He is a terrible driver and funds his cars with loans from the Weasels; their vindictive Chief blackmails him to sell Toad Hall.

After an encounter with Weasels in the Wild Wood, Toad, Rat, and Mole end up in Mr. Badger's underground house.

During Toad's trial, the Chief Weasel poses as a rabbit and manipulates the Jury into giving a guilty verdict.

They tunnel under the castle to free Toad, who is assisted by the jailer's daughter and her sardonic tea lady aunt.

Angered, he tosses coal from his engine's tender at the police, but fails to dodge a mail catcher, which catches him and ends up holding him from his train.

Toad hijacks the train, and as Mole accidentally uncouples the coaches, he and Rat are left far behind with the coaches as the police hit a tunnel and hold on for dear life, Toad eventually derails the engine, and having survived the accident from the wreckage of the engine, sets off again, but is abducted by the Weasels.

The Chief, Clarence and Geoffrey return to Toad Hall to prepare the victory celebration, leaving St. John in charge of the machine.

This distraction allows the protagonists to stage a raid on the house, leaving all of the Weasels incapacitated in the ensuing fight.

Afterwards, Toad makes a public speech swearing off motor cars and promising to be more mature and less selfish in the future.

When the film first appeared in the U.S. under its original title, it was pushed aside due to distributors' problems giving it a late 1997 limited release with very little promotion.