Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow was interesting. We learn of a man who has plans to corrupt a small village of superstitious and bored people. Sleepy Hollow is a place filled with house wives who tell tales of headless horsemen and other things. Ichabod Crane, the teacher, wants money and land, and the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel has all of it. Brom Bones is terribly jealous of the awkward man and Katrina is not the least bit attracted to him. The duo manages to run the man off, and Ichabod becomes a politician. This does not sound like much of a fun movie.
I think it would be terribly difficult to make this into an interesting movie. People love drama, romance, comedy, horror and action. Tim Burton took Irving's characters and made them "new." Ichabod was no longer a superstitious, womanizing school teacher- Burton made Ichabod Crane an enlightened, justice seeking constable who puts business before pleasure. Brom Bones was still jealous, but he's too full of himself to be a hero. Katrina Van Tassel is still beautiful, but she seems to have a crush on Ichabod Crane. Burton also presents the superstition of the headless horseman by bringing him to life.
Burton is not just using the characters' names to enhance his own horror story, he's bringing Irving's story to life with new twist. Burton gives his three leads, Ichabod, Katrina, and Masbath tragic back stories and brighter futures. Burton gets rid of Brom Bones who came off a jealous jerk to Ichabod as he met Katrina. Burton introduces magic to the story which explains the existence of the terrifying headless horseman. The women, who were only superstitious house people in Irving's story, were powerful and feared for their knowledge of magic. Burton enhanced Irving's story and made it theater ready.
I personally prefer Burton's version of Sleepy Hollow because it has what your basic movie watcher wants. We have our bumbling hero, his beautiful love interest and his small side kick. Irving's tale was great, but it left me unsatisfied and yearning for more.
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