Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

It is typical of Hollywood that one of the year's very best family films would go virtually straight to video. The casualty of an unrelated lawsuit between Disney and Columbia Pictures, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride played theatrically in a handful of cities (under the title Wind in the Willows) to mostly rapturous reviews before being dumped on the hotel pay-per-view/in-flight circuit. Terry Jones, formerly of Monty Python's Flying Circus, is in his element as Mr. Toad, who is in danger of losing his fortune and magnificent Toad Hall to the dastardly weasels when he becomes enthralled with motorcars. His devoted friends Rat (Eric Idle), Mole (Steve Coogan) and Badger (Nicol Williamson) try to mend his reckless, road-hogging ways, but to no avail. Without elaborate special effects, Jones charmingly brings Kenneth Grahame's beloved story to whimsical life. Of note to Python buffs, there are brief, but memorable, bits with Michael Palin as the Sun and John Cleese, at full boil, as Toad's lawyer, who nonetheless argues for the incarceration of his client. Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)