Customer Reviews

Ichabod & Mr. Toad Adv of

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this movie for my Dad for Christmas. It was a childhood favourite of his. When my parents got around to watching it about a month after Christmas, the disc was skipping and when it resumed, would skip ahead. They managed to watch many other movies successfully, so the problem obviously wasn't the DVD player. I even checked it myself to confirm this, and indeed it skipped and jumped forward quite a bit. The DVD itself looks fine, so it must be defective.

As per Amazons terms, I cannot return it. It's unfortunate.

This fine feature film, made from two featurettes, is a real gem to add to your collection of family Halloween favorites, or a joy to behold at any time of year.

This 11th addition to the Disney feature film canon is worth watching over and over again.

In the first featurette, we are treated to a retelling of one story from Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" - the story of what happens when Mr. Toad decides to go for a wild ride in his new motorcar. I can't even imagine any other version of the vision of Toad Hall and its inhabitants than this one anymore. I thought it was fairly true to the original source material. Basil Rathbone provides the narration, but other characters have their own voices. The only problem with this is that I thought Rathbone's horror talents would have lent themselves better to "Sleepy Hollow".

In the second, and far better, story, we are treated to a Disney version of Washington Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow". While not as scary as the original story, nor anywhere near as scary as Tim Burton's movie based on the same story, it's still chilling enough to make a great Halloween party event without scaring the young ones silly. The Disney style lends itself fairly well to this story, too, especially in the characterization of Ichabod Crane and other characters. The story is told by Bing Crosby - who also supplies all of the character voices and songs. Crosby does a great job on characters who I thought would have been better voiced by Rathbone.

The DVD also features a karaoke segment - a standard feature of almost all newer Disney DVDs, as well as a storybook adventure and a gallery of collectibles.

A stellar addition to the Disney collection, and a good investment for anyone planning a Halloween get together for children.

Ah, yes...two significant pieces of literature coexisting to meet the entertainment needs of any-aged audience. In this gem, Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow are separately brought to life by Disney's team of animation geniuses, and the result is an often eerie, musically charged and timeless tale of life, love, honesty, fear and adventure, that can be enjoyed over and over by the whole family.

My favorite of the two stories, the mysterious and dark tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, is brought to life by the delightful voice talent of Bing Crosby himself, as he serenades you through a narration of the creepy old tale, while also lending his flawless vocals to the films musical numbers. The result of the marriage of classic literature, talented actors, slapstick humor and incredible artistry, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, will find a place on your top-ten animated films list as you and your children enjoy the film over and over! This DVD is also a hot-commodity at Halloween!

I love this DVD, in fact it is probably my favorite in my whole collection. I watch it all the time and it never fails to entertain me and leave me with a wistful yet happy feeling. This DVD has great picture, good sound, and excellent extra features. I also find if you mute it and watch it with Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother is quite an experience. Anyways if you love cartoons(especially old ones)than this is a must own. The Sleepy Hollow toon is great for Halloween!

In this two part Disney movie, Disney brings you two of the more iconic Disney characters. The wild Mr. Toad, and Ichabod Crane. In the first you are inside a great whimsical story inspired by the Wind in the Willows. You meet Mr. Toad, the rat and mole and along the way encounter a group of finicky weasels. In the second half you meet Ichabod, and encounter the legendary Headless Horseman. They are both good fun. I highly reccomend them.

Though I've enjoyed the Mr. Toad characters for many years, not a little because of the Disney ride, I finally settled down recently to enjoy the DVD and see the actual film for the first time. After having the image emblazened in my head of Mr. Toad grasping his steering wheel and blowing in the wind as his motorcar careens here or there (thanks to the ride and a lot of Disney merchandising art and collectibles), I was stunned and very disappointed to see...no scenes of Toad in his car!! I couldn't help but feel a letdown, but the story is still fun and the Ichabod story remains a favorite. I also highly recommend the new-to-DVD Terry Jones version.

The last of Disney's package features is probably the best one. Bringing together "The Wind in the Willows" and "The Leyend of Sleepy Hollow", this is one of the best set of shorts yet, they are both great. The first one is the story of the wild and free Mr. Toad being accused of selling a stolen motorcar, after trading it for the Deed to Toad Hall. The second one, tells the story of a quiet town named Sleepy Hollow, and an odd-looking man named Ichabod who is told a horrendous story about a Headless Horseman, and then finding out that the leyend is true. The two features are incredible amazing, I never thought I would like this when I first saw it, but now I absolutely love it. Both shorts are greatly animated too.

The DVD brings little on bonus features, just a little classic Disney short and a trivia game, although this trivia game gives you a special treat when you complete it, so that's fun to know. The picture quality isn't too good in the first short, "The Wind in the Willows", but the DVD is pretty much recomendable.

I too remember watching The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad as a child but I mostly remembered the story about Ichabod more then the Mr. Toad story. Like the previous reviewer said the animation may not be like the animation used these days but there is something charming about the old style of animation and I like the story of Ichabod just as much now as when I was a child and the Mr. Toad story is good too and I'm thinking of someday buying the DVD!

I absolutely love these old classics! Sure the animation doesn't match that of today, but there's just something wonderful about these animated features of yesteryear. I remember watching Ichabod when I was 6 or 7 (I'm 20 now) on Disney Channel for a Halloween special, and loved it very much. Of course I never understood the story entirely, but I enjoyed the animation and scariness of the Headless Horseman all the same. I've never seen Mr. Toad until I watched this DVD actually. What can I say, I'm a kid at heart and still liked the featurette. To answer the previous reviewer, I think you have a bad copy. Mine does not have the snippets missing as you describe. It was a weasel who threw a dagger, hence Mole fell on top of Winkie, and ended up running for his life.
Overall, I am very pleased with this DVD.

Both halves of ICHABOD AND MR TOAD are charming examples of late-'40s era Disney animation. "The Wind in the Willows" segment is filled with detailed English countryside backgrounds and English manor interiors ... very cozy, very warm. The "Sleepy Hollow" portion is wonderfully creepy, the final ride home of Ichabod remains one of the most memorable and thrilling sequences in animated history.

Still, can any cartoon buff out there tell me why there's a weird little missing snippet during the "riot at Toad Hall" sequence? Out of nowhere, a flying axe (presumably thrown by Winky) cuts through the chandelier sending the heroes soaring (at 33:41). They had been saving Mole, but after the axe is thrown, Mole is no longer in their grasp but running along the floor. Are there more than a few seconds missing here? There's also an abrupt cut in the musical score. Wha' hoppened? Fellow Amazonites, I await a response!