The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
Encyclopedia
The Wind in the Willows, released on video in the U.S.
as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, is a 1996 adaptation of Kenneth Grahame
's classic novel The Wind in the Willows
(which shows the ever changing world of the British countryside through the eyes of animals), although it differs substantially from the novel. It was also notable in that it starred John Cleese
, Eric Idle
, Terry Jones
and Michael Palin
(all of whom were previous Monty Python
members).
), who has sold it to finance his latest fad; caravanning. Mole (Steve Coogan
) flees to the river and meets the Water Rat (Eric Idle
), who is getting ready to embark on a picnic. Seeing Mole's distress, Rat decides to take Mole to see Mr. Toad. Toad encourages them to travel with him on the Open Road, in his newly bought canary-coloured cart. Disaster strikes when a pair of joyriders in a motor car knock over the cart. Toad, however, instantly discards the cart and becomes obsessed with motoring. He is a reckless driver, however, and ends up needing more money from the weasels. Their Chief (Antony Sher), tries to persuade him to sell Toad Hall.
Accompanying their Chief on his mission to steal Toad Hall are Clarence Weasel (Keith-Lee Castle
) and Geoffrey Weasel (Richard James
), who both passionately hate one another, as becomes more obvious each time we see them, and St. John Weasel (Robert Bathurst
), who attempts to suck up to the chief, but his bumbling stupidity always rubs him up the wrong way. The Weasels have plans to build on Toad's meadow- St John almost reveals what they have in mind, but the Chief prevents him from doing so.
During a crazy drive into the Wild Wood, resulting in the destruction of another car, all three protagonists are lost in the inhospitable place. Mole encounters the Weasels, who attempt to coerce him into stopping his friends from interfering with their plans. They later encounter Toad, after fleeing when Rat arrives. All three protagonists end up in Mr. Badger's underground abode. Badger (Nicol Williamson
), a close friend of Toad's late father and feeling responsible for Toad's reckless conduct regarding his inheritance, is awakened from his deep sleep. As soon as he learns the news, Badger takes the initiative to put some sense back in Toad's head.
However, Toad refuses to listen to Badger and continues his reckless behavior which ultimately ends up with him being arrested for stealing and crashing a new motor-car. During his trial, Toad's defense lawyer (John Cleese
) proves to be more of a problem than the prosecution. Furthermore, the Weasels are dominating the public box, and the Chief Weasel is posing as one of the rabbits in the Jury, and coerces the terrified creatures into finding Toad guilty. The Judge (Stephen Fry
) initially sentences Toad to twenty years in prison, but after Toad insults the Court and makes a botched escape attempt, the Judge increases the sentence gradually, eventually resulting in a hundred-year sentence. With the help of the sympathetic Jailer's Daughter (Julia Sawalha) and her reluctant Tea Lady Aunt (a cameo from Victoria Wood), Toad escapes, disguised as the latter.
Along with Rat and Mole, he climbs aboard a train engine. During the course of the journey, the police demand for the train to be stopped; Toad confesses and begs the driver (Bernard Hill) to help him evade his captors. If only to protect his train, the driver agrees to help. He tosses coal lumps at the police, but gets caught in a mail catcher. Toad takes control of the train and is separated. He eventually crashes the engine, though he miraculously survives. Toad sets off again but only to get caught again by the Weasels, who in the meantime have taken over Toad Hall.
The full extent of their twisted plans are revealed: they have built a dog-food factory over the remains of Mole's house and are planning to blow up Toad Hall, and build a huge slaughterhouse in its place, with which they will 'process' all of the peaceful Riverbank dwellers, and turn them into dogfood. Along with this, their activities have also damaged Badger's home, which provokes him into taking decisive action against them. Badger and Rat attempt to break into Toad Hall, but are caught by for the victory celebrations, leaving St John in charge of the machine. Mole who has broken into the factory; disables the machine, enabling them to escape.
Lulled by a premature sense of victory, the Chief Weasel's henchmen turn traitor, and attempt to blow him up using a Toad Hall shaped birthday cake, and Clarence and Geoffrey begin quarreling among themselves for leadership, with the other Weasels taking sides drunkenly. This allows the protagonists to stage a raid on the house, leaving all the weasels incapacitated in the ensuing fight. However, the Chief is revealed to still be alive, and he escapes the scene, and is pursued by Toad. Toad attempts to stop him from reaching the factory, containing the detonator necessary to blow up Toad Hall, to no avail. Unbeknownst to both of them, the explosives are actually in the factory (Rat had switched the labels on the explosive's containers earlier in the film, leading the Weasels to believe the explosives are actually bone supplies for the factory), and as such the Chief blows up himself along with the factory, leaving Toad Hall untouched and Toad's friends alive and well.
