Mr. Toad

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Mr. Toad, Esq., of Toad Hall, is one of the main characters in the novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and also the title character of the A. A. Milne play Toad of Toad Hall based on the book. Mr. Toad is portrayed as the village squire and a bit of a fop, being the wealthy occupant and owner of Toad Hall. Mr. Toad is very rich and thus able to indulge his impulsive desires, such as punting, house boating and hot air balloons, and his penchant for Harris tweed suits. He is, however, conceited, self-centred and lacking in basic common sense. His reckless interest in motor cars led to an episode in which he stole a motor car and subsequently crashed it. The result was brief spell in prison, from which he was to escape, dressed as a washer woman, to regain his family seat of Toad Hall from the clutches of the weasels.

Nevertheless, Toad is lovable and has his heart in the right place. His characteristics have made him arguably the epitome of the lovable rogue stock character.

Interestingly, although he commits a crime and is arrested, he is never recaptured and sent back to prison. No reason is ever given for this, except in the 1949 Disney movie, which shows him being framed for theft.

An example of his arrogance is seen in his self-centered ditty, Toad's Last Little Song, a song he performs to an enthused audience which exists, of course, only in his mind;

The Toad- came- home!
There was panic in the parlours and howling in the halls,
There was crying in the cow-sheds and shrieking in the stalls,
When the Toad- came- home!
When the Toad- came- home!
There was smashing in of window and crashing in of door,
There was chivvying of weasels that fainted on the floor,
When the Toad-came home!
Bang! go the drums!
The trumpeters are tooting and the soldiers are saluting,
And the cannon they are shooting and the motor-cars are hooting,
As the- Hero- comes!
Shout- Hoo-ray!
And let each one of the crowd try and shout it very loud,
In honour of an animal of whom you’re justly proud,
For it’s Toad’s- great- day!

In the 1949 Disney film adaptation The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, the character's full name is given as "J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq." This version of Mr. Toad makes a cameo appearance in the 1988 movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit while riding a firetruck and dressed in a firefighter uniform as Eddie Valiant has a crash entrance in Toontown in order to become on Jessica Rabbit's (Roger Rabbit's wife) tail, and was featured as one of the guests in House of Mouse.

The BBC produced a version of the Wind in the Willows in 2006.

For many years there was a ride at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom called Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The ride was closed on September 7, 1998. The ride at Disneyland was re-dedicated on May 23, 1983.

[edit] Actors who have played Mr. Toad

• Eric Blore - The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad^[1]
• David Jason - The Wind in the Willows (1983 film)^[2]
• Charles Nelson Reilly - The Wind in the Willows (1987 film)^[3]
• Rik Mayall - The Wind in the Willows (1995 film)^[4]
• Terry Jones - The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)^[5]
• Matt Lucas - The Wind in the Willows (2006 film)^[6]
• Griff Rhys-Jones
• Jack Speckleton - on stage.
• Adam Graham
• Ian Carmichael - on stage and as a voice actor

[edit] References

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