Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: Return to Neverland (2002)

Return to Neverland

In the early 2000's DisneyToons kept pushing out sequels to classic Disney Films. And they weren't going to miss a chance to make a sequel to Peter Pan.  But they decided they were going to release this one in theaters which is hard to believe since it has a direct to video feel to it.  

The sequel takes place long after the first one. Wendy has grown up and now has children of her own.  She still likes telling stories about Neverland to her children Jane and Danny.  They live in London during WWII and while their father is off fighting in the war Jane decides she will not believe in childish stories anymore and mocks her younger brother for believing in stories about Peter Pan.  One night Captain Hook shows up and confuses Jane for Wendy, and brings Jane to Neverland.  Still unwilling to believe in fairies and just wanting to go home she makes a deal with Captain Hook to set a trap for Peter Pan.  But she ends up learning to have fun with Peter and the Lost Boys and eventually she learns her disbelief is killing Tinker Bell. Despite changing her mind on the deal, Captain Hook manages to kidnap everyone. Jane goes back and starts to believe in fairies and Tinkerbell is resurrected.  With Tinks help Jane rescues everyone.  When she finally returns home she apologized to Danny and begins to tell him about her adventure.  Also instead of a crocodile haunting Captain Hook this time it's a giant octopus that shows up randomly.  

I had a lot of issues with the original Peter Pan but this one was just boring.  They thankfully avoided any Native American depictions so that was an improvement.  The believing in fairies bit hearkens back to the original play and was something that was ignored in the first film so that was a nice addition.  But it just felt flat.  There were some rock songs in the film which felt out of place in the Peter Pan universe (specifically the remake of "Do You Believe in Magic").  It sounds like the story went through a lot of edits and maybe not having a clear vision really hurt it. 

Overall: I think a girl living through a tragedy and then has to be reminded what it's like to be a child again could be a good story. Unfortunately this movie just feels flat and boring.  Tinkerbell also does not try to murder anyone so that is a good improvement also.  

Random Facts

 

Kathryn Beaumont, who voiced Wendy in the original, recorded all of her dialogues for the sequel, but then was replaces. 

Mermaids were given clothes in this film since they were considered to sexualized in the original.  

Disney Movie Challenge: Peter Pan (1953)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

Peter Pan

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

A selfish creepy stalker, attempted child murder, racism, and a hint of the Oedipus Complex .  Yup, we’re talking about Peter Pan.  Based on the play and later book by J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan tells the story of a boy who didn’t want to grow up and his adventures in Neverland. The film was a moderate success at the box office and had mostly positive reviews at the time.  As with other Disney Animated Films from the 1950’s Peter Pan would go on to be considered a classic.  

The movie sounds like it’s a fair adaptation of the original play.  It starts with Peter Pan visiting Wendy and her brothers in London. Wendy is sleeping but knew Peter would visit because she had his shadow (how Peter lost his shadow there is never explained in the movie). While fighting with his shadow Peter wakes Wendy up.  After Wendy attaches Peter’s shadow, Peter explains that he loves listening to Wendy’s stories and wants her to fly to Neverland with him and be a mother to him and the Lost Boys.  Peter’s fairy friend Tinkerbell is instantly jealous of Wendy and doesn’t want her to come to neverland.   Wendy agrees to go as long as her brothers (Michael and John) could go also.  They fly to Neverland where they have an adventure of a lifetime.   As soon as they arrive Captain Hook tries to kill Peter Pan and Tinkerbell attempts to have Wendy killed. After Peter banishes Tinkerbell for attempted murder he introduces Wendy to the Lost Boys.   Saying they could do anything they want Michael decides he wants to lead  the lost boys and go hunting for Indians, Peter takes Wendy and introduces her to the mermaids who also don’t like Wendy.  Peter and Wendy rescue Tiger Lily from Captain Hook. When they return her to the Indians there is a big celebration.  Hook finds out about Tinkerbell's jealousy and attempts to use it to his advantage.  He kidnaps Wendy, her brothers, and the Lost Boys, then sets a trap to kill Peter Pan. Of course Peter Pan escapes the murder plot and saves everyone before Hook can make them walk the plank.  

