The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Adaptations: Part 2

Wishbone: Halloween Hound: The Legend of Creepy Collars (1997)

Wishbone was a popular kid's educational series on PBS from 1995-1997. Wishbone would inhabit certain books and act out the part of the main character, with a wrap-around story in the real world that had something to do with the book. This series was a little after my time, so I hadn't really watched it until I had kids of my own. I was excited to see that there was a Halloween episode centered on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and have watched it a couple times with my two boys. Here's how it compares to the other adaptations.

In terms of the actual story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this does a good job of giving young kids the basic idea of the book: superstitious schoolmaster falls for local rich girl Katrina, but that puts him in the sights of Brom Bones, and Bones uses Ichabod's superstitious nature to scare him away from Sleepy Hollow...or does he? Most of the fun of the book section is seeing Wishbone, a dog, interact with humans in colonial garb. I was waiting to see Wishbone riding on top of a horse near the end of the story, but I guess that was too much to ask for! So, the next question is how does The Legend of Sleepy Hollow factor into the wrap-around story?

Joe Talbot returns home from sports practice and his mother quickly detects that something stinks. It ends up being Joe's socks that he wears to practice and games for good luck. So, already we're integrating in a way that shows that Joe is in some ways superstitious like Ichabod. Joe and Wishbone leave to check out the new sporting goods store and that's where they meet the owner, Travis del Rio, who introduces them to his niece and nephew and invites them to a Halloween scavenger hunt. Of course Joe's socks come back up as Joe's new acquaintances can't help but smell the pungent aroma. Joe isn't sure about it, seeing as he's not a huge fan of scary things. Travis looks at the roster and reveals that Joe was already signed up by his friends, Sam and David. The teams have to follow several riddles to different locations, until they finally reach the end and get the grand prize. Their main competition is Damont and his little cousin Jimmy. They use teamwork to get through every challenge, though Damont seems to be one step ahead of them. It all culminates at the old Murphy house; a place Joe had gone to when he was younger and was scared off by glowing eyes coming from the opened door. He had vowed never to go near the supposedly haunted house again. Wishbone runs into the house while chasing a cat, thus forcing Joe to enter and finish the hunt. Though Damont attempts to sabotage them, Joe is able to solve the last riddle and win the game for his team. Most of the story focuses on believing in yourself, working as a team, and not letting fear ruin things for you.

I like this episode a lot and I'm a little disappointed I had never bothered to watch it when I was younger. The episode has great atmosphere, which is one of the most important aspects of a Halloween special. It reminds me of past Halloweens when everything seemed perfect. The crunching leaves, the donuts and cider, the pumpkins, and all the spooky Halloween decorations everywhere you went. The scavenger hunt in the episode is one of those things I would have been all over if we had something like that. Alas, my hometown and local sporting goods store wasn't this cool. The episode is very of it's time, though not as much as the Are You Afraid of the Dark episode, which was sometimes painful to watch. What helps this show over Are You Afraid of the Dark is the higher production level and better acting, at least in comparing the two episodes. This episode also acts as a better introduction to the Sleepy Hollow story, as you get the main story beats through a dramatization. With The Tale of the Midnight Ride, they do give you a very simple telling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow when Brad dares Ian to get the pumpkin from the Bridge of Souls, but otherwise you would have to have a good understanding of the complete story to see the representations of Ichabod, Katrina, and Brom in the kid characters. I certainly don't remember that dynamic when watching it as a kid. I was just happy to see the Headless Horseman. In all, I would say that the Wishbone episode is more worth your time, and is something you can watch with your kids over and over. You can watch this on Youtube. 

