The Wind in the Willows (2006 film)
Encyclopedia
The Wind in the Willows is a 2006 live-action television adaptation of Kenneth Grahame
's classic novel The Wind in the Willows
. It was a joint production of the BBC
and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
and starred Matt Lucas
(Mr. Toad
), Bob Hoskins
(Badger), Mark Gatiss
(Ratty), and Lee Ingleby
(Mole). Rachel Talalay
directed. It debuted in Canada
on CBC Television
on December 18, 2006, in the United Kingdom
on BBC1 on January 1, 2007, in the U.S. on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre
on April 8, 2007 and in Australia
on ABC TV
on December 23, 2007. It was filmed on location in Bucharest, Romania.
Though the novel is considered children's literature, critics noted that this adaptation might not be appropriate for young children; Ginia Bellafante wrote in The New York Times
that it "is ultimately too jaunty to be considered 100 percent safe for someone over 10", and David Knox thought it "may well alienate children". However, Variety's Brian Lowry said that its appeal "should run the demographic gamut for PBS, from Sesame Street
to Bleak House
."
Critics praised Matt Lucas's portrayal of Mr. Toad. "In ordinary life Mr. Lucas’s frame does not suggest that he is a salad-and-pea-shoots kind of guy, and here he has fun with an exaggerated corpulence that seems to leave him channeling W. C. Fields
," wrote Bellafante. David Knox wrote that "Lucas’ performance positively swamps this treatment of the classic story".
Director Rachel Talalay received the 2007 Leo Award for "Best Direction in a Youth or Children's Program or Series" for the film. It was also nominated for the 2007 Satellite Award
for "Best Motion Picture Made for Television"
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...
. It was a joint production of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
and starred Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...
(Mr. Toad
Mr. Toad
Mr. Toad, Esq., of Toad Hall, is one of the main characters in the novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and also the title character of the A. A. Milne play Toad of Toad Hall based on the book.-Character:...
), Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
(Badger), Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
(Ratty), and Lee Ingleby
Lee Ingleby
Lee Ingleby is a British film, television, and stage actor.He is perhaps best known for his roles as Detective Sergeant John Bacchus in the BBC Drama George Gently and as Stan Shunpike in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban...
(Mole). Rachel Talalay
Rachel Talalay
-Filmography:* Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare * Ghost in the Machine * Tank Girl -Television credits:* Ally McBeal* Boston Public* Cold Case* Crossing Jordan* The Dead Zone* Dice* The Division...
directed. It debuted in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
on December 18, 2006, in the United Kingdom
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...
on BBC1 on January 1, 2007, in the U.S. on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece Theatre
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
on April 8, 2007 and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on ABC TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
on December 23, 2007. It was filmed on location in Bucharest, Romania.
Though the novel is considered children's literature, critics noted that this adaptation might not be appropriate for young children; Ginia Bellafante wrote in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
that it "is ultimately too jaunty to be considered 100 percent safe for someone over 10", and David Knox thought it "may well alienate children". However, Variety's Brian Lowry said that its appeal "should run the demographic gamut for PBS, from Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
to Bleak House
Bleak House
Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens, published in twenty monthly installments between March 1852 and September 1853. It is held to be one of Dickens's finest novels, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of minor characters and sub-plots in his entire canon...
."
Critics praised Matt Lucas's portrayal of Mr. Toad. "In ordinary life Mr. Lucas’s frame does not suggest that he is a salad-and-pea-shoots kind of guy, and here he has fun with an exaggerated corpulence that seems to leave him channeling W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
," wrote Bellafante. David Knox wrote that "Lucas’ performance positively swamps this treatment of the classic story".
Director Rachel Talalay received the 2007 Leo Award for "Best Direction in a Youth or Children's Program or Series" for the film. It was also nominated for the 2007 Satellite Award
Satellite Awards 2007
The 12th Satellite Awards, honoring the best in film- and televisionmaking in 2007, were given on 16 December 2007.-Film: Best Actor – Drama* Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises**Christian Bale – Rescue Dawn...
for "Best Motion Picture Made for Television"
External links
- Review at Eye for Film