On Saturday, September 13th, D23 opened the gates to The Walt Disney Studios for members to celebrate the 1949 package feature, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Attendees parked in the Zorro parking garage (named after the section of the backlot that it replaced that was created for the hit TV series) and walked between soundstages to the Walt Disney Theater. The theater is directly across from the old animation building where the film was made. A check-in table was setup outside of the theater, which they opened early due to the exceptional heat that day (over 100 degrees!).
Two ticket types were offered for this event – VIP and standard. VIP tickets were $23 and standard tickets were $12. Similar to the El Capitan, the VIP ticket holders received a reserved seating section, popcorn, bottled water and a Ghirardelli chocolate bar. The event was the day after the unveiling of the new Frozen banner. Blue and white confetti was still blowing off the roof whenever a gust of wind came.
There were three special presentations before the film. First was a performance by the MeloD23 Singers, a volunteer choir consisting of studio employees. They sang a “Lost Chord” from the story of Mr. Toad that was written when The Wind in the Willows was planned as its own feature film. The song was called “The Bells of St. Mary’s” and was set at Christmas time. They sang acapella with bells as their only accompaniment. As a finale, they sang “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Pinocchio.
As the MeloD23 Singers took their seats, Becky Cline (president of the Walt Disney Archives) remained standing to share some history behind the film. Both The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow were planned as full length features by Disney in the early 1940’s. As a result of World War II and the realization that neither of the projects worked well as features, they were put into production as shorts. This was the final package feature, since the end of World War II returned most of Walt’s animators and he was able to resume production on animated features.
Becky then introduced Disney historian and author Mindy Johnson, who is also an authority on Bing Crosby who narrates the story of Ichabod. She compared both Walt’s and Bing’s childhoods and early interests in their artistic craft (animation vs. music) and pointed out the similarities. The first meeting between Walt and Bing is unknown, but the two did partner together in an attempt to create a sports complex in L.A. to rival Madison Square Gardens. That project was unsuccessful. Bing was parodied in a Silly Symphony short called Who Killed Cock Robin? and a Disney/Crosby project seemed inevitable. Walt and Bing’s friendship continued after The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad to the point where Walt had a part in mind for him for a film called The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. Unfortunately, Walt passed away and the film was delayed. When it came time to make the picture, Bing wasn’t available and Walter Brennan took the part.
After nearly an hour of presentations, Becky introduced the film. This screening was the newly restored print that was used on the recent Blu-Ray release. Before the event, I mingled with some of the other attendees and discovered that many of them had never seen the film before. It was interesting to see this 65 year-old film with a modern audience. They laughed at most of the appropriate moments and seemed to enjoy the characters. I noticed many commenting during the Mr. Toad section when a character or moment that is recreated in Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was happening.
After the film, the Studio Store was open for an hour of shopping. This store is more-or-less a Disney Store with some exclusive merchandise. In addition to shirts, mugs and pins that are typically only available to Studio employees, this store had some hard-to-find merchandise available due to the lack of everyday Disney fans having access to it. Frozen dolls that have been sold out at Disney Stores around the country for months were in ample supply. There were also limited edition collectors dolls that sold out long ago of Ariel, Prince Eric (the 17-inch versions) and Zarina (The Pirate Fairy) available at the store. And lets not forget Tsum Tsums, which are impossible to find at Disneyland. This store had many of those cute plushes available that day.
While The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad seems like an odd choice for the center of a Disney fan event, any day that fans get to walk on the sacred ground of The Walt Disney Studios is a good day. The event offered a chance to get out of the heat, learn some unpublished Disney history, watch a film that was made a stone’s throw away and shop for hard to find items at the Studio Store. A similar event is scheduled for October 11th to celebrate Sleeping Beauty.