The Wind in the Willows (1983 film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Wind in the Willows |
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Cover of the American DVD release by A&E Home Entertainment
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| Directed by | Mark Hall Chris Taylor (animation director) |
| Produced by | Brian Cosgrove Mark Hall John Hambley |
| Screenplay by | Rosemary Anne Sisson |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Keith Hopwood (music and score) Malcolm Rowe (lyrics and score) |
| Editing by | John McManus |
| Studio | Cosgrove Hall Films |
| Distributed by | Independent Television (ITV) |
| Release date(s) | 27 December 1983 |
| Running time | 79 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Wind in the Willows is a 1983 British stop-motion animated film. It was made by Cosgrove Hall Films for Thames Television and shown on the ITV network. The movie is based on the famous 1908 book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
This film won a BAFTA award and an international Emmy award. After the film, Cosgrove-Hall made a 52-episode TV series from 1984 to 1990. The film acted as the first episode. The music and songs were created by Keith Hopwood and Malcolm Rowe.
Plot Summary
Mole is tired of spring cleaning his underground home. He decides to go for a walk in the countryside. Soon, he reaches the river and meets Ratty, who lives there. They quickly become good friends.
Ratty loves showing Mole new things. He takes Mole on a fun boat trip down the river. During a picnic, they spot Badger in the bushes. Ratty invites him to join them, but Badger politely declines and leaves. Ratty explains that Badger is friendly but prefers to be alone.
Mole asks about Badger's home, the Wild Wood. Ratty warns him that it's not a safe place for animals like them. Before Ratty can explain more, the Chief Weasel and his helper arrive. While the Chief talks nicely, his helper secretly steals their potted meat. Ratty tells Mole that the weasels cannot be trusted.
Ratty then takes Mole to visit Toad at his huge house, Toad Hall. Toad invites them on a trip in his colorful gypsy caravan. His horse, Alfred, pulls the caravan. That night, Ratty misses his river home, but he stays with Mole.
The next day, a passing car scares Alfred. The caravan crashes into a ditch. Toad immediately decides that cars are amazing! He calls his caravan old-fashioned and says cars are the only way to travel. Toad then buys many cars, but he crashes them all very quickly.
Summer and autumn pass, and winter arrives. Ratty and Mole are tired of Toad's reckless driving. They decide to ask Badger for help. Ratty says it's too late to go to the Wild Wood. But Mole, eager to help, sets out alone after Ratty falls asleep.
Mole reaches the Wild Wood and meets a weasel. Forgetting Ratty's warning, he asks for directions to Badger's house. The weasel sends him the wrong way. As night falls, Mole gets lost and scared by the strange sounds. The weasels start following him. Terrified, Mole trips and falls in the snow.
He calls out for Ratty. Back at the river, Ratty wakes up and finds Mole's note. Fearing the worst, Ratty bravely enters the Wild Wood with two pistols and a club. After searching, he finds a weak Mole. Mole has stumbled right onto Badger's house, tripping over the door scraper hidden in the snow.
Badger is surprised but happy to see Ratty and Mole. He invites them inside to warm up. They discuss Toad's crazy car obsession. The next morning, they visit Toad Hall. Badger tries to talk sense into Toad, but Toad still refuses to listen. Badger realizes Toad's problem is worse than he thought.
Badger locks Toad in his bedroom, with Ratty and Mole watching him. The next day, Toad pretends to be sick. He asks Ratty to get a lawyer. Toad then escapes! He stops a passing car driven by Reggie and his wife, Rosemary. Toad pretends to be a fellow driver and asks them to check his "flat crank shaft." As soon as they get out, Toad steals their car. He speeds away, almost hitting a policeman.
Meanwhile, Mole smells his old home on the breeze and starts to cry. Ratty feels bad for not noticing Mole was homesick. He insists they return to Mole End for Christmas. Some young field mice come carol singing. Ratty and Mole invite them for Christmas dinner. The mice tell them Toad has been arrested. Ratty and Mole feel guilty for their friend.
In court, the jury is full of weasels. The judge, Mrs. Carrington-Moss, gives Toad a very long prison sentence. The jailer's daughter feels sorry for Toad. She helps him escape by dressing him as a washerwoman. Toad walks out of prison and goes to a train station. He tricks the train driver into giving him a free ride home.
However, another train with the police, Reggie, Rosemary, Mrs. Carrington-Moss, and the clerk soon chases him. The driver discovers Toad's identity. Toad confesses, and the driver slows the train a little. Toad jumps off and rolls down a hill into a field.
Toad then visits Ratty's house. Mole tells him that the weasels have attacked Badger and taken over Toad Hall. Toad is sad, but Badger has a plan! He knows about a secret tunnel into Toad Hall, which Toad's late father told him about.
Mole, wearing Toad's washerwoman disguise, visits the weasels. He tells them a false story about an army of badgers, rats, and toads coming to attack. This story makes the weasels scared. The Chief Weasel puts most of his men at the gates and on the walls. This makes it easier for the friends to retake Toad Hall from the inside.
That night, the friends sneak through the tunnel. They surprise the weasels in the dining hall. Toad swings from the chandeliers during the fight. He eventually falls on the Chief Weasel, knocking him out. After winning, Badger, Mole, and Ratty look forward to a peaceful future. But then, Toad flies overhead in his new "Flying Machine"! His engine stalls, and he crashes into the river. During the end credits, the river animals pull Toad and his machine out of the water.
Making the Film
In this film, the weasels are much more important. They are also more evil and scary than in Kenneth Grahame's original book. The main dining hall and grand staircase of Toad Hall were inspired by the ones at Leap Castle in Ireland.
Cast
- David Jason as Toad and the Chief Weasel
- Richard Pearson as Mole
- Ian Carmichael as Ratty
- Sir Michael Hordern as Badger
- Beryl Reid as Mrs Carrington-Moss, the magistrate
- Una Stubbs as the Jailor's daughter and Rosemary, Reggie's wife
- Jonathan Cecil as Reggie, the motorist
- Brian Trueman as Henchman Weasel and various voices
- Allan Bardsley as Alfred the Horse, the Policeman and the Jailer
- Edward Kelsey as the Engine Driver and the Clerk
