The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
The Wind in the Willows
Family · Animation · Adventure · 1995
Jailed for his reckless driving, rambunctious Mr. Toad has to escape from prison when his beloved Toad Hall comes under threat from the wily weasels, who plan to build a dog food factory on the very meadow sold to them by Toad himself.
Movie details
The Wind in the Willows
1995 Family · Animation · Adventure 1h 14m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.1 / 10
Community rating
Jailed for his reckless driving, rambunctious Mr. Toad has to escape from prison when his beloved Toad Hall comes under threat from the wily weasels, who plan to build a dog food factory on the very meadow sold to them by Toad himself.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Wind in the Willows?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Two by Two: Overboard!
Animation · 2020
Two misfit castaways struggle to reunite an unorthodox family, out-run a volcano, and negotiate a peace deal on a creaking Ark.
Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness
Animation · 2022
A brave young animal explorer teams up with two trusty friends to find a powerful artifact before his greedy uncle can get his paws on it.
Plankton: The Movie
Family · 2025
Plankton's tangled love story with his sentient computer wife goes sideways when she takes a stand — and decides to destroy the world without him.
Welcome to Smelliville
Animation · 2021
The Oggly family arrive at the municipal rubbish dump of Smelliville and must look for a new home, but they never feel really welcome anywhere. They stink and are for most humans just a tad too oggly. When Firebottom, the family dragon, crash-lands on the run-down rubbish tip of the small town of Smelliville, the Ogglies at once feel at home. And it's here they want to stay.
A Flintstones Christmas Carol
Animation · 1994
Fred is cast as Ebenezer Scrooge in a stage adaption of the classic Christmas story, but is acting a bit stingy in real life.
The Monkey King
Animation · 2023
A stick-wielding monkey teams with a young girl on an epic quest for immortality, battling demons, dragons, gods — and his own ego — along the way.
Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie
Family · 2018
When their trip to San Lorenzo takes a turn for the worst, Arnold and his classmate’s only hope of getting home is retracing the dangerous path that led to Arnold's parents' disappearance.
Animal Crackers
Comedy · 2018
A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a rundown circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.
Clifford's Really Big Movie
Family · 2004
Fearing that he costs too much to feed, Clifford decides to join a traveling carnival so he can enter a talent contest in hopes of winning a lifetime supply of Tummy Yummies treats. Joined by his friends Cleo and T-Bone, Clifford meets up with Shackleford the High-Flying Ferret and Rodrigo Chihuahua of Steel, as they work together to turn a broken-down act into a record-breaking show.
Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright
Family · 2013
Join Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and the Mystery Inc. crew as they head to Chicago for Talent Star, a hit talent show in which Fred and Daphne are finalists with some high hopes. Unlucky for them, the competition is frightful as the show is being broadcast from an opera house with a history of horrors and a particularly vengeful phantom that has cursed the show's production.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Dennis Abey · Dave Unwin
Written by
Ted Walker
Alan Bennett
Mole (voice)
Michael Palin
Rat (voice)
Michael Gambon
Badger (voice)
Rik Mayall
Toad (voice)
Vanessa Redgrave
Grandmother / Narrator (voice)
James Villiers
Magistrate (voice)
Emma Chambers
Gaoler's Daughter (voice)
Court is in session
Put The Wind in the Willows on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.