There is a lot going on in this film.  Let’s start with the most cringeworthy, the portrayal of Native Americans.  Going in I knew it courted some controversy with its portrayal of the Indians in the film but then you hear the song “What made the Redman Red'' and it becomes clear what the fuss is about.  While Dumbo had its fair share of controversy I think Peter Pan is worse.   Maybe because we are in this trying time when America is wrestling with its racist past that this scene just comes across as icky, but I think it’s always been that way.  The term Redman is now considered derogatory, and I get that maybe it wasn’t, but the problem with the song and the scene go deeper than that.  They are portrayed as ignorant and women obsessed neanderthals.  A kind of less than modern men.  According to the song they say “how” because they know nothing,  and they first said  “Ug” when they met their mother in law.  To answer the question of why a redman is red, it’s because the first time they got kissed by a woman they blushed so hard they never stopped blushing.  The whole song just leaves you feeling gross.  There is an interesting history to the controversy.  There have been people calling out the whole portrayal of Indians since Barrie wrote the play.  But for the most part it’s been brushed away and excused because the story is told from a childlike point of view.  According to the theory children only see people as caricatures and stereotypes and not fully realized people. And from that point of view you can argue that is how children would understand Indians.   Barrie was also British so his understanding of Native Americans were cursory at best also.   I have never seen the play but I am curious how the scene plays out in the play.  Obviously the addition of the song “What Made the Redman Red”' adds a layer of racism that probably isn't found in the play.  

Moving on to another plot point of the film that gets gross if you think too hard about it is Peter Pan and Wendy’s relationship.  Why is Peter being creepy and watching Wendy outside her window? Why is he coming into her room when she is sleeping?  And yet all the girls seem to love him.   Tinker Bell gets instantly jealous of Wendy (the mermaids also get jealous of Wendy), then Wendy gets jealous of Tiger Lily, but Peter just loves the attention and remains clueless. I know he never wants to grow up but why is he so selfish?  He only thinks about himself and is oblivious to anyone’s feelings around him.  And I’m supposed to believe that all the girls love him for that?  But the extra layer of ickiness is that  he wants Wendy to be his mother but then Wendy ends up kind of falling for him which adds this weird Oedipus Complex layer to the story. 

The answer to both the Indian and romantic aspects is that Peter is portrayed with such a childlike innocence (he even asks “what is a kiss?”) that he doesn’t know any better.  Which I get but he never seems to learn anything.  Tinkerbell learns that her jealousy has hurt other people but Peter doesn’t seem to get his actions hurt other people, which even a child learns at an early age.   

Last but not least lets not forget that Captain Hook is trying to kill all the children.  It’s a fun fantastical film so no one ever feels like they are in grave danger,  which makes child murder the least disturbing thing in this film.   

Overall: Peter Pan is a child's imagination come to life but it just didn’t sit right with me.  Maybe I’m overthinking it and that’s a possibility.  Maybe if I saw it as a kid I would have found the more fantastical features more entertaining and not think too hard about the subtext.  Anyway I know it’s an unpopular opinion but this movie didn’t work for me.  It’s also weird to me that Tinker Bell is now a beloved character.  First she tried to kill Wendy and then betrayed Peter Pan.  Granted she redeemed herself in the end but in my book she is up there with Jiminy Cricket as an overrated character.

Random Facts

Peter Pan was the last Disney Animated FIlm to be released by RKO Radio Pictures.  Starting with Lady and the Tramp Disney would release their films through their own distribution company Buena Vista Distribution.  

Was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival 

In the book “Peter and Wendy” J.M. Barrie ends the film with the Lost Boys being adopted by the Darling’s and eventually Wendy ends up marrying one of the Lost Boy’s.  

