Over the Garden Wall

Over the Garden Wall is an Emmy Award-winning animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. Though in its entirety, the episode was only 10 short episodes long, it certainly made quite a splash, Creating a huge fandom in a short time.

The series centers on two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg, who become lost in a strange forest called the Unknown. In order to find their way home, the two must travel across the, apparently magic, forest with the help of Beatrice, an irritable bluebird who travels with the boys in order to find the woman of Unknown called Adelaide, that can undo the curse and make the half-brothers go back to their home, or so she says.

Wirt, the older brother, is worry-prone and would rather keep to himself than to have to make a decision. His two passions are the clarinet and poetry, but he keeps this private out of fear of being mocked. On the other hand, Greg, the younger brother, is all about play and being carefree, much to Wirt's chagrin and the danger of himself and others. The contrast in their personalities provides great character development, as well as various conflicts that emerge from it. Stalking the main cast is the Beast, an ancient creature who leads lost souls astray until their willpower weakens and the forest consumes them, turning the poor souls into the twisted "Edelwood trees". There is also a mysterious reoccuring character, the Woodsman, who appears to share a strange connection to the beast.

All in all, Over the Garden Wall is a work of art. Its complex yet intuitively understood allegories give us one of the greatest fables ever created for a cartoon, and the viewer can spend weeks obsessing over how every seemingly random thing in it is tied together.Every episode sublty effects the next, and while the plot is rather dark, There is always a light of positivity in evey episode, primarrily given to us by the youger, innocent Greg, who seems to find an optimistic outlook on everything.

I would highly reccomend this series when it comes around on Cartoon Network next fall.