SPECIAL: The Wind In The Willows.

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Lucifers Angel
King For A Couple Of Days
Lucifers Angel
Age: -
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Posts: 4751
January 3rd, 2007 at 01:20pm
I dont know if anyone else saw this adaption of The Wind In The Willows but it was so funny, anyway here is more about the film and cast list:

Main cast



Toad – Matt Lucas
Rat – Mark Gatiss
Mole – Lee Ingleby
Badger – Bob Hoskins
Gaoler's Daughter – Anna Maxwell Martin
Washerwoman – Mary Walsh
Engine Driver – Jim Carter
Barge Lady – Imelda Staunton
Judge – Michael Murphy




Production credits



Executive Producers – Justin Thomson-Glover
– Patrick Irwin
Producer – Gub Neal
Director – Rachel Talalay
Writer – Lee Hall
Co-Producer – Charlotte Ashby
Producer for Muse Entertainment – Michael Prupas
Director of Photography – David Franco
Production Designer – Jon Henson
Costume Designer – Vin Burnham
Make-up and Hair Designer – Penny Smith
Prosthetics Designer – Erik Gosselin
Editor – Annie Kocur
Composer – Benoît Jutras
Songs Composed By – David Arnold
Casting By – Rachel Freck
Canadian Casting By – Robin D Cook
Movement Director – Marcello Magni

One of the most popular children's books ever written comes to BBC One this Christmas in a lavish, feature-length adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind In The Willows.

Comedians Matt Lucas and Mark Gatiss join forces with acclaimed actors Bob Hoskins, Imelda Staunton and Anna Maxwell Martin to bring the classic story to life.

Matt Lucas stars as the irrepressible Mr Toad, with Bob Hoskins as Badger, Mark Gatiss (The League Of Gentlemen) as Ratty and Lee Ingleby (Nature Boy) as curious Mole.

The adaptation is written by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) and sees the cast transformed into animals by using costumes and prosthetics, but with very human traits and emotions.

Programme Information goes messing about in boats and catches up with Matt Lucas, Bob Hoskins and Anna Maxwell Martin to hear about their roles.

Little Britain star Matt describes playing Toad as a prize role - even though it meant being dressed in green with a false belly and stick-on warts.

"Toad is a wonderful iconic character, very proud and arrogant, but lovable. He's a dandy and a wastrel and I'm very grateful to do it.

It really is a prize role even though I feel a real responsibility to be bringing to life characters that everyone grew up with.

"I have green marks on my head and transfers for tattoos which I had to get done every day. It's an hour in make-up but it's better than doing Bubbles in Little Britain, which took four hours," he says.

"I have strange eye sockets that make me look quite different, with enlarged eyebrows, and to get inside the skin of Toad I use gestures that are toad-like.

I did a lot of work with Marcello Magni from Theatre de Complicite and we explored the movements of animals and the noises they make.

"I also looked at a lot of toads and they don't move that much, whereas Mr Toad is terribly excitable and moves a lot. So I try to make the eyes go big, and keep the neck stiff."


Matt Lucas plays the arrogant
but lovable Toad

Larger-than-life Mr Toad loves adventure and new ideas and inventions, especially the car, but his boundless enthusiasm lands him in trouble. At one point in the story, he has to escape from gaol dressed as a washerwoman.

Adds Matt: "Toad has 15 different outfits and I got to dress up as a woman again! I also get to sing.

"He is a fanatic - he loves boats, planes, horses, whatever. He pounces on something and evangelises it, then gets bored in a few days and moves on to the next thing.

I can get like that, too. I was so pro-England in the World Cup and then, as soon as we lost, I lost interest also.

"To some extent I can identify with Toad. He is a buffoon and he is pompous, but he's also affectionate.

I also have the shape of Toad with my own little belly, and then another one added by the costume department!

"It's not great in terms of personal vanity, but then I have played a watermelon with Vic and Bob, and been in the romper suit in Shooting Stars, so after that you don't have an ego or vanity. Costume is sometimes cumbersome, but always worth it."

Filming reunited Matt with Mark Gatiss, who plays Ratty.

