The Wind in the Willows (1996 film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Wind in the Willows
UK DVD front cover
Directed by	Terry Jones
Produced by	Jake Eberts John Goldstone
Screenplay by	Terry Jones
Starring	Terry Jones Eric Idle Steve Coogan Nicol Williamson John Cleese Julia Sawalha Victoria Wood Stephen Fry Michael Palin Antony Sher
Music by	John Du Prez
Cinematography	David Tattersall
Editing by	Julian Doyle
Studio	Allied Filmmakers
Distributed by	Guild Pathé Cinema
Release date(s)	18 October 1996 (1996-10-18) (UK)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£9.75 million
Money made	£1.303 million

The Wind in the Willows (also known in the United States as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride) is a fun 1996 British adventure comedy film. It was written and directed by Terry Jones, who also stars in the movie. The film is based on the classic 1908 book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. It features a great cast including Steve Coogan, Eric Idle, and Nicol Williamson. The movie first came out in the United Kingdom on October 18, 1996.

Story of the Film

The movie begins when Mole's cozy underground home is destroyed. Mean Weasels bulldoze the meadow above his house. It turns out that Mr. Toad sold the land to pay for his newest hobby: traveling in a caravan. Mole is very sad and goes to find Water Rat for comfort.

Seeing how upset Mole is, Rat takes him to see Toad. Toad tries to cheer them up by inviting them to join him in his new horse-drawn caravan. But a fast car scares the horse, and the caravan tips over! Right away, Toad forgets about the caravan and becomes obsessed with cars. He's a terrible driver and borrows money from the Weasels to buy more cars. The Weasels' tricky Chief tries to convince Toad to sell his grand home, Toad Hall.

After a wild drive into the scary Wild Wood, Toad crashes his seventh car. Toad, Rat, and Mole get lost in the Weasels' unwelcoming hideout. The Weasels try to trick Mole into stopping his friends from getting in their way. Toad is also attacked by the Weasels. The three friends end up at Mr. Badger's underground house. Badger was a close friend of Toad's father and wants to protect Toad's family home. He tries to make Toad stop loving cars.

But Toad won't listen to Badger. Soon, Toad is arrested for stealing and crashing a car outside a pub. During his trial, Toad's lawyer can't help much because Toad acts so rude. Plus, the Weasels are watching closely. The Chief Weasel pretends to be one of the rabbits on the jury and tricks the jury into saying Toad is guilty. After Toad insults the court and tries to escape, the angry Judge sentences him to one hundred years in a castle dungeon.

Back at Toad Hall, Rat and Mole are kicked out by the Weasels, who have taken over Toad Hall. Rat and Mole dig a tunnel under the castle to free Toad. But Toad is also helped by the kind Jailer's daughter and her sarcastic Tea Lady Aunt. Toad escapes by dressing up as the Tea Lady.

Toad accidentally leaves his wallet in his cell. Toad, Rat, and Mole then jump onto a train. The police, who were hiding on the train, demand that it stop. Toad tells the driver the truth and begs for help to get away. Feeling sorry for Toad, the driver agrees. He throws coal at the police but gets caught in a mail catcher. Toad takes control of the train. Mole accidentally unhooks the train cars, leaving Rat and Mole far behind. Toad eventually crashes the engine. He survives and sets off again but is captured by the Weasels.

The Weasels' full plan is now revealed: they have built a dog-food factory where Mole's home used to be. They plan to blow up Toad Hall and build a slaughterhouse there to turn all the peaceful animals into dog food. They have also damaged the area near Badger's home, which makes him want to get even with them. Badger and Rat try to sneak into Toad Hall dressed as weasels, but they are discovered. Along with Toad, they are put above the factory's grinding machine. The Chief, Clarence, and Geoffrey go back to Toad Hall to get ready for their victory party, leaving St. John in charge of the machine. Mole, who has broken into the factory, stops the machine, allowing Toad, Badger, and Rat to escape.

Thinking they had already won, Clarence and Geoffrey try to get rid of their Chief using a birthday cake. Clarence and Geoffrey start fighting each other for leadership, and the other Weasels drunkenly pick sides. This distraction allows the good guys to attack the house, leaving all the Weasels knocked out in the fight. It turns out the Chief survived the attempt on his life. Toad tries to stop him from reaching the factory, which has the detonator to blow up Toad Hall. But Toad fails. Unknown to both of them, the explosives are actually in the factory (Rat had swapped the labels on the explosive containers earlier, making the Weasels think they were bone supplies for the factory). So, the Chief blows himself up along with the factory, leaving Toad Hall safe and Toad's friends alive.

After all this, Toad gives a public speech. He promises to stop loving cars and to be more grown-up and less selfish in the future. Mole's home has been fixed. However, Toad is secretly seen talking to an airplane salesman, which shows he has just found a new craze. Toad flies over the crowd in his new plane, causing everyone to panic. A disappointed Badger promises never to help Toad again. During the end credits, Toad flies across the country and eventually over the sea.

Main Characters

Songs in the Movie

• "Messing About On The River" (Tony Hatch) – Rat sings this song at the beginning as he and Mole go for a picnic on the river.
• "Secret of Survival" – The Weasels sing this song, explaining that they only care about themselves.
• "Mr. Toad" – Toad sings this song. The words come straight from the original book. It's split into three parts: one about his escape from Toad Hall, one during his trial, and one after the train crash.
• "Friends Is What We Is" – Toad, Badger, Mole, and Rat sing this as they kick the Weasels out of Toad Hall and during the party at the end.
• "Miracle of Friends" – This song plays during the end credits.

Why the Movie's Name Changed in America

When the film first came out in the U.S. with its original name, it didn't get much attention. This was because of problems with the companies distributing it. It only had a small release in late 1997, and not many ads were made. Money earned in the UK was also low because the movie was mostly shown in the afternoons.

Later, newspapers in New York wondered why such a great children's film was not promoted well by distributors. The New York Times even published a very good review by Lawrence Van Gelder. However, in 1998, Disney released the film on VHS. They changed its name to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. This was done to connect it to their theme park ride at Disneyland. Disney later released the movie on DVD in 2004.