{"id":371,"date":"2006-08-07T20:09:40","date_gmt":"2006-08-08T03:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/2006\/08\/07\/the-wind-in-the-willows-mr-toads-wild-ride\/"},"modified":"2023-03-28T15:32:33","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T19:32:33","slug":"the-wind-in-the-willows-mr-toads-wild-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-wind-in-the-willows-mr-toads-wild-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"Terry Jones’ The Wind in the Willows (Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s this? Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride<\/em>? A film written and directed by Terry Jones<\/a>? I didn’t know he made anything after Erik the Viking<\/em>. Wait, and it stars Jones & Eric Idle<\/a>? With cameos by John Cleese<\/a> and Michael Palin<\/a>? Why, it’s practically a Monty Python movie… the only two missing are Graham Chapman<\/a>, because he’s dead, probably, and Terry Gilliam<\/a>, because he’s… American, perhaps. How could I possibly never have heard about this movie?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, let’s take a closer look at the DVD box. Released by Disney? Hm, that’s not necessarily a good sign. How about a quick web search. Wait, the original title was The Wind in the Willows<\/em>? Why did Disney change it for home video? Did it not get a theatrical release? (A user comment on IMDB<\/a> indicates Disney went straight to video with a different title)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Terry<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now let’s start playing it. Jones was never the visual stylist in the Python films (that was left to the other Terry<\/a>). Willows<\/em> looks kind of expensive, yet kind of cheap at the same time. Where’s Steve Coogan? He got first billing, but I don’t see him anywhere. Hey, there’s Idle, with a silly rubber tail! Oh no, he’s not going to start singing a song, is he? Oh god, it’s a musical…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ninety minutes later, my brains are dribbling out of my nostrils. This has got to be one of the worst movies ever made. Coogan is practically unrecognizable (that’s him as The Mole). The great Stephen Fry shows up for a few blustery lines of dialogue but fails to elevate things. Jones looks ridiculous in green face paint and a fat suit (I hope) that I suppose is meant to read as “toad.” And sure enough, it was only a matter of time, he winds up in drag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What’s this? Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride? A film written and directed by Terry Jones? I didn’t know he made anything after Erik the Viking. Wait, and it stars Jones & Eric Idle? With cameos by John Cleese and Michael Palin? Why, it’s practically a Monty Python movie… the only two missing are Graham Chapman, because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2],"tags":[1838,1386,598,1755,911,1364,1756,1385],"class_list":["post-371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-0-stars","category-movies","tag-1838","tag-eric-idle","tag-john-cleese","tag-michael-palin","tag-monty-python","tag-stephen-fry","tag-steve-coogan","tag-terry-jones"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/08\/mr-toads-wild-ride-feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-5Z","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5143,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/monty-python-live-mostly-2014-movie-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":371,"position":0},"title":"Monty Python throws a farewell party for themselves in “Live (Mostly): One Down, Four to Go”","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Like many misfit American kids of my generation, my brain was permanently rewired when I discovered the BBC series Monty Python's Flying Circus on PBS in the 1980s. Monty Python, Doctor Who, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy formed a triumvirate of British pop culture that gave dorky anglophiles\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Four to Go","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/monty-python-live-mostly.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/monty-python-live-mostly.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/monty-python-live-mostly.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/monty-python-live-mostly.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/monty-python-live-mostly.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":931,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-adventures-of-baron-munchausen\/","url_meta":{"origin":371,"position":1},"title":"Terry Gilliam throws the budget overboard in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Terry Gilliam's mad, brilliant yarn The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a strongly anti-war fable to which every kid (and adult!) ought to be exposed. Like the best of its kind (including Ratatouille and Gilliam's own Time Bandits), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen works on multiple levels and is accessible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Adventures of Baron Munchausen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/adventures-of-baron-munchausen-poster.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":453,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-october-17-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":371,"position":2},"title":"The Dork Report for October 17, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Some time recently Michael Brook's official website has expanded with a full discography, newsletter, and store. Joseph Arthur's official site has video of him performing \"Slide Away\" on The Late Show With David Letterman on October 10th. Steve Jobs must be in a romantic mood; every metaphor he musters to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":579,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-january-6-2007\/","url_meta":{"origin":371,"position":3},"title":"The Dork Report for January 6, 2007","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 6, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Python Terry Jones steps out of drag and crunches the numbers on the Iraq war (spotted on Neil Gaiman's Journal): This will bring the total spent on the White House's current obsession with war to almost $500bn - enough to have given every US citizen $1,600 each. I wonder which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5343,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-devils-1971-ken-russell-movie-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":371,"position":4},"title":"France burns with religious mania in Ken Russell’s The Devils","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Ken Russell's The Devils (1971) is a fictionalized account of the 17th-century Roman Catholic priest Urbain Grandier, tried and executed in Loudon, France. Questioning the authority of the Catholic Church is a controversial provocation at any time, but consider: if today, a sober movie like Spotlight (2015) is viewed as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Movies"","block_context":{"text":"Movies","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/movies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Devils","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/devils-1971-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3432,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/gilliam-imaginarium\/","url_meta":{"origin":371,"position":5},"title":"Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Terry Gilliam is burdened with a number of unfair reputations. First, as a visual stylist more than a storyteller or director of actors -- the latter, at least, obviously refuted by the fact that many high-profile stars will repeatedly work with him for pennies. 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