Q: One of my all-time favorite Disney movies, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, was released on Blu-ray August 12. Mr. Toad is one of my favorite characters and it makes me crazy like the Toad Hall-owner that I cannot find any information on the making of this movie anywhere! Could you share some interesting facts most Disney fans would not know about the movie? Also, what kind of items do you have archived from the Ichabod and Mr. Toad movie or the wild ride that was inspired by it?
Trent, Minneapolis, Minnesota
A: During the 1940s, with the Disney Studio having financial problems due to the war, Walt decided to release a bunch of feature packages that were made up of two or more shorter films. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was the last of those package films. It juxtaposed a famous American tall tale, by Washington Irving, with an even better-known British tale by Kenneth Grahame. Bing Crosby and Basil Rathbone were hired to narrate the two segments. The film took more than two years to complete, and was one of the shorter Disney animated features at 68 minutes.
Dave Smith