The Wind in the Willows (2006)

This is not the best version of Kenneth Grahame's wonderful book, but it is a very enjoyable one. It is amusing and charming with memorable, quirky performance and great costume and set design.The adaptation does look visually pleasing, with colourful costumes and sets and the scenery is beautiful. The camera work was also creative, with interesting angles. The story is still well-constructed, well-paced, fairly true in essence and has many charming interludes particularly the Piper at the Gates of Dawn sequence which was a delight to see.The writing is also playful and witty, particularly with Toad, and the characters are still their likable selves. The acting is in general very good. Matt Lucas occasionally overdoes it, but he also seems to be enjoying himself. Bob Hoskins is a wonderful badger, while Lee Ingleby is a touching Mole and Mak Gatiss a suitably subdued and subtle Ratty. Mary Walsh is lovely too, Imelda Staunton is very amusing and while the weasels are a slight disappointment they aren't in a lot of it to distract too much.Overall, a very enjoyable TV adaptation. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Wind in the willows in one of my all time favorite stories. I loved this story when I was a child, and this movie reminded me of how much I loved this story. This movie appeared on Australian television just before Christmas Eve. This movie has a great cast including Matt Lucas as Toad, Mark Gatiss as Ratty, Lee Ingleby as Mole, and Bob Hoskins as Badger. But this isn't the first live-action of Wind in the Willows. You may recall that there was a previous live-action film version of The Wind In The Willows that was released in cinemas. This film was released back in 1997 and it starred Steve Coogan as Mole, Eric Idle as Ratty, Terry Jones as Toad, Nicol Williamson as Badger, and Anthony Sher as the Chief Weasel. But this previous live-action film was a parody of Wind in the Willows. While this TV movie is very loyal to Kenneth Graham's original story. It has many of the same scenes and the same quotes that were in the book and it even has Toad's conceited songs. So I certainly enjoyed this movie and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the book.

The Wind In The Willows' latest BBC adaptation is definitely an enjoyable watch - even if it is just for Matt Lucas's depiction of Toad of Toad Hall. Some nice settings and good historical settings (this is meant to be set in the 1920s) ensure that this isn't just stupid fun for thick kids. But unfortunately, the show's main sense of humour lies in Matt Lucas' ability to make stupid noises and just generally be an idiot - a shortage of sharp wit or cruel sarcasm is a shame and ensure that this will only be fully enjoyed by lovers of Little Britain. But to be honest, this wasn't meant to be the Beeb's latest comedy breakthrough. This was made purely to entertain the family for 100 minutes. And revisiting old classic tales has always done that. There's also a bit of human emotion in the film - from Mole (or was it Badger? I don't know), who wishes he had a real home and a real family again, as testified to a number of times in the film. But as I said earlier, most people would only watch this for Matt Lucas anyway, and he's great as the massively over-the-top, scheming and barmy Toad of Toad Hall. He brings the technology-obsessed Toad to the screen with his own unique humorous signature and manages to help make these 100 minutes very enjoyable indeed. Some of it is well made (take the dream sequence with the floating boat which bordered on Lord of the Rings quality), and some of it is a bit duff (take the CG plane at the end, although this manages to help the film reach the conclusion it wanted), but it is all very fun, and the BBC have thrown a few million out of their money pot in the right direction. Some photography is neat and on the whole, this film is nice to look at. It would have been more original if the story had taken a more mature and adult twist instead of being aimed solely at the whole family - after all, Matt Lucas does specialise in adult comedy. Unfortunately, it's practically all family friendly and there ain't much to satisfy a mature audience, although some guns and fighting at the end help to keep it slightly away from PC-mush-land. But who cares? The Wind In The Willows is a family story, and with Narnia-esquire photography in parts, this will be two hours that you won't regret sitting through. And I must admit, I did chuckle when Toad pranged his car. 7/10

When I first saw the advert at Christmas, I was obviously attracted by Little Britain's Matt Lucas and the great Bob Hoskins starring, but also I was attracted to see another live action version, the other was Terry Jones's 1997 film. You probably know the story already, although I didn't know Mole (The Street's Lee Ingleby) and Rat (The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss) didn't know each other already when they met. They meet Toad (Lucas) who takes them on a caravan, and then gets obsessed with motor cars. Rat and Mole then meet Badger (Hoskins) in the Wild Wood, and the three of them try to rehabilitate Toad. They fail and he goes to prison, but escapes as a washer woman, and then they have the Battle of Toad Hall. Phew! Also starring Jim Carter as Engine driver, Theodor Danetti as Otter, Radu Andrei Micu as Chief Weasel, Imelda Staunton as Barge Lady and Tom Baker as Judge's voice. Worth watching!