The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a 1949 American film directed by Ben Sharpsteen, Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi and James Algar. The film was released on October 5, 1949.
== Plot ==
As the film's animated segments are based on literary works, they are both introduced in live-action scenes set in a library as a framing device. The first segment is introduced and narrated by Basil Rathbone, and the second segment is introduced and narrated by Bing Crosby.
=== The Wind in the Willows ===
The first segment is based on the 1908 novel by Kenneth Grahame. The scene takes place in London, England, United Kingdom between August 12,1907 and January 1, 1908. The protagonist J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq. is introduced as the story's "one disturbing element", an incurable adventurer who never counted the cost. Although he is the wealthy owner of the Toad Hall estate, Toad's adventures and positive mania for various fads have brought him to the brink of bankruptcy. As a last resort, Toad's friend Angus MacBadger volunteers as Toad's bookkeeper to help Toad keep his estate, which is a source of pride in the community.
One summer day, MacBadger asks Toad's best friends Ratty (a water rat) and Moley (a mole) to persuade Toad to give up his latest mania of recklessly driving about the countryside in a horse and gypsy cart, which is accumulating a great deal of financial liability in damaged property. Ratty and Moley confront Toad, but they are unable to change his mind. Toad then sees a motor car for the first time and becomes entranced by the new car, having been taken over by motor mania.
To keep Toad out of trouble and protect Toad Hall, Ratty and Moley lock him in his bed chambers. However, Toad breaks free and is later arrested, getting charged with car theft. At his trial, Toad represents himself and calls his horse Cyril as his first witness. Cyril testifies that the car which Toad was accused of taking had been stolen by a gang of weasels. Toad had entered a tavern where the car was parked and offered to buy the car from the gang. However, since Toad had no money, he instead offered to trade Toad Hall for the car. The prosecutor and judge show disbelief toward the statement, so Toad then calls the bartender, Mr. Winkie, as a witness. However, when told by Toad to explain what actually happened, Winkie claims instead that Toad had tried to sell him the stolen car. Toad is found guilty on the spot and sentenced to 20 years in the Tower of London. As the months passed by, Toad's friends make every effort to appeal his case, but to no avail.
Then, on Christmas Eve, Cyril visits Toad in disguise as his grandmother and helps him escape by giving him a secondary disguise of his own. Toad runs to a railway station and hijacks an engine and drives out of the station heading toward the riverbank without getting caught by the police riding another engine, coming to Ratty's house. Just then, MacBadger visits Ratty and Moley to tell them that he discovered that Winkie is the leader of the weasel gang, who have taken over Toad Hall, proving that Toad had indeed traded his estate for the stolen car; Winkie himself is in possession of the deed. Knowing that Toad is still guilty in the eyes of the law and the deed bearing his and Winkie's signature would prove Toad's innocence, the quartet sneak into Toad Hall and narrowly manage to steal the deed back following a chase around the estate.
The movie then ends on New Year's Day with Toad exonerated and regaining his house while it is implied that Winkie and the gang have been arrested. As MacBadger, Ratty, and Moley celebrate the New Year with a toast to Toad, who they believe has completely reformed, Toad and Cyril recklessly fly past on a 1903 Wright Flyer; Toad has not truly reformed and developed a mania for planes.
=== The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ===
The film starts with Ichabod Crane arriving in Sleepy Hollow, New York, a small village outside Tarrytown that is renowned for its ghostly hauntings, to be the town's new schoolmaster. Despite his odd behaviour, appearance, and effeminate mannerisms, Ichabod soon wins the hearts of the village's women and forms good friendships with his students. Brom Bones, the roguish town hero and bully, does his best to pull some pranks on Ichabod. However, Ichabod is very good at ignoring these taunts and continues to act charmingly with the townspeople. One day, Ichabod meets and falls in love with a young Dutch woman named Katrina, the beautiful daughter of the wealthy Baltus van Tassel (and Brom's unofficial fiancée). Despite being obsessed with Katrina's beauty, Ichabod mainly desires to take her family's money for himself. Brom, who has never been challenged before, proceeds to compete badly and unfairly with the schoolmaster, but Ichabod wins Katrina over at every opportunity. Intrigued by this, Katrina uses Ichabod to tease Brom, making him jealous and angry.
The two rivals are invited to the van Tassel Halloween party. Brom maniacally attempts to get Ichabod to dance with a new woman instead of Katrina, and later attempts to have him fall through a cellar door, but both attempts backfire. While both men dine, Brom catches Ichabod accidentally knocking a salt shaker over and nervously tossing salt over his shoulder. Discovering that Ichabod's weakness is superstition, he decides to sing the tale of the legendary Headless Horseman to scare him. The horseman supposedly travels the dark, spooky woods on Halloween each year, searching for a living head to replace the one which he has lost. The only way to escape the ghost is to cross a covered bridge. Katrina finds the song very amusing, while Ichabod, on the other hand, starts to fear for his life.
Riding home from the Halloween party, Ichabod becomes frightened of every sound he hears. His imagination begins to take over and heighten his fear and anxiety; as he passes through the Hollow, where the Headless Horseman is rumoured to appear. While traveling through the old European cemetery, Ichabod believes he hears the sound of a unknown horse galloping toward him, but discovers the sound is being made by nearby cattails bumping on a log. He and his horse, tired old Gunpowder, begin to laugh, however, their laughter is cut short by the appearance of the real Headless Horseman. After being chased through the forest and nearly decapitated, Ichabod, remembering Brom's advice, rides across the covered bridge to stop the ghost's pursuit. But as he looks back to see his ghostly pursuer vanish, the horseman stops and throws a jack-o'-lantern and hits him with a crash.
The next morning, Ichabod's hat is found at the bridge next to the shattered jack-o-lantern, but the schoolmaster himself is nowhere to be found. Sometime later, Brom marries Katrina. Rumours begin to spread that Ichabod is still alive, married to a wealthy widow in a distant county with children who all look like him. However, the people of Sleepy Hollow sadly insist that he has been killed by the horseman.
The film then ends with the last picture of the horseman laughing. He then becomes a figure of the animated book, which closes and returns to the shelf. As the camera moves away from the library shelves, the lights suddenly turn off. The narrator, frightened, finishes the scene by saying: "Man, I'm getting out of here."
== Cast and Characters ==
* Bing Crosby as Narrator / Ichabod Crane / Brom Bones
* Basil Rathbone as Narrator
* Eric Blore as J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq.
* J. Pat O'Malley as Cyril Proudbottom
* John McLeish as Prosecuting Attorney
* Colin Campbell as Mole
* Campbell Grant as Angus MacBadger
* Claud Allister as Water Rat
* The Rhythmaires as Sleepy Hollow Villagers
* Oliver Wallace and Alec Harford as Mr. Winkie
Category:Films
Category:Animated Films
Category:1949 Films
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