October 5, 1949 – The 11th Disney Animated Feature Film, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, is Released to Theaters
“If you were asked to choose the most fabulous character in English literature, who would it be?”
On October 5, 1949, the 11th Disney animated feature film, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, was released to theaters. This was the sixth and final package film released by the studios, until 1977’s The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The two stories featured in this film were based on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; the former was narrated by Bing Crosby, while the latter was narrated by Basil Rathbone. Due to the studios financial situation at the time, expenses were kept down on the film by reusing animation from earlier shorts and films, including the 1937 Silly Symphony The Old Mill. The two parts of the film were originally released separately when released on home video, but were finally combined into the complete feature once again starting with the laserdisc release in 1992. The film was directed by Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, and James Algar, with story by Erdman Penner, Winston Hibler, Joe Rinaldi, Ted Sears, Homer Brightman, and Harry Reeves.
The film opens in a library, with the Basil Rathbone taking the audience through a list of fabulous characters in English literature, before introducing his choice: J. Thaddeus Toad, Esquire. Toad was an incurable adventurer, who only had three friends looking out for him: MacBadger, Mole, and Rat. This certain story begins with Mole being late for tea with Rat, when there is a knock at the door for Rat. He receives a special letter from MacBadger, who requests their presence at Toad Hall. Believing that Toad is once again up to trouble, they arrive to find a frazzled MacBadger, who had been working to put Toad’s affairs in order, as his adventures are driving Toad close to bankruptcy. MacBadger convinces the two of them to stop Toad from his new folly: parading around the countryside with a yellow gypsy cart and a horse named Cyril. When Rat and Mole try to convince Toad to give up his reckless behavior, Toad attempts to flee, when he comes across his new mania: a motor car.
After a drastic attempt to feed his new mania, Toad is found and arrested for driving a stolen car
Rat and Mole take Toad back to Toad Hall and lock him in his room, keeping him there until the mania passes. That night, Toad sneaks out of the window and steals a motor car, and is promptly arrested. He is taken to court, where he defends himself. Cyril testifies that Toad headed to his place that night, and the two were walking when they saw the motorcar. It parked at a nearby pub, where the weasels driving the car exit. Toad goes inside the pub to buy the car from the weasels, not knowing that the car has been stolen. To pay for the car, he drew up a paper that signed over the deed to Toad Hall. The bartender arrives, tells the court that Toad tried to sell him a stolen motorcar, and Toad is promptly arrested. Around Christmas, Toad is seen serving his sentence in the Tower of London, and vows never to attempt such reckless behavior again. Cyril arrives to help Toad break out of jail, and soon the alarm sounds that Toad has escaped. The police are sent out all over London to find Toad, who is dressed as an old woman. He then boards a train and steals it, attempting to flee. He then jumps the train and lands in the river, but is weighed down by the ball and chain around his ankle.
Rat and Mole are the only people in England that remember Toad fondly, and are surprised to find Toad at their door. When there’s a knock at Rat’s door, Toad asks Rat to hide him, but they find MacBadger at the door. He tells them that Toad Hall has been taken over by the bartender, named Winkie, and the weasels; Winkie had lied on the stand, and Toad is completely innocent. MacBadger comes up with a plan to get the deed from Winkie to prove Toad’s innocence to the court. The four enter Toad Hall stealthily, and while Mole manages to grab the deed from the sleeping Winkie, their plot is foiled by a weasel watchman. A chase ensues around the hall for the deed, and the four manage to make it out of the Hall with the deed. Toad is exonerated, and he vows to be a new Toad, but this doesn’t last, as he shows off his new mania at the end: the airplane.
Bing Crosby narrates while introducing the story of the peculiar schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane
Bing Crosby then introduces the character of schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, who he describes as a “scarecrow eloped from a cornfield.” A group of men known as the Sleepy Hollow Boys are seen hanging out at the nearby pub, led by Brom Bones, and they notice Ichabod heading into town. Ichabod’s only weakness is food, and treats those students with great cooks for mothers with favor. He also improves his social standing by joining several societies, including the women’s choral society, where he plays the piano. Brom, who liked to cause mischief, decides to play pranks on Ichabod, although Ichabod doesn’t really mind. However, when Ichabod sets his eyes on Katrina van Tassel, daughter of the richest farmer in the county, Brom ups his pranks, seeing him as his rival.
Katrina invites Ichabod personally to a party at her father’s home for Halloween, and he is excited at the prospect of being Katrina’s beau, much to Brom’s annoyance. Brom then comes up with a plan to get Katrina away from dancing with Ichabod, but Ichabod is able to reclaim Katrina. No matter what Brom does, he is unable to best Ichabod for Katrina’s affections. At midnight, the guests begin to tell ghost stories. Brom realizes that this is his chance, as Ichabod is one of the most superstitious people he knows, believing in the existence of ghosts and spirits. Brom then tells the story of the Headless Horseman, which spooks Ichabod terribly. On his way home, he tries to calm himself by whistling, but is scared by the simplest of things in the woods. At one point, he hears the clattering of another horse’s footsteps, but soon realizes it’s just reeds hitting a log. Nearly driven mad with his worries, he and his horse laugh at his folly, until they hear maniacal laughter nearby, and spot the actual Headless Horseman. Ichabod tries to flee to the bridge, which the Horseman is unable to cross; although Ichabod crossed the bridge, the next morning, all that the townspeople could find was Ichabod’s hat near the bridge, and a shattered pumpkin. Soon after, Brom and Katrina were married, and the townspeople had a new legend.
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