"Mark and I have been friends for years; he was the script editor on the first series of Little Britain. I hadn't worked with Lee Ingleby before, but we all have the same sense of humour and it's been a riot on set.

Then Bob Hoskins came along and, as I grew up watching The Long Good Friday and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, it has been a great privilege to work with him. The chemistry between us is good and I hope that spills over to the screen."

The Wind In The Willows was filmed in Romania earlier this year and, while he was away, Matt's Little Britain co-star David Walliams completed his charity swim across the Channel.

"I rang David on the day of the swim at 4am because I knew he would be up. I am so proud of him because I saw him do the nine months of training while also doing our live shows and writing the Christmas specials. The only thing I can do to match him is to eat as many crisps!"


For Bob Hoskins, playing Badger meant suffering for his art.

He explains: "My shoulders, joints and back all ached from playing this part.

It's because I've given him a certain walk, all hunched shoulders and moving from side to side.

I wanted to get the correct Badger posture but, as a result, I've got all the aches and pains!"

Bob enjoyed playing the gruff, but kindly, animal, who does his best to bring Toad into line when he gets carried away.

"I always wanted to play Badger. I like him because he is a miserable old bugger, but he's very caring. Even with Toad and his recklessness, he feels this huge responsibility to protect him.

"He's irascible but he is a good sort and looks out for all his friends. He is about the only one that Toad will listen to, and Badger has to come down hard on him sometimes to make him see sense. He is avuncular and I feel I have made him my own."

The role meant the star of films such as Mona Lisa and Mrs Henderson Presents wears a stripey wig and curled-up eyebrows.

Says Bob: "I love putting all the stuff on. I don't think I could get away with wearing it out on the street, though. I love his clothes - I wear a cream shirt with a stripe that is made out of old-fashioned tea towels.

We thought that's what Badger would have done. It's a lived-in kind of granddad shirt, as they would make do with whatever they could get."

To prepare himself to play Badger, Bob stayed up late.

"I live in the countryside and I have to say that late at night I've been trying to watch badgers and study them, but they are very shy animals."

Says Bob: "I wanted to make the film a child's dream. When a child dreams, it's often about people who are animals and I wanted to make it their story, reflecting their imaginations.

"I love the whole idea of storytelling. I was an only child and I developed a very strong imagination and I still much prefer reading a book to seeing a film.

The Wind In The Willows is a finely tuned Rolls-Royce. You can take it anywhere you go. Even though it's from 1908, the language is perfect."

He adds: "I treat every job as a great adventure and I like to go in clean and be open and receptive to the director.

Filming The Wind In The Willows was great work and I loved doing it, and the Romanians are such a good and talented crew."


Anna Maxwell Martin is the gaoler's daughter

Up-and-coming actress Anna Maxwell Martin heard about the production the day after she received a Bafta Award for her portrayal of Esther Summerson in Bleak House.

"At the audition I was a little high on emotions from the night before, and feeling a bit fragile, so I was giddy and relaxed.

It's always nice going to a meeting and having something to talk about. It's not every day you win a Bafta."

She was delighted to get the opportunity to appear as the gaoler's daughter in The Wind In The Willows.

"The book was one of my childhood favourites and it gets a response from every generation, even the littlies.

All my friends remembered the gaoler's daughter. Having Matt in it brings it up to date for kids because he's massive with them. It brings the story into a contemporary forum. It'll be great for Christmas.

"It's a good thing for me to do some comedy. You get pigeonholed very quickly so it's nice to break away from it. I absolutely revelled in it."

The gaoler's daughter meets Toad after he is sent to prison for stealing a car.

Explains Anna: "She is simple and sweet and she has a bit of a glint in her eye. That was the fun thing about playing her.

You wonder if she is going to be a bit evil, like Stephen King's Misery. I had great fun playing the scenes where you wonder whether she will let Toad out.

"She wears a little cap, which made me look unattractive, and rags. I am used to bonnets and corsets, but hers had seen better days. I was also given yellowy, browning teeth - lovely!"

But playing such an unattractive character couldn't stop Anna's enjoyment of the drama.

