During the 1940s, Disney made a handful of package films, including Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, and a few others. The final film of this era celebrates its 70th anniversary this month – The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, which arrived in theaters on October 5, 1949.

The film consists of two different segments, The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. As both of these are based on classic literary works, they are both framed in the film via live-action scenes that take place in a library. These segments were introduced and narrated by Basil Rathbone and Bing Crosby.

The Wind in the Willows follows the adventures of J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq., described as an “incurable adventurer” who lives in the magnificent Toad Hall estate. As Toad has always been a big maniac for fads, he quickly gets consumed with “motor-mania” after seeing a motorcar for the first time. He is placed under house arrest by his friends Ratty and Moley, who hope that being confined will cure him of his mania – but Toad escapes, and is eventually arrested and jailed for car theft. He is eventually exonerated, but soon learns of airplanes, for better or worse.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as with the story it’s based on, follows the lanky Ichabod Crane, a dandy lad living in Sleepy Hollow who despite his odd behavior has won the hearts of his village’s women. However, after falling in love with Katrina von Tassel, he must contend for her affection with Brom Bones, the town’s bully. Brom, knowing that Ichabod is superstitious, tells him of the tale of the Headless Horseman, causing Ichabod to fear for his life. On his way home from a party, he becomes increasingly paranoid, and soon encounters the Headless Horseman for himself.

Plans for the film, specifically the Wind in the Willows portion, began shortly after the completion and release of Snow White in the late ‘30s. At the time production started in the early ‘40s, it had been intended to have The Wind in the Willows as a single narrative feature; however, following the Disney animators’ strike, the studio was restricted by the Bank of America to doing shorts and finishing features already in production, leading to Wind in the Willows being shelved. A few years later production resumed, with the film being cut down to a quick 25 minutes, and eventually it was paired with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to create a full film, as neither segment was long enough to constitute a feature.

The segments would later be separated and shown individually, televised in the ‘50s as part of the Disneyland series, though on home media they continue to be paired together. The Wind in the Willows would also go on to inspire a classic Disney attraction, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, which was an opening day attraction at Disneyland in 1955 and continues to operate today.