Over the Garden Wall (2014) Review

Title: Over the Garden Wall
Year: 2014
Creator: Katie Krentz; Patrick McHale
Country: US
Language: English

I must thank Stephanie Skelton (follow her @I_Hominin on Twitter ) for introducing me to this show. Over the Garden Wall is fairly short, twenty 11 minute episodes, and thus I feel like I'm going to re-watch it for years to come. This hidden gem. hidden from me at least, from Cartoon Network has the quality of an animated film. I'd argue that it is better than the majority of animated films being released, perhaps Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli excluded.

In this mini-series Two Brothers, Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Colin Dean) find themselves lost in the strange woods, adrift in a time. With the help of a shadowy Woodsmen (Christopher Lloyd) and a foul-tempered bluebird named Beatrice (Melanie Lynsky) , they travel through the foggy land in hope of finding a way home

Taking inspiration from a variety of animated sources that stretch throughout time (1930's Betty Boop) and culture (Japanese drama known as Noh) Over the Garden Wall is a series that is equal parts dark, creepy and atmospheric, as well as light and whimsical. One episode we get a frog singing to other bourgeoisie frogs and another we get the incredibly dark Auntie Whispers (Tim Curry!) episode where the children fear they may be eaten.  My favorite is the Auntie Whispers episode. 

Over the Garden Wall is a very cleverly written film that stirs at the imagination as scenarios unfold in ways that surprise and captivate us. The talent behind this film feels miraculous. Elijah Wood, Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, John Cleese, Melanie Lynskey among others. You'd think with this much talent onboard the studio would demand more episodes, but this doesn't matter I suppose as ten episodes are enough to tell quite an impressive story. 

The music, which features "Potatoes and Molases" and "The Loveliest Lies of All", is quite catchy. The animation captures the same vibe you get from Grimm's Fairy Tales and, although to a lesser extent, Alice in Wonderland. Overall this is a solid show that will stick out as an odd outlier in your mind when you think of animation.