas is manic as Toad. There are some nice cameos from actors such as Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton. However the weasels were a letdown.

Matt Lucas as a marvellous Toad, Mark Gatiss as a spiky rat, Lee Ingleby as a nervous Mole, and Bob Hoskins as a grumpy old Badger make a classy cast within yet another version of Kenneth Grahame's classic book.

Comparing well with the Python-heavy 1996 version, which got lost in music and a mincemeat factory plot, this has many pluses in its favour - the best of all being the famous 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' chapter covered in full, with all its ethereal magic. Plenty, then, to enthrall children and interest adults who happen to be watching with or without them.