Every year when the leaves change color, I sit down, cozy up, and turn on my favorite TV show for the fall season: Over the Garden Wall. The show is an animated 10-episode miniseries from Cartoon Network following two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg, their bluebird friend Beatrice, and their journey through a strange forest called “The Unknown”. Each episode is just over 10 minutes long featuring different loveable characters and musical numbers each time; it takes place on Halloween with both brothers in different unorthodox costumes—Wirt as what some say is a gnome (though this is often debated) and Greg as an elephant (though you can’t tell from first glance, he explains in a later episode that the teapot on his head is meant to mimic the trunk of an elephant).
Wirt is the oldest of the two brothers in high school with a passion of writing poetry and clarinet, he is anxious and indecisive, a trait that Beatrice pokes fun of him for. Greg, on the other hand, is younger, more naive, and filled with childlike curiosity who carries around a frog that adopts a different name each episode. Beatrice is a a cursed bluebird who was once human, acting to guide the brothers through the forest, though her intentions are misleading at first. Stalking the brothers is the main antagonist, “the Beast”, who tries to lead lost souls astray and turn them into Edelwood trees that are used to keep the Woodsman’s lantern alight. The brothers are trying to find their way out of the woods and the episodes chronicle the different people and creatures they meet as they try to return home. Personally, I think the selling point of the show is the music. Not only is the soundtrack beautifully orchestrated, but the musical numbers in each episode are fun and catchy, guaranteed to get stuck in your head for days to come.
While it is a cartoon designed for a younger audience, the show has some heavy themes of trust, hope, facing your fears, and, most notably, serves as a metaphor for death. The show gets heartbreakingly sad towards the final episodes as our main character loses hope and sacrifices are made in an attempt to return home. However, don’t be alarmed! Over the Garden Wall does have a happy ending.
If you have the free time to spare, be sure to check out this loveable cartoon (available on Hulu) perfect for any audience. And, if you’re anything like me, it’ll be a great new tradition to add to your seasonal routine.