You Can't Reason With a Headless Man
Bing Crosby and his Ghost Writer, Washington Irving
Hopefully everyone had a fun Halloween! Time to gush about another old Disney classic that’s a must-see for any of you animation-inclined out there: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). Specifically, the short based on Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” published way back in 1820, humorously narrated by the ol’ Binger himself, Mr. Crosby.
Before I launch into the usual excited praise of animation and storytelling of classic Disney (don’t worry, it’s coming), it’s fun to point out some of the similarities in this 1949 production and Disney’s Beauty & The Beast (1991). There’s a lot there, but it’s easier just to show a few screen caps of the more obvious visual and situational inspirations:
Nice to see the days where the new Disney would reference the old Disney sincerely, though I believe it’s because of these similarities that so many people get the intention of this story completely backwards, and assume Brom Bones is the “bad guy” and Ichabod the hapless victim. Couldn’t be further from the actuality:
So you’ve got Ichabod who is, what can best be described as a lovable sponge, vying for Katrina’s hand (and her father’s fortune) against literally every other man in town. And Katrina, who enjoys the game, egging him on against the clear front-runner for her affections, Brom.
And while Ichabod is absolutely bodying Brom in the arena of wit and grace, when the annual Halloween party at the estate of Katrina’s father comes up, it’s Brom’s chance to turn the tables:
And thanks to the incredible talents of pre-1970’s Disney, we get one of the most thrilling and humorous depictions of Washington Irving’s adventurous horror ever to be put on the screen:
Now rumors persisted that Ichabod was still alive, married to a wealthy widow in a distant county. But of course, the good Dutch settlers refused to believe such nonsense, for they knew the schoolmaster had been spirited away by the headless horseman.
When I finally got around to reading the original story by Washington Irving, I was actually pretty surprised by the introduction of Katrina Van Tassel. There's a paragraph in the story where Irving clearly states that women should be allowed to do whatever they want, which was a huge surprise to me considering the time period Irving lived during. It was also interesting to learn that Ichabod Crane, while wanting the Van Tassel farm and money more than Katrina herself, actually was a huge pillar in the community after he arrived. He baby-sat other people's kids, he taught singing to everyone at church, he did chores and favors for people. He wasn't physically attractive, but he became very popular with everyone because of how he chose to engage with the townspeople. I didn't approve of how he treated his donkey, but considering the time period, I didn't hold it against him much. When the Horseman targets Ichabod, it's actually after Ichabod learns that Brom Bones was selected by Katrina to be her new husband. The Headless Horseman kind of just targets Ichabod near randomly, and I kinda love that. People think Brom did it because of how he always laughed at the story, but it doesn't make sense in context. I know adaptations change this up some, so that sometimes Brom is clearly the Horseman or Katrina was purposely leading Ichabod on, etc. , etc., but the original is kinda fascinating.
Absolutely one of my favorite Disney productions of all time. That titular song is a proud regular feature on my Halloween playlists each year.