"I didn't know Matt Lucas before but he is truly hilarious and so creative and talented. Comically, he is the best person to bounce off.

But I found it hard to keep a straight face and corpsed with him all the time. I am quite naughty, anyhow, but being around Matt gave me licence to misbehave!"

One of the most popular children's books ever written comes to BBC One this Christmas in a lavish, feature-length adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind In The Willows.

Comedians Matt Lucas and Mark Gatiss join forces with acclaimed actors Bob Hoskins, Imelda Staunton and Anna Maxwell Martin to bring the classic story to life.

Matt Lucas stars as the irrepressible Mr Toad, with Bob Hoskins as Badger, Mark Gatiss (The League Of Gentlemen) as Ratty and Lee Ingleby (Nature Boy) as curious Mole.

The adaptation is written by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) and sees the cast transformed into animals by using costumes and prosthetics, but with very human traits and emotions.

Programme Information goes messing about in boats and catches up with Matt Lucas, Bob Hoskins and Anna Maxwell Martin to hear about their roles.

Little Britain star Matt describes playing Toad as a prize role - even though it meant being dressed in green with a false belly and stick-on warts.

"Toad is a wonderful iconic character, very proud and arrogant, but lovable. He's a dandy and a wastrel and I'm very grateful to do it.

It really is a prize role even though I feel a real responsibility to be bringing to life characters that everyone grew up with.

"I have green marks on my head and transfers for tattoos which I had to get done every day. It's an hour in make-up but it's better than doing Bubbles in Little Britain, which took four hours," he says.

"I have strange eye sockets that make me look quite different, with enlarged eyebrows, and to get inside the skin of Toad I use gestures that are toad-like.

I did a lot of work with Marcello Magni from Theatre de Complicite and we explored the movements of animals and the noises they make.

"I also looked at a lot of toads and they don't move that much, whereas Mr Toad is terribly excitable and moves a lot. So I try to make the eyes go big, and keep the neck stiff."


Matt Lucas plays the arrogant
but lovable Toad

Larger-than-life Mr Toad loves adventure and new ideas and inventions, especially the car, but his boundless enthusiasm lands him in trouble. At one point in the story, he has to escape from gaol dressed as a washerwoman.

Adds Matt: "Toad has 15 different outfits and I got to dress up as a woman again! I also get to sing.

"He is a fanatic - he loves boats, planes, horses, whatever. He pounces on something and evangelises it, then gets bored in a few days and moves on to the next thing.

I can get like that, too. I was so pro-England in the World Cup and then, as soon as we lost, I lost interest also.

"To some extent I can identify with Toad. He is a buffoon and he is pompous, but he's also affectionate.

I also have the shape of Toad with my own little belly, and then another one added by the costume department!

"It's not great in terms of personal vanity, but then I have played a watermelon with Vic and Bob, and been in the romper suit in Shooting Stars, so after that you don't have an ego or vanity. Costume is sometimes cumbersome, but always worth it."

Filming reunited Matt with Mark Gatiss, who plays Ratty.

"Mark and I have been friends for years; he was the script editor on the first series of Little Britain. I hadn't worked with Lee Ingleby before, but we all have the same sense of humour and it's been a riot on set.

Then Bob Hoskins came along and, as I grew up watching The Long Good Friday and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, it has been a great privilege to work with him. The chemistry between us is good and I hope that spills over to the screen."

The Wind In The Willows was filmed in Romania earlier this year and, while he was away, Matt's Little Britain co-star David Walliams completed his charity swim across the Channel.

"I rang David on the day of the swim at 4am because I knew he would be up. I am so proud of him because I saw him do the nine months of training while also doing our live shows and writing the Christmas specials. The only thing I can do to match him is to eat as many crisps!"


For Bob Hoskins, playing Badger meant suffering for his art.

He explains: "My shoulders, joints and back all ached from playing this part.

It's because I've given him a certain walk, all hunched shoulders and moving from side to side.

I wanted to get the correct Badger posture but, as a result, I've got all the aches and pains!"