Afterwards, Toad makes a public speech swearing off motor cars and promising to be wiser and less prideful in the future. Toad then sneaks off during a song with Mole, Rat and Badger, for the second time and is seen speaking to an airplane salesman, showing that he has not changed at all, only moved onto a new craze. Moments later, Toad flies over the crowd in the plane, causing mass hysteria and resulting in Badger swearing never to help Toad again. The film ends with Toad flying out across the country, and eventually over the sea.
in the UK
and was then distributed by Columbia Pictures
(1997 /USA), Columbia TriStar, Pathé
and Walt Disney Home Video (2004 /USA). Terry Jones (who plays Mr. Toad), one of the legendary Monty Python
cast, teamed up with some of the remaining Pythons to bring the classic tale up to date for another generation to enjoy. Eric Idle
as Rat, plays a major role, but John Cleese
and Michael Palin
have only small roles. John Cleese plays Toad's inept defence lawyer, and Michael Palin plays a sardonic Sun, who occasionally chastises Toad for his reckless behaviour, and briefly speaks to Ratty and Mole. Terry Gilliam
was asked to voice 'The River" but busy filming schedules kept him from joining the cast. "The River" only has one instance of dialogue in the entire film- he is shown with a mouth and sings a couple of lines of the first song.
, to tie into their amusement park ride (the Walt Disney World version of which was put to an end in 1998).
At the time of the film's US release Terry Jones, who was working on a documentary in New York, was told by telephone that the film was being shown in a cinema on Times Square
. Jones rushed down to the square only to discover that the film was showing at ".. one of those seedy little porno theatres.”.
, and holds three stars out of five on the film critic website AllMovie.com. Film critic Mike Hertenstein wrote a positive critical review of the film.
The films won the Best of the Fest award at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival in 1998 and the WisKid Award at the Wisconsin International Children's Film Festival in 2000.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, is a 1996 adaptation of Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows , one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films....
's classic novel The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
(which shows the ever changing world of the British countryside through the eyes of animals), although it differs substantially from the novel. It was also notable in that it starred John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
, Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
, Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
and Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
(all of whom were previous Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
members).
Plot
Mole's underground home is knocked in when the field is bulldozed by Weasels; the field has been owned by Mr. Toad (Terry JonesTerry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
), who has sold it to finance his latest fad; caravanning. Mole (Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
) flees to the river and meets the Water Rat (Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
), who is getting ready to embark on a picnic. Seeing Mole's distress, Rat decides to take Mole to see Mr. Toad. Toad encourages them to travel with him on the Open Road, in his newly bought canary-coloured cart. Disaster strikes when a pair of joyriders in a motor car knock over the cart. Toad, however, instantly discards the cart and becomes obsessed with motoring. He is a reckless driver, however, and ends up needing more money from the weasels. Their Chief (Antony Sher), tries to persuade him to sell Toad Hall.
Accompanying their Chief on his mission to steal Toad Hall are Clarence Weasel (Keith-Lee Castle
Keith-Lee Castle
Keith-Lee Castle is a British actor, particularly known for playing villains and vampires.He has guest-starred in numerous television shows, mostly British...
) and Geoffrey Weasel (Richard James
Richard James
Richard Thompson James was a naval engineer. He and his wife, Betty were the inventors of the Slinky. The Slinky was invented in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Education:...
), who both passionately hate one another, as becomes more obvious each time we see them, and St. John Weasel (Robert Bathurst
Robert Bathurst
Robert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school...
), who attempts to suck up to the chief, but his bumbling stupidity always rubs him up the wrong way. The Weasels have plans to build on Toad's meadow- St John almost reveals what they have in mind, but the Chief prevents him from doing so.
During a crazy drive into the Wild Wood, resulting in the destruction of another car, all three protagonists are lost in the inhospitable place. Mole encounters the Weasels, who attempt to coerce him into stopping his friends from interfering with their plans. They later encounter Toad, after fleeing when Rat arrives. All three protagonists end up in Mr. Badger's underground abode. Badger (Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
), a close friend of Toad's late father and feeling responsible for Toad's reckless conduct regarding his inheritance, is awakened from his deep sleep. As soon as he learns the news, Badger takes the initiative to put some sense back in Toad's head.
However, Toad refuses to listen to Badger and continues his reckless behavior which ultimately ends up with him being arrested for stealing and crashing a new motor-car. During his trial, Toad's defense lawyer (John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
) proves to be more of a problem than the prosecution. Furthermore, the Weasels are dominating the public box, and the Chief Weasel is posing as one of the rabbits in the Jury, and coerces the terrified creatures into finding Toad guilty. The Judge (Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
) initially sentences Toad to twenty years in prison, but after Toad insults the Court and makes a botched escape attempt, the Judge increases the sentence gradually, eventually resulting in a hundred-year sentence. With the help of the sympathetic Jailer's Daughter (Julia Sawalha) and her reluctant Tea Lady Aunt (a cameo from Victoria Wood), Toad escapes, disguised as the latter.
