Kenneth Grahame

Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) was a British author best known for his children's fiction. Early works include his childhood reminiscences The Golden Age (1895) and the short story "The Reluctant Dragon" (in which the title dragon prefers poetry and tea to combat). His most enduring work is The Wind in the Willows (1908), blending pastoral elements and fantasy with Edwardian mores and class habits. In a world where anthropomorphic animals lead a mostly countrified existence along with humans, Grahame contrasts the more rural and earthy Mole, Ratty, and Badger with the reckless upper class squire Mr. Toad, whose obsessesions with fads (notably automobiles) drive most of the events.
The book was illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard, who subsequently illustrated A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh books and poems. Milne was the first to adapt Grahame's novel for the stage, with the comedy Toad of Toad Hall (1929).
Both Wind in the Willows and "The Reluctant Dragon" have been adapted to animation by Walt Disney, Rankin/Bass, and British stop-motion animation studio Cosgrove-Hall. Apart from the Milne play, Wind in the Willows has been adapted to every medium, including radio, musicals, live-action films, comic books, and a 2002 ballet.
The pop culture imprint of "The Reluctant Dragon," in addition to the aforementioned, has been adapted by Burr Tillstrom (starring Ollie in the lead), Shirley Temple's Storybook, and a Hanna-Barbera record.
==References==
* One script draft for the unfinished Sesame Street film The Alphabet Thieves included Mr. Toad among the famed literary inhabitants of the Land of Make Believe. He gives the street residents a ride in his automobile, before his reckless driving causes his arrest by a constable.
* Rowlf the Dog, in his Muppet Magazine column "Rowlf on Books," reviewed The Wind in the Willows in issue 2 (Spring 1983) and The Reluctant Dragon in issue 5 (Winter 1984).
* Online content for Disney parks websites, as part of the Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. promotion, depicted Kermit the Frog and fellow amphibians outside Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
==Connections==
*Roger Ashton-Griffiths played the prosecution counsel in The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
*Alan Bennett wrote The Wind in the Willows (1990 play) and voiced Ratty in The Wind in the Willows (1995 TV movie) and The Willows in Winter (1996 TV movie)
*Jim Carter played the engine driver in The Wind in the Willows (2006 TV movie)
*John Cleese played Mr. Toad's lawyer in The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
*Judy Collins sang the title song in The Wind in the Willows (1987 TV movie)
*Peter Davison voiced Mole in Mole's Christmas (1994 special), The Adventures of Mole (1995 TV movie) and The Adventures of Toad (1996 TV movie)
*Tony Dunsterville built models, sets, and props for The Wind in the Willows (1983 TV movie)
*José Ferrer voiced Badger in The Wind in the Willows (1987 TV movie)
*Stephen Fry played the judge in The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
*Michael Gambon voiced Badger in The Wind in the Willows (1995 TV movie) and The Willows in Winter (1996 TV movie)
*Mark Gatiss played Rat in The Wind in the Willows (2006 TV movie)
*Nick Gillard was a stunt double for The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
*Michael Hordern played Toad in Toad of Toad Hall (1948, stage) and voiced Badger in The Wind in the Willows (1983 TV movie, 1984-1988 series) and Oh, Mr. Toad! (1989 series)
*Bob Hoskins played Badger in The Wind in the Willows (2006 TV movie)
*Terry Jones directed, wrote, and played Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
*Nathan Lane played Toad in the 1985 Broadway musical
*Hugh Laurie voiced Toad in The Adventures of Mole (1995 TV movie) and The Adventures of Toad (1996 TV movie)
*Bob McFadden voiced the magistrate in The Wind in the Willows (1987 TV movie)
*Bill Oddie voiced a sweep in The Willows in Winter (1996 TV movie)
*Vanessa Redgrave played the grandmother in The Wind in the Willows (1995 TV movie)
*Jennifer Saunders played Lady Toad in The Wind in the Willows (2020 Audible audio drama) 
*Neal Scanlan constructed model characters for The Wind in the Willows (1983 TV movie and 1984 series)
*Imelda Staunton played the barge lady in The Wind in the Willows (2006 TV movie)
*Brian Trueman wrote and voiced Henchman Weasel on The Wind in the Willows (1984-1988 series) and additional voices in The Reluctant Dragon (1987 special) 
*Alice Tweedie voiced the washer woman in The Wind in the Willows (1987 TV movie)
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Literary References