Disney Move Challenge Bonus: Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Disney Movie Challenge Bonus

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

One of the first Disney Animated films to get the live action version was Alice in Wonderland in 2010 directed by Tim Burton.  This film was a huge box office success and won 2 Oscars one for costume design and one for Art Direction.  It starred Mia Wasikowska as Alice and a hugely talented supporting cast including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman, and many others. 

Even though this was a huge hit and Oscar winner I had not seen the film.  Going in I assumed that the film would just be a retelling of the Alice in Wonderland animated film similar to how Aladdin and The Lion King were straight adaptations of their animated films.  So I was pretty confused when the movie kind of did it's own thing until I realized that this movie is a sequel to the animated film not a different version of it.  Basically, Alice goes back to Wonderland but doesn't remember her first trip there.  All the characters recognize her but she doesn't know them.  Her first trip to Wonderland she dismissed as a dream and assumed it wasn't real.  This tracks with the ending of the animated film which ended with her waking up from a dream. After she returns to Wonderland she has to learn to be The Alice, the one who will slay the Jaberwocky.  

The movie takes a lot of the fantastical elements from the books and animated movie and expands on them.  Tim Burton never liked the book or the movie because he never felt an emotional connection to the material.  That is probably because the original story was nonsense literature and didn't have much of a plot and the animated film basically followed the same format.  I had a similar problem connecting with the material.  But the dark fantasy films is Tim Burton's wheelhouse and he decided to craft a story he felt more connected to.  This led to a more conventional story of a girl rediscovering herself and learning to be confident.  The bulk of the story is inspired by the poem "Jaberwocky" which is found in the original Alice in Wonderland book.  The poem is nonsensical but Burton does a good job piecing together elements to make it work.  

Overall: The film looks fantastic.  The production design and special effects work really well in creating the universe that feels unique and lived in.  I wish I had realized sooner that the movie was more of a sequel and then I probably wouldn't have been as confused. I feel I need to do a rewatch to full get the story.  And finally RIP Alan Rickman who played the Blue Caterpillar and even though he wasn't in it much really was one of my favorite's in the film.  

Disney Movie Challenge: Alice in Wonderland (1951)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

Alice in Wonderland

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

What a weird and trippy movie this is.  After the huge success of Cinderella Disney released Alice in Wonderland on the world the following year.  The movie failed to live up to the success as Cinderella and was one of Walt Disney's biggest disappointments.  After failing at the box office he severely edited it and released it on TV for his new one hour show.  The movie would not get an official theatrical re-release (as many other of Disney films did) until 1974 when it was marketed as a movie for the "psychedelic times".  They even used Jefferson's Airplane song "White Rabbit" to promote the film.  The movie would of course go on to be hugely popular and was one of the first Disney Films released on VHS.  

Alice in Wonderland is adapted from the Lewis Carroll books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass.  Similar to the movie the first book wasn't a huge hit on initial release. The story features a young girl, Alice, who follows a White Rabbit down a hole and falls into a bizarre universe.  There she meets a series of fantastical creatures including the Mad Hatter, March Hare, Cheshire Cat, a mahuker smoking caterpillar, and the Queen of Hearts.  Eventually she tires of the craziness and just wants to go home, but first she goes on trial for embarrassing the Queen of Hearts who wishes to take off her head.  In the end she sees herself sleeping and realizes it's all been a dream.  

The story is a series of events with very little narrative driving the story.  Initially it's just her search for the White Rabbit that keeps her going but then it is her desire to go home.  This little thread is enough to keep the story from feeling too episodic.  But the lack of narrative actually goes back to the way the book was written.  Lewis Carroll helped popularize a form of literature called  "Literary Nonsense".  Literary Nonsense is pretty much what it sounds like. It is a story that doesn't have to follow normal rules,  sometimes uses gibberish, and often defies logic.  Literary Nonsense is often found in children's literature and examples can be mother goose rhymes or Dr. Seuss books.  One of the most famous uses of Literary Nonsense is the poem Jabberwocky which is in the Alice in Wonderland book but was omitted from the movie (although the poem heavily influenced the 2010 Tim Burton version).  The best example found in the movie is during the Mad Hatter Tea Party.  There dialogue is spoken quickly and hardly ever makes sense. Another common element found in Literary Nonsense is the nonsensical riddle.  The most famous being when the Mad Hatter asks Alice "Why is a raven like a writing desk?".  Carroll admitted that he purposely wrote that as nonsense and there is no answer.  