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Tim Burton's version of the tale definitely takes the most liberties, but is my favorite live-action version. While Disney's Sleepy Hollow is lush with autumn colors, this Sleepy Hollow seems to be under a permanent curse of gloomy weather. You expect that with a Tim Burton film, though, so it's not that shocking. Ichabod Crane is not a schoolteacher, but a police constable from New York City, sent to investigate mysterious beheadings in Sleepy Hollow. I won't go into the whole plot since I highly recommend watching it yourself if you already haven't, but it concerns much more than a love triangle between Ichabod, Katrina, and Brom. In fact, that's one of the least concentrated on  parts of the movie. Brom is barely in the movie so he doesn't factor into things that much. No, the real villain in this film is a very real Horseman and someone else who is controlling the vengeful ghost. Ichabod is a man of science and at first is loathe to admit that there is a supernatural being stalking the citizens of Sleepy Hollow. This all changes when he witnesses the Horseman up close and realizes that perhaps science doesn't have an answer for everything. With the help of the lovely Katrina and a young orphan boy, Ichabod is able to unravel the conspiracy that has taken hold of the town and caused the Horseman to come back from the grave. In terms of similarities with the original story, about the only thing is the names of the characters. You get a little dash of the original story here and there, but most of it is completely new material. Funny enough, you get a call back to Disney's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow about a third of the way through the movie. Ichabod and Gunpowder are going over the covered bridge in town and you can hear the frogs sound like they're saying "Ichabod" and "Headless Horseman". This exact thing, along with a shot of a frog jumping into the water, happens in Disney's version. I'm pretty sure they used the same sound clip. Ichabod is then chased by the Headless Horseman a short ways until the Horseman lobs a fiery jack-o-lantern at his head. While it isn't a perfect replication, it does look an awful lot like the flaming pumpkin from Disney's version. There is also a scene near the end where Ichabod hits a tree branch, flies in the air and lands on the Horseman's horse backwards, just like in Disney's version. Besides these homages to the Disney film, there is also some to the Hammer films. The Hammer films were known for using bright red blood in their movies, and lots of it, a trait that Sleepy Hollow definitely shares. Burton also cast Hammer film veterans Michael Gough and Christopher Lee in the movie. Burton was also heavily influenced by Italian director, Mario Bava, including homages to Kill, Baby....Kill! and Black Sunday in the film. This is by far the most violent of the Sleepy Hollow adaptations, so don't expect anything mild-mannered like most of the other versions. Like I said, check this one out if you haven't seen it already. It's classic Tim Burton and always a comfort watch for me. This is available to stream on Netflix. 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999)

This is a Hallmark version of the tale and thus doesn't have any star power the same way as some of the other adaptions. I can't help but feel that this movie was made just to profit off the Tim Burton movie, Sleepy Hollow, that came out the same year. This version doesn't differ too much from the book. It does have to pad out a few things but the main addition concerns Katrina and Brom. Katrina wants to be worldly and doesn't want to be with a country bumpkin like Brom. Brom wants to leave Sleepy Hollow and travel west to Ohio to make his own way in the world, but Katrina doesn't want to turn her back on her family. They fight and break up after Brom refuses to give up on this dream, though it conflicts with Katrina's dream of traveling and becoming learned, then returning to her parent's farm. Brom is more sympathetic in this version than the others because while he is immature, to be sure, and plays pranks, he does want to achieve something for himself and not just live off of marrying Katrina. Ichabod isn't exactly the kind-hearted hero though, as he accidentally shows his true colors by admitting to Baltus Van Tassel, while Katrina listens from outside the room, that if he were to marry Katrina he would manage the farm and that Katrina would have to forget all about becoming learned and worldly. Ichabod is a complicated character, as you want him to succeed but at the same time he just wants Katrina for her money and what the relationship can do for him. He's as bad as Brom in a lot of ways, but isn't seen as a bully at least so you pull for him. Brom and Katrina are also portrayed by younger people than in the other versions, probably around 20 years old, while Ichabod looks to be in his late 40's. While it may not have been the craziest thing back then, it's weird to see a love triangle between two twenty-somethings and a middle-aged man. 

The film does end with Katrina declining Ichabod's proposal of marriage, just like in the book. She reveals to Ichabod that she heard what he said and chastises him for only wanting her wealth. Dejected, Ichabod goes on his lonely late night ride but is chased by a Headless Horseman. The headless rider hits its head on a tree limb during the chase and falls off their horse, unconscious. Ichabod discovers that it is really Brom Bones, but only gets to gloat for a second. The real Headless Horseman shows up, picks up Brom's pumpkin and throws it on the ground after realizing it's not his head. The Horseman rides off and the last we see of Ichabod is him hurrying away into the woods in a panic. There's no talk if he is alive or not, just people knowing that he was spirited off by the Headless Horseman. Katrina marries Brom and they spend the winter in Amsterdam, as she had wanted, thus giving the couple a little more closure. All in all it's a pretty forgettable rendition. There's no stars to give the adaptation any extra character, and they don't do that much outside of the story to give it an extra wrinkle. This is another adaptation that you can find on YouTube.

