after all the good things i have heard about it, terry jones's the wind in the willows was in some ways a let down. oh there were splendid performances from all of them - steve coogan as mole - did you think alan patridge could be so convincing as this lovable, timid, downcast and wondering creature? terry jones most perfect as a petulant, unrepentant toad, and eric idle, oh my, a most delightful rat, full of decency and fellowfeeling and indignation. i do think idle was the best of them all, playing rat exactly right. i like the fact that no one had to get themselves up in bunny suits, just a tail or some whiskers and edwardian clothing. i never like cartoon versions of animal stories. remember c.s. lewis telling his goddaughter about the two kinds of animal stories? this is the other kind, and rightly so. you see the production and the cast and the atmosphere - all of those things were marvellously right - i want to like it and there's so much to like but - i just did not approve of the departures from the book, and the musical bits seemed painfully camp to me. i object most vehemently to the weasels in the wild wood routine. i ask you, how can the same man who who singlehandedly choreographed not only the knights of round table sequence but the glorious every sperm is sacred - how could he have ended up with the dreadful song and dance sequences in this film?