CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Prismark10 The Wind in the Willows is a live action adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's famous book. A nervous Mole (Lee Ingleby) emerges from his hole and ventures out to the river where he encounters Ratty (Mark Gatiss) who takes him on a boat trip. They get taken on a caravan ride by Toad of Toad Hall (Matt Lucas) who then goes dashing about recklessly in a motorcar.Mole and Ratty join up with Badger (Bob Hoskins) to save Mr Toad from his reckless need for speed but he ends up in jail and then the weasles take over his manor.This is a fun family drama directed with some style by Rachel Talalay. Hoskins is suitably grumpy as Badger, Lucas is manic as Toad. There are some nice cameos from actors such as Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton. However the weasels were a letdown.

Stompgal_87 I've already seen three different film versions of Kenneth Grahame's lovely story and I saw this version on Watch (a digital TV channel in the UK)on Christmas Eve 2009.The only people I've heard of were Bob Hoskins (Badger), Imelda Staunton (the barge lady) and Matt Lucas (Toad). Some parts reminded me of the 1983 stop-motion version, the 2D animated version from around 1995 and an abridged version of the story (retold by Lesley Sims), but this is probably the most unique version of them all. Matt Lucas and Bob Hoskins played a convincing Toad and Badger respectively, but I didn't know the majority of actors in this film at all.Matt's performance as Toad was the funniest thing in this film and it was well-acted by everyone else too. It's just a shame that there was no focus on Rat and Mole's riverside picnic. 9/10

general-melchett The Wind In The Willows' latest BBC adaptation is definitely an enjoyable watch - even if it is just for Matt Lucas's depiction of Toad of Toad Hall. Some nice settings and good historical settings (this is meant to be set in the 1920s) ensure that this isn't just stupid fun for thick kids. But unfortunately, the show's main sense of humour lies in Matt Lucas' ability to make stupid noises and just generally be an idiot - a shortage of sharp wit or cruel sarcasm is a shame and ensure that this will only be fully enjoyed by lovers of Little Britain. But to be honest, this wasn't meant to be the Beeb's latest comedy breakthrough. This was made purely to entertain the family for 100 minutes. And revisiting old classic tales has always done that. There's also a bit of human emotion in the film - from Mole (or was it Badger? I don't know), who wishes he had a real home and a real family again, as testified to a number of times in the film. But as I said earlier, most people would only watch this for Matt Lucas anyway, and he's great as the massively over-the-top, scheming and barmy Toad of Toad Hall. He brings the technology-obsessed Toad to the screen with his own unique humorous signature and manages to help make these 100 minutes very enjoyable indeed. Some of it is well made (take the dream sequence with the floating boat which bordered on Lord of the Rings quality), and some of it is a bit duff (take the CG plane at the end, although this manages to help the film reach the conclusion it wanted), but it is all very fun, and the BBC have thrown a few million out of their money pot in the right direction. Some photography is neat and on the whole, this film is nice to look at. It would have been more original if the story had taken a more mature and adult twist instead of being aimed solely at the whole family - after all, Matt Lucas does specialise in adult comedy. Unfortunately, it's practically all family friendly and there ain't much to satisfy a mature audience, although some guns and fighting at the end help to keep it slightly away from PC-mush-land. But who cares? The Wind In The Willows is a family story, and with Narnia-esquire photography in parts, this will be two hours that you won't regret sitting through. And I must admit, I did chuckle when Toad pranged his car. 7/10

Jackson Booth-Millard When I first saw the advert at Christmas, I was obviously attracted by Little Britain's Matt Lucas and the great Bob Hoskins starring, but also I was attracted to see another live action version, the other was Terry Jones's 1997 film. You probably know the story already, although I didn't know Mole (The Street's Lee Ingleby) and Rat (The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss) didn't know each other already when they met. They meet Toad (Lucas) who takes them on a caravan, and then gets obsessed with motor cars. Rat and Mole then meet Badger (Hoskins) in the Wild Wood, and the three of them try to rehabilitate Toad. They fail and he goes to prison, but escapes as a washer woman, and then they have the Battle of Toad Hall. Phew! Also starring Jim Carter as Engine driver, Theodor Danetti as Otter, Radu Andrei Micu as Chief Weasel, Imelda Staunton as Barge Lady and Tom Baker as Judge's voice. Worth watching!