Kenneth Grahame's novel The Wind in the Willows was one of my childhood favorites, as it has been for countless other children who have been fascinated by the adventures of Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger on the edge of the Wild Wood. I'd never seen a film or television adaptation of this classic book, however, so watching Brian Cosgrove's stop-motion animated feature-length treatment of the story was my first chance to see how these beloved characters could be brought to life on the screen.

It's immediately apparent that this adaptation of The Wind in the Willows is accurately described by its credit to the book: it's based on "characters created by Kenneth Grahame," not based on Grahame's actual book. While the overall plot of the film does come from the book (it focuses on Mr. Toad's (mis)adventures), this 78-minute filmed version of The Wind in the Willows seems to be aimed at a very young audience, much younger than the readership of the original novel. While I didn't have any children handy to test it out on, I'd say that the film is best suited for three- to four-year olds. The stripped-down plot, the simplicity of the dialogue, the frequent repetition of phrases, and the way the film lingers over very simple, everyday scenes like Rat and Mole having a picnic, all suggest that the film is targeted at very young viewers, who will be fascinated just to see animated, talking animals on-screen.

There's certainly nothing whatsoever wrong with adapting The Wind in the Willows to a younger age group, and I've given the film a positive rating and recommendation with that audience in mind; but if you're expecting something more along the lines of Grahame's original book, the overall feel of the film will come as somewhat of a surprise.

Another element that will appeal more to the younger group, rather than to adult viewers, is the inclusion of songs into the film. These segments make the already fairly low-key film even more episodic, so that even if the younger viewers don't follow all of the story, they can enjoy seeing the fanciful sequences of ducks swimming in patterns to music or Mr. Toad dancing about and singing as he returns to Toad Hall. Personally, I have never understood why songs get shoehorned into so many children's films, whether they fit or not, so the musical segments here don't do much for me, but they're reasonably well done if you like the mixed story-and-song approach.

It would be impossible to close this review without giving a nod to the amazingly good stop-motion animation used here. The four main characters (Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger) look incredibly realistic, like real animals who happen to be wearing clothes. Even in the many close-up shots of the characters' faces, the illusion is maintained, as the stop-motion models even blink and have subtle facial expressions. The characters' movement and manipulation of objects is not as polished, but it's still quite an accomplishment... and to a certain extent, I suspect many of the scenes here are intended to show off the animation. In any case, the overall look of the film is quite charming.

The DVD

Video

The Wind in the Willows appears in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The image quality is passable for this 1983 production, but no more than that. The image is soft-looking and faded, with colors looking muted, which is a particular shame in a film that's intended to catch the eye of children. There's a substantial amount of wear and tear evident in the print as well, with many print flaws appearing throughout the film.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack squeaks by with a barely average mark. The track sounds clean, with no background noise or distortion. It does tend to sound rather muffled and flat at times, though, which may make it hard for young listeners to follow some of the dialogue.

Extras

A few special features are included here. Of most interest is a section of interview clips with Brian Cosgrove, the producer of The Wind in the Willows and the head of Cosgrove Hall, the film's production company. There are seven separate text questions, each of which leads to a video clip of Cosgrove answering the question; the answers range from about a minute to five minutes in length, and there's no "play all" feature. The interview material is fairly interesting, if brief, as Cosgrove discusses his thoughts on the animation field as well as information on the making of The Wind in the Willows.

We also get a trivia game (clearly aimed at very young viewers), a photo gallery, and text character descriptions.

Final thoughts

The 1983 stop-motion animated The Wind in the Willows is a good choice for young children, probably ages 3-5, with its simple story and attractive animal characters. Adults and older children who are familiar with Kenneth Grahame's original novel will probably find this film version to be too simple for their tastes, although there's a certain charm in the animated characters. Recommended for families with young children.