Back in 2012, it was reported that a film adaptation of the classic Disney parks attraction Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was in development with longtime Disney animator Pete Candeland set to direct. Since then news on the project has been silent, and was likely put on hold by the studio. However, thanks to a new listing on IMDbPro there is a possibility things may be moving forward on the film.
Before we go further it should be noted, that just because there is a listing on IMDb doesn’t mean it’s always accurate.
That said, according to the long-running movie site, Qiao Wang who has worked on visual effects and animation for films Avengers: Endgame, Ralph Breaks The Internet, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, has joined the production as a “character td (technical director).
For those that don’t know a character td is is a type of technical director in film who is specifically concerned with characters, creatures, and mechanical objects. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is said be a live-action/CGI hybrid, which means Wang would likely oversee the creature characters such as the title character himself.
Matt Lieberman (The Addams Family) and Mike Vukadinovich (Runaways) are on board as writers, Tron: Legacy and Dumbo producer Justin Springer was originally on board to direct, but it’s unclear if that’s still the case.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is based on Disney’s adaptation of The Wind In The Willows, and is the first segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, narrated by Basil Rathbone. The other half of the animated feature was based on the unrelated short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It was reissued as a stand-alone short in 1950s. A film was released in 1996, and was disastrous to say the least, the film starred Steve Coogan as Mole, Eric Idle as Rat, Terry Jones as Mr Toad, Nicol Williamson as Mr Badger, and John Cleese as Mr. Toads lawyer.
Disney has had much success with its attraction to film adaptations with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise grossing a combined $4.5 billion at the global box office, with a 6th film looming. Disney wrapped production on Jungle Cruise earlier this year and is poised to be a summer hit starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt. The studio also the long-in-development Haunted Mansion from director Guillermo Del Toro, which is still in limbo, as well as an It’s A Small World movie in the works with National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub.
Source: IMDb Pro
Check out the trailer to the 1996 adaptation, and learn the history about the classic opening day attraction below:
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This seems interesting…