The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)

Last updated

The Wind in the Willows
Wind in the willows dvd.jpg
UK DVD cover
Directed by Terry Jones
Screenplay byTerry Jones
Based on The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography David Tattersall
Edited by Julian Doyle
Music by John Du Prez
Production
company
Distributed by Guild Pathé Cinema
Release date
  • 11 October 1996 (1996-10-11)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£9.75 million [1]
Box office£1.303 million [1]

The Wind in the Willows (released as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in the United States) is a 1996 British adventure comedy film based on Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows , adapted and directed by Terry Jones, and produced by Jake Eberts and John Goldstone. The film stars Terry Jones, Steve Coogan, Eric Idle and Nicol Williamson. While positively regarded, it was a box office bomb and had distribution problems in the United States.

Contents

Plot

Mole's underground home is caved in when the meadow above is crushed by a steam shovel driven by Weasels. The Water Rat takes Mole to see Mr. Toad, who encourages them to join them in his new horse-drawn caravan. After a motor car frightens the horse and the caravan tips over, Toad becomes infatuated with motoring. He is a terrible driver and funds his cars with loans from the Weasels; their vindictive Chief blackmails him to sell Toad Hall.

After an encounter with Weasels in the Wild Wood, Toad, Rat, and Mole end up in Mr. Badger's underground house. Badger attempts to quell Toad's obsession with cars, but Toad refuses to listen and is ultimately arrested for stealing and crashing a motor-car outside a pub. During Toad's trial, the Chief Weasel poses as a rabbit and manipulates the Jury into giving a guilty verdict. After Toad has an outburst in Court and tries to escape, the Judge gives him a 100-year sentence in a castle dungeon.

Back at Toad Hall, Rat and Mole are evicted by the Weasels, who have taken Toad Hall for themselves. They tunnel under the castle to free Toad, who is assisted by the jailer's daughter and her sardonic tea lady aunt. Toad, Rat, and Mole board Engine No. 592, thanks to the engine driver's help of letting them ride on the footplate. The police, who have stowed away on the carriages behind the engine, demand that the train be stopped by waving furiously at Ratty, Moley, and the driver on the engine, much to Toad's fearing terror. As the engine driver goes to see what the police want and tries to stop the train, Toad confesses the truth and begs the driver to help him evade his captors about arresting him for stealing motorcars. Feeling sympathetic of what Toad says is true, the driver agrees to help as the police shoot the paint on his engine. Angered, he tosses coal from his engine's tender at the police, but fails to dodge a mail catcher, which catches him and ends up holding him from his train. Toad hijacks the train, and as Mole accidentally uncouples the coaches, he and Rat are left far behind with the coaches as the police hit a tunnel and hold on for dear life, Toad eventually derails the engine, and having survived the accident from the wreckage of the engine, sets off again, but is abducted by the Weasels.

The full extent of the Weasel's plans are now revealed: they have built a dog-food factory over the remains of Mole's abode and are planning to blow up Toad Hall and build a slaughterhouse in its place, with which they will turn all of the peaceful Riverbankers into dog food. They have also damaged the area near to Badger's home, which provokes him into wanting revenge against them. Badger and Rat attempt to infiltrate Toad Hall disguised as weasels, but are discovered. Along with Toad, they are placed over the factory's mincing machine. The Chief, Clarence and Geoffrey return to Toad Hall to prepare the victory celebration, leaving St. John in charge of the machine. Mole, who has broken into the factory, disables the machine allowing Toad, Badger and Rat to escape.

In a premature sense of victory, Clarence and Geoffrey attempt to murder their Chief using a birthday cake. Clarence and Geoffrey begin to fight each other for leadership, with the other Weasels drunkenly taking sides. This distraction allows the protagonists to stage a raid on the house, leaving all of the Weasels incapacitated in the ensuing fight. It turns out that the Chief has survived the coup against his life. Toad attempts to stop him from reaching the factory, which contains the detonator to blow up Toad Hall, to no avail. Unbeknownst to both of them, the explosives are actually in the factory (Rat had switched the labels on the explosive's containers earlier, leading the Weasels to believe the explosives were actually bone supplies for the factory), and as such the Chief blows himself up along with the factory, leaving Toad Hall intact and Toad's friends alive.

Afterwards, Toad makes a public speech swearing off motor cars and promising to be more mature and less selfish in the future. Mole's home has been repaired. However, Toad is seen secretly talking to an airplane salesman, which shows that he has only moved on to a new craze. Toad flies over the crowd in his new plane, causing mass hysteria and a disappointed Badger swears never to help Toad again. During the end credits, Toad flies across the country and eventually over the sea.

