Following the success of Hoho Entertainment’s CG-animated series, Toad & Friends (52 x 11’), the production company is joining forces once more with Stirling-based animation studio Wild Child Animation to develop a full-length film adaptation, returning to the original story of The Wind in the Willows, supported by Screen Scotland.
“The Wind in the Willows is a globally adored classic with over 85 million copies of the book sold in 29 languages. It may have its roots in the 20th century but as audiences for Toad & Friends have proved, its values of community, citizenship and kindness are as relevant today as they’ve ever been,” said Oliver Ellis, Joint MD of Hoho Ent. “We are delighted that Screen Scotland have given us this opportunity to bring their adventures to the big screen.”
The feature will be based on Kenneth Grahame’s classic British novel, published in 1908. As with the TV series, the film will honor the legacy of the original novel while refreshing the characters and storyline to resonate with a modern audience. Toad, Mole, Badger and Ratty return, and will be joined once again by new female characters including fearless Hedge, scheming Tinker, diligent Heron and the mischievous Adder.
Producer, director and writer Robert Chandler is on board as consultant for the feature which will be penned by writing team The Black Sheep (Ciaran Murtagh and Andrew Barnett-Jones), who were head writers on the TV series.
“We are absolutely thrilled to continue our partnership with Hoho Entertainment to develop Toad & Friends into a feature film. This project offers a wonderful opportunity to revisit The Wind in the Willows and build on the strong vision we created for the TV series,” noted Sueann Rochester, CEO of Wild Child Animation. “Feature film production is a natural next step as the studio expands its creative scope, and we’re excited to leverage our team’s remarkable talent to adapt this cherished story and showcase what we can achieve in this format.”
Sean Greenhorn from Screen Scotland added, “It’s fantastic to be able to support Wild Child Animation to take a step into feature film development with this take on the timeless classic The Wind in the Willows. It’s great that they are doing this through expanding the incredibly popular Toad & Friends world and continuing their partnership with Hoho Entertainment.”
Headed by much-loved comedian Adrian Edmondson as Toad, Toad & Friends debuted on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Boomerang channel in the U.K. in summer 2024, and launches on Max in the U.S. in early 2025. The series has recently been nominated for a coveted Broadcast Award for Best Children’s Program.
Toad & Friendswas produced by London-based Hoho Entertainment, animated in Scotland by Wild Child Animation and directed by Tim Searle (Danger Mouse, Dennis and Gnasher). It was developed and supported by the National Lottery through Screen Scotland and produced with the support of the Creative Media Program, MEDIA of the European Union.
In addition, Korean rights company Asiana Licensing has signed up for TV and Licensing Distribution rights in Korea.
