Wind in Willows-Lord Toad [VHS]

An absolutely wonderful version of the book! I watched this as a teenager on TV and spent many years hunting for the VHS in the 1980s-mid 1990s, and now the DVD. My VHS tape spoiled in the mid-1990s, but I can recall this cartoon and many of its scenes still!

What I like about this version (there are so many, but I'll just list those that are more salient):

1)The humour - this is interspersed througout the movie; it captures so well the dreamy,poetic nature of Ratty, the wiles and plottings of Toad, the guileless Mole, and the solid dependability of Badger.

2) The songs - really funny ones, yet still so true to the book. Personal favourites are 'Wind in the Willows' sung by Judy Collins, 'I hate company' (Badger's song), and 'We'll convert him' (the courthouse scene)

3) The voices/accents of the actors - so very perfect. Wonderful inflections, to convey anger, fear, worry, listlessness, elation, etc.

4) The language/writing. Such creative use of language, yet not straying away from the intent of the original book. These are some scenes that I can remember, which made me laugh out loud - because of the expressions on the animated characters' faces, the dialogue, and the accents/inflections to the words spoken.

* when Ratty, Mole and Toad set out in the cart, and it's time for the meal - before Ratty and Mole sing about what food they DON'T have, Toady says that he bought some pats of beurre - then gives this roguish look and says 'butter to you'.

* the temptation to steal the motor car scene - it's just perfect, how the rationalisation process in Toady's head is depicted: It starts with 'there can be no harm in my just looking at it' - then he mimics the sound of the car engine 'broom, brroom' and climbs in and says 'oh no, no harm at all' and then with hand at ignition key 'I wonder if this kind of car starts easily' ...

* in the courthouse - when Toad is accused of gross impertinence to the police, he retorts 'nonsense! Tumtwaddle (what he called the officer) is an old Toad word of endearment!'

* when he's in prison and the jailer's daughter comes the Bubble and Squeak, Toady says 'it's about time they served some decent food in this place', and proceeds to say in an undertone 'I hope the cabbage isn't overcooked', and then after tasting it 'I knew it - the cabbage IS overcooked!'

* when Toady is at the railway station trying to buy a ticket to Toad hall, and says 'One please, as close to Toad Hall as my money will take me' and then realises that he's in washerwoman's garb, he lifts his skirts and wails 'No pockets!' (and so no money!). When he is told 'Step aside please, madam', Toad is indignant (the look on his face is priceless) and says ' Madam?!? No indignities are spared me!'

* when Toad has been 'rescued' by the owners of the motor car he stole earlier, and he's fainted in the road, the dialogue, accents and inflections are just PERFECT. Man A:'A washerwoman!Fainted in the road!' Man B: 'Overcome by the heat, poor creature!' Man A: 'We'll take her to the nearest village - she must have some friends there', and as Toad revives and tries to wangle his way into driving the car 'If I might sit in the front seat - I would have the fresh air full in my face (sic - I can't remember exact dialogue - last watched it >10years ago)' and Man B says: 'sensible woman!'. After a while he tries to cadge a chance to drive the car saying 'I would like to tell my friends I have driven... a motor car!', Man A laughs and says 'Bravo madam! I like your spirit. Of course you can have a try!'

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, can we have the DVD of this?

There's really not that much that needs to be said. The other most famous adaptation of this book, Disney's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, is poorly animated, makes tons of pointless changes, and just doesn't tell a very good story.

Rankin-Bass's Wind in the Willows, on the other hand, has good songs, more visual appeal, and better voice acting, and it's much more faithful to the book. The characters really feel like themselves; they capture Mole's innocence, Badger's intransigence, Ratty's affability and Toad's mania beautifully, and all of the characters come across as people you'd like to spend time with.

It's a real shame this film hasn't been restored and released on DVD, as it's one of my favorite book-to-film adaptations.

Rankin/Bass' adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's novel is close enough that after countless viewings of this movie as a child, reading the book in my adulthood I hear Roddy McDowell and company in my mind speaking to me without any effort needed to summon them. There are passages of the script taken straight from the original text. And yet, the exicution of the lines comes off without the viewers realizing they are being read classical language. It's not too advanced for children to follow, but it never once dares to dumb down to them. It is such a beautiful, simple myth illustrating the importance of Home. And of the importance of the feeling that there is some connecting force greater than ourselves that leads us through the Wild Woods of our own lives and along the roads of the Wide World, when we're far from the Rivers and Halls and Holes and Dens we long to go back to. A comment to devout viewers - The Piper, a Pan-like being, the representation of God in a world where animals are a representation of mankind, stays just beyond and above, and lets his wards feel his presence in the sounds of the wind in the reeds and willows and if ever he shows himself in a beam of light through the darkness, passes on again from memory like a dream, leaving a feeling of saftey and hope. He isn't meant to support or condone paganism, but instead reinforces the values many of us hold in common. The image of the Pan mearly corresponds with the metaphore of animal society. The title song of the film, sung movingly by Judy Collins, says it best, "Search for the answers, each as you will. Wind in the willows, when the wind is still."

Its a fun, fantastic ride of a story for small kids, and, with closer attention, a lasting emotional expierience for older viewers. I would not be the same today without its being part of me. If you've ever felt the River call you to the sea, (and as Badger says, "Wanderlust's got everyone") you will undersatnd this movie. And I believe you will love it.