Mr. Toad
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{about|the The Wind in the Willows character|the DC Comics character|Mister Toad (comics)}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Mr. Toad
| series = The Wind in the Willows
| image = E.H. Shepard illustration of Mr Toad.jpg
| caption = Illustration by E.H. Shepard
| first = The Wind in the Willows
| creator = Kenneth Grahame
| portrayer = Peter Harryson (stage adaptation)
| voice = Eric Blore (1949 film)
David Jason (1983 film, 1984 TV series)
Charles Nelson Reilly (1987 film)
Rik Mayall (1995 film, 1996 sequel)
| species = Toad
| gender = Male
| occupation = The Squire of Toad Hall
| nationality = English
}}
Mr. Toad, of Toad Hall, is one of the main characters in the 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
Inspiration
The inspiration for Mr. Toad's wayward mischievousness and boastfulness was Kenneth Grahame's only child Alastair: a family friend, Constance Smedley, overheard Grahame telling Alastair the exploits of Toad as a bedtime story, and noted that "Alastair's own tendency to exult in his exploits was gently satirized in Mr. Toad".{{cite book|first=Jonathan|last=Mattanah|chapter=A Contemporary Psychological Understanding of Mr. Toad|title=Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows: A Children's Classic at 100|editor1-first=Jackie C.|editor1-last=Horne|editor2-first=Donna R.|editor2-last=White|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham, Maryland|date=2009|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8zKwyB9bqYYC&q=%22Mr+Toad%22+Alastair+Grahame&pg=PA94|pages=93–94|isbn=9780810872592}} Colonel Francis Cecil Ricardo (1852–1924), the first owner of a car in Cookham in Berkshire, where Grahame wrote the books is also thought to have been an influence. Other suggestions include Walter Cunliffe, 1st Baron Cunliffe{{cite news|last=Johnson |first=Andrew |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/is-this-the-real-mr-toad-913944.html |title=Is this the real Mr Toad? |newspaper=The Independent |date=22 October 2011 |accessdate=7 May 2018}} and Sir Charles Day Rose. Christopher McGrath, Mr. Darley's Arabian, Pegasus Books, 2017, pp. 212, 243
Character
Toad is the squire of the English countryside estate Toad Hall, which he inherited from his family. Toad is a jovial and friendly figure but he is often ruled by his conceit and impulsiveness which often gets him into trouble. Toad is known for becoming obsessed with various activities and then eventually growing bored with them. In the novel Toad becomes obsessed with motor cars after one runs him and his friends off the road in his caravan. Toad is a passionate driver and crashes at least eight motor cars before his friends step in and encourage him to change his ways.{{cite journal |last1=Sander |first1=David |title=Mr. Bliss and Mr. Toad: Hazardous Driving in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Mr. Bliss" & Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" |journal=Mythlore |date=1997 |volume=21 |issue=4 (82) |pages=36–38 |jstor=26812758 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26812758 |issn=0146-9339}}
In other works
A. A. Milne's 1929 play Toad of Toad Hall was based on the book.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} William Horwood wrote several children's novels, Tales of the Willows, continuing the original story.{{cite book |last1=Drew |first1=Bernard A. |title=Literary Afterlife: The Posthumous Continuations of 325 Authors' Fictional Characters |date=8 March 2010 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5721-2 |page=211 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c91Vrl20Y4sC&dq=%22toad+triumphant%22+horwood&pg=PA211 |language=en}} The 2013 graphic adventure video game The Wolf Among Us, based on the Fables comic book series, features Mr. Toad as "a foul-mouthed taxi-driver" voiced by Chuck Kourouklis.{{cite web |last1=Harrist |first1=Josiah |title=With The Wolf Among Us, Telltale Takes a Turn for the Nihilistic |url=https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/wolf-among-us-telltale-takes-turn-nihilistic/ |website=Kill Screen |access-date=5 August 2024 |date=26 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228003436/https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/wolf-among-us-telltale-takes-turn-nihilistic/ |archive-date=28 February 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Mr. Toad Voice - The Wolf Among Us (Video Game) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/The-Wolf-Among-Us/Mr-Toad/ |publisher=Behind the Voice Actors |access-date=6 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308130012/https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/The-Wolf-Among-Us/Mr-Toad/ |archive-date=8 March 2014 |url-status=live}}
Portrayals
- Eric Blore - The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949 film){{cite book |last1=Pitts |first1=Michael R. |title=RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1929-1956 |date=3 April 2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-6047-2 |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=op6vBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Eric+Blore%22+ichabod+toad&pg=PA9 |language=en}}
- David Jason - The Wind in the Willows (1983 film)
- Charles Nelson Reilly - The Wind in the Willows (1987 film){{cite book |last1=Hischak |first1=Thomas S. |title=The Oxford Companion to the American Musical |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-533533-0 |page=802 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbBz3C4Gr0EC&dq=%22Charles+Nelson+Reilly%22+toad&pg=PA802 |language=en}}
- Rik Mayall - The Wind in the Willows (1995 film). He won an Emmy Award for the role.{{cite news |last1=Castle |first1=Jill |title=In Pictures: Rik Mayall, a career in comedy |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13164537.pictures-rik-mayall-career-comedy/ |access-date=8 March 2024 |work=The Herald |date=9 June 2014 |language=en}}
- Terry Jones - The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)
- Matt Lucas - The Wind in the Willows (2006 film){{cite news |last1=Duck |first1=Siobhan |title=Willow talk |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/359670071 |access-date=8 March 2024 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=19 December 2007|id={{ProQuest|359670071}} |via=ProQuest}}
- Peter Harryson - on stage.{{cite news|last1=Panas |first1=Dan |url=http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/noje/9806/15/harryson.html|title=Aftonbladet nöje: Sista kvällen som padda|website=Aftonbladet|date=15 June 1998|accessdate=8 May 2018|language=Swedish}}
- Nathan Lane The Wind in the Willows (1985 stage musical){{Cite web|url=https://playbill.com/production/wind-in-the-willows-nederlander-theatre-vault-0000002716|title=Wind in the Willows (Broadway, Nederlander Theatre, 1985) | Playbill}}
- Rufus Hound - The Wind in the Willows (musical){{Cite news |last=Billington |first=Michael |date=29 June 2017 |title=The Wind in the Willows review – Rufus Hound goes wild with Julian Fellowes' party animals |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jun/29/the-wind-in-the-willows-review-julian-fellowes-rufus-hound-stiles-and-drewe |access-date=29 May 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{The Wind in the Willows}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Anthropomorphic frogs
Category:Characters in children's literature
Category:Characters in British novels of the 20th century
Category:Male characters in literature
Category:Male characters in animation
Category:Disney animal characters
Category:Literary characters introduced in 1908
Category:Film characters introduced in 1949
Category:The Wind in the Willows