Since this is a children's movie I did spend some time trying to figure out what the moral of the story is.  While I will probably need to watch it a few more times to really nail it down I think there is one there.  Alice is constantly making bad choices and eventually she sings a song "Very Good Advice" about how she never follows the good advice she gives herself.  But this actualization never seems to play a role the rest of the film and the film just ends with her waking up and we are never sure if she learned anything.  Is there a lesson in the film? Let me know your thoughts.  

OVERALL: Hard to describe this movie as anything other than trippy.  Despite the episodic nature of the story I enjoyed it more than Pinocchio which was also episodic.  I think there is just enough to feel like there is a reason for Alice to keep going, and the fantastical nature of everyone she meets makes it more interesting.  I will admit that the nonsensical aspect keeps me from loving the film but there is no doubt that the Mad Hatter Tea Party scene is one of the best in the film.  The fantasy aspect is fun and the characters are all memorable even if they are only in the film for a short time.  

RANDOM FACTS:

Rumored to have the most characters and songs of any Disney film.  Not sure if this is true but definitely could be. 

The first Disney animated film to feature the voice talent in the credits.  

For a majority of the film there is no villain.  The Queen of Hearts becomes the villain but Alice only meets her towards the end of the movie.  

One of the few Disney films that feature a female lead with no romantic interests.  

The strangest theory I read about the story is that it is a metaphor for childbirth. It goes something like this.  Alice travelling down the rabbit hole represents conception.  Growing in a confined space represents pregnancy.   Drinking potions represents the amniotic fluid. Finally escaping to explore the scary world outside on her own is childbirth.

At the time over 20 Years is the longest any Disney had gone without a theatrical rerelease. 

A very trippy poster was used to promote the psychedelic aspect for the 70's rerelease. Check it out 

Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: Cinderella II (2001) and Cinderella III (2007)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE BONUS

Cinderella II: Dreams Come True

and

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time

Did you know there is a Cinderella Trilogy? It's ok if you didn't.  Cinderella II and Cinderella III are direct to video films released in 2001 and 2007 and didn't get much fanfare.  Walt Disney was notorious for not wanting to do sequels to his films, but times change.  In 1990 Disney Studios already released their first official sequel with The Rescuers Down Under, but in 1994 Disney discovered they can make more money with Direct to Video films with a newly created DisneyToons Studio.  So, 50 years after Cinderella hit theaters Cinderella II hit home video.  

Cinderella II: Dreams Come True has three short stories inter-cut with Cinderella's mice friends making a book for her.  The first short in the film picks up with Cinderella coming back from their honeymoon and the King tasks Cinderella with making a party.  Still not comfortable living in a castle she ends up rejecting a lot of what is considered appropriate for royalty and brings her own style to the event.  The second short has Jaq the mouse wanting to  help Cinderella. Finding that Cinderella doesn't need as much help now that she is a princess he wishes to be human.  The Fairy Godmother comes back to grant him his wish and things of course done go as he planned.  The last short has one of Cinderella's step-sisters Anastasia falling in love with a baker and having to stand up to her mother.  There is also a subplot in the last short where the cat Lucifer from the first movie falls in love with a cat living at the castle named Pom-Pom.  

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time is a time travel film that rejects everything that happened in Cinderella II (especially Anastasia's love story) and starts at the 1 year anniversary of Cinderella and the Prince's wedding.  After stealing the Fairy Godmother's magic wand Anastasia gives it to her mother who uses it to turn back time and make the glass slipper fit on Anastasia instead of Cinderella.  As wedding plans are started for Anastasia and the Prince to get married Cinderella must do whatever she can to stop the wedding from happening and make the prince realize it was her that he dances with at the ball. 

