The Adventures of Ikabod and Mr. Toad

Since the animation segments of the film are based on literary works, they are both introduced into live scenes installed in the library as a cropping device. The first segment is introduced and narrated by Basil Rathbone, and the second segment is introduced and narrated by Bing Crosby. Decca Records released an album called Ichabod - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with Crosby in 1949 to link it to the release of the film.

Willow Wind

This segment is based on Kenneth Graham's literary work, Wind in the Willows (1908). The story unfolds in and around London, England, UK between June 10, 1909 and January 1, 1910. The protagonist is Jay Tadeusz Toad, Esq. introduced as an "incurable adventurer" who "never considered value." As the “one troubling element” of history, although he is a wealthy owner of the Toad Hall estate, Toad’s adventures and “positive mania for quirks” led him to the brink of bankruptcy. In an extreme case, Toad’s friend, Engus McBager volunteered as an accountant to help Toad preserve his property, which is a source of pride in society.

One summer, McBagger asks friends of Toad - Ratty (water rat) and Mowley (mole) to convince Toad to abandon his last mania recklessly ride around the countryside on a horse and a gypsy wagon, which can accumulate great financial responsibility in damaged property. Ratti and Mowley confront Toad, but he is not able to change his mind. Toad then sees the car for the first time and becomes fascinated by the new car, being captured by "auto-mania."

To cure Toad's new mania, Rat and Mowley put Toad under house arrest. However, Toad escapes and is later arrested and charged with car theft. At the trial, Toad introduces himself and summons his horse Cyril Krutoboky as the first witness of the defense. Cyril testifies that the car that Toad was charged with stealing has already been stolen by a gang of ferrets. Toad entered the tavern where the car was parked and offered to buy a car from ferrets. However, since Toad did not have money, he offered to exchange Toad Hall for a car. The prosecutor and the judge are distrustful of this statement, therefore Toad then calls the bartender Mr. Winky as a witness to the agreement; however, when Toad told him to explain what really happened, Winky falsely testifies that Toad was trying to sell him a stolen car. Toad was found guilty on the spot and sentenced to twenty years at the Tower of London. Toad's friends tried to help him, but to no avail. They studded the thresholds of the courts, but to no avail, Toad's friends even appealed to the Supreme Court, but he left the sentence unchanged. As a result, the Jay Tadeusz Toad Case was closed.

On Christmas Eve, Cyril visits Toad, disguised as his grandmother, and helps him escape, giving him his own disguise. Toad quickly runs to the railway station and grabs the locomotive of the train and leaves the station, heading towards the river bank so as not to get caught by the police on another locomotive. Meanwhile, McBagger discovers that Winky is the leader of a gang of ferrets, and that they really captured Toad Hall; Winky himself owns the contract. Knowing that a document signed by Toad and Winky will prove Toad's innocence, four friends make their way to Toad Hall and pick up the document after an exhausting chase on the estate.

Then the film ends with the beginning of the New Year: Toad is acquitted and returned his home, while this implies that Winky and his minions were arrested and imprisoned. When McBugger, Ratti, and Mowley celebrate New Year with a toast to Toad, which they believe has been completely reformed, Toad and Cyril recklessly fly past the Wright brothers in 1903; Toad did not really reform, but he developed a mania for airplanes.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The second segment is based on Washington Irving's The Sleepy Hollow Legend. Although the film introduces the story as Ikabod Crane, later individual releases retained the original title of the story. (As a short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was originally published in the Sketch of a book with other stories, and not as a single volume, as shown in the film.)

In October 1790, Ikabod Crane, a lanky, gluttonous, superstitious, but charming man arrives in Sleepy Hollow in New York State - a small village north of Tarritown and New York City, which is famous for its chilling stories to be a new school teacher of the city. Despite his strange behavior, appearance and feminine manners, Ikabod soon won the hearts of rural women and formed good friendships with his students. Brom Bones, the cunning and desperate extravagant hero of the city, does everything possible to intimidate Ikaboda. Nevertheless, he very well ignores these ridicule and continues to interact with the townspeople. Then Ikabod falls in love with Katrina Van Tassel, the beautiful daughter and only child of Baltus Van Tassel, who is the richest man in the village (unlike most films, Katrina does not speak dialogue in this segment). Despite the fact that he falls in love with her, Ikabod basically wants to take his family's money for himself. Brom, who is also in love with her, continues to compete with the school teacher. Ikabod wins Katrina at every opportunity, although, without his knowledge, Katrina, who thinks Brom is too self-confident, only uses Ikaboda to make Brom jealous and make him try harder for her affections.

Two rival cavaliers are invited to a Halloween party by Van Tassen, where Brom tries to trade a chubby woman for Katrina, who dances with Ikabod but comically fails. While both men are having lunch, Brom catches Ikabod nervously throwing salt over his shoulder. Having discovered that Ikabod is very superstitious, he decides to sing the story of the legendary Headless Horseman, who was apparently killed by a cannonball in a recent conflict and travels every year on Halloween, looking for a head to replace the one he lost, and that the only way to escape the ghost is to cross an old covered bridge over a stream. Everyone else, including Katrina, finds it amusing, while Ikabod, on the other hand, begins to fear for his life.

On the way home from the party, Ikabod becomes paranoid from every animal noise that he hears as he drives through the dark forest, increasing his fear of meeting the rider. Traveling through the old cemetery, Ikabod believes that he hears the sound of a horse galloping towards him, but discovers that the sound is made by neighboring cattails beating a log. Relieved, Ikabod begins to laugh with his horse. However, their laughter is interrupted by the appearance of a true Headless Horseman, riding a black horse (that is, suspiciously identical to Brom's horse). After the ghost chases, Ikabod, recalling Brom’s advice, crosses the covered bridge, which stops the ghost from chasing. However, the rider throws his flaming head, shown by Jack's big-big lantern, at the screaming Ikabod, who tries to bend down but fails, then gets hit and falls headlong into the dust.

The next morning, Ikaboda’s hat was found on a bridge next to a broken headless horseman’s pumpkin, but Ikabod himself was not found anywhere. After some time, Brom marries Katrina. Rumors begin to spread that Ikabod is still alive and even married to a rich widow in a distant county with children who all look like him. However, the Sleepy Hollow people insist that Ikaboda "dragged" the Headless Horseman.

• 1950 The cartoon received the Golden Globes (Golden Globes, USA, - Best Cinematography - Color). ^[five]

• " The Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad " (English) on the Internet Movie Database