Written by: Kevin Berge
2 brothers, a bird, and a frog, they're the motliest crew of adventurers. (Image Courtesy of: animationmagazine.net)
Quick Take: Over the Garden Wall takes old school fairy tales and classic poems and translates them into an oddball short form animated adventure that loves its world and characters. It is fast-paced, exciting, and difficult to pin down, making it an easy watch for anyone willing to sit back and enjoy.
It's a cliche to say they don't make them like this anymore, but Over the Garden Wall did make me wistful for the old cartoons I grew up on. It's odd, enigmatic, bizarre, sometimes oddly frightening, and ultimately heartfelt. This is a miniseries with true passion behind it that is heavily inspired by older animation.
The inspirations goes beyond the animation I grew up on (well, the good ones at least). It cherry picks from every type of animation style and format in its brief 10 episode run. There's an entire episode that feels like it was pulled from a 1930s cartoon and others that might as well be Looney Tunes without the characters.
More than the actual animation styles though, it is the storytelling that feels out school because it makes very little sense. The story follows half-brothers Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean) who realize they have wandered into the Unknown, a deep inescapable and dangerous part of the woods where they meet friends and enemies at every turn.
On one hand, this is a fairly conventional fairy tale. Boys lost in the scary woods and opened to a world completely foreign to them. It is Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and The Wizard of Oz, just to name a few.
On the other hand, the whole story is insane, filled with weird threats and imaginative beings that welcome, question, and scare off the kids. All they have to help them on their way is the talking bird Beatrice (Melanie Lynskey) and a frog who is always named but never consistently.
In order to even explain the series more in-depth, I will have to go into spoilers, so I will pause here to say check this out if you have not. It only takes one of the approximately 10-minute episodes to know if you're in for the ride or not. Personally, I highly recommend it.
***From this point on, there will be spoilers. Do not read ahead if you have not seen the show and wish to do so unspoiled.***
The inspirations goes beyond the animation I grew up on (well, the good ones at least). It cherry picks from every type of animation style and format in its brief 10 episode run. There's an entire episode that feels like it was pulled from a 1930s cartoon and others that might as well be Looney Tunes without the characters.
More than the actual animation styles though, it is the storytelling that feels out school because it makes very little sense. The story follows half-brothers Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean) who realize they have wandered into the Unknown, a deep inescapable and dangerous part of the woods where they meet friends and enemies at every turn.
On one hand, this is a fairly conventional fairy tale. Boys lost in the scary woods and opened to a world completely foreign to them. It is Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and The Wizard of Oz, just to name a few.
On the other hand, the whole story is insane, filled with weird threats and imaginative beings that welcome, question, and scare off the kids. All they have to help them on their way is the talking bird Beatrice (Melanie Lynskey) and a frog who is always named but never consistently.
In order to even explain the series more in-depth, I will have to go into spoilers, so I will pause here to say check this out if you have not. It only takes one of the approximately 10-minute episodes to know if you're in for the ride or not. Personally, I highly recommend it.
***From this point on, there will be spoilers. Do not read ahead if you have not seen the show and wish to do so unspoiled.***
Always respect your frog captains. It will do you well in the future. (Image Courtesy of: toonzone.net)
If I were to boil down Over the Garden Wall into its two biggest influences, it would be Alice in Wonderland and Dante's Inferno. While this series is not quite that descent into madness, it is a show that does not leave the characters a lot of control. They are pulled along for the most part through insanity.
It takes until the ninth episode for the show to reveal how Wart and Greg fell into the Unknown, and even then it feels like escaping and returning home is secondary. This is a dark and magical landscape where Wart and Greg meet pumpkin people, encounter a bar where everyone is obsessed with labels, and travel on a frog boat.
All the while, they are chased by the mysterious Beast (Samuel Ramey) who is in conflict with the lantern-bearer The Woodsman (Christopher Lloyd). This story is somewhat the center of the tale as much as the Queen of Hearts is the center of the first of Lewis Carroll's classic novels.
Their conflict however is just a reminder that there is a threat looming, ready to consume them if they are not careful. In fact, each trial, descending further into the heart of the Unknown, is more confusing and dangerous than the last. However, they keep going with the hope that they can find their way home.
The real fun of this series is watching the characters develop. Wart is uncertain and standoffish while Greg is adventurous and childishly innocent. They both face challenges and grow alongside forming a friendship with Beatrice. Even though the brothers ultimately get home, I was disappointed they were separated from her.
That growth is the only real tying thread in this tale that feels purposefully driving. This is a show that is largely about nothing. It just drifts, but that wouldn't make for an exciting show even in its short form. Over the Garden Wall is effective because it cares about its characters in the midst of the madness.
Greg feels like a young kid. He's hilarious but also annoying. He's joyful but foolish. His faults make him realistically endearing. The same can be said of Wirt even if he is a bit harder to always like. His woeful lack of confidence can be infuriating, but he always does what is right in the end.
Creator Patrick McHale (Adventure Time) clearly has a real love and passion behind the project that shows through, and it is infectiousness. I know I would have loved watching the series as a kid, and I still loved it watching it as an adult because it has heart, fun, and just a bit of insanity driving it along.
It takes until the ninth episode for the show to reveal how Wart and Greg fell into the Unknown, and even then it feels like escaping and returning home is secondary. This is a dark and magical landscape where Wart and Greg meet pumpkin people, encounter a bar where everyone is obsessed with labels, and travel on a frog boat.
All the while, they are chased by the mysterious Beast (Samuel Ramey) who is in conflict with the lantern-bearer The Woodsman (Christopher Lloyd). This story is somewhat the center of the tale as much as the Queen of Hearts is the center of the first of Lewis Carroll's classic novels.
Their conflict however is just a reminder that there is a threat looming, ready to consume them if they are not careful. In fact, each trial, descending further into the heart of the Unknown, is more confusing and dangerous than the last. However, they keep going with the hope that they can find their way home.
The real fun of this series is watching the characters develop. Wart is uncertain and standoffish while Greg is adventurous and childishly innocent. They both face challenges and grow alongside forming a friendship with Beatrice. Even though the brothers ultimately get home, I was disappointed they were separated from her.
That growth is the only real tying thread in this tale that feels purposefully driving. This is a show that is largely about nothing. It just drifts, but that wouldn't make for an exciting show even in its short form. Over the Garden Wall is effective because it cares about its characters in the midst of the madness.
Greg feels like a young kid. He's hilarious but also annoying. He's joyful but foolish. His faults make him realistically endearing. The same can be said of Wirt even if he is a bit harder to always like. His woeful lack of confidence can be infuriating, but he always does what is right in the end.
Creator Patrick McHale (Adventure Time) clearly has a real love and passion behind the project that shows through, and it is infectiousness. I know I would have loved watching the series as a kid, and I still loved it watching it as an adult because it has heart, fun, and just a bit of insanity driving it along.
