It has now been almost ten years since Over the Garden Wall first aired on Cartoon Network. The show will officially cross that threshold over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean we can’t preemptively celebrate one of the network’s crowning achievements and most enduring projects. But Over the Garden Wall is more than just a great show led by a great cast (Elijah Wood! Melanie Lynskey!! Christopher Lloyd!!!) with great messages for audiences of all ages: it is also perhaps the single greatest thing you can watch during the fall, and embodies everything I love about the season.
Over the Garden Wall emerged from a deeply weird time in Cartoon Network’s history. I mean that quite literally, because the network was led at the time by some of the strangest shows it has ever boasted from some of the most singularly unique creators of the late aughts and early 2010s. Shows like Adventure Time and Regular Show dominated the airwaves and minds of the network’s viewers, and Over the Garden Wall’s creator, Patrick McHale, even worked on the former in a significant capacity. Cartoon Network became a home for weirdos and screwballs, and despite my fondness for the stuff I grew up with, this was probably its most refreshing era.
The show follows brothers Wirt and Greg who, after wandering through the woods to get home on Halloween, find themselves in a strange world called the Unknown. In it, all kinds of animals can speak, including a bluebird named Beatrice, and all manner of weird towns and creatures exist alongside people like you and I. Everyone is dressed like they’re out of the 1800s, and the series seems to lift from Americana artwork and folk music. It also cribs heavily from folklore, which lends the Unknown a sense of otherworldly and magical history despite the otherwise short runtime of the show, which clocks in at 120 minutes in total. In one episode, Wirt and Greg are taking a riverboat with a bunch of talking and singing frogs, and in another, they’re rescuing a girl seemingly enslaved by a witch. There’s a haunted mansion, a haunting Woodsman, and an unseen Beast that stalks the woods at night. It’s a strange show, and utterly delightful.
When I think of the strange and the unknown, my mind first flashes to autumn. That first autumnal chill is utterly magical, and after months of being beat down by the heat, it’s like an otherworldly gift. It’s cold and sharp, but also strangely comforting, and I’d say that Over the Garden Wall is, too. The fall also feels like this deeply transformative time. Growing up, it’s when the new school year begins, ushering in new people and experiences that could profoundly change you. As sure as the leaves change color and fall off of trees, fall invites you to transform with it, and that’s as frightening and strange a prospect as any. Over the Garden Wall is acutely tuned into those notions and anxieties.
Wirt and Greg have completely different impressions of their time in the Unknown. Wirt treats the autumnal wonderland as a threat to his existence, and fights it every chance he gets. Greg, on the other hand, perhaps blessed by the obliviousness of childhood, welcomes it and its oddities. He adopts a frog which bears many names over the course of the show, and befriends the locals at every opportunity. Similarly, Wirt begins the show as a bit of a reluctant older brother to Greg, perhaps due to the fact that they are actually half-siblings with different parents. He doesn’t lack care or empathy for his younger brother, but he certainly puts a wall between them which comes down as the series progresses. Greg, meanwhile, looks up to and admires Wirt, like younger siblings are wont to do, regardless of circumstance. Over time, Wirt begins to open himself up to the world and the possibility of change with the bravery that his little brother does, and if that ain’t a fairytale ending, what is?
Maybe that’s the thing about Over the Garden Wall actually: it feels like one of our few modern fairy tales. And much like the fairy tales we grew up with, there’s a little something for everybody who gives the show a chance. Over the Garden Wall, like a lot of Cartoon Network’s programming at the time—as well as some series that would follow it, like Infinity Train—is obviously aimed at kids, but it has no problem appealing to older audiences too. I first watched it as a young adult, and it’s only grown more precious to me with every journey back into the Unknown. The impact of the show is so profound that I just saw a Wirt on Halloween, ten years after it first aired, and the cast of that show remain regulars around this time of year.
Over the Garden Wall may begin on Halloween, but the journey that Wirt and Greg take may as well span the entirety of the fall season. So if you’re looking for something bite-sized, endlessly charming, comforting, and great for people of all ages, I cannot recommend it nearly enough. It’s been ten years already, and it truly hasn’t lost a bit of its luster. It may just be timeless.
Over the Garden Wall has returned with a new special to celebrate its 10th anniversary!
A Stop-Motion Celebration
Over the Garden Wall is now celebrating the 10th anniversary of the miniseries’ original debut with Cartoon Network, and it has made its grand return to screens with a new stop-motion short produced in partnership with the studio behind the Wallace & Gromit films, Aardman Animations. Over the Garden Wall originally made its debut with Cartoon Network back in 2014 with a special miniseries that aired over the course of a single week. While the series first came and went with a big enough fanfare, Over the Garden Wall has since amassed a huge cult following in the last decade with new fans discovering it every year.
A Cult Classic Returns
Over the Garden Wall felt special when it made its original premiere with Cartoon Network, but in the last decade fans have shared their love for the miniseries online. Telling the story of two young boys lost in a mysterious wood, Over the Garden Wall has been such a cult hit that it’s now returned in a whole new way to celebrate its milestone anniversary. Cartoon Network has released a special stop-motion short that reimagines the now classic miniseries, and really showcases what made the original so special all those years ago. Check it out in the video above.
The Power of Stop Motion
Leading up to the 10th anniversary of its original broadcast debut on November 3rd, Cartoon Network announced that Over the Garden Wall’s creator Patrick McHale would be working with Aardman Animations on this new short. The studio has tackled many major stop-motion projects such as the Wallace & Gromit films, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep and more, so this was a welcome surprise. It goes to show just how much support the miniseries has gotten in the years since its original debut. McHale even took to Cartoon Network’s social media to share a special message with fans for the occasion.
“I want to say how wonderful it’s been getting to work with Aardman on this new short to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the series,” McHale began. “We decided to do it in stop motion because it seemed like a nice way to reimagine Wirt and Greg’s story without disrupting the delicate ecosystem of the series itself. And also, just because I love stop motion and ever since I was a kid I hoped maybe someday I would get to work at Aardman and this has been really special to me. Thank you to everyone who’s enjoyed the series over the years and to those of you who are just discovering it now. It’s been amazing to see it come back every Fall and become a sort of tradition for people. So, thank you. Have a nice autumn. All the best.”
A Timeless Classic
Over the Garden Wall has achieved cult status in the decade since its initial premiere, but it’s gotten a bit tougher to check out the original animated series if you wanted to revisit it or perhaps see it for the first time. You can now find all ten episodes of Over the Garden Wall now streaming with Hulu, but the streaming service almost removed it at once point this year. With the way streaming services are these days, maybe it’s best to check it out as soon as possible just in case.
The Return of Wirt and Greg
Starring Elijah Wood as Wirt, Over the Garden Wall sees two brothers venture into the unknown when they suddenly end up in a mystical forest full of mysterious people and creatures. This was the first special miniseries debut of its kind for Cartoon Network, and still has left an impact all these years later. Maybe it can even get a full revival in stop motion seeing how well it works in this short?
A New Chapter for Over the Garden Wall?
The new Over the Garden Wall short is now available to watch across Cartoon Network’s socials, including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. It’s a great way to celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary, and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come. We’re sure there are plenty of fans out there who would love to see a new season, or even a full-length movie. Maybe someday, Aardman will take on the whole series and give us an entirely new version of Over the Garden Wall. But for now, we’ll have to be content with this new short, and hope that it’s just the beginning of something even more special.
