The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (G)

Two classic stories told in the best Disney style.

(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)

About Our Ratings

Common Sense rates it

Seen the movie?

Watch video review
Save It!
Email it
Compare Prices

Movie details

Studio: Disney
Directed By: James Algar
Cast: Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone
Running Time: 68 minutes
Release Date: 10/05/1949
Video/DVD Release Date: 10/03/2000
Genre: Family and Kids
MPAA Rating: G
MPAA Explanation: General Audiences

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that there is some slapstick violence in the two tales on this video. More extreme is the Headless Horseman'a multiple attempts to behead Ichabod Crane with a sword. The horseman is never actually revealed to be the town bully in disguise, so some kids may find him quite terrifying.

Families can talk about the dated stereotypes of the "coquettish" woman and strutting men who compete to "win" her. Families may also wish to read and discuss the book The Wind in the Willows, from which Mr. Toad's story is drawn, and Washington Irving's classic tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. How do the stories change between the book and the screen?

Message
Violence
Sex
Language

Message

Social Behavior:

Men compete to marry "coquette" (as she is called in the movie) Katrina von Tassel. Bram Bones uses trickery to "win" her.

Consumerism:

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Violence

Keystone Cops-like chases in Mr. Toad. The Headless Horseman attempts to behead Ichabod Crane with a sword multiple times. The horseman is never actually revealed to be the town bully in disguise, so some kids may find him quite terrifying.

Sex

Language

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by M. Faust

This Disney double-feature offers animated adaptations of two children’s literature classics: Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, and Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. In the first tale, Thaddeus Toad, adventure-loving master of Toad Hall, becomes enamored of a shining motorcar and falls afoul of a group of scheming weasels. Friends Rat, Mole, and Badger try to save Toad from himself, and from losing Toad Hall. The second story is set in a colonial New York village, where gangly schoolteacher Ichabod Crane and roughneck Brom Bones vie for the hand of heiress Katrina Van Tassel. Just when it seems that Ichabod has won with his refined grace, Brom plays on his rival's superstitious nature with a Halloween tale of the headless horseman, a legend that terrifies Ichabod on a long nighttime ride home.

Is it any good?

Often overlooked even by Disney fans, this is classic Disney animation at its best and features Basil Rathbone and Bing Crosby as narrators. With a cozy Edwardian setting, a dollop of slapstick violence, and a variety of British stereotypes, the tale of Mr. Toad is an endearing foray into Merrie Olde England.

The American tale is a bit more ambitious, and not without its drawbacks. Some of the animation and design owe as much to Van Gogh as to Disney's own Fantasia. With his long limbs and oversized ears and nose, Ichabod Crane is certainly a memorable creation; Katrina and Brom Bones seem dull by comparison. The climactic sequence of Ichabod and the pumpkin-headed horseman is truly gripping, making it too intense for younger or more sensitive children. The Bing Crosby songs that pad it out are by far the weakest part of this otherwise first-rate tale.