Along with Rat and Mole, he climbs aboard a train engine. During the course of the journey, the police demand for the train to be stopped; Toad confesses and begs the driver (Bernard Hill) to help him evade his captors. If only to protect his train, the driver agrees to help. He tosses coal lumps at the police, but gets caught in a mail catcher. Toad takes control of the train and is separated. He eventually crashes the engine, though he miraculously survives. Toad sets off again but only to get caught again by the Weasels, who in the meantime have taken over Toad Hall.
The full extent of their twisted plans are revealed: they have built a dog-food factory over the remains of Mole's house and are planning to blow up Toad Hall, and build a huge slaughterhouse in its place, with which they will 'process' all of the peaceful Riverbank dwellers, and turn them into dogfood. Along with this, their activities have also damaged Badger's home, which provokes him into taking decisive action against them. Badger and Rat attempt to break into Toad Hall, but are caught by for the victory celebrations, leaving St John in charge of the machine. Mole who has broken into the factory; disables the machine, enabling them to escape.
Lulled by a premature sense of victory, the Chief Weasel's henchmen turn traitor, and attempt to blow him up using a Toad Hall shaped birthday cake, and Clarence and Geoffrey begin quarreling among themselves for leadership, with the other Weasels taking sides drunkenly. This allows the protagonists to stage a raid on the house, leaving all the weasels incapacitated in the ensuing fight. However, the Chief is revealed to still be alive, and he escapes the scene, and is pursued by Toad. Toad attempts to stop him from reaching the factory, containing the detonator necessary to blow up Toad Hall, to no avail. Unbeknownst to both of them, the explosives are actually in the factory (Rat had switched the labels on the explosive's containers earlier in the film, leading the Weasels to believe the explosives are actually bone supplies for the factory), and as such the Chief blows up himself along with the factory, leaving Toad Hall untouched and Toad's friends alive and well.
Afterwards, Toad makes a public speech swearing off motor cars and promising to be wiser and less prideful in the future. Toad then sneaks off during a song with Mole, Rat and Badger, for the second time and is seen speaking to an airplane salesman, showing that he has not changed at all, only moved onto a new craze. Moments later, Toad flies over the crowd in the plane, causing mass hysteria and resulting in Badger swearing never to help Toad again. The film ends with Toad flying out across the country, and eventually over the sea.
Songs featured in the film
Four songs were created especially for this film, and appear in it in the following order:- "Messing About On The River" - Sung at the beginning by Ratty, as he and Mole set out for a picnic on the river.
- "Secret of Survival" - Sung by the Weasels, explaining their "only out for themselves" way of life.
- "Mr. Toad" - Sung by Toad, taken directly from the novel. (The lyrics of Mr. Toad's song of self-praise set to music.) Split into two sections, one covering his escape from Toad Hall, and the other during his trial.
- "Friends Is What We Is" - Sung by Toad, Badger, Mole and Rat, as they drive the Weasels out of Toad Hall, and during the party at the end.
- "Miracle of Friends" - The song played during the end credits, singing about how important friendship is.
Cast
- Terry JonesTerry JonesTerence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
as Mr. Toad - Steve CooganSteve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
as Mr. Mole - Eric IdleEric IdleEric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
as Mr. Rat - Nicol WilliamsonNicol WilliamsonNicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
as Mr. Badger - Antony SherAntony SherSir Antony Sher, KBE is a double Olivier Award winning South African-born British actor, writer, theatre director and painter.- Early years :...
as The Chief Weasel - Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
as The Judge - John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
as Mr. Toad's Lawyer - Michael PalinMichael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
as The Sun - Bernard HillBernard HillBernard Hill is a British actor of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Yosser Hughes, the troubled 'hard man' whose life is falling apart in Alan Bleasdale's groundbreaking 1980s TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff...
as The Engine Driver - Nigel PlanerNigel PlanerNigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
as The Car Salesman - Julia SawalhaJulia SawalhaJulia Sawalha is an English actress well known for her roles as Saffron Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous, Lynda Day, editor of The Junior Gazette in Press Gang and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 television miniseries of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She also played Dorcas Lane in the BBC's costume...
as The Jailer's Daughter - Victoria WoodVictoria WoodVictoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
as The Tea Lady - Don HendersonDon HendersonDon Henderson was an English actor whose film and TV work covered many years but is best remembered for his role as the fictional detective George Bulman...
as The Sentry - Robert BathurstRobert BathurstRobert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school...
