Thirty-One Days O’Horror: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Basil and Bing take us for a ride

Packaging two literary tales that have absolutely nothing in common might seem like a difficult task, but in 1949, Disney did just that. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is based on two literary classics. The Mr. Toad segment is based upon The Wind in the Willows, a classic children’s book written by Kenneth Grahame. The Ichabod segment is based on the beloved short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.

Academy Award nominated Basil Rathbone narrated the Toad segment, which focused on Mr. Toad and his many poor life choices. From bankruptcy to being wrongfully imprisoned in the Tower of London, the story moves along at a great pace and is actually very fun to watch.

While Mr. Toad is definitely worth checking out, this post will focus on the second story centered on Ichabod Crane. Narrated by the legendary Bing Crosby, who also sings a number of original songs in the short, the Ichabod segment has legitimately scary sequences that work for all ages.

In the tale, Ichabod Crane takes the position of schoolmaster in Sleepy Hollow, New York. He immediately becomes popular among the town’s local women despite his awkward looks. He dines with the townsfolk and charms women left and right. As the segment continues, Ichabod attracts the attention of the lovely Katrina van Tassel. He also attracts unwanted attention from Brom Bones, the local brute who is in love with Katrina. The story comes to a head whenever Brom discovers that Ichabod is extremely superstitious. He tells the story of the Headless Horseman, a local legend, in order to trigger fear in Ichabod at a party at the van Tassel home.

From there, Ichabod has an encounter with the sinister Horseman. The animation style and the look of the Horseman makes him one of Disney’s most legitimate scary villains in my opinion. While Ichabod provides plenty of laughs during the chase scene, the Horseman counters with some brilliantly scary moments.

I won’t tell you how the story ends, but I will tell you to make an effort to check out this film. Both stories are extremely well done, but the Sleepy Hollow segment is my favorite. It’s available on home media as a stand-alone film and in multiple compilations. The two segments have also been available separately as additions on other discs. The film in its entirety is currently available on Disney+ as well.

This film is one of my favorite Disney releases. I own the first DVD release of it and watch it every year around Halloween. I hope that you’ve enjoyed this quick glimpse at it and, as always, thank you for reading my post. We’re beyond the halfway point to Halloween, and I plan on mixing things up a bit more as I continue on to the spookiest night of the year!