Over the Garden Wall review

What are you excited about that’s coming soon? Usually, people’s answers would be related to sports activities or homecoming. However, mine is the season of fall itself. I looooove fall! While I may be the only one that is excited about the cooler weather and the falling leaves to come while summer days remain, I can’t resist all of the activities that happen through the fall season.
I definitely have a list of fall activities made, but there are some days where it’s just going to be too gloomy to do anything outdoors. This is when you would stay inside, have a hot drink, and watch a fall classic.
There are many great choices for fall classics, such as “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Coraline” (those are reviews for another day,) but also the Halloween classics. When it’s difficult to choose, why not find one with both? Instead of scrambling around all of your streaming apps to find the perfect one, I’ll just tell you the perfect fall classic.
“Over the Garden Wall” is a television show released in 2014 by Patrick McHale (known for his work on Adventure Time) and Katie Krentz. It features two main characters, an older brother named Wirt and his younger brother Greg. It starts off by them walking into what’s called the Unknown – a mysterious and eerie forest. After shortly realizing that they were completely lost, Wirt is freaking out while Greg is excited for their adventure back home.
Their conflicting personalities sometimes lead them to consequences and plenty of arguments that they have to face on their journey. While it adds so much realness to the story, it also adds some comedic relief. These personalities also develop throughout the show, also adding to the realness factor. As a comfort show, this show is exactly what I’m looking for.
On their journey back home, they do end up facing a lot of barriers and obstacles that seem almost impossible to get out from. Fortunately, they are not the only people (or living beings) that are lost in the Unknown. They first meet a blue bird named Beatrice, who’s family’s been cursed and got turned into bluebirds as a punishment for her throwing a rock at one previously. She follows Wirt and Greg around, and will give advice if necessary, with an ultimate goal of finding a woman called Adelaide with hopes to undo the curse.
They also get help from ‘The Woodsman’, the first human they meet in the Unknown, whose reason for being in the Unknown is initially a mystery. He helps through offering hospitality, but also will warn them of trouble he knows of.
Not only is the flow of the episodes perfect in every way, I also could miss an episode and it wouldn’t matter so much as there’s usually a different plotline per episode, that altogether gets connected into a storyline. I love TV shows that don’t necessarily have to have your full attention, but could still get back to it without having to rewatch parts! This way, it makes a perfect show to have in the background if you are multitasking, but also is perfect on its own and is the perfect length to enjoy in one day, consisting of ten or 11 minute episodes.
While the plotline is so simple yet complicated episode by episode, the art in itself also reflects that. As somebody who loves the comfort in the little details, this is perfect. From its well drawn scenery combined with its music and these simple but recognizable characters, this is definitely one of the best and one of my personal favorite fall comfort TV series.
Winning the ‘Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award’ for animation in 2015, this show definitely gets the recognition it deserves. While this is not a “hidden gem” nobody has ever seen before, it’s still one of my fall comforts and I hope that other people can appreciate it as much as I do.