The quality of the films are what you would expect from DTV films.  It doesn't look great but not the worst either.  The stories are definitely more modernized.  In both films Cinderella has a bit more agency and needs to do things and make decisions to get results.  If you like your Cinderella with more action then I recommend Cinderella III.  There is a fun scene at the end where The Prince has to rescue Cinderella from a boat.  The weird thing that bothered me the most about both movies was the rules of the magic.  In Cinderella there was a finite time that the magic will work.   Neither one of the sequels addressed that.  Granted not much magic was used in part II but part III is just the evil Stepmother saying Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo every 10 minutes to get what she wanted.  I kept expecting some of the magic to wear off after a while but nope that never came up.  

OVERALL: Don't go in expecting much and you won't be disappointed.  This definitely plays to younger kids (both my kids actually like these films) but if you loved the original probably just skip these.  

Random Facts:

Cinderella II was made at Disney's Japanese Studio

Cinderella III was the last movie made by Disney in their Australian Studio.  

Christopher Barnes who did the voice for both of these films also did the voice for Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid.  

Disney Movie Challenge: Cinderella (1950)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

Cinderella

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

A new decade, a new princess, and a renewed Disney.  Disney hadn't made a feature length animated film since Bambi in 1942.  Many factors were the cause of that including WWII, the animators strike in 1941, and a lack of box office success.  Now over $4 million in debt Disney was on the verge of shutting down the entire feature film division.  By the end of the 40's there were two features in development Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland.  Which ever could get their film done first would be the one that would try to save the feature film division.  In the end it ended up being Cinderella getting released in 1950 and Alice in Wonderland in 1951.  It's hard to imagine how much was riding on Cinderella and how many times a movie saved Disney from bankruptcy.  But the huge popularity of Cinderella reinvigorated Disney.  The film grossed over $4 million at the box office and because of the popularity of the songs Disney sold a lot of records. Not only was the feature film division saved but it gave him enough money to invest in his own studio and theme parks.  

Because the film needed to be made cheaply they relied heavily on Live Action Reference. This was done using actors who were recorded on film and the animators would use the recorded video to draw the animation.  This was not new to Disney as they had done it on previous films but never as much as they did on Cinderella.  Since they were essentially copying something that was already recorded it made the animation go quicker with fewer revisions.  While the animators felt like this inhibited their imagination it fast tracked the production.  For some examples of how it looked check out this link and this video.

I feel like even if you haven't seen the film pretty much everyone knows what happens in the film.  Cinderella lives with her evil step mother and 2 step sisters with birds and mice are her closest friends. She is forced to be a maid in her own home and birds and mice are her closest friends.  When there is a ball at the castle Cinderella wants to go but her step mother and step sisters make it impossible for her to go.  When she feels hopeless her Fairy Godmother comes to her rescue.  With a wave of her wand she turns a pumpkin into a carriage, mice into horses, a horse into a driver, and a dog into the coachman. Finally she gives Cinderella a beautiful dress for the ball.  But there is one caveat, the magic ends at midnight.  Cinderella makes it to the ball, falls in love with the prince, and then has to run off at midnight.  She leaves behind a glass slipper.  The Prince, desperate to find the girl he danced with, declares that whomever's foot fits the glass slipper he will marry.  Of course the step sisters try to stop Cinderella from trying on the shoe but Cinderella escapes and proves she is the one that danced with the Prince.  Cinderella and the Prince live happily ever after.  

It's easy to see why the film was a huge hit.  It's an enjoyable film that showcases everything Disney does well.  The Princess Fairy Tale films are what Disney would go on to be known for and Cinderella is probably his most loved.  The movie is well made although doesn't have the more detailed animation in Bambi.  Probably the weirdest aspect of the movie is how much time we spend with the animals.  There is a subplot with mice doing battle with an evil cat, Lucifer. This subplot is fun but it takes time away from getting to know the humans.  All the humans are one dimensional and it would have been nice to really get to know them.  The Prince for example is barely in the film and has no speaking parts (he does sing a little with Cinderella).  

