--- ---  # Tom Hanks Will Return as David S. Pumpkins for an Animated Half-Hour _SNL_ Special  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Sep 28, 2017 9:25 PM UTC  An illustration of Tom Hanks on The David S. Pumpkins Halloween on Saturday Night Live An illustration of Tom Hanks on The David S. Pumpkins Halloween on Saturday Night LiveNBC  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Sep 28, 2017 9:25 PM UTC David S. Pumpkins is [returning for Halloween](http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/28/snl-tom-hanks-david-s-pumpkins-animated/), and this year he’s getting his very own special. The Tom Hanks character [scared and danced his way into people’s hearts](http://time.com/4951773/david-pumpkins-origin-story/) when he first appeared in a _Saturday Night Live_ sketch [last October](http://time.com/4552158/tom-hanks-david-s-pumpkins-halloween/). This year, David S. Pumpkins is coming back as a cartoon with his own half-hour show, NBC announced Thursday. Hanks will voice the animated character alongside the skit’s three writers Mikey Day, Bobby Moynihan (who appeared as skeleton back-up dancers in the original skit), and Streeter Seidell. Peter Dinklage will also lend his vocal talents to the special. > [](https://twitter.com/ditzkoff/status/913492838763175936) NBC teased a synopsis of the show on Thursday: “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.” Hanks [hinted earlier this month](http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/14/tom-hanks-teases-david-s-pumpkins-return-snl/) that David S. Pumpkins would return when he tweeted a photo of a script for “The David S. Pumpkins Song.” Needless to say, viewers can anticipate music during the upcoming special. > [](https://twitter.com/tomhanks/status/908463044300296192) NBC will air the program the Saturday before Halloween on Oct. 28, at 11:30 p.m. ET. Tom Hanks Revives David S. Pumpkins for Animated SNL Special ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4961915/tom-hanks-david-s-pumpkins-animated-special-saturday-night-live/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4961915/tom-hanks-david-s-pumpkins-animated-special-saturday-night-live/"},"headline":"Tom Hanks Will Return as David S. Pumpkins for an Animated Half-Hour SNL Special","datePublished":"2017-09-28T21:25:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:39:08.175Z","description":"Both Tom Hanks and Peter Dinklage are involved","url":"https://time.com/4961915/tom-hanks-david-s-pumpkins-animated-special-saturday-night-live/","keywords":["Television","SNL","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt460783a310ccd58c/6988dfd897cdff735f6b2a1a/tom-hanks-david-pumpkins-animation-saturday-night-live.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt460783a310ccd58c/6988dfd897cdff735f6b2a1a/tom-hanks-david-pumpkins-animation-saturday-night-live.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"tom-hanks-david-pumpkins-animation-saturday-night-live","caption":"Tom Hanks on The David S. Pumpkins Halloween on Saturday Night Live","creditText":"NBC","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4961915/tom-hanks-david-s-pumpkins-animated-special-saturday-night-live/","name":"Tom Hanks Will Return as David S. Pumpkins for an Animated Half-Hour SNL Special"}}]}] ```