The Adventures of Ichabod

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is an animated characteristic made by Disney and released to theaters on October 5, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the eleventh animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, and the final of the 6 package films produced The story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, posted on Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (narrated by Bing Crosby). The gangly and lanky Ichabod Crane is the new headmaster in Sleepy Hollow.

His somewhat strange behavior makes him the ridicule of the rambunctious and robust town bully Brom Bones. Despite his odd appearance, Ichabod quickly proves to be a ladies’ man charming all the eligible local ladies. Finally, however, Ichabod finds out the local town beauty, Katrina Van Tassel. Katrina is the beautiful young daughter of wealthy farmer Baltus Van Tassel, and Broms’ intended. Katrina is a coquette by nature, but sees Ichabod as an opportunity to break from the monotony of Brom scaring away every other possible suitor. Ichabod has his eye on the Van Tassel wealth, and is infatuated by Katrina’s beauty and grace as well. After a number of comically unsuccessful attempts by Brom to dispose of Ichabod, including a hilarious scene at the Van Tassel’s Halloween party where he tries to switch his short overweight dance partner Tilda with Katrina, the situation changes when Brom decides to take advantage of Ichabod’s strong belief in superstitions. Brom musically tells the tale of the Headless Horseman to frighten the teacher. That Halloween night, Crane’s lonely ride home becomes exceedingly frightening because of his exposure to the possibility of encountering the ghost. The atmosphere of fear increases in intensity, until it breaks the tension at a false alarm, whereupon Ichabod and his horse laugh hysterically in relief. Immediately, the true (?) Headless Horseman appears, laughing maniacally, riding a large black horse that bears a strong resemblance to the one owned up by Brom. Then follows a spectacular chase scene wherein the visually impressive Horseman pursues Ichabod with wild abandon, only to be deterred when Ichabod crosses a bridge near the local Dutch graveyard (the bridge being the point beyond which the horseman cannot go, according to the tale). The Horseman then hurls his own severed head (shown to actually be a fiery Jack-o-lantern), at Ichabod. The jack-o-lantern is seemingly hurled right at us, bursts into flames as it strikes, and everything is lost to darkness. The next morning, the only things found by the bridge are a shattered pumpkin and Ichabod’s hat. Brom shortly thereafter marries Katrina. It is later rumored that Ichabod married a rich, plump widow with many children (who all resemble Ichabod to an amazing degree), in the next county. But the simple, common denizens of Sleepy Hollow firmly deny this; they all know that Ichabod was spirted away on Halloween Night by the ghoulish Headless Horseman. Later, this portion of the film was separated from the companion Mr. Toad film, screened, aired, marketed, and sold separately as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow beginning in 1958.