Over the Garden Wall (Review)

In 2013, animator Patrick McHale released the short film Tome of the Unknown. He envisioned the film's idea in 2004 and pitched the idea of this to Cartoon Network back in 2006, after graduating from college. However, he asked if the film could be feature-length, but this suggestion ended up being unsuccessful as he felt the film needed to be episodic, planning for it to be a three-season TV show. After working on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Adventure Time. the network gave him another chance to pitch the idea, and luckily, they accepted it. Over time though, the film's format was changed from feature-length to a miniseries.

The miniseries was now called Over the Garden Wall, which aired throughout the week from November 3-7, 2014 on Cartoon Network. The miniseries followed half-brothers Wirt & Greg as they try to make it back home from a mysterious forest.

If you haven't seen the pilot, Tome of the Unknown, I'd recommend you to check it out first. In that short film, Wirt, Greg and a talking bluebird Beatrice are on the way to the city to search for a book called The Tome of the Unknown, which contains every forgotten thing, according to legend. On the way, they meet a vegetable man named John Crops, who, with his vegetable car, drives them to the "city", which ends up being some old-fashioned small farm community in the middle of the cornfield. A number of crows attacked the vegetable car, and the crew try to fix the car. Greg wanders off to the city's garden party and Crops meets a lady made out of cabbage. When the entertainment is delayed and canceled, Greg gets Crops to sing for the audience, which surprises the cabbage lady. When Wirt & Beatrice try to fix the car, they knock over a scarecrow, which causes the crows and giant turkeys to cause havoc and terrorise the city. Greg screams, which scare the animals away, only for Wirt & Beatrice to find out that it was a joyful scream, as he found a goose big enough for the three to travel on. The city is peaceful again and the crew continue their journey.

However, this miniseries isn't about them going to the big city. Instead, Wirt & Greg are lost in a mysterious forest called "The Unknown". In the first episode, a woodsman warns them of the "Beast", who is lurking through the forest. The Woodsman then lets them into his old mill, which they decide to stay in for the night, but Greg wanders off and leaves a candy trail, which attracts a wolf, which they think is the Beast. When the wolf goes into the water, it turns into a dog which spits out a little black turtle (which must've been the reason for the dog's transformation). They end up destroying the old mill, which angers the Woodsman, but he gives them directions to a nearby town, warning them to beware the Unknown.

Wirt & Greg then spot Beatrice, a talking bluebird, who they actually saw earlier on in the series. Greg helps her get out of the bush, and she tags along with them on their journey. Throughout the series, Wirt, Greg and Beatrice visit many places as they try to find their way back home: a town full of pumpkins, a school for animals, a tavern, a young girl's house with a cannibalistic mother and many more. The Beast and the Woodsman are following every step they take, with the Beast planning to turn them into trees to boost up the Woodsman's lantern (that has the Beast's soul). In the last two episodes, a lot is revealed: Wirt & Greg are from the modern world, and on a Halloween night, jumped over a cemetery's garden wall, where there were almost hit by a train. When Wirt tried to save Greg, they ended up falling into a lake, where they were unconscious for a while and ended up in the Unknown forest. The Beast is defeated by the Woodsman, when he realises that his daughter's soul is under the lantern and that the Beast lied about his daughter's soul. So he blows the lantern, killing the beast.

Over the Garden Wall is the first (and currently the only) miniseries created by Cartoon Network. No other show aired on the channel has used that format. And Patrick McHale and Cartoon Network really used the format very well. From start to finish, the story flowed amazingly and with each episode, the storyline got even more interesting. I wasn't left bored and tired after every episode and in fact, I was eager to watch the next episode.

If I could use 5 words to describe Over the Garden Wall, it'd be: dark, dramatic, scary, tense and fun to watch. It's a dark fantasy series, with a little bit of comedy elements from the characters, that makes the show interesting AND fun to watch. The show gives a retro vibe, especially the forest. The Unknown is a place that has this 19th/20th century feel to it. The way people dressed, the language, what they did and all that. Wirt & Greg's outfits are actually so suiting to the retro feel of the Unknown, it was really interesting to know they were from the modern world, and that their outfits were only Halloween costumes.

Now to break down the characters: Wirt is the older of the two, an awkward and poetic guy. He has a determined and serious perspective on things, and can be easily frightened. He also writes and recites poetry, and can play the clarinet. Gregory aka Greg is the younger half-brother of Wirt and is more of an energetic, silly and imaginative person, and he easily annoys his older brother. He's a positive and happy guy that has an optimistic and not really a serious perspective on things, like his other brother, which makes it easy for him to not be too concerned when it comes to danger. Beatrice is a talking bluebird, who scares the two brothers at first, but when Greg helps her out of the bush, she follows the two on their journey. She was actually a human girl, who threw a rock at a bluebird, but was cursed along with her family, being transformed into bluebirds. She wants to go to an old lady called Adelaide, so that she can undo the curse.

Other characters include:
The Woodsman, who warns the siblings of the Beast, and also carries a lantern that has his daughter's soul in it.
The Beast, who follows Wirt & Greg's every step, planning to turn them into Edelwood trees.
Adelaide, who tries to turn Wirt & Greg into her servants.
Sara, Wirt's crush in the modern world.
Jason Funderberker, who has some retarded ass voice and also has a crush on Sara, although Sara doesn't have feelings for him.

The miniseries flows very well, in my opinion. The story develops with every episode, and I'm never bored when watching an episode. The first few episodes see Wirt, Greg and Beatrice trying to go home, and they meet new people along the way. But it gets a lot more tense and serious, when Greg obeys The Beast's rules without knowing and Greg wakes up inside a tree. The last episode is where everything adds up and feels a lot more personal and darker than the previous chapters. The lantern, The Beast keeping The Woodsman's daughter soul, the siblings almost getting hit by a train, drowning, going to the hospital etc. It was very interesting, and the darkness of the show was amazing.

In conclusion, Over the Garden Wall is probably one of the best things Cartoon Network ever made. Such a dark and suspenseful series, with drama, a little bit of comedy and dark/gloomy vibes. The voice acting is great, the plot is amazing, the characters are awesome and overall, the whole series flows very well. No filler, no boring episodes, just interesting from start to finish.