as St John Weasel - Richard JamesRichard JamesRichard Thompson James was a naval engineer. He and his wife, Betty were the inventors of the Slinky. The Slinky was invented in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Education:...
as Geoffrey Weasel and Mole's Clock - Keith-Lee CastleKeith-Lee CastleKeith-Lee Castle is a British actor, particularly known for playing villains and vampires.He has guest-starred in numerous television shows, mostly British...
as Clarence Weasel - Roger Ashton-GriffithsRoger Ashton-GriffithsRoger Ashton-Griffiths is a British character actor, screenwriter and film director.He graduated from Lancaster University and the University of East London , and began his career as a singer with English National Opera at the London Coliseum.He has appeared in numerous high-profile films,...
as The Prosecution Counsel - Nick Gillard as a stunt doubleStunt doubleA stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
- John BoswallJohn BoswallJohn Boswall was a British actor probably best known for playing Wyvern in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest....
as the Elderly Gentleman
Production
The Wind in the Willows was produced by Allied FilmmakersAllied Filmmakers
Allied Filmmakers is a British film production company, founded by Jake Eberts in London in 1985 as a film branch from Pathé.- Production filmography :*Confessions of a Dangerous Mind *The Legend of Bagger Vance *Chicken Run...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and was then distributed by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
(1997 /USA), Columbia TriStar, Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
and Walt Disney Home Video (2004 /USA). Terry Jones (who plays Mr. Toad), one of the legendary Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
cast, teamed up with some of the remaining Pythons to bring the classic tale up to date for another generation to enjoy. Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
as Rat, plays a major role, but John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
and Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
have only small roles. John Cleese plays Toad's inept defence lawyer, and Michael Palin plays a sardonic Sun, who occasionally chastises Toad for his reckless behaviour, and briefly speaks to Ratty and Mole. Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
was asked to voice 'The River" but busy filming schedules kept him from joining the cast. "The River" only has one instance of dialogue in the entire film- he is shown with a mouth and sings a couple of lines of the first song.
Distribution problems in the U.S.
When the film first appeared in the U.S. under its original title, it got pushed aside due to distributors' problems and very little promotional material was published. Takings in the UK had been low because the film had largely been shown only in the afternoon. Subsequently, New York papers wondered why such a wonderful children's film was dumped by distributors. The New York Times published a very positive review by Lawrence Van Gelder. Yet, to add to the confusion, Disney Productions, in their video release changed its name to Mr. Toad's Wild RideMr. Toad's Wild Ride
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is a dark ride at Disneyland Park. It is one of the few remaining attractions that was operational on the park's opening day in 1955. The ride's story is based on Disney's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, one of the two segments of the film The Adventures of Ichabod and...
, to tie into their amusement park ride (the Walt Disney World version of which was put to an end in 1998).
At the time of the film's US release Terry Jones, who was working on a documentary in New York, was told by telephone that the film was being shown in a cinema on Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
. Jones rushed down to the square only to discover that the film was showing at ".. one of those seedy little porno theatres.”.
Critical response
The film holds a 75 percent "fresh" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, and holds three stars out of five on the film critic website AllMovie.com. Film critic Mike Hertenstein wrote a positive critical review of the film.
The films won the Best of the Fest award at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival in 1998 and the WisKid Award at the Wisconsin International Children's Film Festival in 2000.
Box office
In the U.K. the film sub-totaled £1,143,011 (17 November 1996) and in the U.S.A $72,844 (2 November 1997) on 65 screens.Filming and locations
- The filming was done mostly during sunsetSunsetSunset or sundown is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth's rotation.The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment the trailing edge of the Sun's disk disappears below the horizon in the west...
, and the colours were then readjusted. - Filming for the railway scenes were shot on the Bluebell RailwayBluebell RailwayThe Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between and , with an intermediate station at .The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers...
, disguised as part of the South Eastern and Chatham RailwaySouth Eastern and Chatham RailwayThe South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...
(the Bluebell is home to a number of SE&CR locomotives, and as part of the old London, Brighton and South Coast RailwayLondon, Brighton and South Coast RailwayThe London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
, the neighbouring railway to the SE&CR the disguise was not difficult to complete effectively). This is the first film to use the SE&CR for the Wind in the Willows - the railway in most adaptations of the story is the Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(although the book itself does not specify this). - The scenes of the outside of Toad Hall were shot at Kentwell HallKentwell HallKentwell Hall is a stately home in Long Melford, Suffolk, England. It includes the hall, outbuildings, and a rare breeds farm and gardens. Most of the current building facade dates from the mid 16th century, but the origins of Kentwell are much earlier, with references in the Domesday Book of...
in Suffolk. - The external scenes of the Gaol are Dover CastleDover CastleDover Castle is a medieval castle in the town of the same name in the English county of Kent. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history...
in Kent.