Night of the Headless Horseman (1999)

This version is probably the ugliest of them all, though they were trying something new at the time. This was done with motion capture technology, before we would see a more polished presentation with 2004's The Polar Express. Considering people are still creeped out by The Polar Express, I'd say this cartoon as a big hill to climb. The animation is just not pleasant to look at. In fact, it's downright distracting. This aired on Fox in 1999 as a Halloween special and was never re-run as far as I can tell. There's probably a reason for that. This appears to be another film that was meant to benefit off of the release of Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. It definitely has some of the same violence as Sleepy Hollow, as you do see a bit more blood than I thought you would for an animated version. Story-wise it takes a few liberties, but mainly sticks with the main story points. The main difference is Brom sells his soul to the Horseman to get revenge on Ichabod. Yes, you read that right. We don't see it happen, but Brom makes a deal that he would live a happy life with Katrina and then become the Horseman. The wrap-around story has a mysterious hooded stranger telling the story to Washington Irving. At the end the hooded stranger reveals himself to be Brom Bones himself, and removes his head to show he is now the Horseman. It's at least something in this otherwise lackluster adaption.  About the only other thing this has going for it is the voice acting. William H. Macy voices Ichabod, Tia Carrere voices Katrina, Luke Perry voices Brom, Mark Hamill voices Adrian Van Ripper, and Clancy Brown voices the stranger and the hessian trooper. Having well-known actors voice animated characters has unfortunately become commonplace, and mostly to lift up an average to below average film. There's also a bit more violence than you'd think there'd be for a cartoon special. There's a lot of blood, so this probably shouldn't be a kid's first exposure to the story, for more reasons than one. If you want to see creepy animation and a guy with more chins than you thought possible, then go seek this one out on Youtube. 

The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow (2004)

This is less of an adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and more of a new story that uses Sleepy Hollow characters. Two young kids named Nick Crane and Kate live in Sleepy Hollow and are visiting the local museum that has Washington Irving's original manuscript on display. After the kids leave to start work on a school project, two crooks come in and steal the manuscript, hoping to sell it for big bucks. They are chased by a security guard and for some reason decide to hide the manuscript inside of a pumpkin at a pumpkin patch so they can come back for it later. I guess it was slowing them down? There is very little logic in this cartoon. Nick and Kate need a pumpkin for their school project and what do you know? They pick the one that has the manuscript inside. Apparently putting the manuscript in the pumpkin caused the pumpkin to become haunted by the Headless Horseman, because of course it does. This also releases a revolutionary era soldier named Nathaniel that wants to help the kids. Nathaniel is basically Funky Phantom without being funky in any way, shape, or form. At least Funky Phantom had a shtick, this guy is just around to deliver exposition and be cowardly. The kids apparently need to keep the Headless Horseman from getting the pumpkin or he'll come back with his full power. He needs to put the pumpkin on his head at exactly midnight. After a visit to the Van Tassel mansion that includes an unnecessary musical serenade by the ghosts of Baltus Van Tassel and his wife, the kids, the thieves, and the Headless Horseman all run into each other outside the mansion. The kids are able to play keep away from the Headless Horseman until midnight when he retrieves it and puts it back on his body. Then he disappears. Turns out Nick knew the clock outside the Van Tassel mansion was a minute slow, so the Horseman put the pumpkin on too late. I would think being a supernatural being would give you an ability to know what the exact time it is without the assistance of an old clock, especially if you're entire existence relies on it. The thieves are caught and Nick and Kate celebrate ending the curse of the Headless Horseman. 

Yeah, this one is not exact the peak of animation or storytelling. The kids basically have no personality whatsoever, save for randomly spouting out historical facts about Washington Irving. There's a lot of padding in the story and lots of unusual story choices, as if they knew what outcome they wanted, but not sure how to get there. Ichabod is never seen, though you do find out that Nick is his descendant. There seems to be a thread of Ichabod having descendants, though the original story makes it pretty clear that he disappears, though if you believe that he runs off to another town and marries, there would be kids, but it just seems a little far-fetched. This one is available on Youtube if you care to watch.

