The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow is a 47-minute-long television special based on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Released in 2003, it originally aired on Cartoon Network from October 21, 2005 through October 31, 2006.
The plot concerns a pair of friends from Sleepy Hollow, New York who wind up with a magic pumpkin that turns out to be the head of the Headless Horseman from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." They team up with the ghost of Nathaniel Washington, a Revolutionary War-hero, to keep it away from him until midnight—this is because if he were to gain the head before then, he'll come back to life and regain all of his powers.
This work provides examples of:
- Affably Evil: Surprisingly, the Horseman himself is this to an extent. He's only going after his head and never harms anyone he comes in contact with, despite the fact that he is clearly built up as an Evil Sorcerer. He even accepts candy from a security guard at one point (said guard assumed that he was just somebody in a Halloween-costume).
- Animated Musical: It has two songs.
- Bald of Evil: Grunk has no hair.
- Blatant Lies: Nick claiming he knew Tucker was dressed like the Headless Horseman when he scared him in the halls and that he wasn't really scared.
- The Bully: Tucker's a bully who picks on Nick by scaring him and mockingly calls him "Nichabod."
- Cowardly Lion: Nathaniel is surprisingly cowardly for a ghost, even though he himself points out he can't die twice.
- Dem Bones: Nick, Kate, and Nathaniel come across two talking skeletons playing cards. They chase after the trio when they think Nick was cheating (even though he wasn't playing).
- Dumb Muscle: Grunk is the muscle of the duo.
- Evil Duo: Grunk and Leo are a mix of this and Bumbling Henchmen Duo. Leo is the shorter, smarter leader who thinks he's a genius. Grunk is the Dumb Muscle who towers over him. Both of them are butt monkeys.
- Evil Sorcerer: The Horseman had great magical powers in life. As an undead spirit in the present day, he uses his magic to bring trees to life.
- Foreshadowing: There are some hints throughout the special that Nick's related to Ichabod Crane, the schoolmaster from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." To go into greater detail:
- 1.) Nick and Ichabod have the last name (and "Crane" isn't exactly a common surname).
- 2.) Just like Ichabod, Nick's shown to be kind of a scaredy-cat throughout the special.
- 3.) Nick looks pretty much identical to Ichabod, with some minor physical differences (like Nick having freckles and having blonde hair instead of being a brunette without freckles like Ichabod was).
- In the end, Nick reveals that he is actually related to Ichabod Crane (albeit very distantly) through his dad's side of the familynote . When Kate questions why Nick didn't reveal this sooner, Nick admits that he was initially embarrassed about it, since Ichabod Crane doesn't exactly the greatest reputation.
- Four-Fingered Hands: Most of the characters have five fingers, but for some reason Grunk and Leo and Nathaniel have only four. Grunk and Leo might be justified, as they are drawn in a more cartoony manner than the other characters. Nathaniel is an odd case since even the other ghosts have five fingers.
- Headless Horseman: The main antagonist, naturally.
- Healing Factor: The pumpkin has this, sealing itself back up after Grunk and Leo cut it open to hide the manuscript inside of it. This might be the reason Nathaniel never suggests destroying the pumpkin, though the exact degree of its regenerative abilities is unrevealed.
- Real After All: For this Halloween Special, the story of Sleepy Hollow is revealed to be based on true events.
- Shorter Means Smarter: Leo is clearly smarter than Grunk, not that that's saying much.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Leo thinks he's an expert crook, but he's only smart compared to Grunk.
- Stupid Crooks: Grunk and Leo are a pair of bumbling thieves. They steal the Sleepy Hollow manuscript and hide it in the pumpkin, resulting in Nick and Kate gaining it when they take the pumpkin (as they were looking for one for their school's "Scary Pumpkin" contest). They spend the rest of the movie trying to get it back.
- When Trees Attack: The Horseman brings trees to life with his magic.
