The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show

The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show is a 1970 American animated television series that aired on ABC's Saturday morning schedule. The show features two characters created by British children's writer Kenneth Grahame: the Reluctant Dragon from the 1898 short story of the same name, and Mr. Toad from the 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows. The show was created by Rankin/Bass Productions in New York City, who produced 17 episodes.[1] The show was a flop, airing from September 12 until December 26, 1970, when it was pulled from the Saturday morning schedule. A year later, ABC aired reruns of the show on Sunday mornings from September 12, 1971 to September 17, 1972.[2]

The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Kenneth Grahame
Written by	Romeo Muller William J. Keenan
Directed by	Arthur Rankin Jr. Jules Bass
Voices of	Paul Soles Donna Miller Claude Rae Carl Banas
Composer(s)	Maury Laws Jules Bass
Country of origin	United States Canada Japan
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	17
Production
Producer(s)	Arthur Rankin Jr. Jules Bass
Cinematography	Steve Nakagawa
Editor(s)	Irwin Goldress Script Editor: William J. Keenan
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Rankin/Bass Productions Animation: Mushi Production
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	Color
Original release	September 12 (1970-09-12) – December 26, 1970 (1970-12-26)

The half-hour comedy program included three shorts on each episode: the Reluctant Dragon took the first and third slots, with a Mr. Toad cartoon in the middle.[3] Written by Romeo Muller and William J. Keenan, the series uses a team of Canadian voice actors with Bernard Cowan as the recording supervisor. Tobias, the Reluctant Dragon, was voiced by Paul Soles; other characters were performed by Donna Miller, Claude Rae and Carl Banas.[4] The series' character designs were done by Paul Coker, Jr., and the animation supervision by Japanese-American animator Steve Nakagawa at Mushi Production in Tokyo.

The Reluctant Dragon

Tobias is a gentle, dreamy dragon who was cursed by the wizard Merlin with flaming breath, which comes upon him every time that he sneezes.[5] He is a kind-hearted soul who doesn't want to hurt the populace of Willowmarsh Village, and is ashamed whenever he erupts in flame. He's regularly troubled by a little blonde girl who wants to give him a bouquet of daisies, which make him sneeze. Tobias is aided by a knight, Sir Malcolm Giles, who tries to protect both the village and the dragon.[3] Willowmarsh is ruled by King Herman, who hosts a variety show.[6] Other characters include Sir Andrew, Irving the Bold and Ugliola.

Titles of the Reluctant Dragon cartoons included "National Daisy Week", "The Campscout Girls', "A Cold Day in Wilowmarsh", "The Tobias Touch" and "Tobias, the Reluctant Viking".[3]

Mr. Toad

J. Thaddeus Toad is a gadabout playboy who likes driving fast cars and wearing expensive clothes. He's the wealthy owner of Toad Hall, and an object of ridicule among his friends — the timid Mole, intellectual Badger and outgoing Water Rat.[3]

Mr. Toad stories included "Ghost of Toad Hall", "Micemaster Road", "Build a Better Bungalow", "Polo Panic" and "Jove! What a Day".[3]

In 1987, Rankin/Bass produced a more faithful TV-movie adaptation of The Wind in the Willows.[4]

Episode list

1. A Cold Day in Willowmarch / Build a Better Bungalow / A Day at the Fair
2. Cowardly Herman / Casey Tad / Daisies Away
3. Dippy / Gentlemen's Gentleman / Dragon Under Glass
4. Free a Cold, Starve a Viking / Ghost of Toad Hall / Happy Birthday, Dear Tobias
5. How to Be a Wizard / Jack of All Trades / How to Vex a Viking
6. If It's a Wednesday It Must Be Vikingland / Jove! What a Day / Lights, Camera, Action
7. Merlin the Magician, Jr. / Micemaster Road / National Daisy Week
8. Never Count on a Cornflower / Movie Maker Toad / No Bix Like Show Bix
9. Saving the Crown / Polo Panic / Sir Tobias
10. Subway Sabotage / Sail Ho-Ho / Taxes Are a Drag on Dragons
11. The Big Break / Sandhogs / The Campscout Girls
12. The Flying Flagon / The Amphibious Mr. Toad / The Haunted Castle
13. The Kid's Last Fight / The Demolition Derby / The Purple King
14. The Robot Dragon / The Great Bonfire Contest / The Starve Versus Herman, the Attrocious
15. The Tobias Touch / The Great Motorcycle Race / Tobias the Terror of the Tournament
16. Tobias, the Reluctant Viking / Toad's Time Machine / Wretched Robin Hood
17. (unknown) / Twenty Thousand Inches Under the Sea / (unknown)

References

1. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 659. ISBN 978-1476665993.
2. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 358. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
3. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part I: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 234–235. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
4. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 497–498. ISBN 978-1538103739.
5. Salda, Michael N. (2013). Arthurian Animation: A Study of Cartoon Camelots on Film and Television. McFarland & Co. p. 65. ISBN 9780786474684. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
6. "The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad". Skooldays. Retrieved 9 May 2020.