Mole leaves the quiet routine of spring cleaning behind and steps out into the meadow, where a winding river invites curiosity. He soon meets Ratty, a water vole who lives along the riverbank Roddy McDowall, and the two quickly form an easy friendship. Ratty is keen to show Mole new experiences, so they set off on a gentle journey down the waterway in Ratty’s boat, carrying a picnic basket piled with food for a long, leisurely day. Their plan is simple: enjoy the scenery, savor the fresh air, and stretch their legs beyond the confines of their familiar homes. They decide to settle for a picnic on the river’s edge, surrounded by open countryside, where the world feels large and welcoming. Along the way, they spot Badger out for a stroll and invite him to join, though Badger declines with a quiet, dignified politeness and heads back to his own solitary routines. Ratty reflects that Badger is affable, but prefers the company of his own thoughts to social gatherings.
As Mole asks about Badger’s home—the Wild Wood—Ratty explains that Badger’s domain sits beyond the safety of the river and fields, a place that holds both wonder and danger for creatures like themselves. Before any answer can broaden, a distraction arrives: the Chief Weasel and a henchman appear, diverting their attention with pleasantries while a jar of potted meat disappears. Ratty warns Mole that the weasels may seem approachable in a certain way, yet cannot be trusted. With that uneasy reminder, they turn their attention toward Toad and his grand, stately home, Toad Hall. Toad, who has recently shifted his obsession from boating to travel, welcomes them to join him on a road trip behind the wheel of a garish gypsy caravan, driven by his horse Alfred. The caravan’s bright colors and bold style stand in stark contrast to the river’s calm simplicity, signaling a new chapter in Toad’s restless, impulsive energy.
During their first night out, Ratty quietly reminisces about life by the river but resists Mole’s urging to return home, determined to keep Toad from getting into trouble. The next day brings disaster: a passing motorcar startles Alfred and the caravan crashes into a ditch. In a wild display of appetite for speed, Toad proclaims that motorcars are the future and derides his old, “nasty, common” ways as antiquated. He quickly purchases a car and then crashes it, again and again, while Ratty and Mole stand by, powerless to stop the thrill-seeking chaos. As summer fades into autumn, Toad’s reckless behavior accumulates fines and scrapes with the law, fueled by his wealth and a blithe disregard for consequences. He doesn’t seem to learn from the repeated punishments, and his luck begins to run thin, raising real worry for Ratty and Mole about who might get hurt next. When a close call with some children occurs, Ratty and Mole try to intervene, only to find that Toad’s naïveté keeps him moving toward more misadventures.
Winter arrives, and Ratty and Mole decide they need outside help to reel Toad back in. They set out to find Badger, hoping that his steady discipline can restore balance to their friend’s life. It’s late, and Mole volunteers to seek Badger alone while Ratty stays by the fire, dozing as the night grows deeper. Mole reaches the boundary of the Wild Wood, where a suspicious weasel on the path swings the balance of trust against him. Forgetting Ratty’s cautions about trusting the weasels, Mole asks for directions and is sent the wrong way. Night falls, and the woods become unfamiliar and threatening. Weasels stalk him, and he stumbles through the snow, exhausted and frightened. Back at the river, Ratty wakes to find Mole’s note and realizes the danger their friend faces. He grips a brace of pistols and a cudgel and ventures into the Wild Wood to rescue Mole, who is exhausted and traumatized by the lurking shadows.
Ratty’s quick search pays off, and he finds Mole, guiding him back toward the river’s edge. On their way out, Mole trips over a door scraper half-buried in the snow, and nearby they discover a door marked “Mr Badger,” revealing Badger’s underground home, the Sett. Badger is initially wary about being disturbed, but his mood shifts to warmth when he sees Ratty and Mole, and he invites them inside to warm themselves by the fire. The mood shifts from anxious to hopeful as Badger discusses Toad’s latest misadventure and shares a photograph from their youth that hints at a long, complicated friendship with Toad’s father. Mole feels a comforting sense of belonging again, which reminds him of his own burrow and home.
The next morning, the trio pays a visit to Toad Hall, where Badger questions Toad about his ongoing obsession with motorcars. Toad, still stubborn, refuses to listen and ignores Badger’s counsel. Realizing the danger, Badger decides to intervene by imprisoning Toad in his own room while Ratty and Mole keep watch, hoping to curb the reckless behavior. But Toad pretends to fall ill and even asks for a doctor, only to pivot and request a lawyer to draft his will, turning a moment of concern into another ruse. In a moment of bold cunning, Toad escapes with the help of a jailer’s daughter and disguises himself as a washerwoman, aided by the washerwoman’s outfit supplied by Alice Tweedy. He then climbs aboard a passing motorcar and speeds away, leaving Ratty and Mole to chase after him. He nearly collides with a responding constable, a reminder of the consequences his antics could unleash.
Meanwhile, Mole, overwhelmed by homesickness for his own riverbank home, breaks down in tears. Ratty realizes that his friend’s longing has been overlooked and it’s time to return home for Christmas. Back at Mole End, field mice arrive to carol and are invited inside for Christmas dinner, and the mood lightens with warmth and shared songs. The mice, however, overhear that Toad has been arrested and inform Ratty and Mole, who rush to the courtroom. The judge’s bench is crowded with weasels, and the magistrate, Mrs. Carrington-Moss [Bob McFadden] mutters stern sentences: twelve months for theft, three years for furious driving, and a further fifteen years for “the cheek” of insulting a constable, totaling twenty years of imprisonment. The jailed Toad’s experience is harsh, and the jailer’s daughter, moved by pity, helps with a daring escape by disguising him as a washerwoman, and an opportunity arises to flee by train.
Toad’s escape takes an unexpected turn when he stumbles onto a railway engine, aided by the driver who, after hearing that Toad merely “borrowed” a car, reluctantly agrees to help him get home. The chase continues by rail as the pursuers hurry along the neighboring track. Not realizing the escapee’s whereabouts, they miss him, and Toad makes it back toward Ratty’s riverbank, only to learn that Badger has faced an attack at Toad Hall, and the weasels have taken over the hall and forced Badger and his friends to retreat.
Badger devises a bold counterstrike: through a tunnel that leads into Toad Hall, he and Ratty and Mole plan to retake the estate from within. Mole, still in disguise as a washerwoman, plays a crucial role by spreading a false tale of an approaching army of badgers, rats, and toads, designed to draw the weasels away from the gates. The trick works, and under the cover of darkness, the trio slips through the hidden tunnel, surprises the invaders in the banqueting hall, and, in a dramatic moment, Toad swings from the chandeliers and brings the Chief Weasel to the floor, ending the siege with a decisive impact.
With Toad Hall reclaimed, the group settles into a quieter routine, even as Toad unveils a new flying machine. The invention proves unreliable, and its engine stalls mid-flight, sending Toad skimming into the river. The end credits show his friends pulling Toad and his contraption from the water, a reminder that life on the River Bank and in the Wild Wood will continue much as it has, with adventures nearby and loyalties tested, but friendships enduring.
