The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
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| The Wind in the Willows | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Terry Jones |
| Produced by | Jake Eberts John Goldstone |
| Written by | Kenneth Grahame Terry Jones |
| Starring | Steve Coogan Eric Idle Terry Jones Antony Sher Nicol Williamson John Cleese Stephen Fry Bernard Hill |
| Music by | John Du Prez |
| Cinematography | David Tattersall |
| Editing by | Julian Doyle |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures (1997 /USA) Walt Disney (2004 /USA) |
| Release date(s) | 18 October 1996 |
| Running time | 96 min. / USA:90 min. |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Wind in the Willows, released on video in the U.S. as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, is a 1996 adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic novel The Wind in the Willows (which shows the ever changing world of the British countryside through the eyes of animals), although it differs substantially from the novel. It was also notable, because it starred John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin (all of whom were previous Monty Python members).
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Mole's underground home is knocked in when the field is bulldozed by Weasels; the field is owned by Mr. Toad, who has sold it to raise money to finance his latest hobby: motor-cars. Mole flees to the river and meets Rat, who is getting ready to embark on a picnic. Seeing Mole's distress, Rat decides to take Mole to see Mr. Toad. Yet Toad, completely engrossed with motor cars, is not responsive to their appeals, but instead falls further into the lures of the Weasels. There are four main weasel characters in the film. Their leader is the villainous Chief Weasel, who is always accompanied by three main henchman- Clarence and Geoffrey, who couldn't get along with each other to save their lives, and St.John, whose attempts at sycophancy always go disastrously wrong. During a wild drive into the Dark Forest, which results in one more car being destroyed, all three end up in Mr. Badger's underground abode. Badger, a close friend of Toad's late father and feeling responsible for Toad's reckless conduct regarding his inheritance, is awakened from his deep sleep. As soon as he learns the news, Badger takes the initiative to put some sense back in Toad's head.
However, Toad refuses to listen to Badger and continues his reckless behavior which ultimately ends up with him being arrested for stealing and crashing a new motor-car. During his trial, Toad's defense lawyer proves to be worse than the prosecution. Furthermore, the Weasels have blackmailed the jury into finding Toad guilty. The judge initially sentences Toad to twenty years in prison, but after Toad insults the Court and makes a botched escape attempt, the judge increases the sentence to one-hundred years. With the help of a sympathetic tea lady, Toad manages to escape from jail but only to get caught again by the Weasels, who in the meanwhile have taken over Toad Hall. They are planning to blow it up, and have built a dog-food factory over the remains of Mole's house (They also plan to construct a slaughterhouse over the remains of Toad hall). Meanwhile, their activities have damaged Badger's home, which provokes him into taking decisive action against them. They attempt to break into Toad Hall, but are caught by the weasels. Along with Toad, they are placed in the factory's mincing machine under the orders of the Chief Weasel. When he is gone, however, Mole (who has broken into the factory) disables the machine, enabling them to escape.
Lulled by a premature sense of victory, the Weasels become less watchful and their leaders start quarreling among themselves for leadership, allowing the protagonists to stage a raid on the house. All the weasels are incapacitated relatively quickly, save the Chief who escapes. Toad attempts to stop him reaching the factory, containing the detonator necessary to blow up Toad Hall, to no avail. Unbeknownst to both of them, the explosives are actually in the factory (Rat had switched the labels to the barrels earlier in the film), an as such the Chief blows up himself along with the factory. Afterwards, Toad makes a public speech swearing off motor cars and promising to be wiser and less prideful in the future. However, moments later, Toad flies off in an airplane, suggesting he hasn't changed a bit after all. The film ends with Toad flying out across the country, and eventually over the sea.
The production also features songs;
"Messing About On The River" sung at the beginning by Ratty, as he and Mole set out for a picnic on the river.
"Secret of Survival" sung by the Weasels, explaining their "only out for themselves" way of life.
A song by Mr. Toad, taken directly from the novel- the lyrics of Mr. Toad's song of self-praise have been set to music.
"Friends Is What We Is" sung by Toad, Badger, Mole and Ratty, as they proceed to drive the Weasles out of Toad Hall.
"Miracle of Friends" another song about friendship, sung as the end credits go up.
[edit] Cast
- Terry Jones as Mr. Toad
- Steve Coogan as Mole
- Eric Idle as Rat (or 'Ratty')
- Nicol Williamson as Badger
- Antony Sher as Chief Weasel
- Stephen Fry as The Judge
- John Cleese as Mr. Toad's Lawyer
- Michael Palin as The Sun
- Bernard Hill as The Engine Driver
- Nigel Planer as The Car Salesman
- Julia Sawalha as The Jailer's Daughter
- Victoria Wood as The Tea Lady
- Don Henderson as The Sentry
- Robert Bathurst as St John Weasel
- Richard James as Geoffrey Weasel and Mole's Clock
- Keith-Lee Castle as Clarence Weasel
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths as The Prosecution Counsel
- Nick Gillard as a stunt double
[edit] Production
The Wind in the Willows was produced by Allied Filmmakers in the UK and was then distributed by Columbia Pictures (1997 /USA), Columbia TriStar, Pathé and Walt Disney Home Video (2004 /USA). Terry Jones (who plays Mr. Toad), one of the legendary Monty Python cast, teams up with some of the remaining Pythons to bring the classic tale up to date for another generation to enjoy. Eric Idle as Rat, plays a major role, but John Cleese and Michael Palin have only small roles (as Toad's barrister and The Sun, respectively). Terry Gilliam was asked to voice 'The River', but busy filming schedules kept him from joining the cast.
[edit] Distribution problems in the U.S.
When the film first appeared in the U.S. under its original title, it got pushed aside due to distributors' problems and very little promotional material was published. Subsequently, New York papers wondered why such a wonderful children's film was dumped by distributors. The New York Times published a very positive review by Lawrence Van Gelder [1]. Yet, to add to the confusion, Disney Productions, in their video release changed its name to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, to tie into their amusement park ride (the Walt Disney World version of which was put to an end in 1998).
[edit] Awards
The films won the Best of the Fest award at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival in 1998 and the WisKid Award at the Wisconsin International Children's Film Festival in 2000.
[edit] Box office
In the U.K. the film sub-totaled £1,143,011 (17 November 1996) and in the U.S.A $72,844 (2 November 1997) on 65 screens.
[edit] Filming
- The filming was done mostly during sunset, and the colours were then readjusted.[citation needed]
[edit] Locations
- Filming for the railway scenes were shot on the Bluebell Railway, disguised as part of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (the Bluebell is home to a number of SE&CR locomotives, and as part of the old London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, the neighbouring railway to the SE&CR the disguise was not difficult to complete effectively). This is the first film to use the SE&CR for the Wind in the Willows - the railway in most adaptations of the story is the Great Western Railway (although the book itself does not specify this[citation needed]).
- The scenes of the outside of Toad Hall were shot at Kentwell Hall in Suffolk.
- The external scenes of the Gaol are Dover Castle in Kent.
