SMALLS' FRIGHT FEST: WALT DISNEY'S THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW

Welcome back friends. Today, I take a glimpse back at one of Walt Disney's classic short films.

Ever since I was young, I have been fascinated by the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which is the story of mild mannered dweebish school teacher Ichabod Crane, his love Katrina Van Tassle, the town bully Bram Bones and that ever mysterious figure: The Headless Horseman. Now, many have tried to adapt this classic fable into film form, and in my own personal opinion the only one that really gets it right is Walt Disney's classic version.

It basically sticks to the story and characters. Ichabod is likable here, but it's hard to see why anyone would be so infatuated by him like this version explicitly states. It seems like all the women are fawning over him, which has always confused me.  He is portrayed to be good on his feet and very smooth and actually kind of suave, which is also very surprising. He has his eye on Katrina Van Tassle, and finds himself competing with the handsome jokester, Bram Bones for her hand in marriage. Ichabod is also a very superstitious fellow, and it is this stubborn belief and adherence to superstition that may just be his downfall.

I was surprised to learn that this version is actually a musical (groan), and is actually pretty upbeat and goofy for most of it's run time....however, once it hits the 23 minute mark is when we FINALLY enter into the crux of the legend and some real Halloween territory. This is where Ichabod enters the creepy forest and has his fateful encounter with The Headless Horseman.

The Headless Horseman is an iconic character, and he is handled extremely well here. His animation design is gorgeous and scary, and the woods where he resides have a dark, creepy, Halloween-y type atmosphere and design to them. It's this final 9 minutes which is the sole reason to ever give this flick a view. It's decidedly un-Disney, and breathtakingly dark (though, naturally a few brief moments of goofiness is thrown in to help calm younger ones....not too much to throw this part off-balance though).

There has still yet to be a truly great film adaptation of the Sleepy Hollow legend, but the Walt Disney version comes closest we may ever get to receiving a good version of the tale. It's the beautifully realized Horseman here and the final 9 minutes in which he resides that elevates this short little film above your typical Disney cartoon.  If you don't have time for goofiness, just skip ahead to minute 23 and enjoy.

3 STARS