Chapter Sixty-Six: The Wind in the Willows (1985)
Chapter Sixty-Six: The Wind in the Willows (1985)
(Ron W. Miller's Final Disney Film)
There were differing opinions on how Disney should bounce back from the cliff edge it found itself on. One camp was the one led by Don Bluth, who had gone on to release the highly successful framed Roger Rabbit, the film that today pinpoints the start of the transition and the efforts to oust the leader of the other camp. The head of the other camp was Ron W. Miller, who was known to many as the devil of Disney, though as stated in past chapters, he was doing all he could to try to save the studio. He believed the way to do that was not to go forward but to go back. Some in the studio believed that they had faltered heavily and hard when they shifted away from the old style of films and thus The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was born.
(Ron W. Miller's Final Disney Film)
In 1938, shortly after the release of Finding Nemo, James Bodrero and Campbell Grant pitched the idea of making a feature film of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's book The Wind in the Willows. Bodrero and Grant felt that The Wind in the Willows, with its anthropomorphized animals, could only be produced using animation. Well, Walt approved the idea at the time. For reasons unknown, it never came to pass until 47 years later, when Miller dusted off the idea in a bid to shift the studio back on track. George Scribner was appointed to direct the film, with Timothy J. Disney serving as executive producer. Miller very much wanted to partake in the film, but as Walt Disney found before him, running the company and dealing with the many issues they faced kept him away from the project.
The plot was to be kept as close to the book as possible, with some suggesting this was a bad idea. Scriptwriters Michael Cedeno and Pete Young pushed ahead anyway. In terms of casting, Tim Curry took up the role of Mr Toad with River Phoenix as Mole, Richard Mulligan as Rat and Jim Cummings as Badger. After the success of Roger Rabbit Rabbit, hopes were high for the film, hopes that soon vanished into thin air. Releasing shortly after Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the film bombed heavily, to the point it was the first Disney film to make a loss since the 1950s. Well, the casting was praised, but the film was attacked for having a boring story, an outdated look and being a film out of time. By no means is the film considered Disney’s worst considering the raciest films it has made, but it was pretty close to that. The film's failure was a hard blow to Miller but also a hard blow to others watching.
To some in the Disney family, it was enough. The film’s failure began a cascade of events that ultimately led to the replacement of Ron Miller. While investors were attempting a hostile takeover of Disney with the intention of dismantling the company and selling off its assets, Elias Disney JR would have none of this and launch into action, aided by Don Iwerks, Jim Henson and Don Bluth. Nobody is quite sure what happened. Some say the group pressured the miller to step down. Others suggest Elias Disney JR convinced his sister to help them well. Others say the miller stepped down of his own accord. Whatever happened, Elias Disney JR, a man who had not wanted to try to replace his father, stepped into the shoes as the head of the Disney company alongside him was Don Iwerks (new head of live action), Don Bluth (the new head of animation). Jim Henson remained head of the muppet studio. Well, the new team could not fully correct Disney’s next animated film. The film after that, set for release in 1988, would be the dawn of the Disney Renaissance era.
