Disney Classics Marathon :pound_symbol:11

What exactly where they on when they decided it would be a good idea to mash "The Wind in the Willows" together with "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?"

Not exactly two stories that have anything in common. Like at all.

From what I gathered, both were originally meant to be separated films, but had to be cut short during the war and ended up as the final package movie. I guess it’s more or less the power of convenience that they ended up together. At least the other package films where thematically woven together (in some way).

Well, we have two short films, let’s review them both!

"The Wind in the Willows"

The "Mr. Toad" part opens the movie, despite the name suggesting otherwise. My best guess is here that the strategy was to ease children and parents into it, before starting with the more frightening images of "Sleepy Hollow." Based on the novel by Kenneth Grahame, it only tells parts of the originally story, due to time reasons. The audience is introduced to titular character's best friends, Ratty (the design prototype for the Great Mouse Detective‘s Hiram Flaversham it appears), Moley and MacBadger. The friends are worried about Toad, who has a adventures and even manic personality and is currently obsessed with motor cars. They try to keep him away from his obsession, but he ends up being accused of stealing one, proclaiming his innocence and that he was framed by a gang of weasels. Cue to lots of hijinks.

The characters are sweet in design and personality (Cyril the horse is hilarious), Toad might be a bit annoying but still has enough charm to make you care about him. The voice acting is excellent, with Basil Rathbone narrating the story. The animation is lovely and the drawings of backgrounds are beautiful. It’s easy to tell that a lot of effort was put into the film and I am actually curious what a feature length film with time to develop all the characters could have been. I have seen another animated adaptation of the source material once, but can’t really remember it. Anyways, I enjoyed it for what it is.

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

Now, this one I actually remembered. First time I have seen it was in a Disney Halloween Special and it stuck with me ever since. Based on Washington Irving's short story, this movie tells the tale of Ichabod Crane, who moves to the small town of Sleepy Hollow, to become the new headmaster of the local school. Despite his scrawny appearance and aloof attitude (Ichabod is a jerk, let’s face it), he attracts many ladies in town, among them the beautiful Katrina van Tassel, much to the dismay of the town‘s golden boy Brom Bones. To scare Ichabod away he tells them the story of the ghost of a Headless Horseman, who appears on Halloween night and is in search of a new living head. After a Halloween Party Ichabod is supposedly attacked by the Headless Horseman and only his hat is found.

It’s a ghost story that plays with expectations and questions what is reality and what is just wild imagination due to fear. Does Ichabod actually see the Headless Horseman or is he just a fragment of his imagination? Does the Horseman take his head or does Ichabod just run away in fear and start a new life? It’s an interesting approach and makes for a great view on Halloween.

The story is told by Bing Crosby, who gets to sing three songs, among them the famous "Headless Horseman" one of Disney early iconic ones. The animation is less polished than the "Mr. Toad" part and lacks its quality, but the Headless Horseman chase is arguably one of Disney’s most memorable scenes and creates an eerie feeling for younger viewers.

As a fan of the Sleepy Hollow story I slightly prefer this segment (despite it dragging a little bit in its middle part) and like rewatching it around Halloween.

Overall we have two short films here that serve well. Both can be a bit lengthy at times (ironic, I know) but get their points across. I guess which one you‘ll prefer depends on very personal taste and what you’re looking for. A fun little adventure with animals or a spooky Halloween tale.

Compared to other films it does will like an afternoon special rather than a feature length, although it is the strongest one of the package films. At least this era goes out with a bang.

Favorite Segment: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

Favorite Song: "The Headless Horseman"

Favorite Moment: The Headless Horseman chase

5.5 out of 10 Stars