Tim Burton's and Washington Irving's versions of Sleepy Hollow share many similarities, yet Burton's version of the story is quite a loose adaptation. One cannot go so far as to say Burton was not just using the titles of each characters. However, his adaptation did stray from Irving's story. Although he does not stick strictly to Irving's original story, Burton uses some of the basic themes within the original short story such as the supernatural, the grotesque, and a gothic feel in order to truly make the story his own.
The first element that Burton uses is the supernatural. The entire story is laden with such themes. It starts when the villagers are explaining to Ichabod Crane that there is a headless horseman and continues as we see the headless horseman as a ghost. The scene in which Crane's mother uses magic also procures the supernatural. Again, the supernatural appears when Katrina Van Tassle's stepmother procures the headless horseman using magic. Thus, the elements of the supernatural are interwoven throughout Burton's story.
As in many of his other movies such as Beetlejuice and Batman Returns, Burton also uses elements of the grotesque in order to make his story in a true Tim Burton style. For example, when the headless horseman chops off the heads of the villagers, there are a lot of bloody special effects. Again when Crane discovers the heads inside the tree, the entire scene is filled with elements of the grotesque. The film also incorporates self mutilation in order to perform magic spells such as when Katrina's step mother cuts her hand in order to perform a spell on one of the villagers.
Finally, the setting of the movie seems quite gothic. Again the setting is in Tim Burton's typical style. He uses dim lighting as he did on the set of Batman and Batman Returns. Burton creates this setting using dim lighting and gives the movie a gray and blue or purple hue throughout the film. The characters' wardrobes are also either neutral colors or black. These wardrobes give the film an ominous undertone.
In conclusion, although Burton's story is not a direct adaptation to Washington Irving's short story, the names of the characters were not completely borrowed. Burton merely took elements of the story such as the supernatural, grotesque, and gothic setting. These elements can be seen throughout the movie. Burton used these elements in order to create his movie and make it truly original.
Your blog is very well constructed and organized. You make points that are very crucial in understanding Burton's style of film-making. It is also important to note that the supernatural, gothic, and grotesque elements of Burton's film are also present in Irving's story. Had you drawn parallels between the text and film, it would have tied it all together and contributed well. It also would have been interesting had you examined why Burton specifically chose Irving's story to adapt. Overall, I think you have a good grasp of some of the connections between Irving and Burton's works.
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