Over the River and Through the Wood… and Over the Garden Wall
Ryan G.
In a shaker, pour in a chapter of Alice in Wonderland, a few pages from a coming-of-age story, and a short passage from H.P. Lovecraft’s library. Shake well and pour directly into a highball glass. What do you get? One of the best cartoons to air in recent history.
Over the Garden Wall is a bit of an oddity. While the average person may consider cartoons to be loud, colorful, and over-the-top, this show feels subdued with flowing cello pieces scattered between quiet walks in the forest. With episodes clocking in at just over eleven minutes, OTGW is only ten episodes long. Unlike series that have lasted for over a decade (I’m looking at you, Spongebob), the series began and ended this year between November 3 and 7. Despite this, animation fans are already placing the show on the same level as heavy-hitters like Adventure Time and Gravity Falls. Incidentally, people involved with those shows also contributed to the creation of OTGW as well, which guarantees that the show should be phenomenal.
The story follows two brothers, Wirt and Greg (portrayed by Elijah Wood and Collin Dean, respectively). Under mysterious circumstances, they find themselves in The Unknown, a vast forest the two do not even remember entering. In their efforts to return home, the brothers have a series of misadventures as they accompany a snarky bluebird who calls herself Beatrice. In the same vein as Gravity Falls, the show’s protagonists frequently get involved in strange predicaments. However, things are not as they seem for the travelers and we soon find out that something far more sinister awaits them.
Over the Garden Wall is a bit of an oddity. While the average person may consider cartoons to be loud, colorful, and over-the-top, this show feels subdued with flowing cello pieces scattered between quiet walks in the forest. With episodes clocking in at just over eleven minutes, OTGW is only ten episodes long. Unlike series that have lasted for over a decade (I’m looking at you, Spongebob), the series began and ended this year between November 3 and 7. Despite this, animation fans are already placing the show on the same level as heavy-hitters like Adventure Time and Gravity Falls. Incidentally, people involved with those shows also contributed to the creation of OTGW as well, which guarantees that the show should be phenomenal.
The story follows two brothers, Wirt and Greg (portrayed by Elijah Wood and Collin Dean, respectively). Under mysterious circumstances, they find themselves in The Unknown, a vast forest the two do not even remember entering. In their efforts to return home, the brothers have a series of misadventures as they accompany a snarky bluebird who calls herself Beatrice. In the same vein as Gravity Falls, the show’s protagonists frequently get involved in strange predicaments. However, things are not as they seem for the travelers and we soon find out that something far more sinister awaits them.
What really makes the show entertaining is the interaction between the three main characters. Wirt, the older brother, is a worrywart. Each time they encounter something in The Unknown, Wirt is always the first to express his suspicions towards it. Between dealing with his brother’s antics and Beatrice’s insults, Wirt complains a lot. He is a pessimist, insecure about himself, and heartbroken. The younger brother Greg acts as Wirt’s foil. While Wirt will shy away from mysteries of The Unknown, Greg will run towards it and greet it like a friend. Though he is too naïve for his own sake, Greg is really the one to drive most of the action in the series; he solves many the problems in The Unknown, sometimes by accident. Beatrice acts as the voice of reason in the group. Set on leading the brothers to their destination, she is the one to get everyone back on track when Wirt wimps out and Greg becomes too involved. As a result, she is easily the snarkiest member of the trio, and her target is almost always Wirt.
Wirt and Beatrice had an amazing dynamic during the series. Not long after they start travelling together, she makes a jab at him. She tells Greg that he should be more his brother: a push-over who always does what he’s told to do. In retaliation, Wirt decides to play that role just to annoy Beatrice. Whether she intended for it to happen or not, her roasting of Wirt allows him to develop as a character. Later on, he opens up his insecurities to her, which is ultimately what gets the group out of trouble soon after. In turn, Beatrice also grows as a character, but to a much lesser extent. Over the course of the series, she starts to understand the importance of family and friendship, which she had always taken for granted. As for Greg, he is more independent than the other two, and thus doesn’t experience an epiphany like the other two. That being said, he provides much needed comedy (and sometimes musical) relief when the show becomes too tense for comfort.
