Very disappointed :(

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Since the start of WWII, Disney's feature films were compilations of short films strung together, often unrelated to each other. Some of these were ideas for single narrative feature films. This would be the last of those package features, while gearing up for the return to the single narratives.The only thing that the two featured stories have in common is that they're both well known stories in literature; One British and one American. Although The Wind And The Willows was published within the lifetimes of Walt and his staff. The wrap arounds take place in a quaint live action Technicolor library.Both films have very strong character animation and excellent staging. Toad and Cyril are fun and entertaining characters. I love the dark and dramatic staging during Toad's escape from prison and they're sneak into Toad Hall to retrieve the Deed. Later generations will recognize virtually every character from this segment in MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL (1983). Sadly, by that time all the voice actors were long gone. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow seems like a curious choice for a Disney adaptation. Bing Crosby's smooth narration enhances the upbeat and suspenseful moments. While most of the action is pantomime, the character animation is still top notch. Most of the sequences revolve around the rivalry between Ichabod and Brom Bones over Katrina. The memorable scenes come toward the end during Ichabod's spooky journey through the woods late at night and his terrifying, but comical, encounter with the Headless Horseman. Both stories are condensed versions of the original stories but are otherwise faithful to their source material. One can imagine how these would have looked had Disney produced them as separate feature length films. The best time to watch this is during the Holidays.

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is the 65-year-old Disney approach to the famous tale, which was obviously done long before Tim Burton got his hands on the material. And it is a success, I believe, because several components were competently done and this resulted in a pretty good overall outcome. First of all, the animation is nice and it is a half-hour cartoon which is truly atmospheric. Secondly, Bing Crosby's narration worked from start to finish adding the right mixture of drama and comedy to the scenes we see. And most of all: The school teacher. Now, he is a pretty memorable character and it almost makes me sad to see that the other guy got the girl in the end because I felt that the one who wins was so colorless and forgettable really. Some time later this half hour was picked, mixed together with another relative long short film and so they had a feature film out of this. It even won a Golden Globe and that makes up for the short film from 1949 running empty on the awards front. Anyway, that's how it goes I guess. I had a good time watching this and I recommend it. Of course this should not come as a surprise as this half hour was directed by the makers of "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty", "Alice in Wonderland", "Dumbo", "Pinocchio" etc. So from that perspective, it's more of a surprise that this did not turn out even better. But let's not be greedy here. Give it a watch."The Wind in the Willows" is a Disney animated short film, which runs for slightly over half an hour and was made over 65 years ago. I have to say from that duology I found the Ichabod part more interesting. This one here is basically about the adventures of a toad and it's again made in a way that it's not only for children, but also includes some more serious references here and there although not as many as Ichabod and also no horror references. I personally felt that this film here dragged on several occasions and did not really have too many memorable characters. For Ichabod they got Bing Crosby as the narrator and for this one here they got Basil Rathbone, a two-time Academy Award nominated actor who is today mostly known for his participation in the Robin Hood film and for his Sherlock Holmes performances of course. The rest of the cast here I am not familiar with. All in all, I must say the animation was okay, but the story just did not feel memorable at all to me this time. Not recommended.

The final of Disney's package films from the 40s, before they returned to full-length feature animations with Cinderella, and pretty much also the best of them. This time we only get two shorts, both of them adaptations of great literary classics. We have The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, both in the same film.First, The Wind in the Willows, tells the story of one Mr. Toad as he's once gain touched with a hint of craziness, this time towards automobiles, as he once again begins the ruin his family's fortunes and glory in pursuit of thrills. The characters are substantially different from the book, which can be a problem if you're die-hard fan of the novel, but they work very well in the boundaries of this particular film, so I have no real complaints. Besides, the original book is a bit... wilder, despite being a children's novel. To summarize, a good segment with flawless animation, great characters, good humour and a plot just long enough for the segment.Our second segment tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a school teacher sent to educate the feeble young minds of one Sleepy Hollow. Crane takes the small village by storm, despite his wimpy frame and general cowardliness, being both educated and well-mannered, rare feats in such a rural settlement. But then the mystical rears its head and Crane is forced to face something beyond even his considerable understanding. A great segment as well, with a magnificent leading man, as well as a villain that's one of the spookiest Disney has ever made.My only real problems with this film is that I kind of wish they had made full-length movies out of the two segments. Sleepy Hollow especially would have been fantastic as a full Disney movie.

This is two classic stories in one film. Mr. Toad's story is from the classic book "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame. Ichabod's story is from the classic short tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving. Both cartoon shorts are good and quite funny. But out of the two of them it is Ichabod's tale that is my favorite (I love "ghost stories).I saw this film when I was a kid in the 1970's. They actually brought this film back into the movie houses (big screen) instead of television - so my parents brought me to see the film. I feel in love with it and remembered it all these years later. I recently re-watched this movie -- and yes it is still a fun watch even at my age.This movie is good for the entire family and the kids are sure to love it. It's a good film anytime but really would make a great Halloween/Holiday film.8.5/10