Animation for Kids (and Not-So-Kids): Over the Garden Wall

By: Diego Vilchis (@silens_aeternum)

*SPOILER ALERT*

Lost in the wooded landscape of The Unknown – the region's name –, a young man named Wirt and his little brother Greg look for the way back home. Through peculiar places and enigmatic characters, the two make their way across the vast, gloomy forest as they try to escape the sinister figure of The Beast, who wants to keep them trapped there.

Broadly speaking, this is the plot of Over the Garden Wall (Más allá del jardín, in Latin America), an animated series from Cartoon Network created in 2014 by Patrick McHale, once part of the first generation of writers on Adventure Time, and whose cast includes Elijah Wood as the voice of the character Wirt.

It's no surprise that we're seeing a resurgence of animated series and cartoons defined by strong storytelling in the plots they offer. A good example of this is what has been achieved by Adventure Time – that big bet by Cartoon Network, with divided opinions but a great track record –, such as Steven Universe, by Rebecca Sugar, and of course this ten-episode miniseries, whose elements include a dark aesthetic, brushes with the eerie and the funereal, and, of course, crossovers with the supernatural.

We shouldn't overlook the fact that it's aimed at a young audience, but that doesn't take away from certain elements whose narrative undertones are unsettling. We can see it throughout the story: the brothers' arrival in Pottsfield in the second episode, and their encounter with its inhabitants during the harvest festival (a nod to folk horror); as well as the dialogue with the town's ‘leader’ – so to speak – at the end; their refuge in a lonely house where a young girl and her aunt – grotesque in appearance – who controls her with the ringing of a bell, takes a turn that culminates in a small horror story; Greg's dream in the eighth episode not only ends with an intrigue, but also reveals, through the iconography of certain characters, a relevant macabre fact tied to the antagonist.

Another fascinating element, of course, is The Beast. Introduced by the woodsman during the first episode in a warning to Wirt and Greg, the sinister character's actions are driven by his intentions toward the main characters: he wants to keep them lost in The Unknown. As the story unfolds, we learn that The Beast feeds on lost souls, stripping them of all hope until they turn into trees in the forest. The woodsman, in fact, has lost his daughter, and to keep her soul alive, he must feed the flame of a lamp the entity gives him with branches from the Edelwood trees – of great importance to the story. Its appearance, a dark silhouette with glowing eyes, is reminiscent of the Wendigo from North American folklore.

Interpretations of what the series represents should be drawn from the characters and their interactions; what is certain is that, by its name, The Unknown can seem like a kind of limbo, a confusing and mysterious landscape with no beginning or end, unchanging, an ethereal cage with no way back: within it awaits a dark fate, at the hands of its tormentor. You shouldn't expect to encounter all of this at once: you'll need to dig a layer or two below the surface to enjoy it fully.

It's still a series aimed at a young audience: we find musical numbers, talking animals, and several moments of light comedy. Even so, Over the Garden Wall is a great tale told on a Halloween night. A very fantastical one, and, at times, eerie.