I am the Herald of the Wood
Lift up your brilliant boughs
Unveil your crackling flora
and sing your Haunting Wisdom

Elijah Wood. Christopher Lloyd. Tim Curry. Melanie Lynskey. John Cleese. To me, this  sounds like the cast of a crackin’ family comedy à la Clue or Beetlejuice (through my research, I found out that an eleven-year-old Jenna Ortega did some additional voices!). Although it feels like a feature film, these are some of the actors who lent their voices to the most perfect fall TV show. 

From November 3 through November 7 in 2014, Cartoon Network released the animated series Over The Garden Wall. In the show, two half-brothers fall over a garden wall and tumble into an unknown forest. Elijah Wood plays Wirt, the neurotic older brother, and Collin Dean voices Greg, the younger, lovably innocent brother. Together, they discover a world of talking animals, lost spirits, mysterious witches, looming beasts, and quaint villages with strong personalities as they search for their way back home. 

You should watch it. Right now. It’s currently on Hulu, if you have it. It’s a great autumn show for kids and adults. That’s it! You don’t have to read any more of this post. I won’t hold it against you, my work here is finished. 

But if you’re interested in my thoughts, boot up the soundtrack and grab some cider. Because Over the Garden Wall means fall and fall means Over the Garden Wall. For almost ten years, fans have been enjoying the cozy thrills of Greg and Wirt’s adventures. For the upcoming ten-year anniversary celebration, Cartoon Network is collaborating with Aardman Animations (the team behind Wallace & Gromit) and Patrick Mchale (the creator of Over The Garden Wall and, fun fact, co-writer of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinnochio) and releasing a two-minute stop-motion animation on November 3 of this year. 

To put it delicately, two minutes will never be enough for ten years of fandom. Besides rewatching the one season every October leading up to Halloween, fans like myself have scrounged for more of the show’s blend of spooky and whimsy. If you’re not conscious of your spending habits, this is definitely the type of show where your brain can warp into Collector’s Mode and cause you to do things like buy the vinyl soundtrack (this is the one item this year I’ve allowed myself), eye the currently-priced-at-$903 art book (I think I’ll just watch videos of people flipping through the pages of this book on YouTube until I find a bag of money on the side of the road), consider the bootleg VHS copy people sell on Etsy, drool over the excellent fan art, rewatch the original short that inspired the series, and pine after the numerous Over The Garden Wall comic books published since 2014.

I’ll be honest, it’s easy to write about Over the Garden Wall’s impact on fans and pop culture. I agree with @thestuffedalligator’s sentiment on Tumblr when they say that “Over the Garden Wall is almost ten years old and that both feels too old and unbelievably young. I remember first watching this in the backroom of a museum on my ipod touch in late August in 2015 and it still feels like it’s been a pillar of Americana for the past thousand years.” But it’s harder to pinpoint exactly why I love it so much. 

At times, I identify with Wirt’s anxiety and non-action, but on the other hand, I also resonate with Greg’s ever-present optimism and worrying friendliness. My wife suggested that it could be the relationship between the two brothers that keeps me coming back. Maybe she’s right. The core of the show isn’t the easter eggs, fun songs, its many deep cut influences, or even its lovely fall atmosphere.

It’s the struggle between two young brothers trying to be friends. I’m moved by Greg’s selflessness and I feel Wirt’s guilt in wishing he could do things differently. As I get older, I realize more and more the irreplaceable gift of a sibling friendship and the importance of choosing to invest in them while you can. I’ll end by saying this: consider reaching out. Start up a monthly pen pal back and forth. Buy that plane ticket to see them. As the burnt orange leaves remind me, life is too short not to enjoy it with the people who know you best. That’s a rock fact. 

 

Original poem by Isaac DeBoer

2 Comments

  1. Sophia Medawar

    I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S THIS LATE IN OCTOBER AND I HAVEN’T REWATCHED “OVER THE GARDEN WALL” YET, LITERALLY NOW MAKING PLANS FOR A FALL FESTIVAL FEATURING CIDER AND DONUTS AND CANDLES AND CHILI IN MY APT TONIGHT TO WATCH WITH FRIENDS, THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER

    Reply
    • Izzy

      Rewatch it every year! Big love for OTGW! 🙂

      Reply

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