The Willows in Winter

I saw both 'The Wind in the Willows' and this growing up, and have vivid memories of most of the first one. This...well, I remember the tarantula in the greenhouse, and that's about it. I mean it's still OK, but boy does it become The Rik Mayall Show compared to the first one.

That must be a real treat if you love Rik Mayall - personally I think he was always best in small doses, like his occasional 'Blackadder' appearances. He was pretty exhausting in anything where he had a lead role, and the 1995 'Wind in the Willows' at least reined it in just enough. Plot seems a bit weakly clichéd, manic, and thrown together too, and the 'no-one knows it's Toad if he has the tiniest disguise' is stretched to breaking point, after just about working in the first film.

It speaks volumes (pun intended) that this was based on a sequel NOT by Kenneth Grahame, but someone else entirely. Dare I say it, neither book nor adaptation was necessary. The originals were understatedly beautiful. This has the same great animation...but it's a very poor cousin to the original in terms of story.