An animated adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" followed by an adaptation of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".If this film is to be criticized, it is for the cheap attempt to make a feature-length film from two unrelated stories. Either of them could have been a full 70-to-90 minutes, and films such as "Sleepy Hollow" have proved that. Instead we get two short films packaged together to create a full film... which it clearly is not.That concern aside, the stories are both good and done with excellent animation. It has been said that Brom Bones was an inspiration for Gaston. If he was not, it is quite a coincidence because the two have a great deal in common despite living indifferent eras and countries.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)*** (out of 4)This here is a pretty good Disney film that takes two famous stories and adds that magical touch to them. The first story is based on The Wind and the Willows with the second being based around The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD isn't the greatest film to come from Disney but it certainly has enough great animation to make it worth sitting through. It's really strange that the studio would put these two stories together since they're so different and apparently in the years that followed it was the second film that got released on its own. I'd agree that the adaptation of Sleepy Hollow was the better of the two films but at the same time there's some better animation to be found in the first.Again, this is Disney so the animation skills are extremely high and I especially thought that the background work in the first film simply jumped off the screen. This is especially true in the scenes where there's a lot of action moving around in the front. Just take a look at the background and see how much sharp detail is there. The second film also looks beautiful and contains some terrific images and especially the scene where the pumpkin head is thrown towards the camera.Neither short has that much character development and I'd say that the direction of both is rather laid back at times. Still, there's no question that there's some very good vocal work and the animation is top level.

"The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" is one of the anthology films that Disney was putting out around the late forties. These include films like "Make Mine Music", "Fun & Fancy Free", and "Melody Time", among a few others. After having seen "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad", I'm excited to explore some of these Disney anthology films which I have been, surprisingly, unaware of for the longest time!The premise of this film is simple, two classic tales ("The Wind in the Willows" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow") are adapted in the animated Disney format, and are shown back to back. They are two really different stories, that also make two very different short films, But, they both have their similarities. They're both dark, while still being very light and funny at times, and they are both GREAT!Although people seem to always give the "Sleepy Hollow" segment the most credit, "The Wind in the Willows" adaptation is equally fantastic in my opinion. The humor, characters, and engaging story keep it very entertaining and, simply, amazing! "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" may seem to have a much more memorable climax, but, to me, "The Wind in the Willows" also deserves a lot of credit! It is an excellent piece of animation!Now, this doesn't mean that I think that "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is worse or anything, I think it deserves equal credit and is equally classic! In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", we get a pretty different format than we did in "The Wind in the Willows". "The Wind in the Willows" is made in a much more conventional way than "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", and this is mainly due to one artistic decision. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" has practically no dialogue! Everything we need to know is narrated and song by Bill Cosby, or is just shown to us visually. This works very well and makes the short a bit more interesting than it already was.Of course, the climax between Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman is absolutely classic and has always been the part that everybody remembers. And how couldn't they? It is an amazing scene! It is chaotic, scary, and even includes a bit of visual gags along the way. Even the scene leading up to the climax, as Ichabod is going through the woods with his horse is stunning, and is even creepier than the climax, in a sense. The atmosphere there is so heavy, that I got a really eerie vibe out of it.In the end, these are two very different classic tales put together in a film that couldn't be more perfect!

I feel I should confess that I have never read the original book "The Wind in the Willows", nor have I read the "Sleepy Hollow" story. So I can't say how accurate to their source material these two animated adaptations are. But at least I can judge the movie on its own merits.First, I'll get to the negative side of the movie. Each story runs a little more than half an hour, and that seems to be the wrong choice for both stories. With "Willows", it's not enough time. The story seems very rushed, and there's little chance for character development. With "Hollow", the running time seems to be a little much. There are several instances when the thin story comes to a screeching halt for an extended period.However, despite the flawed storytelling, the movie is fairly enjoyable. "Willows" has a lot of comedy and action that will please both kids and adults. "Hollow" takes a little time to get going, but it does finally deliver some effective spooky moments, especially if you watch it on Halloween as I did. Both stories are well animated, and each have some interesting touches by the three credited directors. While the movie is no classic, it does provide enough entertainment and interest for those in an easygoing mood, especially if you also have an interest in animation.