The Wind in the Willows (TV series)
Stop-motion adventures of Toad, Mole, Rat, and Badger.
The Wind in the Willows is a British stop motion animated television series that originally aired from 1984 to 1987, based on characters from Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel. It continues from the 1983 feature-length pilot film, with David Jason, Richard Pearson, and Michael Hordern reprising their voice roles, while Peter Sallis takes over as Rat and Ian Carmichael becomes the narrator. Produced by Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television and broadcast on ITV, the series ran for five series, with the final series airing in 1990 under the title Oh, Mr. Toad.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Stop-motion
- Family
- Comedy
- Creator
- Cosgrove Hall
- Writer
- Kenneth Grahame
- Rosemary Anne Sisson
- Brian Trueman
- Director
- Mark Hall
- Chris Taylor
- Jackie Cockle
- Narrator
- Ian Carmichael
- Theme music
- Keith Hopwood; Malcolm Rowe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The Stone Roses guitarist John Squire worked on the series as a prop maker.
- The theme song was sung by British singer-songwriter Ralph McTell.
- In August 2022, the first three series and the first TV film were added to Britbox in the United Kingdom.
Background
The series is sometimes misidentified as claymation; Cosgrove Hall used stop-motion animation with scale model sets and posable figurines made of an articulate metal skeleton covered in latex rubber. The setting is The Riverbank, a mythical location in Berkshire, south west England, where Ratty, Mole, and Toad live, with the Wild Wood nearby housing Badger and the Weasels. In series 4, humans begin building a railway through the area, but in the episode "Happy New Year" the route is diverted due to unsuitable land.
Home releases
The 1983 film was released on VHS on 28 April 1986 and 11 October 1993, and on DVD in 2000. Summer DVD (Summer Escapades VHS, 5 October 1987 and 1 September 1997) contains Toad: Photographer, The Great Golfing Gamble, and Grand Annual Show. Spring DVD (Spring Follies VHS, 4 April 1988 and 6 March 1995) includes The Great Steamer, Paperchase (The Lost River on 1995 VHS), and May Day. Autumn DVD (Autumn Antics VHS, 7 November 1988 and 18 September 1995) contains Harvest, Monster of the Wild Wood, and Remember, Remember. A Tale of Two Toads (1989) was released on VHS on 2 October 1989 and 7 March 1994, and on DVD in 2008. The Four Seasons 2-VHS boxset (31 August 1998) includes May Day, Grand Annual Show, Harvest, and Winter Sports. Additional VHS releases include Masquerade (1987), The Enthusiastic Mr Toad/Oh Toad! double pack (5 October 1987), The Further Adventures of Mr Toad (24 April 1989), Patient Toad and other stories (1 May 1989), Mole's Cousin and other stories (1 May 1989 and 6 May 1991), Oh! Mr Toad! (5 February 1990), The Wind in the Willows Bumper Special (10 September 1990), Happy Birthday and other stories (7 October 1991), Lord Toad and other stories (6 April 1992), The Labyrinth and other stories (1 June 1992), and My Bumper The Wind In The Willows: Fun & Games (5 May 1997).
More in Television Series by Cosgrove Hall Films
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