Bob enjoyed playing the gruff, but kindly, animal, who does his best to bring Toad into line when he gets carried away.

"I always wanted to play Badger. I like him because he is a miserable old bugger, but he's very caring. Even with Toad and his recklessness, he feels this huge responsibility to protect him.

"He's irascible but he is a good sort and looks out for all his friends. He is about the only one that Toad will listen to, and Badger has to come down hard on him sometimes to make him see sense. He is avuncular and I feel I have made him my own."

The role meant the star of films such as Mona Lisa and Mrs Henderson Presents wears a stripey wig and curled-up eyebrows.

Says Bob: "I love putting all the stuff on. I don't think I could get away with wearing it out on the street, though. I love his clothes - I wear a cream shirt with a stripe that is made out of old-fashioned tea towels.

We thought that's what Badger would have done. It's a lived-in kind of granddad shirt, as they would make do with whatever they could get."

To prepare himself to play Badger, Bob stayed up late.

"I live in the countryside and I have to say that late at night I've been trying to watch badgers and study them, but they are very shy animals."

Says Bob: "I wanted to make the film a child's dream. When a child dreams, it's often about people who are animals and I wanted to make it their story, reflecting their imaginations.

"I love the whole idea of storytelling. I was an only child and I developed a very strong imagination and I still much prefer reading a book to seeing a film.

The Wind In The Willows is a finely tuned Rolls-Royce. You can take it anywhere you go. Even though it's from 1908, the language is perfect."

He adds: "I treat every job as a great adventure and I like to go in clean and be open and receptive to the director.

Filming The Wind In The Willows was great work and I loved doing it, and the Romanians are such a good and talented crew."


Anna Maxwell Martin is the gaoler's daughter

Up-and-coming actress Anna Maxwell Martin heard about the production the day after she received a Bafta Award for her portrayal of Esther Summerson in Bleak House.

"At the audition I was a little high on emotions from the night before, and feeling a bit fragile, so I was giddy and relaxed.

It's always nice going to a meeting and having something to talk about. It's not every day you win a Bafta."

She was delighted to get the opportunity to appear as the gaoler's daughter in The Wind In The Willows.

"The book was one of my childhood favourites and it gets a response from every generation, even the littlies.

All my friends remembered the gaoler's daughter. Having Matt in it brings it up to date for kids because he's massive with them. It brings the story into a contemporary forum. It'll be great for Christmas.

"It's a good thing for me to do some comedy. You get pigeonholed very quickly so it's nice to break away from it. I absolutely revelled in it."

The gaoler's daughter meets Toad after he is sent to prison for stealing a car.

Explains Anna: "She is simple and sweet and she has a bit of a glint in her eye. That was the fun thing about playing her.

You wonder if she is going to be a bit evil, like Stephen King's Misery. I had great fun playing the scenes where you wonder whether she will let Toad out.

"She wears a little cap, which made me look unattractive, and rags. I am used to bonnets and corsets, but hers had seen better days. I was also given yellowy, browning teeth - lovely!"

But playing such an unattractive character couldn't stop Anna's enjoyment of the drama.

"I didn't know Matt Lucas before but he is truly hilarious and so creative and talented. Comically, he is the best person to bounce off.

But I found it hard to keep a straight face and corpsed with him all the time. I am quite naughty, anyhow, but being around Matt gave me licence to misbehave!"

One of the most popular children's books ever written comes to BBC One this Christmas in a lavish, feature-length adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind In The Willows.

Comedians Matt Lucas and Mark Gatiss join forces with acclaimed actors Bob Hoskins, Imelda Staunton and Anna Maxwell Martin to bring the classic story to life.

Matt Lucas stars as the irrepressible Mr Toad, with Bob Hoskins as Badger, Mark Gatiss (The League Of Gentlemen) as Ratty and Lee Ingleby (Nature Boy) as curious Mole.

The adaptation is written by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) and sees the cast transformed into animals by using costumes and prosthetics, but with very human traits and emotions.

Programme Information goes messing about in boats and catches up with Matt Lucas, Bob Hoskins and Anna Maxwell Martin to hear about their roles.

