Tom Hanks & David S. Pumpkins Are Getting Animated

Tom Hanks and David S. Pumpkins are getting the animated treatment.

Published

October 1, 2017

Got “Any questions?” for David S. Pumpkins?

NBC will be answering a few (or more likely raising a few more) this October with The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special. The instantly iconic (and hilariously bizarre) Saturday Night Live character played by Tom Hanks last year is getting the animated treatment and his own thirty-minute special.

Hanks will voice the uber-cheery and pumpkin-suited Mr. Pumpkins in the special. His skeleton backup dancers, Mikey Day and Bobby Moynihan, are set to reprise their roles in the animated special, and Peter Dinklage will be voicing a new character. Hanks and Dinklage will also be appearing live at the start of the show.

As for what Mr. Pumpkins and his skeleton friends might be up to in the special? According to NBC: “Set in a small suburban town on All Hallows’ Eve, the special centers on David Pumpkins and his skeleton sidekicks who show a young boy and his sister the true meaning of Halloween, answering none of their questions along the way.”

George Cheeks, president of business operations and late-night programming for NBC, hopes the animated special will fan the flame of David S. Pumpkins fame: “It’s scary how quickly the original SNL sketch caught on, and we’re thrilled that Tom Hanks is back to keep the fun going.”

In the original sketch, SNL stars Kate McKinnon and Beck Bennett are guests on a haunted elevator ride, but things grow increasingly spooky—and ridiculously funny—as they keep encountering Mr. Pumpkins on floor after floor. Also featured in the original sketch are Leslie Jones, Kenan Thompson, and Vanessa Bayer.