Alas, we have come to our final package film. Yippee! The last compilation film on this historic Disney movie journey is The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. The film premiered in 1949 and runs just over an hour and is broken into two stories (much like Fun and Fancy Free).
First up it’s “Mr. Toad.” (Because the second half of the title should definitely be the first part of the movie…) Mr. Toad is based on the famed The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and tells the tale of a wealthy toad with steadfast friends and a penchant for overspending on his "manias." The segment opens by showcasing Toad's current mania of racing a yellow gypsy cart about the town (causing all sorts of damage) with his trusty stead, Cyril Proudbottom. This mania is soon replaced by the MOTORCAR. Toad must have one. Of course as he is all but bankrupt with no sense of responsibility whatsoever, it is up to his friends to lock him in his room in the hopes that this mania will soon pass. Alas, it does not. Cue a bedroom escape, a nasty deal made with weasels, a stolen motorcar, a guilty verdict from the judge, a jail sentence, a jail escape, and a desperate attempt to prove Toad's innocence and save Toad Hall.
I was rather looking forward to The Wind in the Willows portion of the film as "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disneyland is based on the story; however I didn't end up enjoying it much at all. I thought the story would have a familiarity to it seeing as I've ridden Mr. Toad's Wild Ride several times, but the ride greatly differs from the movie. In fact, you see very little of Toad in an actual motorcar throughout the entire film segment... And the ride and movie end very differently; neither one very well might I add. I think the disappointing part for me about The Wind in the Willows is that Toad doesn't show any real growth in the film. He learns nothing from his mistakes, and despite the love and support of good friends, he continues his maniac ways even at others' expense.
This would normally be the time when I point out what I liked about the film... unfortunately Ichabod's story was not very likable either. The Ichabod segment tells the story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washinton Irving. The best part of this segment was Bing Crosby's narration and character voices. Sleepy Hollow tells the tale of Ichabod Crane, a tall, bookish, gluttonous, greedy school teacher and his unfortunate encounter with the "Headless Horseman." This segment didn't go well as I found I don't like Ichabod. I don't like Kat (the woman he falls in love with... sort of). And I don't like Brom (the villain). 
Ichabod flirts his way into the hearts of the women of Sleepy Hollow who then show their affection by feeding him (and believe me, he loves to eat!). When the lovely daughter of the wealthiest man in town crosses Ichabod's path, he is smitten. With her money! He has a daydream about her and it's all about how her father's money will make his life happy and allow him to gorge himself on the fat of the land. On top of all this, he is superstitious and a scaredy cat. Kat, the daughter of the wealthiest man in town, loves attention and enjoys having the men in town follow her around mooning after her and catering to her every whim. She ends up leading Ichabod on just to make Brom jealous. Brom is the stereotypical town bully/hero. He thinks he's all that and a bag of chips and likes to pick on the little people. He's not overtly cruel; he's simply egotistical and shallow.
Clearly, I enjoyed this film a lot... Or not. It was missing the heart. There were no heroes. No great triumphs. No love won. No lessons learned. It was missing the Disney magic.
Next week we head to (arguably) Disney's most iconic film: Cinderella (and this film bursts with Disney magic). Thank goodness!
This week I'll leave you with a quote in anticipation of Cinderella next week:
A dream is a wish your heart makes
when you're fast asleep.
In dreams you will lose your heartache,
whatever you wish for you keep.
Coming Up Next Week: Cinderella
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