James Algar (1912–1998)

A toad is arrested for car theft, and a schoolteacher hits on a pretty rich girl.

The Mr. Toad section would be bad, except the title character's animators make him entertaining to watch. The Ichabod section is much too long and aimless, but it does have a strangely interesting sense of style. There's no reason at all for the two sections to be part of the same film; Toad probably should have been a feature, and Ichabod a short.

Concept: B
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: D
Cinematography: show more B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: C

Enjoyment: C minus

GPA: 2.2/4

(Aug. 2011) show less

Based off two separate stories - Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Wind in the Willows, the two 'movies' are relatively short on their own but make a fun package deal with a little more than a hour of viewing altogether.

Disc One: Shorts
Donald Gets Drafted, The Army Mascot, Private Pluto, Fall Out; Fall In, The Old Army Game, Home Defense, How to be a Sailor, Commando Duck, The Vanishing Private, Sky Trooper, Victory Vehicles, Der Fuehrer's Face, Education for Death, Reason and Emotion, Thrifty Pig, Seven Wise Dwarfs, Donald's Decision, All Together, The New Spirit, The Spirit of '43, Food Will Win the War, Out of the Frying Pan and into the Firing Line, The Grain that Built a Hemisphere, Defense Against show more Invasion, Cleanliness Brings Health, What is Disease?, Planning for Good Eating, Chicken Little and the Winged Scourge

Disc two
Victory Through Air Power: This World War II film, meant to send a message rather than entertain, is adapted from a book by Russian-born Major Alexander P. de Seversky. It starts out with a brief but interesting history of airplanes, starting with the Wright Brothers' first flight in Kittyhawk. We see aviation being explored by various nations for various purposes and then airplanes put to limited use in World War I, followed by a series of successes in flight, before finally moving on to World War II. The film talks about the history of Major de Seversky, who later explains about how the advent of aircraft spells change in the face of traditional warfare. It then goes on to explain how the Allies chose not to embrace the use of air power and instead, used old-fashioned methods of warfare to battle the Axis powers, who used aircraft to do their dirty work. The point the film makes is that the only way for the Allies to secure victory over the robust Axis is to make heavy use of military aviation, because, as we're told, fighting on the surface puts the advantage in the hands of Adolf Hitler. show less

Lots of gorgeous short films make up this fun update (or addition, rather) to Fantasia.