La Forêt de l'Étrange

Over the Garden Wall is a masterpiece. Recently i have been binge watching cartoons to try and find one which i was instantly hooked on. So far i have enjoyed the excellent Cowboy Bebop and other shows such as Rick and Morty and the wonderful Gravity Falls but none yet have been up to the standard that i now have after watching Over the Garden Wall which masterfully tells the tale of two brothers in the land called 'The Unknown' as we see them try and keep up faith that they will ever return home.

Firstly, the characters are truly amazing, Wirt (voiced by Elijah Wood) a sullen boy with low self esteem issues struggles with his overly excitable brother Greg who is always messing up and seeing himself in often worse situations than in the beginning. We also get to meet up with the mysterious cast of characters that this show brings such as Beatrice a bluebird trying to help her family also the mysterious and creepy antagonist the beast who is always seems to be playing at the strings of our heroes trying to make them lose all hope and faith of ever returning home. Each character brings something that we can all relate to and overly helps to form a truly compelling story.

OMG the style of animation. It is fluid, dark and creepy and helps bring the eerie feeling of mystery that is present in every episode. The simplistic character design helps them 'pop' out against the highly detailed and aesthetically pleasing background done in a autumn forest style. Helping to portray the tones as our antagonists wandered through the dark and creepily palpable world. This is assisted by the music which in turn helps to create at some times a light atmosphere but also transforming the world into a eerie and mysterious place which makes you fear for Wirt and Gregory. Also if all of the music in this was put onto an album i would instantly buy it *hint hint Disney* because of how much i was enthralled by the show. One of the factors that attracted me to this was it knew when to end, other shows such as Adventure Time and the Amazing World of Gumball (although being brilliant) seemed to drag on a bit too much. Over the Garden Wall lasting 10 episodes still manages to develop the characters to an extent that i have not seen in other shows whilst still retaining humour and also atmosphere.

Overall, would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in a cartoon which can entrance you and make you hope for a journey back into The Unknown and in the future I hope for more masterpieces like what i found in Over the Garden Wall.

As I was watching Over the Garden Wall with some friends, I found myself commenting, more than once, how charming this would be/is for kids. It's got anthropomorphic creations (birds and horses and other things that talk, pumpkin-headed farmers, frogs in a band on a river-bank, magical and funny and weird dreams, or a dream, from a child), and yet it has a sophistication to the writing that kids appreciate; one might think that they will only take in the lowest-common denominator - put on whatever, it's fine, it's for kids - but this is smart stuff. This is also really great for adults, the ones at least who can tap a little into their childhood sense of awe, because of the humor and irreverence. Over the Garden Wall is like taking Adventure Time, transferring the other-worldly into early 20th century Americana, folk tales, even some Alice in Wonderland (the structure for me is very Wonderland, especially with a young character getting lost and on a series of episodes), and adding some songs as well that are reflective of the period.

The story follows Wirt and Gregory (Elijah Wood and the young Collin Dean, who has been on Adventure Time a couple of times), brothers who seem to be lost in the woods and are trying to find their way home. Their main adversary appears to be 'The Beast', who is being stalked by the Woodsman (Christopher Lloyd in a wonderful part - you can't always tell if he's good or bad or both). As one can imagine, or hope for, a lot of wild and crazy things happen to these young people, such as the pumpkin farmers (what are they digging for in the farm?), the frogs on the boat (and suddenly there may be some singing from Gregory's frog, who's name always changes), and John Cleese as both the possibly deranged landowner of a spooky mansion and an old woman. Even Tim Curry gets a good character as 'Auntie Whispers', who is 'protecting' her niece, a possessed girl.

The creators of 'Garden Wall' suffuse many scenes with some nightmarish moments, but it's all with a light, absurd touch, and a lot of this is helped immensely by Collin Dean's performance and the writing for the character of Gregory. This is a little kid who has zero filter; he'll say the truth of something no matter what, even if it's a moment (especially if it is) when the smart thing would be to lie or shut up. That's where so much humor comes in - also watch and listen how he sings ever so cheerfully at times - since in many scenes Wert is trying to get by on a fib or a lie or a trick, or doesn't have that sense of boundless optimism. It's one of the most charming acting voices for an animated character in as long as I can remember, and accentuated by the gigantic pupils - made to make him look cute as a button - and head-gear (he's an elephant, after all!)

There's a real sense of play and, equally, danger (the final episode with the Beast, Auntie Curry), and I found myself laughing a lot, but I also found I took this story a little more seriously than I would an Adventure Time or something else with Patrick McHale's name on it. It takes from some folk tales and fairy tales, but it has an identity all its own. It's creepy and weird and adorable and heartfelt, and it carries both the awe and innocence of being a little kid and the disillusionment of being a teenager like Wert. And did I mention the songs are a lot of fun and contribute to the atmosphere? It's like taking in old ragtime songs (some of the time) and giving them an animated, pop-up book feel. It's tremendous, semi-subversive stuff for kids, and a joy for adults.

Over the Garden Wall is brilliant. Thank you Cartoon Network for allowing it to happen. Beautifully animated, wonderfully paced with just the right blend of humor and creepiness. Also - kudos to using the mini series format, I hope this is only a sign of things to come and more self contained short events are on the way. I'm tired of watching several seasons of a series that started strong end up wandering aimlessly with no clear endgame in sight.

The voice cast was exceptional, and the resolution handled perfectly. A big thanks to the other reviewer that gave the Cartoon Network programming history perspective above, explains a lot. Now if only CN could find a way to apologize for and right the wrongs done to all of the terrific DC nation series that were unceremoniously canceled.

What can I say about this show? It has to be expirienced to grasp it, because of all these interesting characters which appear in the different episodes.

The main characters Wirt and Greg make up this pair of brothers of which Wirt is an insecure but straight one and Greg is a goofball with high spirits. Even though both serve a purpose in the series I kind of hated Greg most of the time, because the goofball role came of not as comedic but just stupid like a no-brain moron most of the time, but he gets better over time.

We encounter many interesting characters and scenarios through the episodes on their journey through the forest. Creepy stuff happens and they somehow solve it.

An unsetteling feeling hangs over every episode and the gorgeous backgrounds are made with great attention to detail to suit every feeling we're supposed to feel and that is the core purpose of art! One of the highlights of this mini-series.

Worth watching for everyone who enjoys well crafted animation and fairy-tales.

From the first second the dark and enchanting atmosphere pulls you right in. Greg's fearlessness and Wirt's worries, their love for each other creates a wonderful dynamic. Maybe it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'd advise you to give it a try. Ten 10-12 minutes episodes, it takes about 2 hours to finish the whole series. Watching it like a film is reccomended.