utgard14 Originally part of the movie The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, this adaptation of Washington's Irving's famous story contains some of the scariest imagery from any Disney cartoon. The story, for those who somehow have never read or heard of it, takes place in 1790 New York. In the village of Sleepy Hollow, a lanky new schoolmaster named Ichabod Crane arrives and becomes smitten with a beautiful young woman named Katrina. His rival for her affections is a brawny hunk named Brom Bones. Brom tells superstitious Ichabod the legend of the Headless Horseman, a ghost that haunts the village each year on Halloween, searching for a head to replace the one he lost. As Ichabod travels home alone at night, he discovers the legend is true.The first half is heavy on comedy, much to the frustration of many viewers who only watch for the scary parts they've heard about or remember from their childhood. I enjoy the lighter parts but admit what makes this a true classic is the scene where the Horseman chases Ichabod. It's an amazing sequence. The animation is gorgeous with rich Technicolor that'll make you drool and beautifully-drawn characters and backgrounds. Katrina is one of the most underrated animated beauties from the classic Disney era. As Crosby's narration states, "She was a blooming lass, plump as a partridge, ripe, melting and rosy-cheeked..." The Headless Horseman is also brilliantly realized. Sublime voice work from Bing Crosby, who also lends his voice to some songs. It's one of the classic Disney cartoons that I remember most from my childhood. Watching it today it's even better than I remembered.

jacobjohntaylor1 This is a great film. It is based on one of the best ghost stories ever. It is a great film. It is well acted. It is well written. The animation is great. The music is great. It is a fun and very spooky film. It the story of Icabod Crane and how he ends up in a hunted woods one night and runs into The headless horseman a very scary ghost. This classic family film is a must see. One of the best family movies of all time. One of the best animated film of all time. This is a very fun movie to watch at Halloween. Or any time you are in a spooky mood. Bing Crosby was a great actor. This movie is a must see. Boris Karloff was a great actor. A truly great fantasy film.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is the 65-year-old Disney approach to the famous tale, which was obviously done long before Tim Burton got his hands on the material. And it is a success, I believe, because several components were competently done and this resulted in a pretty good overall outcome. First of all, the animation is nice and it is a half-hour cartoon which is truly atmospheric. Secondly, Bing Crosby's narration worked from start to finish adding the right mixture of drama and comedy to the scenes we see. And most of all: The school teacher. Now, he is a pretty memorable character and it almost makes me sad to see that the other guy got the girl in the end because I felt that the one who wins was so colorless and forgettable really. Some time later this half hour was picked, mixed together with another relative long short film and so they had a feature film out of this. It even won a Golden Globe and that makes up for the short film from 1949 running empty on the awards front. Anyway, that's how it goes I guess. I had a good time watching this and I recommend it. Of course this should not come as a surprise as this half hour was directed by the makers of "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty", "Alice in Wonderland", "Dumbo", "Pinocchio" etc. So from that perspective, it's more of a surprise that this did not turn out even better. But let's not be greedy here. Give it a watch.

TheLittleSongbird 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.