The show’s deceptiveness is what makes it shine. Things may seem menacing at first, but it winds up being “just a thing” that occurs in The Unknown. Take Pottsfield from the second episode as an example. Populated by creepy pumpkin-wearing people, Wirt has a perfectly valid reason to feel uneasy. In the end, we discover the townsfolk are sentient skeletons who wanted the brothers to dig up more skeletons for population growth. The resolution to each episode is always unexpected, straight from the left field. After five episodes of this, viewers start to become accustomed to it. Life is scary. Though we might not like what we see, there is always something behind it. Is that the message the show wants to give us?
Possibly.
But not entirely.
Remember how I said the show deceives the viewer? It does it on multiple levels. While the first half of the show tells us that good can come from bad, the second half reminds us not to blindly trust everything we see. It is here where the action really picks up. When the problem becomes too big for even Greg to handle, responsibility falls upon Wirt to find the solution. At first, he reluctantly takes the mantle and often falls flat on his face in his attempts. With each trial and failure, Wirt becomes more used to the impossibilities of The Unknown. As the story reaches its climax, Wirt realizes the world does not revolve around his problems. There is much more at stake than his reputation and recognizing this allows Wirt to overcome his uncertainty by the end of the journey.
Without spoiling the rest of the series, let me tell you one thing: The Beast is watching.
Wirt and Beatrice had an amazing dynamic during the series. Not long after they start travelling together, she makes a jab at him. She tells Greg that he should be more his brother: a push-over who always does what he’s told to do. In retaliation, Wirt decides to play that role just to annoy Beatrice. Whether she intended for it to happen or not, her roasting of Wirt allows him to develop as a character. Later on, he opens up his insecurities to her, which is ultimately what gets the group out of trouble soon after. In turn, Beatrice also grows as a character, but to a much lesser extent. Over the course of the series, she starts to understand the importance of family and friendship, which she had always taken for granted. As for Greg, he is more independent than the other two, and thus doesn’t experience an epiphany like the other two. That being said, he provides much needed comedy (and sometimes musical) relief when the show becomes too tense for comfort.
The show’s deceptiveness is what makes it shine. Things may seem menacing at first, but it winds up being “just a thing” that occurs in The Unknown. Take Pottsfield from the second episode as an example. Populated by creepy pumpkin-wearing people, Wirt has a perfectly valid reason to feel uneasy. In the end, we discover the townsfolk are sentient skeletons who wanted the brothers to dig up more skeletons for population growth. The resolution to each episode is always unexpected, straight from the left field. After five episodes of this, viewers start to become accustomed to it. Life is scary. Though we might not like what we see, there is always something behind it. Is that the message the show wants to give us?
Possibly.
But not entirely.
Remember how I said the show deceives the viewer? It does it on multiple levels. While the first half of the show tells us that good can come from bad, the second half reminds us not to blindly trust everything we see. It is here where the action really picks up. When the problem becomes too big for even Greg to handle, responsibility falls upon Wirt to find the solution. At first, he reluctantly takes the mantle and often falls flat on his face in his attempts. With each trial and failure, Wirt becomes more used to the impossibilities of The Unknown. As the story reaches its climax, Wirt realizes the world does not revolve around his problems. There is much more at stake than his reputation and recognizing this allows Wirt to overcome his uncertainty by the end of the journey.
Without spoiling the rest of the series, let me tell you one thing: The Beast is watching.
Ryan has been a reviewer for The Panel since 2014. According to his tumblr profile, he is interested in: "Uniqlo, vaporwave, cosplay, poetry, Josuke Higashikata's hair, lawyer video games, and the Shin Megami Tensei demon Jack Frost."