Cast

Production

The Wind in the Willows was produced by Allied Filmmakers. Most of the then-living members of the Monty Python comedy troupe heavily participated in the film: Jones and Idle play major roles as Mr. Toad and Rat, but Cleese and Palin have minor roles, as Toad's inept defence lawyer and a sardonic talking Sun, respectively, who occasionally chastises Toad for his reckless behaviour, and briefly speaks to Ratty and Mole. Terry Gilliam was asked to voice "The River", but filming conflicts with 12 Monkeys kept him from doing so. Perhaps, as a result, "The River" only has one instance of dialogue - he is shown with a mouth and sings a couple of lines of the first song.

Filming

Principal photography was done primarily during sunset, and the colours were then readjusted.[ citation needed ]

Distribution

When the film first appeared in the U.S. under its original title, it was pushed aside due to distributors' problems giving it a mere late 1997 limited release and very little promotion was published. Takings in the UK had been low due to largely only afternoon screenings. [3] Subsequently, New York publications wondered why such a wonderful children's film was dumped by distributors. The Times published a very positive review by Lawrence Van Gelder. [4]

In 1998, however, Disney released the film on VHS and later on DVD in 2004, changing the title to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, to tie into their theme park ride at Disneyland (the Disney World version of which closed that year). In an interview with Jones, he was in New York at the time of the film's US release, and heard that the film was showing in Times Square; "so I rushed down there only to discover it was showing at one of those seedy little porno theatres". [3]

Reception

Box office

The film opened on 17 screens in Scotland and the Midlands on 11 October 1996 and grossed £6,121 in its opening weekend. [5] It expanded to 230 screens on 18 October and grossed £375,795 for the week, placing seventh at the UK box office. [6] It went on to gross £1.3 million in the U.K. [1] and $72,844 in the U.S. [7]

Critical response

The film holds a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews [8] and holds three stars out of five on the film critic website AllMovie.com. [9] Film critic Mike Hertenstein wrote a positive critical review of the film. [10]

The films won the Best of the Fest award at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival in 1998 [11] and the WisKid Award at the Wisconsin International Children's Film Festival in 2000. [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Wind in the Willows</i> 1908 childrens novel by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows is a classic children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets into trouble. It also details short stories about them that are disconnected from the main narrative. The novel was based on bedtime stories Grahame told his son Alastair. It has been adapted numerous times for both stage and screen.

<i>Toad of Toad Hall</i> Play by A. A. Milne

Toad of Toad Hall is a play written by A. A. Milne – the first of several dramatisations of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows – with incidental music by Harold Fraser-Simson. It was originally produced by William Armstrong at the Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool, on 21 December 1929. It was given in the West End the following year, and has been revived frequently by many theatrical companies.

<i>The Animals of Farthing Wood</i> (TV series) British-French television series

The Animals of Farthing Wood is a British animated series commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union between 1993 and 1995, and is based on the series of books written by English author Colin Dann. It was produced by Telemagination, based in London, and La Fabrique, based in Montpellier in France, but also aired in other European countries. The first countries to air the series were Norway, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom, in January 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Toad's Wild Ride</span> Dark ride at Disneyland

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is a dark ride at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. It is loosely based on Disney's adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908), one of two segments comprising the animated package film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). The ride is one of the few remaining attractions operational since the park's opening in July 1955, although the current iteration of the ride opened in 1983. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is located in Fantasyland, a variation of the attraction also existed as an opening day attraction at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World from 1971 until 1998.

<i>The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad</i> 1949 animated film by Walt Disney

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a 1949 American animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It consists of two segments: the first based on Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's novel The Wind in the Willows and narrated by Basil Rathbone, and the second based on Washington Irving's 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and narrated by Bing Crosby. The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen, and was directed by Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, and James Algar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Toad</span> Fictional character

Mr. Toad, of Toad Hall, is one of the main characters in the 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

<i>The Wind in the Willows</i> (1983 film) 1983 British stop-motion animated television film

The Wind in the Willows is a 1983 British stop motion animated film produced by Cosgrove Hall Productions for Thames Television and aired on the ITV network. The film is based on Kenneth Grahame's classic 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows. It won a BAFTA award and an international Emmy award.

The Wind in the Willows is a British stop motion animated television series that was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, based on characters from Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows and following the 1983 feature-length pilot film.

<i>Wind in the Willows</i> (1988 film) 1988 Australian film

Wind in the Willows is a 1988 Australian made-for-television animated film created by Burbank Films Australia. The film is based on Kenneth Grahame's 1908 English children's novel of the same name.

