The Wind in the Willows - The Complete Collection [DVD]

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Winter (DVD) / Winter Tales (VHS – 3 November 1986 & 17 October 1994) – The Yuletide Entertainment (Cut version on the DVD), Winter Sports, The Rescue (Cut version on the VHS). It is autumn, and Rat, Mole and Badger are making preparations for winter, exchanging their home-made jams and preserves. Toad's garden supplies most of the fruits and vegetables for his friends, but Toad himself prefers to buy his own winter provisions in a hamper from London, much to Badger's distaste. Determined to impress them all, Toad buys a canning machine imported from the USA. However, having refused to blanch the vegetables before putting them into the tins, the impression he makes when they are opened is not the sort he planned.

Spring (DVD) / Spring Follies (VHS – 4 April 1988 & 6 March 1995) – The Great Steamer, Paperchase ( The Lost River in newer VHS 1995), May Day Alfred (Allan Bardsley) – Alfred is Toad's sarcastic and stubborn but well-meaning horse who always refuses to do what Toad wants to do. He briefly appeared in the film with a singing role and then made on and off appearances in the series. His catchphrases are "Nope" and "Ar". Toad decides that he must have a portrait on the wall in his home, alongside his ancestors, and not being convinced by the merits of painting, he sends for some expensive camera equipment. Having contemptuously disregarded the introductory manual "For Novices", he sets out to practice what he believes to be a natural ability for photography. It soon becomes clear that Toad is not a skilled photographer, and after a number of mishaps (one of which entails Toad falling into the river), Toad gives up and develops the photographs. Inviting all of his friends to see the results, it is revealed that many of them are badly shot or shot with the lens cap still on, which gives the Riverbankers a good laugh and makes Toad somewhat embarrassed While resting, Mole hears sounds which he cannot account for. It leads him to fear that there might be a ghost in his house. Mole seeks reassurance from Badger that the sounds could be the noises of growing tree roots, etc., but Toad exacerbates the issue by singing to Mole about the thousands of ghosts skulking in Toad Hall. Eventually, though, he discovers that the sounds are produced by a hedgehog which has fallen into a crevice immediately above his burrow. With the help of Rat, he saves the animal.Toad has taken up an interest in stargazing, in anticipation of the return of Halley's Comet. Naturally then, he has bought a telescope at, as Badger puts it, "an astronomical price". Having managed, with some difficulty, to get it onto the roof of Toad Hall, Mole and Rat leave Toad to his observations, and as night falls he spots a moving light which he assumes to be the comet and dubs it 'Toad's Comet'. Little does he realise that the weasels are creeping about with a torch, and suddenly his ladder disappears, leaving him stranded on the roof. He is eventually rescued in the morning and is surprised to hear what the 'comet' he saw actually was. The Wind in the Willows Bumper Special (VHS – 10 September 1990) – Mr Toad of the Times, Toad in Motion, Piano-Roll Toad, Gypsy Toad, Toad in Love. It is nearing 5 November, Bonfire Night, and the riverbankers decide to celebrate as a welcome distraction from the construction of the railway in the Wild Wood. Toad determines to have fireworks, and after trying his hand at firework-making without success, he heads to London to buy a luxury box. The display is in peril when the weasels steal the wood for the bonfire and the fireworks, but the riverbankers have a merry gathering nevertheless. Seeing the fireworks being let off from the Wild Woods, the riverbankers notice that the woods are on fire. While tending to the injured weasels, Badger offers them asylum in Mr. Toad's outhouses. He makes an impassioned speech for unity in the face of the builders. Mrs. Carrington-Moss ( Beryl Reid) – The magistrate in the film; she appears in the episodes, "The Grand Annual Show", "Buried Treasure", and "Burglary at Toad Hall".

