Mr. Toad

Mr. Toad
The Wind in the Willows character
Mr. Toad smoking and reading a map
First appearance	Wind in the Willows
Created by	A. A. Milne
Information
Species	Toad
Gender	Male

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.

Character

Mr. Toad is a humanized common toad, 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 a 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.

During the course of his adventures Toad alternates between deep remorse for his arrogance and having relapses of it. An example of his arrogance is seen in his self-centered ditty, Toad's Last Little Song, a song he performs to an enthusiastic audience which exists, of course, only in his mind;

The Toad- came- home!
When-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!

This is Toad's final bow as he has finally resolved to change his conceited ways.

Film and television

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, 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, in which all the animal characters were portrayed in human form. Toad was played by Matt Lucas.

Theme parks

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.

Inspiration

The inspiration for Mr. Toad is thought to have been Colonel Francis Cecil Ricardo CVO CBE (1852–1924), the first owner of a car in Cookham in Berkshire, where Grahame wrote the book.

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 - Terry Jones - The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)^[5]
• Matt Lucas - The Wind in the Willows (2006 film)^[6]
• Nathan Lane - In the first stage Musical adaptation.
• Griff Rhys-Jones
• Jack Speckleton - on stage.
• Adam Graham
• Ian Carmichael - on stage and as a voice actor
• George Villiers - on stage.
• Jack Lovegrove - on stage.

References in other media

The first story arc of the Batman and Robin comic book by Grant Morrison features a villanous character with the name and appearance of Mr. Toad.

In Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, Miss Havisham and Mr. Toad engage in a ongoing series of car races.

A gravestone for 'Mr. Toad' is shown among the other fables buried at The Farm in Bill Willingham's Fables series.

References

1. ^ "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041094/. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
2. ^ "The Wind in the Willows (1983/I) (TV)". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086590/. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
3. ^ "The Wind in the Willows (1987) (TV)". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094326/. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
4. ^ "The Wind in the Willows (1995) (TV)". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0192802/. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
5. ^ "The Wind in the Willows (1996)". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118172/. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
6. ^ "The Wind in the Willows (2006) (TV)". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825347/. Retrieved 2009-02-16.