The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

A rather erratic anthology film, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad features a pair of stories detailing, first, the tale of The Wind in the Willows‘ Mr. Toad and, second, Ichabod Crane’s terrifying encounter with the Headless Horseman. It’s clear, ultimately, that it’s the Mr. Toad portion of the proceedings that fares best, as the tale boasts (and benefits from) a consistently engaging and entertaining atmosphere heightened by stellar animation and a genuinely appealing protagonist – with, in addition, the narrative’s propulsive bent carrying the short through to its satisfying, fitting conclusion. And while the Ichabod Crane segment is as visually appealing as its counterpart, there’s little doubt that the somewhat aimless bent of the opening stretch, with its less-than-enthralling emphasis on Crane’s exploits, ensuring that one’s interest remains at a minimum until the Headless Horseman arrives – with everything involving that iconic character certainly as engrossing (and surprisingly frightening) as one might’ve hoped. The end result is a decent-enough Disney endeavor that could probably have been trimmed down substantially, although there are enough entertaining attributes here to, in the final analysis, warrant a mild recommendation.

**1/2 out of ****