8 Overlooked Animated Disney Films That Are Better Than You Think
4. The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad
Between the studio-building releases of Snow White, Dumbo et al and the revered princess films of the fifties (Cinderella, Alice In Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty) Disney released a string of movies with a totally different approach. Producing a full-length feature was incredibly time-consuming and with World War II conscription providing strains on staff, the studio turned its focus to a more anthology type of storytelling, adapting half-finished, full-length ideas into shorter films.
As with any compendium, there was varied quality, although generally the creativity shines through, even if it didn't have the opportunity to be fully developed. The best of the lot is The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, the final multi-story piece before Cinderella changed everything.
Adapting The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow and The Wind In The Willows respectively (although in the film they run the other way round), they both dealt with the stories with the typical Disney-level faithfulness (i.e. when it suits). Theres just enough time given to flesh out the titular characters, with the Sleepy Hollow section being particularly strong; the climax, with its fluid animation, is funny and disturbing in equal measure.
Lacking the innate marketability of the single-storied films, all of these anthologies have fallen into obscurity over the years. Although they are available on DVD for those curious to see how the young company shaped itself.