On September 22nd, Patrick McHale, creator of Over the Garden Wall, announced via his Twitter/X account that the show would be releasing a new short film for its tenth anniversary. The tweet stated that the short would be produced by Cartoon Network and animated by Aardman Animations, well-known for their previous work on the Wallace & Gromit franchise.
Over the Garden Wall was originally pitched in 2006 as a multi-season series called Tome of the Unknown, a tale of two brothers who mistakenly enter a deal with the devil and are forced to travel across a forgotten land to rescue a book of stories. However, after becoming involved in The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Adventure Time, McHale realized the series would have been too difficult to produce as-written and was forced to abandon the show’s multi-season format. When asked for another pitch in 2013, McHale revised Tome of the Unknown as a pilot episode for a miniseries named Over the Garden Wall. Cartoon Network greenlit the pilot and production began that year.
Over the Garden Wall was released in 2014 shortly after Halloween as a ten-episode miniseries depicting the journey of Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean), two brothers who find themselves lost in the Unknown, a dark forest filled with long-forgotten stories. The brothers meet a bluebird named Beatrice (Melanie Lynskey) and try to escape the Unknown together, all the while avoiding the mysterious Beast. The plot has been likened by reviewers to Dante’s The Inferno; something about the unknowable journey through a land whose existence is so thoroughly incompatible with yours. Walking alongside shadows of the damned; a journey through Purgatory, through Hell.
Which isn’t to say that the series isn’t a fun watch. Over the Garden Wall is surprisingly funny and does an excellent job at balancing humor alongside the macabre, spending just as much time on Wirt’s awkward teenage love life and Greg’s silly attempts at naming his frog as it does the open graves of Pottsfield and the burning of Edelwood trees. Artistically speaking, Over the Garden Wall is stunning. McHale took visual inspiration from many sources, including vintage Halloween postcards and photographs of New England foliage, resulting in gorgeous, colorful painted backdrops and rustic, Americana-esque settings. Combined with the soundtrack (composed by The Blasting Company and inspired by early-1900s folk music) this show is perfect for a fun, if slightly morbid, Halloween marathon.
Over the Garden Wall was successful, winning two Emmys for animation and becoming somewhat of a cult classic since its release. Unfortunately, the series’ short run and open ending meant that fans would never know more about the story or the characters beyond what they saw on-screen. Over the Garden Wall has always been a singular, self-contained story, which is why McHale’s announcement of a new animated short is such big news. It’s still unclear as to what the plot of this short will be, but honestly, this has been anticipated for so long that it doesn’t really matter. People are already speculating about the stories it may tell or the truths it may uncover, wondering and waiting for an opportunity to open this tome of mysteries once again and return to the Unknown after so many years.
Over the Garden Wall’s new animated short will premiere on November 3rd on Cartoon Network’s YouTube channel and social media accounts.
