The Wind in the Willows [VHS]
If readingThe Wind in the Willowsas a child was, for you, an awakening to the near-mystical, make-believe wonders of the natural world, turning a cold shoulder on a video version of the Kenneth Grahame classic may seem to you a necessary measure to avoid memory muddling. Don't. This animated adaptation, gently narrated by Vanessa Redgrave, portrays Moley, Mr. Toad, and the rest of the riverbank battalion tastefully, wittily, and with charm by the bucketsful. True to the tale, these forest chaps are British, right down to their regal accents and suitable degrees of reserve. Lest you should conclude that such characteristics block the lecherous Toad from being a scoundrel or make Mole less of a lovable dimwit, though, the animals' adventures get under way lickety-split. Mole abandons his modest home in favor of an apprenticeship on the ways of the river alongside knowledgeable Rat and, in the movie's sole scary scene, winds up lost in the wild woods; Toad's enthusiasm for motorcars earns him a 20-year sentence and the insult of having to masquerade as a washer woman; and young Portly the otter goes missing, giving everyone a scare. Separating this cartoon caper from the herd is, of course, the writing--"nature kicks off its clothes" as part of the river's "wintertime poetry," and chums are richly celebrated; "In the company of friends," our narrator memorably intones, quoting Grahame, "even the most frugal of feasts is a banquet." Recommended for kids, and grown-ups, 3 and up.--Tammy La Gorce