<i>The Wind in the Willows</i> (2006 film) 2006 British-Canadian television film by Rachel Talalay

The Wind in the Willows is a 2006 live-action television adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows. It was a joint production of the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and starred Matt Lucas, Bob Hoskins (Badger), Mark Gatiss (Ratty), and Lee Ingleby (Mole), with a cameo appearance from Michael Murphy as the Judge. Rachel Talalay directed. It debuted in Canada on CBC Television on 18 December 2006 in the United Kingdom on BBC1 on 1 January 2007, in the U.S. on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre on 8 April 2007 and in Australia on ABC TV on 23 December 2007. It was filmed on location in Bucharest, Romania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Goolden</span> British actor

Richard Percy Herbert Goolden, OBE was a British actor, most famous for his portrayal of Mole from Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's book The Wind in the Willows in A A Milne's 1929 stage adaptation, Toad of Toad Hall.

<i>The Wind in the Willows</i> (1987 film) 1987 animated television film by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass

The Wind in the Willows is a 1987 American animated musical television film directed by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass, co-founders of Rankin/Bass Productions in New York, New York. It is an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows. Set in a pastoral version of England, the film focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters and contains themes of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie. The film features the voices of Charles Nelson Reilly, Roddy McDowall, José Ferrer, and Eddie Bracken. The screenplay was written by Romeo Muller, a long-time Rankin/Bass writer whose work included Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Frosty the Snowman (1969), The Hobbit (1977), and The Flight of Dragons (1982), among others. The film's animation was outsourced to James C.Y. Wang's Cuckoo's Nest Studios in Taipei, Taiwan.

<i>The Willows at Christmas</i>

The Willows at Christmas is a children's novel by English writer William Horwood, first published in 1999. It is the fourth book of the Tales of the Willows series, a collection of four sequels to Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows.

A Tale of Two Toads is a 1989 hour-long feature from the 1980s stop motion animation series The Wind in the Willows, which itself was based on the 1908 novel by Kenneth Grahame. The film was animated by Cosgrove Hall and broadcast on Children's ITV. A further season of 13 episodes was shown under the title, Oh, Mr. Toad in some countries, whilst retaining the title The Wind in the Willows in others.

<i>The Wind in the Willows</i> (1995 film) 1995 British animated television film by Dave Unwin

The Wind in the Willows is a 1995 British animated television film directed by Dave Unwin and written by Ted Walker, and based on the 1908 novel of the same name, a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame. It was produced by the TVC in London.

<i>The Wind in the Willows</i> (musical) Musical

The Wind in the Willows is a musical written by Julian Fellowes, with music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, based on the 1908 novel of the same name, written by Kenneth Grahame. The musical received its world premiere at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth in October 2016, before transferring to The Lowry in Salford and the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. The following year the production transferred to the West End's London Palladium, where it was filmed for cinema broadcast.

Toad of Toad Hall is a 1946 British TV adaptation of the 1929 play Toad of Toad Hall by A. A. Milne, itself an adaptation of the 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

Toad Hall (<i>The Wind in the Willows</i>)

Toad Hall is the fictional home of Mr. Toad, a character in the 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

<i>The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show</i> 1970 Rankin/Bass animated television series

The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show is a 1970 American animated television series that aired on ABC's Saturday morning schedule. The show features two characters created by British children's writer Kenneth Grahame: the Reluctant Dragon from the 1898 short story of the same name, and Mr. Toad from the 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows. The show was created by Rankin/Bass Productions in New York City, who produced 17 episodes. The show was a flop and canceled midway through its first season, airing from September 12 until December 26, 1970. A year later, ABC aired reruns of the show on Sunday mornings on September 12, 1971. The show is partially lost, as only 8 of the 17 episodes have been recovered as of February 17, 2024.

The Wind in the Willows is a play based on the 1908 children's novel of the same name by Kenneth Grahame, adapted for the stage by Alan Bennett, with music by Jeremy Sams.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Stats" (PDF). British Film Institute . p. 101. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office The Wind in the Willows Article".
  3. 1 2 The life and times of Monty Python’s Terry Jones by Nathan Bevan, Western Mail at walesonline.co.uk
  4. Van Gelder, Lawrence (31 October 1997). "FILM REVIEW; An Orwellian Tale About Animal Behavior". The New York Times. New York City, New York. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  5. "This Week". Screen International . 18 October 1996. p. 47.
  6. "UK Top 15: October 25-27". Screen International . 1 November 1996. p. 23.
  7. "The Wind in the Willows (1997)". The Numbers . Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  8. "The Wind in the Willows (Mr Toad's Wild Ride)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  9. Film review (retrieved Jan 2010)
  10. Film review (retrieved Jan 2010) Archived 26 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S FILM FESTIVAL – AWARDS LIST 1998" (PDF). FACETS. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  12. "Wisconsin International Children's Film Festival - 2000 Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 20 October 2023.