The Hollow (2004)

A modern tale that again concerns the descendant of Ichabod Crane. Ian Cranston has just moved to Sleepy Hollow and attracts the attention of Karen, a cheerleader at his high school. Of course there's the quarterback on the football team, Brody, who doesn't like Ian because of relationship with Karen. Like with the Are You Afraid Of The Dark episode, each name is reference to characters in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The descendant of Hans Van Ripper, Claus Van Ripper, is the graveyard caretaker and warns Ian that the Headless Horseman is back and that Ian is the only one who can stop him. He tells Ian that a Crane descendant is the only one who can defeat the Horseman. Of course Ian thinks Claus is a drunk, so he ignores his warning. It's not until Ian's classmates start getting killed off that he understands that the threat is real. There's a side story about Ian's dad wanting him to play football but Ian wants to fence that never really get resolved but who cares? Ian defeats the Horseman with the help of Claus and the others and Ian's dad gives him a hug. There's nothing really plot-wise to mention because the rest of the movie is pretty standard low budget teen horror stuff. There's more violence than most of the other versions and there's plenty of swears and teen sexual tension, so it's a bit different. Most of the cast is actually well-known, with Nick Carter playing Brody, Stacy Keach playing Claus, Judge Reinhold playing Ian's dad, and Kaley Cuoco playing Karen. With that cast the acting isn't as bad as it could be, but it still isn't great. The Horseman is definitely memorable, as he always is wearing a huge gross-looking jack-o'-lantern. This is the closest to a slasher movie any of the Sleepy Hollow movies have come, but it also fails at being a decent slasher. None of the kills are particularly interesting, which happens when your villain can only kill in one specific way: cutting off people's heads. This movie does follow the tired trope of anyone who has sex gets killed. Literally the only people who die are teens trying to get laid and no one else. Seek this one out if you are morbidly curious or want to hear Stacy Keach say the word "teacher" a million times. This ones also on Youtube.

The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow (2013)

This film is a real bait and switch, which probably won't bother most people, but it still changes the animation a little ways into the movie. You go from the CGI figures from the movies to all of a sudden a hand-drawn animated version for the main story. It wouldn't be so egregious if the cover art didn't feature the CGI versions. You can tell they were trying to attract those kids and families that are used to the recent movie versions of the Smurfs and not the classic look Smurfs. The real story concerns a contest between Brainy Smurf and Gutsy Smurf. It's a yearly contest to see who can collect the most Smurfberries and Brainy has won the last nine years, much to Gutsy's chagrin. If you don't recognize Gutsy's name it's because he was made for the movies. Gutsy is curious on how Brainy wins every year so he follows him into the foreboding Smurfy Hollow. It is said the Headless Horseman lives in Smurfy Hollow, so nobody goes there. Brainy has found a large stash of Smurfberries in the Hollow and Gutsy finally knows how he always wins. Gutsy decides he's going to teach Brainy a lesson by pretending to be the Headless Horseman. This works, but a little too well. Brainy runs away and winds up getting trapped by Gargamel. Gutsy wins the contest but the other smurfs soon become worried that Brainy hasn't shown up. Gutsy goes back to Smurfy Hollow with Smurfette and they are soon captured by Gargamel. They all escape together and while being chased by Gargamel and Azrael, they all run into the Headless Horseman. The Horseman chases them back to the bridge back out of Smurfy Hollow. The Smurfs make it back over just fine but Gargamel and Azrael get a pumpkin thrown at them, causing the bridge to open up beneath them. The Smurfs return home as Gargamel and Azrael wash away down the river. Gutsy and Brainy apologize to each other and all is well. 

It's a cute story and all, but there really isn't a reason for the Headless Horseman and the Smurfs to be combined. They don't go into the reason the Horseman is in Smurfy Hollow and it seems odd that Brainy would risk going into Smurfy Hollow if there was a ghost around. There are plenty of Halloween specials to choose from so I wouldn't go out of my way to watch this with your family. This one is one Youtube as well but it's one of those weird videos where the movie is in a small screen surrounded by a computer wallpaper.

Conclusion

The story of Ichabod and the Headless Horseman endure to this day thanks in part to our culture's fascination with folktales and ghost stories. While our population is much less superstitious than those of early America, we still enjoy hearing stories about ghosts. The Headless Horseman legend has been told in many variations since Celtic times and it's one of the only Old World tales to have taken foot in America and now thought of as a uniquely American ghost, at least by Americans. You can view Washington Irving's tale as a story about two men fighting over a woman of wealth, until one successfully scares the other way, or you can view it as a love story that is taken over by the supernatural. I've always preferred the supernatural interpretation, but that's because it's way more interesting than Brom simply scaring Ichabod away. I don't think it's altogether surprising that The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has had so many adaptations. It's a story that steeps you into the season of fall and can easily get you into the Halloween spirit. I'm sure I may have missed an obscure adaptation here and there, but I tried to get to as many as possible, even the ones I knew would be painful. I hope that you check out some of these versions for yourself, or even read the short story. It's well worth it! Happy Halloween!