The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow

The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow is a 2003 German-American animated, direct-to-video, Halloween film. It was produced by Porchlight Pictures and presented by Porchlight Entertainment in association with Videal. It was inspired by Washington Irving's short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".

Plot
Two kids named Nick and Kate have no idea just what they're in for when it's revealed that Nick is a distant relative of Ichabod Crane. Because of this relation, he has a connection to the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" story. One night, they find a wild pumpkin in a patch that isn't ordinary, as it turns out to be haunted. They meet a ghost named Nathaniel Wiley, a ghost who was a soldier of the White Plains who tells the kids of the story, which happens to be a true one. After learning that that particular pumpkin belongs to the Headless Horseman, they have to get it back to him. But that's not all, they also have to deal with a couple of criminals who hid a manuscript of the Sleepy Hollow story in the pumpkin, ghosts of the Van Tassels, and live skeletons, among others, along the way.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) This is an excellent extension of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" tale.
 * 2) The art style is nice enough and the animation flows well throughout most of the film.
 * 3) The story is a well-written continuation of what happened after the "Sleepy Hollow" story.
 * 4) Many of the characters are likable, especially Nick, Kate, and Nathaniel.
 * 5) The character designs are decent enough.
 * 6) Strongly performed voice-acting.
 * 7) A great couple of show-stopping musical numbers.
 * 8) The nighttime scenes do a fine job in conveying the spooky atmosphere befitting of this.
 * 9) It's a flawless way of introducing the Legend of Sleepy Hollow to the uninitiated and provides a lesson on it.
 * 10) Comic relief moments by the criminals and Nathaniel.
 * 11) It gives the inspiration of finding courage within oneself.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) The animation occasionally doesn't flow naturally, but those moments are few and far between.