Mr. Toad is an anthropomorphic common toad, portrayed as the village squire and a bit of a fop, being the wealthy occupant and owner of Toad Hall. Mr. Toad is very rich, has his own horse, and thus able to indulge his impulsive desires, such as punting, house boating and hot air balloons, and his penchant for Harris tweed suits. Toad is intelligent, creative and resourceful however he is also narcissistic, self-centred almost to the point of sociopathy, and completely lacking in even the most basic common sense. His reckless interest in motor cars led to an episode in which he stole a motor car and subsequently crashed it. The result was a brief spell in prison, from which he was to escape, dressed as a washer woman, to regain his family seat of Toad Hall from the clutches of the weasels.
Nevertheless, Toad is lovable and has his heart in the right place. His characteristics have made him arguably the epitome of the loveable rogue stock character.
Interestingly, although he commits a crime and is arrested, and the police try to recapture him and send him back to prison, they never succeed. No reason is ever given for this, except in the 1949 Disney movie, which shows him being framed for theft. In The Willows in Winter, the sequel to the 1995 animated film, Mr. Toad is busted by the Chief Judge as the villain he sent to prison before, and he is being pursued for a sentence back into prison.
During the course of his adventures Toad alternates between deep remorse for his arrogance and having relapses of it. An example of his arrogance is seen in his self-centred ditty, Toad's Last Little Song, a song he performs to an enthusiastic audience which exists, of course, only in his mind.
Imagery - google images
When looking at imagery of Mr Toad, it reminded me of what a funny character he was. His personality really comes across in all of the images of him, and he evidently has a very particular appearance. His personality has been shown through his outfits, his expressions and of course through colour. I feel that the first image really reflects Mr Toad in the way that I picture him, therefore I plan on referencing this image of him from the story. This way I will then be able to express his mannerisms through my own style.
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