"Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, or The Wind in the Willows" (live-action movie, 1998)
Written and directed by Terry Jones from the book by Kenneth Grahame, with Steve Coogan, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Anthony Sher, Nicol Williamson, Michael Palin, and John Cleese
Category: Children's Comedy-Fantasy

Reviewed by Garrett Gilchrist (ocpmovie at lycos.com)

Oh, the Python gods have indeed been good to Kenneth Grahame's turn-of-the-century classic "The Wind in the Willows" of late. First we got Michael Palin as Ratty in an animated double-feature of the original and the non-Grahame "The Willows in Winter," with Rik Mayall and Vanessa Redgrave. Not to mention an "Adventures of Mole" effort with Neil Innes that we know nothing about. And last night, after literally years of waiting, Terry Jones' version arrived at my door by post thanks to the good graces of Jones scholar Michele Tourney.
I will preface this review by noting that this film acquired a near-mythical quality early on because of its scarcity. It enjoyed a very short run in theatres over a year after its actual completion before being completely killed by first Sony, then Disney and Columbia Tristar, none of whom even bothered to release a video. Python and Willows fans everywhere were frankly pissed. But now it's on video, and I'll try, before watching it so many times I can no longer criticize it, to answer the eternal question -- "how is it?"
It doesn't begin well. We get a long credit list over an aerial shot of random countryside. Then underground, where as those who read the book or saw the animated version will know, Mole (Steve Coogan) is working very hard. Then a crash. Mole's house is being knocked down, by weasels! The kids are excited. The parents, if they know the story, are wondering what on earth Jones is trying to do, turning Grahame's lowkey river fable into a vomit-inducing morality play on industrialism gone bad. And perhaps they're noting the obvious parallels to another feature Jones turned down, Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

    Ah, but then we realize what Jones is doing. Mole escapes, and we catch a glimpse of the river. And we can forgive our Terry, in making an original script, for trying to make the story more "cinematic." We meet Ratty, in the form of Eric Idle. And he is just as wisened and laid-back (I won't say Prefectish) as we could have hoped. He has subtly elongated ears, a whisker moustache (which crinkles when he's upset), a slight speech impediment and a tail. All the creatures of the riverbank are like this. They are human, but not quite. Rabbit ears and fox tails, plus period costumes and hints of makeup, are what we are given to tell the species apart, and it works wonderfully. (The rabbits are plentiful, shy and amorous, as well they might be.) Later, when actual humans enter the picture, the "animals" blend in perfectly. The kids, by this point, are becoming enchanted. To win adults, and this reviewer, over takes considerably more work. Still, beneath the quiet, lowkey, distinctly British surroundings is a tangible magic.

    Jones not only writes and directs, he also stars as Mr. Toad. A vanity project, perhaps, but it's the role he was born to play. He is that Toad, no more, no less. When we first catch sight of him, a dragonfly buzzes about his head. He snaps a ten-foot tongue out and nabs it. The impressive effects are all done casually, also sparingly. And as the speed demon egotist, the archetypical nouveau riche, Jones does not even need to act to take on Toadian dimension. Still, towards the end one wishes for some hint of emotion beneath that green-hued exterior. As Badger Nicol Williamson is gruff and violent, but with that exterior concealing a razor-sharp intelligence and a good heart. In short, just like you'd expect from the book.

    Ah, then to Jones' script. Quite a lot of it is original, quite a lot. And it goes in odd directions. Still, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Jones' adaptation, like roughly all the others before it, concentrates specifically on the weasels. But he takes them futher than any of those. They appear throughout, lurking in the bushes, scheming like the quintessential film villains. As the purist I scoffed at this until I realized just how interesting Jones' weasels really were. They are fleshed-out in personality almost to the point of excess. Anthony Sher, as the chief of the lot, is pure evil, and just great. Towards the end they are partying hearty in a fortified Toad Hall, which they plan to destroy. They've decorated the place in a twisted manner which recalls the round table, Adolf Hitler, and a cafeteria foodfight all at once, and in the best upper-crust British fashion they literally drink themselves to oblivion as our heroes are nearly minced in the inner mechanisms of a weasel-built dog food factory (I hate to say it -- this is very remiscent of a level in the original arcade video game "Donkey Kong."). All this is taken from the book in the loosest fashion but done so well it cannot be faulted. It's all interesting to watch. Jones' visual preoccupation with the transportations of boat, horsecart, motorcar, train and finally airplane (in a scene probably lifted from "The Willows in WInter") rivals even Toad's. The song sequences, too, are good. Not the songs themselves, mind you, which are rather awful really (and part of me wishes Jones had done what he did in Erik the Viking and enlisted the help of Neil Innes), but the choreography of the sequences, which are so chock-full of visual flair they make the movie. The weasels' song in particular ranks as one of my top 100 Python movie moments.

    Since this is a Python page I will note that all the working Pythons are represented well. In addition to Jones and Idle Michael Palin shines down in a small but understandably important role as the sun itself, and John Cleese is a very funny lawyer.
On the whole, it is a flawed but worthwhile work that gets this Bug's stamp of approval. It has problems. A lot of them. But once you get into that old river magic it all amounts to petty nitpicking. Jones makes up most of the story himself, but it's done in the right style. It's all quite nice. I'd show it to my kids, had I any. They'd be happy as bunnies.

BOTTOM LINE: Give this river ride a chance.
RATING FOR ADULTS: 2 1/2 stars
RATING FOR KIDS: 4 stars and a toad kiss
PYTHON FACTOR: 7 out of 10