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Film - The Wind in the Willows |
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Mole is
busily spring cleaning his home. Fed
up with polishing and whitewashing,
he heads off outside for a walk in
the countryside. |
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By
the river he meets Rat, who invites
him on a picnic. Mole has never been
in a boat before, so Rat tells him
all about it. During their picnic
the weasels stop by with their usual
mischief. After packing up the
hamper, Mole and Rat row up the
river towards Toad Hall. |
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Toad is
only too pleased to see them. He
manages to talk them into going on a
caravan trip with him. Mole is
enthusiastic, but Rat does not like
being away from his river. |
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The trip is going well until a motor
car forces the caravan off the road.
Toad is thrown off and left dazed.
And with a new craze - motoring. |
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As Toad
smashes car after car, his friends
grow increasingly worried. One
Winter night Mole sets out to the
Wild Wood to meet Badger. He becomes
lost and has to be rescued by Rat.
Eventually finding Badger's house,
they decide to deal with Toad in the
morning. |
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Even Badger's stern talk cannot
persuade Toad to give up motoring,
so he is locked in his bedroom. Toad
hatches a daring escape plan that
sends his friends chasing after him
through the snow. He is too fast,
but Mole manages to find something
else - Mole End. He and Ratty have
Christmas there. |
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Meanwhile, Toad has been arrested
for stealing a car and is sentenced
to 20 years in prison. The jailer's
daughter feels sorry for him and
helps him to escape by dressing as a
washerwoman. After making his
getaway on a train, Toad is free
again! |
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He
arrives at Rat's house only to learn
that Toad Hall has been taken over
by weasels. The friends begin
plotting to take the Hall back with
the help of a secret tunnel. Mole
dresses up in Toad's washerwoman
clothes and tricks the weasels into
thinking that they will be
outnumbered. |
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They
set out armed to the teeth. The
surprise attack on Toad Hall is a
stunning success, and even Toad
mages to floor a weasel. Soon
everything returns to normal, and
Toad takes up a new hobby -
airplanes. |
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Major differences
between the book and
Cosgrove Hall's movie
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Three chapters were
omitted from the
movie: The Piper at
the Gates of Dawn,
Wayfarers All and
The Further
Adventures of Toad.
These each became an
episode in the first
series of the
television show.
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In the movie, Rat
and Mole's first
picnic is
interrupted by the
weasels. No such
meeting takes place
in the book.
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Otter and Portly are
in the book but not
in the movie.
However, they appear
many times in the
television series.
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In the book Mole's
attempt at rowing
ends up tipping he
and Rat into the
river. Although Mole
has a go at rowing
in the movie, they
remain dry.
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There is a
substantial period
of time (possibly as
long as a season)
between Mole and
Rat's first meeting
and their holiday
with Toad. In the
movie both events
take place on the
one day.
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Chapter 5 (Dulce
Domum) is shown
after chapter 6 (Mr
Toad). In the book,
Badger, Mole and Rat
plan to to put a
stop to Toad's
motoring insanity in
the Spring. Then
Mole and Rat go to
Mole End for
Christmas. In the
movie, they decide
to visit Toad the
very next day. When
Toad escapes from
his bedroom, Rat
visits Mole's home.
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In the book Toad
steals a car parked
outside an inn. In
the movie he stops a
motorist (Reggie,
accompanied by
Rosemary) and tricks
them into leaving
their car
unattended.
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In the movie, Badger
is keeping on eye on
Toad Hall when the
weasels attack him
and throw him out
into the cold. In
the book, Mole is
also with Badger.
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In the book, Toad
sings his Last
Little Song to
himself in his
bedroom before his
victory party. In
the movie he sings
it before the battle
while walking
through the secret
tunnel.
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Much of the last
chapter is left out
of the movie, and
instead appears as
the first episode of
the television
series.
Naturally, if we were to
list all the little
events that were omitted
from the movie, this
list would be much
longer. That is why this
list concentrates on
changes in storyline and
things that have been
added in, despite not
appearing in the book.
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© The
Kenneth Grahame Society
[This page was reproduced with the kind permission
of its original author Nicholas Houghton
(Australia)] |
