Over the Garden Wall
Premise - Two half-brothers lost in the woods try to find their way home with the help of a talking bluebird. Along the way, they must escape the grasp of the beast who haunts these woods, as well as a variety of other inhabitants in this strange, timeless land.
Review - Cartoon Network's first ever miniseries shows a level of depth unexpected in a children's cartoon. With a rich plotline, it is impossible to review this story honorably without discussing the series as a whole, so massive spoilers ahead. This ten episode series follows Greg and Wirt's journey through a magical forest, which we later find out to be (the spoilers start here!) a sort of purgatory, in between life and death.
From the very first episode, there are a plethora of anachronisms for a fairy tale land excusable for a silly cartoon, such as the mention of cars, phones, and modern slang. These anachronisms are an odd pairing with the clearly gnome-like costume Wirt is wearing, appropriate for a fairy tale land. Everything about Wirt and Greg's presence in the forest seems to initially suggest they belong, expect for the language they use, and Wirt's clear aversion to magical creatures. That's why it was easy for me to guess early on that this takes place in relatively modern times, and would have been disappointed if we did not receive a backstory. Thankfully, by the ninth episode I got what I wanted, an episode that gives the context for how two modern-day boys ended up in ridiculous costumes (it’s Halloween!), and over the garden wall.
Each of the ten episodes carries its own mini-story, each of which connects to one over-arching plotline of the two boys trying to get home. The mini stories have a strange, dark fantasy to them, almost too gothic and disturbing for children. I felt a real Spirited Away vibe, or maybe Alice in Wonderland, given the non-sensical, dreamlike events that take place. It isn't technically classified as a musical, but there were enough songs within it (i.e. "Potatoes and Molasses") that lead me to include it in that category. Each of these factors led me to that moment of "wait, was this all a dream?" but I luckily was watching this with my cousin, a long-time Over the Garden Wall fan, who was able to lead me to the realization that it was purgatory. Quite dark for a children's show, but that's how I like it. (81/100)
Quote - "Do you eat waffles?" "No, I eat maggots." <GASP> "How can you not eat waffles???"
What to watch for - I love the artwork. Beautiful animation. I even love looking at fan artwork.
If you liked this show, I recommend Gravity Falls!
Created by Patrick McHale
Produced by Cartoon Network
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Comments
Post a Comment