The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Over the years, there have been several movie versions made of Washington Irving's classic tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". While many of these were quite good, the best of them all may be Disney's 1949 animated classic. Originally shown on TV, it presents what is probably the most faithful rendition of Irving's story using classic animation, catchy songs, and narration by the voice of the late, great, Bing Crosby. The old school animation is simply breathtaking, with its many vibrant color schemes and ever amazing ability to captivate us. Sure, Pixar type animation may be cool, but there's something about the old school cartoons that still makes them magical. Perhaps it's because of the fact that it took a lot more effort to create an animation sequence using who knows how many drawings as opposed to just drawing on a computer. Either way, it still holds up after all this time. As for the execution of the story, it's equally wonderful, managing to be both spooky and comedic at the same time for the kids. And then there is the brilliant, soothing sound of Bing Crosby, who narrates the tale beautifully as well as providing the small amount of dialogue with his baritone voice and wit that made him famous. All in all, if you're looking for a perfect Halloween family film, you can't go wrong with this version. Since it doesn't seem to be shown on TV anymore, you could either find it on DVD I believe or catch it on you tube.

P.S. If you find yourself walking in Sleepy Hollow one night, cross that bridge as fast as you can and Happy Halloween!