Sunday, February 26, 2017

Chris' #99: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Kinney, Geronimi, Algar, 1949)


Starring: Eric Blore, Pat O'Malley, Colin Campbell, Bing Crosby
Directors: Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, James Algar
Writers: Erdman Penner, Winston Hibler, Joe Rinaldi, Ted Sears, Homer Brightman, Harry Reeves, Kenneth Grahame, Washington Irving
Release Date: October 5th, 1949

First Time
It's almost impossible to pinpoint the exact year when I saw this for the first time. Also, because Disney separated the two movies in 1955, I may have watched separate VHS tapes of both segments. But I watched both a countless number of times as a kid.

Why it's on the List
This was a late add to my list. I can't remember what I removed to make space for it, but I'm glad I have an opportunity to talk about it. Of all of the animated movies that I watched as kid, these two shorts have stuck with me the most. Both provide some great laughs and scares for children. It's funny how kids will often watch and rewatch things that scare them. While The Wind in the Willows isn't necessarily scary, there are moments in that gave me anxiety as a small child. I hated the weasels and I think Toad's escape from prison gave me an uneasy feeling. The moment I love the most from both of these shorts is the heist sequence at Toad Hall. It was one of my favorite things to watch when I was younger. So enjoyable.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is also a lot of fun, and Bing Crosby's voice is perfect for the narration - it really gives it that urban legend/folklore feel. The animation for this segment is especially beautiful. I love the animation during the Headless Horseman sequence.

Also pretty cool that RKO released this.

Additional Notes/Stats
  • Technically, this doesn't break the one stupid rule I had for this project (not that I ever cared to enforce it anyway), since Disney released this as a 68 minute movie in theaters. I didn't realize that the two were packaged together until recently.
  • This is one of three animated films on my list.
  • This is the first time that Bing Crosby is mentioned on my list, but it won't be the last.

3 comments:

  1. I haven't seen these since I was a kid. I have to confess that I thought of them as cheap third-rate Disney titles.

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  2. This is more of a "meant a lot to me as a kid" pick than a "this is brilliant" pick. Third-rate seems hyperbolic, but sure, more thought and work was put into movies like Snow White or Pinocchio. My confession is that this was a late substitution. I had another movie queued up at 99, but I didn't have much to say about it. Instead, I moved it up the list and plan on rewatching it again soon so I'll have more to say.

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  3. My kids liked this.

    It's pleasant enough, but mostly it made me wish I was rereading the source material instead.

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