One of the reasons I started this challenge is because I have not seen very many Disney films and the ones I had seen I wasn't impressed with.  I think one of the reasons might be the lack of character depth.  To keep things simple for children it's easiest to keep the bad guys pure evil and the good guys without any fault. Cinderella does that perfectly.  The animators convey a lot of information in the way people are lit or the way they look.  We instantly know the step mother is evil in the first scene we see her just by looking at her.   

Overall:  Lots of fun parts and a very enjoyable movie.  Would have liked less time with the animals and more character development from the humans in the film.  But since this is a kids movie keeping the characters simple is forgivable.  

Random Facts:

Not Disney's First Cinderella Movie.  In 1922 with his first company Laugh-o-Gram Disney made a version where Cinderella turns into a Flapper.  You can watch that one here. 

Helene Stanley did the live action references for Cinderella. She would also go on to do the live action references for Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, and Anita Radcliff in One Hundred and One Dalmatians

Disney's favorite bit of animation in the film was Cinderella's gown transformation.  

Cinderella was the first time Disney went outside the studio for music.  He enlisted musicians from "Tin Pan Alley" to write and perform the songs.  The film ended up getting three Oscar nominations Best Score, Best Song for "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" and Best Sound. 

Cinderella was also the first to have the songs released by Walt Disney Music Company. Another visionary company by Walt Disney.  Film studios did not usually release soundtracks but Disney realized it was another way to make money from films.  

In the song "Sing Sweet Nightingale" Disney had Ilene Woods sings on multiple tracks and sings in harmony with herself.  It is considered one of the first times it was ever done.  It would become common practice in music in the 60's. 

First production overseen by the "Old 9 Men" of Disney.    

Disney Movie Challenge: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr.Toad (1949)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

As we finish up the 40's we end with the last of 6 packaged films.  Disney's packaged film started a result of WWII when money and man power were in short supply.  Even after the war ended Disney kept releasing these short films.  In doing a bit of research for this film I came across something about Bank of America loaning Disney money with restriction that Disney could finish making whatever Features they had started but couldn't make any new features till the loan was repaid.  I wasn't able to find much else on this so not sure of the entire story but it would explain why Disney kept making Package Films even after the war ended.  Whatever the reason, Ichabod and Mr. Toad would be the last package film Disney released for a while.  

The film is similar to "Fun and Fancy Free" in that it contains two shorter stories in one feature film.  Both parts of the film are based on popular stories.  Mr. Toad is based on the book "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahme, and Ichabod Crane is based on the short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving.  While I haven't talked about framing device much in the previous package films this film has one that I feels adds to the overall quality of the film.  The framing device in this one kind of pits a British literary character against an American literary character.  In keeping with that idea they had legendary British Actor Basil Rathbone narrate the Mr. Toad segments and legendary American singer Bing Crosby narrate the Ichabod Crane segment.  Keeping the introduction to each film short and concise works better than the weird transition that "Fun and Fancy Free" had.  "The Wind in the Willows" was originally going to be a feature film and production started in the early 40's.  But it was eventually pared down and was going to be released with "Mickey and the Beanstalk" but things got switched around and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" got released in "Fun and Fancy Free" with "Bongo the Bear".  Somehow I think this works better.  Mr. Toad and Ichabod Crane don't have much in common but they work well as companion pieces.  

Overall: As far as the package films go they ended on a good one.  You can tell Disney is starting to get back to form.  The animation is more consistent and the stories are more interesting.  Basil Rathbone and Bing Crosby are both really great narrators and bring their unique charm to the stories.  "The Legend of Sleepy Hallow" has always been one of my favorite short stories so I tend to like the Ichabod Crane segment better but the Mr. Toad segment is a fun story also.  As we head in to the 50's we start to see some more iconic Disney films starting with Cinderella in 1950 this was a good teaser of things to come. 

Random Facts:

Mr. Toad might be more well known to Theme Park goers for the ride based on him than the film itself.