Over the Garden Wall: A neglected masterpiece
*Major Spoilers*
In the early 2010s, Cartoon Network was at the height of success, profiting largely from well-received projects like Regular Show (2010) and Adventure Time (2010). These successes allowed this company to take risks with what they wanted to broadcast, experimenting with the genre and testing the waters to see if another project would catch fire. Shockingly, this risk would result in great success; this newfound freedom allowed several show writers and staff from these two projects to begin splitting their time between their current projects and ones left dormant. Patrick McHale was one of these shows’ staff members who took up this pursuit.
McHale is an artist who has worked with Cartoon Network since 2006, initially trying to pitch his own work, but later working on two renowned projects, serving as Creative Director and co-writer for Adventure Time, in addition to an artist on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008). This lasted until he was approached in late 2013 by Cartoon Network executives, asking to create his very own pilot—an offer McHale couldn’t refuse. McHale instantly returned to his passion project, Tome of the Unknown, a three-season drama. But upon revisiting his work, McHale reworked every aspect of his initial idea and later restructured it into Over the Garden Wall, a ten-episode miniseries that aired in Nov. 2014.
Over the Garden Wall focuses on the story of two half-brothers, Greg and Wirt, who find themselves trapped in the Forest of the Unknown. The story follows these two brothers as they traverse the landscape of the Unknown, discovering anomalies and friends alike along their journey to find a way home. This journey will lead the brothers down a path that forces them to confront their inner turmoil or be left to the mercy of the forest and its deceptive ruler, the Beast. That is just the surface of this story; there are philosophical and theological undertones contained within this series that will reorient your entire view of the miniseries.
This story clearly shows how McHale refined it, and every aspect shows intention; this is a spectacle you so rarely see on network television. On the surface, Over the Garden Wall is a cute, simple story between brothers as they come to love each other; but the internal narrative goes deeper, telling the story of brothers in between life and death, teetering on the edge of both, represented through the adventure they find themselves in. The journey these brothers take turns from a childlike mystery to a morbid journey of survival once the stakes are realized—a journey home turned to a pilgrimage through the layers of Hell, as portrayed in The Divine Comedy.
You’d likely never comprehend this parallel on your first watch; small details about those left within the Unknown become telling statements about the layer of Hell the characters reside in. Not only that, but the use of dialogue, tone, and inflection becomes extremely potent upon rewatches—small gestures made by each character and oddities passed off as quirks are seen as profound acts, now that we understand the pieces in play.
The story McHale created never got a chance to shine, forced into a crowded lineup with many series with dedicated fanbases. As a result of this poor scheduling, for five consecutive days the entirety of this story aired two episodes per day, worked into the nightly releases after the network’s biggest assets had aired. This resulted in a decent rating for the time—1.9 million viewers—but was seen as an underperformance compared to shows like Adventure Time, which brought in 2.5 - 3.1 million viewers every episode.
Regardless, the show aired on Nov. 3, 2014, and concluded airing on Nov. 7, 2014, to major success from those who tuned in, quickly gathering a cult following. This allowed the word to spread about this show, and over time it became one of Cartoon Networks’ highest-rated programs ever, in addition to being among the highest-rated pieces of children’s entertainment on IMDB and similar rating services! Not only that, but as is evident in this article, the conversation about this miniseries still takes place, and fans still discuss its conclusion.
If this hasn’t convinced you, I implore you to please watch this phenomenal show; it is a genuinely impactful story that transcends the borders of children’s entertainment and transitions into young adult to adult entertainment. It’s incredibly entertaining and short, clocking in at 110 minutes for the entire series, making this an easy one-day binge watch! You can find this program on HBO Max or on demand through cable!