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DVD The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
This 1949 Disney feature has never been available on video in its original form until now. The 68-minute film contains two shorts: The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The former is a lively version of Kenneth Grahame's book of animal adventures, including Mr. Toad, a rambunctious sort with a passion for motorcars. Basil Rathbone narrates the story. Sleepy Hollow is the Washington Irving story of a stuffy schoolmaster and his ability to win the love of the fair Katrina from the brutish Brom Van Brunt. Many fans will see a resemblance to Disney's masterpiece created some 40 years later, Beauty and the Beast, in style and story. The end is still scary enough to send youngsters under the table. Bing Crosby supplies the narration, character voices, and songs. The opening number in a library including two stories has been included in this good-looking restoration. The shorts were made in Disney's prime, a year before Cinderella, and the look is wondrous. The exaggeration of Ichabod's skinny frame and his slumping horse is a glorious example. --Doug Thomas
Review(s): DVD The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Loved Ichabod and Mr. Toad is not bad either
Like a lot of Baby Boomers growing up in the 60's and 70's I remember waiting with anticipation for this version of the Sleepy Hollow story to show up on TV around Halloween. Watching now as a middle aged adult I still think this is a wonderful animated movie and especially appropriate for the Halloween season. The animation is wonderful and Brom Bones and his sidekick had to be inspiration for Gaston any his little crony when Disney did Beauty and the Beast forty years later. Ichabod's rather ambiguous fate adds a little lingering horror to the movie though Bing Crosby's carefree narration is the opposite of scary.
Somehow I had never seen Mr. Toad until now though I have enjoyed his ride at Disneyland many times. This is a cute, well done movie but to me it is not the treasure the Ichabod portion is.
Wonderful, warm trip down memory lane!
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a charming and playful Halloween story that adults and kids will love. Bing Crosby's smooth tones are the perfect accompaniment for this old-fashionied cartoon - perfect for snuggling under the covers on a dark, rainy night! I absolutely loved it as a 7-year-old kid and I am thrilled to share it with my little boy.
The eleventh animated Disney masterpiece is a winner
I recently reviewed "Fun and Fancy Free," released just two years before this film. Walt Disney tried the same thing in that film that he did in this film; he combined two shorts into one release. Unfortunately, the technique did not work well in "Fun and Fancy Free." The technique worked very well in this feature.
The first story is that of Mr. Toad, which is a story adapted from "The Wind in the Willows." J. Thaddeus Toad is quite a fellow. Mr. Toad likes to follow the whim of the moment, and his friends have a hard time trying to keep him out of trouble. Mr. Toad is in a pickle this time. The police found Mr. Toad in a stolen car and shortly he is in prison. Weasels take over Toad Hall and Mr. Toad can do nothing about it; or can he? Soon Mr. Toad and his friends are on the run from the law, but they are trying to recover the deed to Toad Hall and clear the name of Mr. Toad in a funny and exciting adventure.
The second story is even better than the first. Ichabod is Ichabod Crane from the story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Narrated by Bing Crosby, this story is funny and nicely plotted. The story of Sleepy Hollow is nicely animated and interpreted. If you saw the wonderful version with Johnny Depp, try this one for a fun comparison.
Disney had an instant classic with this 1949 release. The two stories in this release work well, and are among some of the best animation that Disney has ever done. These stories are Halloween favorites and are worth watching again and again. This feature should entertain all but the youngest family members, who may be frightened by some images in the story of Ichabod. This DVD should be in every family's movie library.
Enjoy!
Related DVD's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
This is another collection of Disney shorts set to music, but this time the formula works. That's predicated on the inherent strength of the individual pieces and almost all of them come through. Surprisingly, two American folk heroes, Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill, are the stars of this show, with rousty little tunes, humor, and compelling linear story lines (a rarity in most of these shorts). Even the shorts that are weak in one area, thematically or musically, make up for it in another. There's very little of the Disney animators attempting to be 1940s modern, thank goodness, and there's a sterling quality in the depth of the art work. A definite plus to an animation (or Disney) collection. --Keith SimantonMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Hamilton Luske - Jack Kinney - Wilfred Jackson - Clyde Geronimi DVD Release Date: Released the 06 June 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Fun is probably worth the purchase for "Mickey and the Beanstalk," the second half of this combo-film. "Beanstalk" includes the last performance by Walt Disney of Mickey Mouse. It also has Donald Duck and Goofy as comrades who climb the beanstalk in their back yard to face Willy the Giant. This segment actually achieves the goals of the film's title. The first half, however, is "Bongo," the story of a addlepated circus bear. "Bongo" is more poky and interest-free. Dinah Shore warbles and narrates the segment, and it goes on much too long for its purpose. Don't trade your cow in for it. --Keith SimantonMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Jack Kinney - William Morgan - Hamilton Luske DVD Release Date: Released the 20 June 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I only recently watched this movie for the first time and found it to be a wonderful tale, although a different departure for Disney. I have read the books, The Chronicles of Prydain, and count them as being one of the best fantasy series' ever written. This movie is called The Black Cauldron but is really a combination of that book and The Book of Three. However I'm not going to sit here and compare the movie to the books. That would be a travesty.
To begin, the animation of this film is simpley breathtaking. This was the most expensive animated film of its era and it is definitely noticeable. The juxtaposition of color and darkness bring an eerie feeling of happiness mixed with foreboding and dread.
As a Disney oddity, they don't get much odder than Three Caballeros. Donald Duck receives a birthday package from South America, and the film proceeds to unravel like some peyote-induced hallucination. It starts out reminiscent of other Disney films, where shorts are cobbled together, such as "Make Mine Music" or "Fun and Fancy Free." The film has vignettes such as "The Cold-Blooded Penguin" and "The Flying Guachito." After them it careens straight into part-travelogue, part-stream-of-consciousness animation. Not helping out much are Donald's "friends," Joe Carioca (a parrot) and Panchito (a rooster). They spend most of the rest of the film watching Donald chase skirt. That's right, Donald Duck is a wolf in this movie, and he chases every live-action señorita who bustles... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Norman Ferguson DVD Release Date: Released the 02 May 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Sometimes referred to as "the Poor Man's Fantasia," Make Mine Music (1946) was the first of the "package features" Walt Disney released after World War II. Instead of Bach and Beethoven, the artists illustrated segments set to popular music by Benny Goodman, Dinah Shore, and the Andrews Sisters. Originally set to Debussy's "Claire de Lune," "Blue Bayou" remains an atmospheric evocation of the Everglades. "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" is a charming fantasy about a cetacean with an extraordinary voice. "Peter and the Wolf," based on the Prokofiev score, offers brightly colored designs, but the narration by Sterling Holloway seems superfluous. "All the Cats Join In" is an upbeat evocation of the Bobby Sox era, but "Casey at the Bat" and "Johnny Fedora and Alice... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jack Kinney - Joshua Meador - Clyde Geronimi - Bob Cormack - Hamilton Luske DVD Release Date: Released the 06 June 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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