Movie Monday Nov. 7: Over the Garden Wall

I’m doing something a bit different this week. Instead of writing about a movie, I decided to pick a show that I recently watched: Over the Garden Wall. It’s a limited series of ten episodes around eleven minutes each, so you can watch the whole thing in about two hours.

**Warning, mild spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t watched the series yet, what are you doing?**

Half brothers Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean) go on a strange and at times ominous journey through the Unknown Forest to get home. They’re joined by talking bluebird Beatrice (Melanie Lynskey) who promises to help them. Each episode they encounter weird and fantastical people and creatures, from the town of Pottsville and their harvest festival to anthropomorphic frogs on a riverboat. Sometimes who they encounter adds more the lore of the Unknown, like the reoccurring Woodsman (Christopher Lloyd) and the unseen Beast (Samuel Ramey). As the show goes on, there are clues about who the brothers and the people of the Unknown really are and how the boys came to be lost in the woods. Things are never as they appear to be, and even when secrets are revealed, there are usually more questions than answers. Wart and Greg eventually have to fight their way home, both literally and metaphorically.

I’m already a fan of animation, from nostalgic classics from my childhood to award winning movies like Spirited Away, so Over the Garden Wall is right up my alley. Several people have recommended the series over the years, and I finally dedicated time to watching it while I was sick last week. I’ve actually rewatched it a second time just to go back and pick up on all of the lore hidden in each episode. For anyone watching it for the first time, the opening sequence of the first episode alludes to much of the series without giving away everything.

The color palette and background animation of the series is reminiscent of old fairytale books or 19th and early 20th century Americana drawings. The oranges, reds, and yellows have a fall aesthetic that words with the darker themes of the show. Fall is definitely the season for the show, and an important plot point later in the series, and only adds to the mystery of the Unknown. Folklore, autumnal vibes, and the stylized animation aren’t the only things that add to the spooky tone of the series. The music of the show, both what’s sung by the characters and the score, continue with setting the scene. The Blasting Company, an American nouveau-folk, composed the soundtrack and did an amazing job. I’ve now added the extended soundtrack to my writing playlist.

I really loved Greg and Wirt. They feel like characters out of a fairytale at first, but then they start to feel out of place. They’re really interesting protagonists and add a lot to the comedy of the series. I especially love Greg; he says the strangest and most unexpected things. For such a dark show (there’s a fair amount of allusions to purgatory, the afterlife, and death), its actually very funny. It’s a strange kind of humor, more from wordplay and weird characters and dialogue. There’s a balance of intelligence and childlike wonder, a combination that I find interesting.

Series creator Patrick McHale worked on several series at Cartoon Network before pitching Over the Garden Wall. It’s actually based on a short he created called Tome of the Unknown with the same lead character and style as the series. The short toured the festival circuit, winning several awards. It also won an Emmy for Best Animated Program and was expanded into a comic series and several graphic novels. 

The animation style and themes are more mature for a typical children’s program, but the dialogue and humor works for all ages. The series can be enjoyed by kids and adults, as long as they like the weird and magical elements of the story. I love fairytales, especially the darker ones (like original Grimms or folklore), so I really like Over the Garden Wall. It’s quirky and unique but also reminiscent of stories I grew up with and continue to be inspired by in my own work. It’s captivating and warrants a rewatch at least once a year.

My favorite episode: “Hard Times at the Huskin’ Bee” (2nd episode)

It’s strange and throws off the audience in what we should expect from each episode. In my opinion, while the first episode “The Old Grist Mill” sets the tone for the series, this episode injects magical and supernatural elements into the lore of the Unknown.

My favorite line: 

Wirt: “Fred’s a talking horse, he can do whatever he wants.”

Fred: “I want to steal.”

– “Mad Love” (5th episode)

I’d give Over the Garden Wall 9 black turtles out of 10.