Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and even a few older Millennials may remember an animated adaptation of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" that would sometimes air around Halloween on the Walt Disney anthology series (variously titled Disneyland, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Wonderful World of Disney, and so on). Although many may remember it best for airing on its own on the Walt Disney anthology series, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" had originated as part of the package film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).

The origins of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad go back to 1940, when Walt Disney Productions began work on a planned feature film adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's novel The Wind in the Willows, initially titled The Magnificent Mr. Toad. Production on Disney's animated version of The Wind in the Willows would be halted and started back up numerous times. It was as early as 1943 that Walt Disney considered making The Wind in the Willows one half of a package film, with The Legend of Happy Valley (which evolved into the segment "Mickey and the Beanstalk in the 1947 package film Fun and Fancy Free) or Road Dahl's original story The Gremlins. The Wind and the Willows would be shelved again in 1947.

Like The Wind and the Willows, it was originally planned for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to be a feature film. Production on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow began early in 1947. By November 1947, it was decided to combine "The Wind and the Willows" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" into a package film to be called Two Fabulous Characters. It was finally titled The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad and released on October 5 1949.

As to the source material, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a shot story written by Washington Irving and published in 1820 as part of his work The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. It is set in 1790 around the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town, and a glen known as Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow is well known for its many legends of ghosts. Among these legends is that of the Headless Horseman, also known as the Galloping Hessian. The Horseman was a Hessian trooper whose head had been taken off by a cannonball during "some nameless battle" of the American Revolution. Ichabod Crane was a very superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut who settled in Tarry Town. He became rivals with local tough Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt for the hand of Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a wealthy landowner. It was at the Van Tassel's harvest party that Brom and other locals filled Ichabod's head full of various ghost stories, including the one about the Headless Horseman. It was on the way home that Ichabod encounters the Headless Horseman, although it is heavily implied this is Brom rather than an actual ghost. Regardless, the following morning no trace is found of Ichabod Crane.

Despite the title, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" actually follows "The Wind in the Willows" segment. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was narrated by Bing Crosby. It featured the voice of Pinto Colivg as Ichabod Crane and assorted townspeople. Pinto Colvig is familiar to Disney fans as the voices of Goofy and Pluto. Clarence Nash, famous as the voice of Donald Duck, provided the voice of Ichabod's horse. The laughter of the Headless Horseman was provided by Billy Bletcher, who had voiced Mickey Mouse's archenemy Pete and the Big Bad Wolf in the classic Disney short "Three Little Pigs."  Beyond his work with Disney, he had appeared in Our Gang and Three Stooges shorts.

Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is largely faithful to Washington Irving's original short story, although some changes were made. Perhaps the biggest change was in tone. Although it features some of Washington Irving's well-known humour, the original story is one of the earliest examples of American horror. Except for its climax, Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is altogether more light-hearted and whimsical. Among the other changes to the source material is the Van Tassels' party. In the original short story it is a "harvest party." In Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" it is a Halloween party. This is a bit of an anachronism, as Halloween really would not take hold in the United States until the 19th Century, brought over by Scottish immigrants. It would not have been celebrated in a Dutch settlement in New York in the 18th Century. Another change is in the nature of the Headless Horseman who pursues Ichabod Crane. In the short story it is hinted that the Horseman was actually Brom in disguise. In Disney's version, we are led to believe that the Headless Horseman is an actual ghost. Disney's version also omits the Headless Horseman's origin as a Hessian mercenary killed during the Revolutionary War.

Like the "Wind and the Willows" segment before it, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" features songs ("Ichabod Crane," "Katrina," and "The Headless Horseman."). The songs were written by Don Raye & Gene de Paul. The two songwriters wrote the hits "Daddy-O, I'm Gonna Teach You Some Blues" and "I'll Remember April." The songs were performed by Bing Crosby & Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was released on October 5 1949. The film received positive reviews from critics, although many of them displayed a preference for the "Wind in the Willows" segment to the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" segment. It has since remained highly regarded. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad also did very well at the box office. It made $1,625,000 worldwide.

While The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was highly regarded by critics and did well at the box office, the two segments that comprised it would be separated in the Fifties. "The Wind in the Willows" aired on its own for the first time on February 2 1955 on Disneyland. The following season "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" first aired on Dsineyland, on October 26 1955. It was preceded by a fourteen minute animated biography of Washington Irving that would accompany it when it was repeated. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" would air several more times around Halloween on the Walt Disney anthology series under its various titles. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was released theatrically as a stand-alone featurette on November 26 1958. It was released again in September 1963.

The two segments having been separated, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad would not be seen for many years. It was finally released on VHS in the UK in 1991 and in the US in 1992. It was released on DVD in 2002. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad has been available on Disney+ ever since it launched in 2019. As to "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," it would be released on VHS in 1982 and again in 1990 and 1994.

While I must admit that I prefer the "Wind and the Willows" segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, I have fond memories of watching the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" segment on The Wonderful World of Disney around Halloween as a kid. While it does depart from the original short story in some ways, it does have a charm all its own. And there is no Disney villain nearly as frightening as the Headless Horseman.