Posted in: Cartoon Network, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: christopher lloyd, elijah wood, opinion, over the garden wall

Over The Garden Wall: A Pilgrimage Masterclass of Art & Autumn

Grab your potatoes and molasses, we're talking about Over The Garden Wall one of my favorite series out there, and in all honesty, one of the best short-lived series ever made. The main characters of Wirt and Greg, followed by what I would call journey companions, Beatrice the bluebird & Jason Funderburker (Greg's Frog), are on a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage can be summed up as, "a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience". This journey in the series is a fantastic example of the way that television can transport us into an experience of art, comedy, and autumnal joy.

From the series' description: "Somewhere, lost in the clouded annals of history, lies a place that few have seen. A mysterious place called The Unknown… Two Brothers, Wirt and Greg find themselves lost in the strange woods, adrift in a time. With the help of a shadowy Woodsmen and a foul-tempered bluebird named Beatrice, they travel through the foggy land in Hope of finding a way home."

From the often joyous to haunting soundtrack to the animation style, Over The Garden Wall is a masterclass of  "fall vibes" or the autumn aesthetic that has you craving to live in a cottage surrounded by moss, darkened leaves, and at least one babbling stream.  Take the second episode, for example. It's a perfect look at the strange yet wonderful shades of orange in the pumpkins that the townspeople use for the faces and bodies. A touching look at the transcending part of life that is the inevitability of death, not only from dialogue but from the way these characters of Pottsfield are drawn. They resemble vintage Halloween decorations and art, a flashback of sorts to 1920s aesthetic mixed with New England-inspired autumnal vibes. And no matter the destination, the characters of Over The Garden Wall present a piece of all of that in the stops of their pilgrimage.

The actors lending their voices to this series, from Elijah Wood as Wirt to Christopher Lloyd as The Woodsman, are obviously included in what makes it all come together so well. The voices mesh so well with how the story is presented, how the characters develop as the episodes go along, and how it truly presents personality in the mix of a pilgrim's journey, specifically Wirt's journey.

For me, I focus on three main characters from Over The Garden Wall (Wirt, Greg & Beatrice) as a perfectly done representation of different yet important versions of a pilgrimage. Greg represents the freedom of childhood, Wirt represents the confusion and mistrust at times towards child-like behavior that can happen growing up, and Beatrice represents an age past Wirt's that has left behind curious nature and the joy in a journey instead gravitating towards familiarity and compliance in social expectations of adulthood (everyone out for themselves only). These three characters work so well together, bouncing ideas and expectations off one another, forcing each other to reflect on something they wouldn't have otherwise.  As the creator, Patrick McHale (also, a shout out to the developer of the series, Katie Krentz) would describe the series as the brothers visiting little pockets of stories, it makes sense that each has an individual piece or lesson it brings to the pilgrimage Wirt goes through. Trying to find a way out and back home, he is stuck between two parts of himself, one that embraces childhood and adolescence and the other that looks forward to the independence that comes with adulthood.

The music of Over The Garden Wall is a character in itself, the energy brought with the beautifully haunting melody of some sounds of jazz and large bands mixed in with folkloric tones, all thanks to composers Josh Kaufman and Justin Rubenstein. The voice talents of Jack Jones singing could turn any green leaf into a beautiful orange hue and I would suddenly have a sweater on as I shop for decorations in a vintage shop. Inspiration for visuals in such iconic moments like The Highwayman come from past performances such as Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher, alongside being sung by the talented Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton. Besides the fantastic singing and composition, witnessing slow-dancing frogs in grand clothing on a riverboat will always fill my heart with joy.

Similar to the vibes in the song "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants, Over The Garden Wall connects to those who find a deep love for the visuals and characters. I feel like I'm on my own journey with them, even after my hundredth viewing. For a series to have connected with an audience in a similar way that a painting or song can say so much to how each detail matters. I get tattoos for random things, but mostly my loves from shows like Twin Peaks to Twilight Zone, and next on my list would be one based off Over The Garden Wall. It's time for people to realize the cultural impact a show like this has had and will continue to have year after year, Autumn after Autumn. In the words of Greg, a wise tea kettle hat-wearing child, "Ain't that just the way?", now with love, go watch Over The Garden Wall you pumpkin-obsessed bastards!

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