Little Britain star Matt describes playing Toad as a prize role - even though it meant being dressed in green with a false belly and stick-on warts.

"Toad is a wonderful iconic character, very proud and arrogant, but lovable. He's a dandy and a wastrel and I'm very grateful to do it.

It really is a prize role even though I feel a real responsibility to be bringing to life characters that everyone grew up with.

"I have green marks on my head and transfers for tattoos which I had to get done every day. It's an hour in make-up but it's better than doing Bubbles in Little Britain, which took four hours," he says.

"I have strange eye sockets that make me look quite different, with enlarged eyebrows, and to get inside the skin of Toad I use gestures that are toad-like.

I did a lot of work with Marcello Magni from Theatre de Complicite and we explored the movements of animals and the noises they make.

"I also looked at a lot of toads and they don't move that much, whereas Mr Toad is terribly excitable and moves a lot. So I try to make the eyes go big, and keep the neck stiff."


Matt Lucas plays the arrogant
but lovable Toad

Larger-than-life Mr Toad loves adventure and new ideas and inventions, especially the car, but his boundless enthusiasm lands him in trouble. At one point in the story, he has to escape from gaol dressed as a washerwoman.

Adds Matt: "Toad has 15 different outfits and I got to dress up as a woman again! I also get to sing.

"He is a fanatic - he loves boats, planes, horses, whatever. He pounces on something and evangelises it, then gets bored in a few days and moves on to the next thing.

I can get like that, too. I was so pro-England in the World Cup and then, as soon as we lost, I lost interest also.

"To some extent I can identify with Toad. He is a buffoon and he is pompous, but he's also affectionate.

I also have the shape of Toad with my own little belly, and then another one added by the costume department!

"It's not great in terms of personal vanity, but then I have played a watermelon with Vic and Bob, and been in the romper suit in Shooting Stars, so after that you don't have an ego or vanity. Costume is sometimes cumbersome, but always worth it."

Filming reunited Matt with Mark Gatiss, who plays Ratty.

"Mark and I have been friends for years; he was the script editor on the first series of Little Britain. I hadn't worked with Lee Ingleby before, but we all have the same sense of humour and it's been a riot on set.

Then Bob Hoskins came along and, as I grew up watching The Long Good Friday and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, it has been a great privilege to work with him. The chemistry between us is good and I hope that spills over to the screen."

The Wind In The Willows was filmed in Romania earlier this year and, while he was away, Matt's Little Britain co-star David Walliams completed his charity swim across the Channel.

"I rang David on the day of the swim at 4am because I knew he would be up. I am so proud of him because I saw him do the nine months of training while also doing our live shows and writing the Christmas specials. The only thing I can do to match him is to eat as many crisps!"


For Bob Hoskins, playing Badger meant suffering for his art.

He explains: "My shoulders, joints and back all ached from playing this part.

It's because I've given him a certain walk, all hunched shoulders and moving from side to side.

I wanted to get the correct Badger posture but, as a result, I've got all the aches and pains!"

Bob enjoyed playing the gruff, but kindly, animal, who does his best to bring Toad into line when he gets carried away.

"I always wanted to play Badger. I like him because he is a miserable old bugger, but he's very caring. Even with Toad and his recklessness, he feels this huge responsibility to protect him.

"He's irascible but he is a good sort and looks out for all his friends. He is about the only one that Toad will listen to, and Badger has to come down hard on him sometimes to make him see sense. He is avuncular and I feel I have made him my own."

The role meant the star of films such as Mona Lisa and Mrs Henderson Presents wears a stripey wig and curled-up eyebrows.

Says Bob: "I love putting all the stuff on. I don't think I could get away with wearing it out on the street, though. I love his clothes - I wear a cream shirt with a stripe that is made out of old-fashioned tea towels.

We thought that's what Badger would have done. It's a lived-in kind of granddad shirt, as they would make do with whatever they could get."

To prepare himself to play Badger, Bob stayed up late.

"I live in the countryside and I have to say that late at night I've been trying to watch badgers and study them, but they are very shy animals."

