Autumn is the best time of year to curl up at home under the covers with a good book or show. Most people would turn to things like Gilmore Girls or Grey’s Anatomy, which I can understand because there’s nothing better than binging a good TV drama. However, my favorite show for this time of year is Over the Garden Wall, a silly little cartoon that is advertised for kids, but in Gravity Falls fashion, can have some more dark adult themes. This show is one I would recommend to anyone who likes cartoons and the occasional unsettling feeling.Â
Over the Garden Wall is a mini-series from 2014 about two brothers, Wirt and Greg, who find themselves in a mysterious land and try to find their way home. The show has had nine nominations and four wins, two Primetime Emmys, one from the National Cartoonist Society, and one Behind the Voice Actor award. This show also has a star-filled cast with people such as Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Melanie Lynskey (The Last of Us, American Dad), and Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), giving just another reason why you cannot miss Over the Garden Wall this season.
This show has grown to be one of my favorites, and I fall in love with Greg every time I watch it. Wirt tends to be the more logical sibling, focusing on plans on how to get home and keeping Greg safe. Greg, on the other hand, is focused on the more whimsical aspects of being in the mysterious realm, the Unknown, making him more often than not the comical relief. Greg is the one who tends to go off the path, ignore plans, and be very unserious all the time. He carries around a frog who gets a different name every time he is mentioned, a rock with eyes and a mouth who helps him tell Wirt “rock facts”, and sings silly made-up songs to lighten the mood while they move through the Unknown. Greg gives off younger sibling energy and is very easy to fall in love with, but of course, Wirt is also one of the keys to the story. Wirt is the one who is in charge of getting them out of the Unknown, and back home, and keeping Greg out of more trouble than they have already found themselves in.Â
The best part of this show though is the fact that it is only 10 episodes at 10-12 minutes each. This makes it easy to sit down and watch the entire thing. It is only about two hours, the same as if you sat down to watch a movie. This fact makes it super easy to have a watch party with friends because they do not need to commit more than two hours max. Very easy, and very fun, I just did one with my friends and some of them had never seen the show before which also made it super cool to see how they reacted to it. If you take one thing away from my article, it would be to host a watch party of Over the Garden Wall with your friends! Order some pizzas, pop some popcorn, and enjoy this amazing show!