The Wind in the Willows (1983)

This dated stopmotion production of The Wind in the Willows is a treasure for its pastoral simplicity. Here is the English countryside before the automobile carved up the woods and farmland. Indeed, it's Tolkienian in flavor esp. for its love of the land. Our story opens (slowly) as Mole is spring cleaning in his house at Mole End (or more like "puttering") before he sets aside his chores to go for a saunter and enjoy the day. (Mole almost never goes out so this is an adventure for him.) He runs across Rat in his river home, who invites him to go on a leisurely boating trip with a relaxing picnic. (Mole is really getting adventurous now.) Next they decide to visit Toad in his elegant manse Toad Hall. Toad, who is loony for frivolous modern amenities, takes them along on his latest craze, a ride in an elegant horse-drawn carriage. He goes off the deep end though after he sees a "horseless carriage" careening down the country road. (He goes so crazy-cuckoo over cars that he sounds and acts pretty much like Pee Wee Hermann.) Worse yet, he's a wild one behind the wheel and quite destructive. His friends hold an Edwardian intervention but later Toad faces charges in court. So the story starts very slowly but builds up steam. The funniest bits are Toad's wackiness and Badger's stolidness, while the puffery of the British court is an outright hoot. Children 5 and under may not like the scary woods scenes esp. the weasels, who act like riff-raff, pick pockets, and cudgel one character from behind. A character calls another an "@ss" one time but with polish like an Englishman. There is a lot of "Oh, do go on, dear fellow" in the dialog but for a historically nostalgic and rewarding story of good old pre-WWI England, I hope every family may come to appreciate this production as much as I do. 4 stars.