This film is sometimes referred to as Ichabod and Mr. Toad by both contemporary and modern sources. Working titles for the picture, which at various times in its production history was to include other characters that do not appear in the completed film, were Wind in the Willows, The Magnificent Mr. Toad, Three Fabulous Characters and Two Fabulous Characters. According to a HR news item, producer Walt Disney purchased the rights to Kenneth Grahame's classic children's book in late Jun 1938, and 1941 news items note that the studio originally intended to produce the subject as a single, feature-length picture called Wind in the Willows. Due to a variety of factors, including a labor strike at the Disney Studio and the studio's work on war-related shorts during World War II, production plans on the feature were dropped until after the war.
       A 5 Jul 1946 HR news item noted that Gracie Fields had been signed by the studio to sing in and narrate the "Wind in the Willows" segment of the film. A 10 Feb 1948 HCN news item stated that Charles Laughton was "wanted" for the "Wind in the Willows" segment. Neither Fields nor Laughton contributed to the final picture, however. According to a 1 Mar 1948 HR news items, Bing Crosby's four sons--Phillip, Gary, Dennis and Lin--were signed by the studio to work on the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" segment. A 1 Mar 1948 NYHT news item added that the boys were to be seen "in a Halloween scene, listening to their father's voice on the radio." Other news items noted that the younger Crosbys were to be filmed in Aug 1948 for the intended live-action sequence, and a Mar 1948 NYT article stated that the Crosby family would receive five percent of the "gross revenue" from the picture, up to $200,000, in lieu of a straight salary. The Crosby children do not appear in the completed film, however, nor are there any live-action sequences. The Mar 1948 HR news item also noted that the Washington Irving segment was "in line with Disney's plan to produce a slate of features based on American folklore, a program which he started with Melody Time" (see entry). Although one modern source credits Ollie Wallace with supplying the voice of "Winky," other sources credit Alec Harford with the part. Other actors included in the cast by modern sources are Leslie Dennison (Judge/First weasel) and Edmond Stevens (Second weasel).
       The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, which won a Golden Globe for Best Color Cinematography, was the last of a number of "package features" produced by the studio in the 1940s. For more information on the "package features," which were comprised of two or more individual segments, see the entry below for Make Mine Music.
       Although The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad has never been theatrically re-issued, as most other Disney animated productions have been, the two segments have been released separately under the titles "The Adventures of J. Thaddeus Toad," "The Madcap Adventures of Mr. Toad," "Wind in the Willows" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The shorts have been re-issued both on television and theatrically. Other filmed versions of Washington Irving's story include a 1908 Kalem Co. short (see AFI Catalog. Film Beginnings, 1895-1910; A.08532); a 1958, one-hour episode on the television show Shirley Temple's Storybook; and a 1986, one-hour installment in Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends television series. Other filmed versions of Kenneth Grahame's children's book, all entitled The Wind in the Willows, include an animated 1985 Rankin/Bass feature for which Charles Nelson Reilly, Roddy McDowall and José Ferrer supplied voice characterizations; another animated feature, also released in 1985, which was directed by Mark Hall; a 1997 Allied Filmmakers live-action production, which was directed by Terry Jones and starred Jones, Steve Coogan, Eric Idle, and John Cleese and the 1999 Paramount release, Sleepy Hollow, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci.