| The Wind in the Willows | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Written by | Kenneth Grahame Lee Hall (adaptation) |
| Directed by | Rachel Talalay |
| Starring | Matt Lucas Mark Gatiss Lee Ingleby Bob Hoskins Michael Murphy |
| Theme music composer | Benoît Jutras |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom Canada |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Justin Thomson-Glover Patrick Irwin |
| Cinematography | David Franco |
| Editor | Annie Kocur |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC CBC |
| Release | 18 December 2006 |
The Wind in the Willows is a 2006 live-action television adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows , directed by Rachel Talalay. It was a joint production of the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and starred Matt Lucas (Mr. Toad), Bob Hoskins (Badger), Mark Gatiss (Ratty), and Lee Ingleby (Mole), with a cameo appearance from Michael Murphy as the Judge. 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. [1]
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Though the novel is considered children's literature, critics noted that this adaptation might not be appropriate for young children; Ginia Bellafante wrote in The New York Times that it "is ultimately too jaunty to be considered 100 percent safe for someone over 10", [2] and David Knox thought it "may well alienate children". [3] However, Variety's Brian Lowry said that its appeal "should run the demographic gamut for PBS, from Sesame Street to Bleak House ." [1]