Says Bob: "I wanted to make the film a child's dream. When a child dreams, it's often about people who are animals and I wanted to make it their story, reflecting their imaginations.

"I love the whole idea of storytelling. I was an only child and I developed a very strong imagination and I still much prefer reading a book to seeing a film.

The Wind In The Willows is a finely tuned Rolls-Royce. You can take it anywhere you go. Even though it's from 1908, the language is perfect."

He adds: "I treat every job as a great adventure and I like to go in clean and be open and receptive to the director.

Filming The Wind In The Willows was great work and I loved doing it, and the Romanians are such a good and talented crew."


Anna Maxwell Martin is the gaoler's daughter

Up-and-coming actress Anna Maxwell Martin heard about the production the day after she received a Bafta Award for her portrayal of Esther Summerson in Bleak House.

"At the audition I was a little high on emotions from the night before, and feeling a bit fragile, so I was giddy and relaxed.

It's always nice going to a meeting and having something to talk about. It's not every day you win a Bafta."

She was delighted to get the opportunity to appear as the gaoler's daughter in The Wind In The Willows.

"The book was one of my childhood favourites and it gets a response from every generation, even the littlies.

All my friends remembered the gaoler's daughter. Having Matt in it brings it up to date for kids because he's massive with them. It brings the story into a contemporary forum. It'll be great for Christmas.

"It's a good thing for me to do some comedy. You get pigeonholed very quickly so it's nice to break away from it. I absolutely revelled in it."

The gaoler's daughter meets Toad after he is sent to prison for stealing a car.

Explains Anna: "She is simple and sweet and she has a bit of a glint in her eye. That was the fun thing about playing her.

You wonder if she is going to be a bit evil, like Stephen King's Misery. I had great fun playing the scenes where you wonder whether she will let Toad out.

"She wears a little cap, which made me look unattractive, and rags. I am used to bonnets and corsets, but hers had seen better days. I was also given yellowy, browning teeth - lovely!"

But playing such an unattractive character couldn't stop Anna's enjoyment of the drama.

"I didn't know Matt Lucas before but he is truly hilarious and so creative and talented. Comically, he is the best person to bounce off.

But I found it hard to keep a straight face and corpsed with him all the time. I am quite naughty, anyhow, but being around Matt gave me licence to misbehave!"



anyway did anyone else watch it or was it just me. It was o over christmas and ot was perhaps one of the funniest things on aswell.

http://www.a2mediagroup.com/?c=137&a=11489

The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature written in 1908 by Kenneth Grahame. The story is alternately slow-moving and fast-paced, focusing on four heavily anthropomorphised animal characters in a bucolic version of England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality and camaraderie. It gives as much pleasure to adult readers as to children, although for rather different reasons.

The book made Grahame's fortune, enabling him to retire from his hated (though respectable and well-paid) bank job and move to the country. He spent his time by the River Thames doing much as the animal characters in his book do, namely (in one of the most famous phrases from the book) 'simply messing about in boats'.

It can also be viewed as a commentary on class dynamics in British society. Roughly speaking, the 'River-Bankers' represent the upper classes, while the 'Wild Wooders' represent the lower.


the characters:

Mole — a mild-mannered, home-loving animal, and the first character the reader is introduced to. Originally overawed by the hustle and bustle of riverside life, he eventually adapts to it.
Ratty (the European Water Rat) — relaxed and friendly, he loves the river and takes Mole under his wing.
Mr. Toad — the richest character and owner of Toad Hall. Although good-natured, Toad is impulsive and self-satisfied. He goes through obsessions with crazes, such as punting, houseboating, horse-drawn caravans, each of which in turn he bores of and drops. Eventually he discovers motor-cars, and after a series of accidents is imprisoned for theft, dangerous driving and impertinence to the rural police. Several chapters of the book chronicle his escape, disguised as a washer-woman. His friends eventually reform him and win back Toad Hall, which has been usurped by the weasels and stoats in his absence.
Mr. Badger — A kindly but solitary figure who 'simply hates society'. He can be seen as the wise hermit, embodying common sense
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