Inspired by the lifestyle of an old gypsy that visits Toad Hall, Mr Toad finds his tent and fiddle, and heads out to a new life on the open road... until it rains. The Further Adventures of Mr Toad (VHS – 24 April 1989) – The Further Adventures of Mr Toad, Patient Toad ( The Storm in one with a different picture on its VHS cover), Fire at Toad Hall. One morning after the storm, Rat return home with Mole after being invited to breakfast, only to discover that the river has disappeared from its channel. Confused and distressed, he enlists the help of Mole, Badger and Toad, and they all set off to find out what happened. But Rat is not the only one to have lost something: on their search, he and Toad encounter a family of fieldmice whose caravan home has been flooded out. Toad is eventually persuaded to put them up at Toad Hall, but meanwhile the others may have found a clue to the disappearance of the river. Summer (DVD) / Summer Escapades (VHS – 5 October 1987 & 1 September 1997) – Toad: Photographer, The Great Golfing Gamble, Grand Annual ShowToad Hall is in need of some renovation work. Badger tells Toad about his ancestor, Inigo, a great architect. Inspired, Toad decides to take up architecture himself, and re-design Toad Hall. As usual, his efforts are somewhat misguided – he thinks the west wing has been put on the wrong side of the hall – and the weasels see yet another opportunity to take advantage of him. DVDs were made as part of a one-off Daily Mail event around the end of 2008, each containing six episodes. Two of them are similar to The Four Seasons collection. Toad decides to enter the "Home-Made Boat Competition" in the River Bank Regatta. However, he can't be bothered to build a boat, and therefore decides to buy one and attempt to pass it off as his own. This plan fails, and he decides to build a boat just to spite the cynical Badger. His first attempt at building a boat fails, but the Weasels offer to help him build another one, and disaster strikes when it sinks with Toad aboard.

Bored by Badger's intellectual slide show, Toad decides to hold a soirée at Toad Hall. He starts with a game of charades, but when his opening charade ( The Three Musketeers) goes wrong, he calls a halt and suggest they play Pin the Tail on the Donkey instead. This plan goes awry when the blindfolded host falls down a flight of stairs. Badger suggests an impressions game, but Ratty's impression of Toad offends him, and he storms off to bed, vowing never to speak to them again. He then has a strange dream where his friends and the weasels have switched bodies, causing him to see the error of his ways.Billy Rabbit ( David Jason) – "Billy" is present in all series. He first appears as an unnamed character the Series 1 episode "The Grand Annual Show", but becomes more of a recurring character from Series 3 onwards. He is not to be confused with Billy the Fieldmouse, who appears on and off in the series. Both appear together in a number of episodes. Rat ( Peter Sallis) – Best and platonic friend to Mole. A friendly and strait-laced everyman with a love of poetry and music, and a great passion for the river by which he lives.

The Wind in the Willows is a British stop motion animated television series that was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, based on characters from Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows and following the 1983 feature-length pilot film. [2] After overthrowing the Weasels in the battle of Toad Hall, Toad hosts a celebration dinner for his friends. He reminisces about his time in prison, escape from jail and his exploits with the barge woman. His friends are less than impressed with how he handled some of the situations, but Toad gets offended when they tell him so. The Christmas Collection (5 October 1992) - Auld Lang Syne. (Compilation VHS with The Sooty Show and Rainbow)

Ernest, a young shrew, is missing in the snow. Rat and Mole discover him with the Chief Weasel and his Assistant, who Ernest calls "Uncle Bill" and "Uncle Bert". They have taken him in after finding him lost and taught him to make a bunny from a handkerchief. Rat and Mole are surprised by the weasels' kind streak, but the weasels are rather affronted to be accused of kindness, and try to pretend they have been mistreating the shrew. Accompanying Ernest home, they encounter Toad. Toad was also searching for the shrew, but became lost along the way. The weasels stole his possessions, and he is displeased to discover that Ernest was treated to his lunch. Badger does not appear in this episode. The segment was based on Kenneth Grahame's novel of the same name (narrated by Basil Rathbone). The protagonist Mr. J. Thaddeus Toad is introduced as an "incurable adventurer" who "never counted the cost". Although he is the wealthy proprietor of the Toad Hall estate, Toad's adventures and "positive mania for fads" have brought him to the brink of bankruptcy, much to the frustration of Toad's bookkeeper, Angus MacBadger, who is too stressed to pay Toad's bills for damaged property and help Toad keep Toad Hall which is a source of pride in the community.