11 Unmade Movie Adapatations That Were Just Weird
6. The Wind In The Willows
When someone thinks of The Wind In The Willows, chances are that they land on the 1980s stop-motion series by Cosgrove Hall, full of charm and David Jason. This unmade adaptation directed by Ray Grigg however, appears to have been planning to Tim Burton things up a bit.
As well as a generally grim atmosphere, the teaser’s tagline being “When all is lost, all that is left is to rebuild” suggests a weird post-apocalyptic vibe. A huge contrast from the novel and other adaptations, which, while including the distant threat of the characters’ homes being destroyed, always stopped short of it actually happening.
Particularly as a significant theme of the original story is Toad's car obsession (and therefore the modern world) literally crashing through the peaceful Edwardian countryside, as opposed to that setting coming pre-destroyed.
Along with the strange post-apocalyptic tone, WETA’s character model of Toad also feels out of place. The general appearance of the character combined with the almost menacing laugh that comes at the end is worlds apart from the warm but boisterous and selfish character of the book. But at least it wasn’t Disney’s planned adaptation that Guillermo Del Toro dropped out of after being asked to “give Toad a skateboard and make him say radical dude things”.