#OVER THE GARDEN WALL EXPLAINED SERIES#
This is a series to watch with your child: don’t give it to them to watch on their own. The story is increasingly tense leading up to those final episodes, and truly emotional at the end. And lost they are indeed, so there comes a time when finding their way home becomes desperate… Even more so when it is revealed how they got lost in the first place. The residents of The Unknown are in fear of The Beast, and it is apparent that Wirt and Greg will be more susceptible to his spell the longer they remain lost (I won’t tell you what the risk is, but oh you will shiver all over when you realize). (That’s not really how it happened… He wrote a pilot first, Tome of the Unknown Over the Garden Wall came sometime later.)Īlongside that fairy tale quest, there is a growing black cloud. It’s like McHale had a great big Americana chowder one night and then wrote down his dreams the next day.
Some of the characters and settings may seem comfortably familiar, as though they had been inspired by Brer Rabbit, Huckleberry Finn, or maybe early Disney yet none of those cultural icons are directly referenced. Each episode (or more correctly, chapter) is an adventure set at a new location on the brothers’ quest to get home sometimes with them following clues and sometimes just following their noses. And believe it or not, some less important characters are played by Tim Curry and Chris Isaak. Melanie Lynskey (who you may recall as the girl from Heavenly Creatures who did not grow up to be Kate Winslett) plays a tragic and sarcastic bluebird. Christopher Lloyd plays the pivotal role of the Woodsman, and John Cleese plays two (very contrasting) roles. There are more famous names and voices here too, though Cartoon Network (and now Netflix) do not make a big deal about them. And Wirt is indeed Elijah Wood of Lord of the Rings/Cooties/Maniac fame. Yes, that was Jack Jones, the big band and early pop performer. The songs! A mixture of jazz, ragtime, big band waltz, opera and childish nonsense (my son still sings “Potatoes and Molasses” nearly every day), there is a song in every episode of Over the Garden Wall, including a rather miraculous song by Greg’s frog, voiced by Jack Jones! They are all relevant to the plot: no time for boring fillers when each episode is less than eleven minutes long! Think Quantum Leap (yeah, but with animals), or – better still – The Wizard of Oz (and with just as many more songs). There are mysteries, adventures, creepy characters and talking animals along the way. This is not a cartoon to dip into, but a complete and highly rewarding story arc. Wirt and Greg are walking through the forest to get home (though we aren’t told from where), but they’ve evidently lost their way it takes ten short episodes to get them there. He’s pretty much everyone’s favorite character (except for those who prefer the Rock or Greg’s frog). Wirt is intellectual, and a doomed romantic at heart in contrast, Greg is an utter joy, with as much optimism as imagination. I would guess Wirt is fourteen or so, and Greg about five, but I don’t think many facts about them are ever given their characters, though, are beautifully drawn, and equally well acted. Wirt is the one in the picture above with the red pointy hat, and Greg is the one with the teapot on his head (don’t ask). And there, we meet Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean), two brothers, walking through the forest.
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