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EXCLUSIVE: Disney has feature film plans for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, one of its longest running theme park rides. The studio has set iconic commercials and video director Pete Candeland to develop a live-action/CGI mix feature that will bring to life a theme park ride which originated in Disneyland on its opening in 1955. The twisting, turning ride was also popular at Walt Disney World in Florida, but the geniuses at the park closed the ride in 1998 and replaced it with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which by comparison is a 10-minute nap for parents. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is based on Disney’s adaptation of The Wind in the Willows.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/disney- ... ide-movie/

I'm quite happy with this news.

I love the tale, and I do think Disney has the potential to expand and explore the backgrounds of each character. Mr Toad is a really interesting character and I would like to see how Disney evolves the character since it's debut in the late 40's

I hope they use the crew at WDAS for the animation on this. Interesting news.

So . . . they're working on a film based on a ride that was based on a film?

enigmawing wrote:So . . . they're working on a film based on a ride that was based on a film?

Exactly. Isn't it pointless? I hope they don't use the characters and designs from the movie. I'd hate to see a CG-fied Mr. Toad. I hope it'll be more of a new adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" than a remake of the movie.

Plus... this movie has already been made!

pap64 wrote:Plus... this movie has already been made!

You're right. I'd completely forgotten about that. So, will it be a remake of that movie?

Haha I've never heard of that movie... dare I ask is it any good?

While part of me agrees CG-ifying classic characters is blasphemy... I think when they've done it right, it can be really great. Mickey's Philarmagic is great.

I also think that the Paperman technique could be extremely interesting if combined with live-action. Maybe?

Wind in the Willows was fine the way it is. Just treat it with some respect and people will buy it on dvd blu-ray or whatever.

I thought this was meant to be a joke...

Isn't the ride already based on the short from the package feature? Isn't that what a movie based on the ride already would be?

If you are a Monty Python fan and have kids in the family, "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" is the perfect movie for the whole family to watch together. The kids will laugh at one thing, and the adults will roar at another.

Basically every Python escept Terry Gilliam is affiliated with this movie along with Steve Coogan. It was never released to theaters here in the US but was in theaters in the UK under the title "The Wind In The Willows".

Let's hope Disney gets this one right. "The Shaggy Dog" was dreadful in my opinion. And "The Haunted Mansion" reeked with creepiness because of how dumb it was. The Disney company has not done to well with movies based on their rides at the theme parks and a good example of that was "The Country Bears".

While I enjoyed the ride when it was in WDW, I can't say I'm too enthusiastic about the idea of this film adaptation. The Hell scene from the ride might be interesting if they were to use that in the film though.

Sotiris wrote:

enigmawing wrote:So . . . they're working on a film based on a ride that was based on a film?

Exactly. Isn't it pointless? I hope they don't use the characters and designs from the movie. I'd hate to see a CG-fied Mr. Toad. I hope it'll be more of a new adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" than a remake of the movie.

But then they'll change the ride to fit the new designs. it's a lose-lose.

First of all, let me just clarify that the already existing Mr Toad's Wild Ride film is in fact NOT based on the theme park ride. It's a British film from 1996 (I actually saw it when it came out!) that is a direct adaptation of the book, albeit with a couple dozen liberties; in addition to some somewhat forced environmentalism, the climax took place in a weasel-owned dog food factory. Disney later purchased it for the American market, and re-named it after the theme park ride, the irony being that the Magic Kingdom version was about to close. I enjoyed it as an eight year-old, but I'm not sure I'd like it on account of the aforementioned plot changes.

It would be interesting to see a new take on The Wind in the Willows, so long as it doesn't turn into some kind of crass kiddy film à la Alvin and the Chipmunks. I would give the film a more traditional title to distance it from the theme park ride and arguably Disney's previous animated (The Wind in the Willows or Toad of Toad Hall would do fine). I would also have it retain a British setting and a British cast for obvious reasons.

I've always felt that Disney's animated take on The Wind in the Willows was ultimately a bit misbegotten. The animation can be quite crude, and the overall art direction can seem somewhat ordinary. As an adaptation of a novel, the whole thing equally would have definitely been better suited as a feature. Many points in the story are rushed if not omitted, and the characters have hardly any chance to be properly developed. I suppose that's the problem plaguing some Disney featurettes, especially those initially developed as features; there is the risk of producing what is essentially a feature film condensed to half its running time, where characters and plot points don't get a chance to be properly explored.

Wouldn't that money be better spent on putting the ride back at Magic Kingdom?

I used to watch the 1996 Mr Toad's Wild Ride/Wind in the Willows all the time; the 'Secret of Survival' song by the Weasels is still entertaining, and Terry Jones is a good Toad.

I've always to see a truly faithful, atmospheric version of Wind in the Willows. It's a very descriptive, simple book that achieves a sense of timelesness and wonder throughout, and while adaptations in the past have portrayed Toad and other characters well, none have ever truly captured the heart of the source material. I like the Disney package version, but that achieves nowhere near as much of the magic in the book (and like all versions of the story, it makes Toad the main character instead of Mole, the true hero).

I probably won't like this upcoming new version.

Let me guess... this remake/reimagining/reboot will be made... in China!

Barbossa wrote:Let me guess... this remake/reimagining/reboot will be made... in China!

What do you mean?

Disney Duster wrote:

Barbossa wrote:Let me guess... this remake/reimagining/reboot will be made... in China!

What do you mean?

Perhaps Barbossa is referring to the news regarding Iron Man 3 being made by Disney and a Beijing film company co-financing and distrusting Iron Man 3

Back in 2012, it was reported that a film adaptation of the classic Disney parks attraction Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was in development with longtime Disney animator Pete Candeland set to direct. Since then news on the project has been silent, and was likely put on hold by the studio. However, thanks to a new listing on IMDbPro there is a possibility things may be moving forward on the film.

Before we go further it should be noted, that just because there is a listing on IMDb doesn’t mean it’s always accurate. That said, according to the long-running movie site, Qiao Wang who has worked on visual effects and animation for films Avengers: Endgame, Ralph Breaks The Internet, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, has joined the production as a "character td" (technical director).

For those that don’t know a character td is is a type of technical director in film who is specifically concerned with characters, creatures, and mechanical objects. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is said be a live-action/CGI hybrid, which means Wang would likely oversee the creature characters such as the title character himself.

Matt Lieberman (The Addams Family) and Mike Vukadinovich (Runaways) are on board as writers, Tron: Legacy and Dumbo producer Justin Springer was originally on board to direct, but it’s unclear if that’s still the case.

Source: https://thedisinsider.com/2019/08/15/is ... velopment/