Every year like clockwork, discourse and clips from one show begin to appear online, signifying that autumn is here. Despite only coming out in 2014, Over the Garden Wall quickly established itself as an essential fall comfort watch in many households. If it’s not already, it should become one in yours too.
Over the Garden Wall is an animated limited series created by Patrick McHale and Katie Krentz. The show originally aired on Cartoon Network, following two brothers, Writ and Greg, who get lost in the woods and try to find their way home. While the show has a wholesome and family-friendly atmosphere, there is darkness and mystery within the story that makes it compelling for adults too.
Split into 10 episodes and with a runtime of less than two hours total, Over the Garden Wall is a quick seasonal watch to get into the spirit of the season.
Autumn is woven into every aspect of the show, from its landscape of orange and brown foliage to its old-fashioned towns and overgrown forests. On the surface, the show carries imagery of leaves turning colours, fields of pumpkin patches and 19th century Americana aesthetics — but there is something more lurking in the shadows of the story.
While comforting viewers with the warm aesthetic presented at face value, there is something uneasy about the viewing, too. Writ and Greg are lost in what the show refers to as “The Unknown” – an inexplicit place between the real world and something else.
The forests are full of strange creatures, the townspeople have their own peculiar customs and the line between the charming and the sinister is often difficult to distinguish. The people and things the two boys interact with emulate the feelings and lessons gained from traditional folklore like that of the Brothers Grimm.
Patrick McHale cites his love for vintage cartoons as cultivating the essence of Over the Garden Wall and its aesthetics. The vintage appeal of the cartoon is in part what makes it feel so timeless. While the dialogue is modern, the aesthetics depict a dream-like memory of a past that never existed.
Over the Garden Wall also has its own original soundtrack made up of 40 songs. The original soundtrack is part of what lets it stand alone as a singular piece of media. The songs balance orchestral big sounds with classic and intimate folk music, emphasizing the unique nostalgia of the show.
The characters throughout the series are played by notable actors too. Most notably, Elijah Wood plays Writ, and Melanie Lynskey plays Beatrice — a talking bird who helps the boys on their journey. Other actors who are heard throughout the series as characters meet along the way include Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, John Cleese and Bebe Neuwirth.
Part of what makes Over the Garden Wall so rewarding to revisit is how much of its world is left open to interpretation. Since its release, viewers have developed countless theories about what the series is actually trying to say. One of the most popular interpretations suggests that the show is loosely based on Dante’s Inferno, with its ten episodes paralleling the journey through the circles of Hell.
The thematic connection to such a dark and medieval poem as Dante’s Inferno juxtaposes the whimsical aesthetics of the show, making for an incredibly compelling viewing experience.
In a YouTube video describing the familiarity of Over the Garden Wall’s Aesthetic, one commenter writes:
“The appropriate word to describe the feelings evoked by this story doesn’t even exist in the English language. Hiraeth — a Welsh word which conveys a sense of belonging to a time or place in which you’ve never experienced, but which you are mysteriously called to. The memories of this past time are beyond familiar to me, almost real.”
The show dances on a line between comfort and unease, toying with nostalgia and memory. Still, there is a curiosity and a warmth that allow viewers to enjoy it all the same every year.