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A Walt Disney Cartoon Short Subject.

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - about the Headless Hessian who rides at night seeking his lost head - is about to terrify another victim on Halloween Night.

Washington Irving's classic story comes alive in this wonderful little film, originally the second half of THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD (1949). Bing Crosby's singing narration and the excellent animation tell a tale of humor and genuine fright. Ichabod Crane, the pedantic pedagogue, is a triumph of the animators' art, while the film's climax - the ride through the Hollow & the appearance of the hideous Hessian - is a celebration of pacing and stylistic understatement.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a storm of naysayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

I absolutely love this film. The animation is great and has a real Walt Disney family feel to it. The movie has surprisingly no speaking except for a few words here and there. The only person speaking is the narrator. That makes the movie even cooler as it is largely similar to the book and just like the book, the only dialogue comes from the narrator.

And for the little kids, there are the usual songs to keep them occupied and there is plenty here for the adults to enjoy too.

Brilliant film, gives you a Halloween feeling, I sure enjoyed it and I hope I speak for everyone else.

As a halloween treat for young viewers this is a classic. The animation is the usual Disney standard - excellent. The story has its scarier moments, but there is plenty of comedy laced throughout the movie to soften the scare. This version of the Washington Irving tale gives parents a great opportunity to laugh with the kids and also introduces them literature. Bing Crosby's narration and singing crosses a lot of generation barriers as well. I've found that most of my generation X friends refer to this version of the story as THE Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

I love this animated short! The music is great, and Bing Crosby does a wonderful job as the narrator. And yes, it is even scary at some points. I never let Halloween go by without watching this. It is also faithful to the book!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a truly wonderful gem, that I personally think is underrated. Bing Crosby, a great actor and singer, narrates and sings, and I thought he was sublime, so effective and expressive. He never overdid the narration, and the narration while written simply, was well written and kids will understand it. Of course it is quite short, but it goes by so quickly, that it passes the time perfectly. The animation is lovely, very dark at times, but for telling a very dark story, that style of animation was necessary. The music is memorable and fits very well with each scene. The famous story tells of a schoolmaster called Inchabod Crane, a character who doesn't say much, but is immediately likable when you see him, who is in love with the beautiful Katrina. However, in a plot we have kind of seen before, he is rivalled by Brom Bones, a handsome tower of strength, who wastes no time in telling anybody a story that disturbs Crane greatly. Soon after, Crane meets the landmark character of the short, the Headless Horseman, a character so scary that very young kids will be terrified. Yet, because he was scary, as the legend says that he is and much worse, the Headless Horseman was very effective, and a villain that has been imitated in things like Scooby Doo, but never as well, as the very look of him had my hairs standing up on my neck. The short concludes with a suspenseful ending, that leaves us wondering what did happen to Inchabod Crane? Overall, an underrated gem, with a 9.5/10. Bethany Cox.