Mr. Toad

I pulled it up to make sure I got it right.

So Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, I think is what it used to be called.

His keys are left up there because he had too many Mai Tais.

That's

And so there weren't going to be any characters or anything like that.

And so the Imagineers started putting hidden Mickeys in the areas around Epcot so that there would be Mickey Mouse would be reflected, you know, in Epcot, you know, because it's supposed to be more of an educational, no characters and all that.

So, so to me, that's, that's really cool about Mr. Toad.

And of course there's, um, in Winnie the Pooh ride, there's a tribute to Mr. Toad, um, in the ride.

So you remember the glow of the television in the darkening room and the leaves blowing across the screen, crooked old trees reaching over a country road, and that wonderful moment when something that had been funny and colorful and very safely Disney suddenly becomes just a little bit frightening.

So if you grew up watching Disney around Halloween like I did, chances are you didn't necessarily think of what we're talking about today as The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

You may not have even known that there was a Mr. Toad involved.

What you knew is that The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was amazing.

You knew Ichabod Crane, you knew Brom Bones, you knew Katrina Van Tassel, and most importantly, you knew that sooner or later, Ichabod was going to find himself alone on that dark road through the woods.

But I digress.

My own memory of this is very specifically tied to Halloween television.

I honestly don't remember Mr. Toad being part of it at all whatsoever.

Come to the kickoff, ride for freedom, help carry George's vision across the Niagara River.

Toad, Rat, Mole, and Badger charm their way through Shaw's enchanting Wind in the Willows.

The basics: The Wind in the Willows, based on the play Toad of Toad Hall by A.A. Milne, further adapted and directed by Fiona Souder, is at the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre, but unfortunately closes on September 27th, with only seven more shows available, so hurry and visit shawfest.com for tickets and details.

There is a family pre-show workshop available prior to each performance of The Wind in the Willows, and also one of the two Christmas offerings, A Year with Frog and Toad, $10 with theater tickets.

Call 1-800-511-7429 to book.

Thumbnail sketch: We begin with young, impressionable Mole as, bored with house cleaning, he heads to the riverbank and meets with resourceful Rat, the grumpy Badger, and finally the irrepressible Mr. Toad.

After Toad's passion for fast cars gets him in trouble with the law, including a trial by jury and a sentence in prison, Toad is aided in a jailbreak by a friendly washerwoman.

Meanwhile, his three friends must rid his home, Toad Hall, of weasels, stoats, and ferrets.

Uh, starting off actually with, uh, that-

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

...

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Is that what that ride is called at Disneyland? I think it is.

Maybe.

I haven't been to Disneyland, so, uh, I have only been to Disney World.

Uh, but, um, speaking of Mr. Toad, oh, actually, no, we don't have any Captain Toad on the list today, although we did talk about it.

Of course, if you were Badger or Otter, it would be quite another matter." "Surely the brave Mr.

Toad wouldn't mind coming here by himself, would he?" inquired the mole.

"Old Toad?" said the rat, laughing heartily.

"He wouldn't show his face here alone, not for a whole hatful of golden guineas, Toad wouldn't." The mole was greatly cheered by the sound of the rat's careless laughter, as well as by the sight of his stick and his gleaming pistols, and he stopped shivering and began to feel bolder and more himself again.

"Now then," said the rat presently, "we really must pull ourselves together and make a start for home while there's still a little light left.

It will never do to spend the night here, you understand.

And after they had chatted for a time about things in general, the badger said heartily-

"Now then, tell us the news from your part of the world.

We did...

Like, we did Peter Pan's Flight, Mr. Toad.

Oh, my goodness.

Mr. Toad-

I love Mr. Toad.

What did you think of it?

That one was weird.

Yeah.

Now we shan't see any more of him today.

Well, tell us, who's out on the river?" "Toad's out for one," replied the otter, "in his brand-new wager boat, new dogs, new everything." The two animals looked at each other and laughed.

"Once it was nothing but sailing," said the rat.

"Then he tired of that and took to punting.

He gets tired of it and starts on something fresh." "Such a good fellow, too," remarked the otter reflectively.

"But no stability, especially in a boat." From where they sat, they could get a glimpse of the main stream across the island that separated them, and just then a wager boat flashed into view, the rower, a short, stout figure, splashing badly and rolling a good deal, but working his hardest.

The rat stood up and hailed him, but Toad, for it was he, shook his head and settled sternly to his work.

"He'll be out of the boat in a minute if he rolls like that," said the rat, sitting down again.

that? Okay.

And then after that, we did Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Just

plunge to ride it.

Yes.

Although, a longtime Disney fan, you do remember Mr. Toad.

And

I did.