'Toon Reviews 2: Over the Garden Wall Episode 1

For the next couple of posts, we’ll be covering the famed mini-series from Cartoon Network:

 

Over the Garden Wall

 

 

 

BASIC PREMISE

 

Premiering back in 2014, this series features a basic and understandable story for the audience to follow.  Two brothers, Wirt and Greg, become lost in a forest called The Unknown where so many strange and frightening creatures, mysterious people with interesting pasts, and a fearsome beast live.  Through it all, Wirt and Greg have to find their way home and in turn strengthen their brotherly relationship and overcome their character flaws.  Basic as this story may sound, there’s a lot of potential to bring out a lot of greatness in elements such as the character’s personalities and development, the creepiness factor of the inhabitants of The Unknown, the deepness of many of their stories, and much more.   The fact that so many people have given this series a lot of praise for its storytelling, atmosphere, and characterization, as well as the production values such as the animation, music, and voice acting, enhances my belief in this show’s potential.

If you all want to know my thoughts on this series, just follow me all the way through as I get to the point of just how good each part of the story truly is.  At only 10 episodes, we’ll all soon see the true value that makes this simple story stand out, and which episodes feature it at its best.



 

Now on with the reviews:

The Old Grist Mill

As the episode to start off this whole series, it comes off as very strong and adds in a lot to the weight of this simple story.  From the opening sequence featuring images and narration about the strange happenings of The Unknown, it’s easy to get hooked immediately.  They have all you need to get excited to witness what lies within The Unknown alongside Wirt and Greg.  Speaking of which, their introductions are very solid and demonstrate their appeal as characters.  Wirt is highly worrisome and fears just about everything in this strange new surrounding, while Greg perfectly captures the innocence of a small child, always remaining chipper and putting his mind on simple matters like leaving candy trails or coming up with a name for his new pet frog.  These well-defined characters are appealing enough to get you to care about what happens to them whenever they come across The Unknown’s strange inhabitants.  In this particular episode, the inhabitant they come across is a man known as The Woodsman who seems to have a great knowledge of The Unknown as well as the Beast who lives there, but at the same time, you can tell that something’s up with him.  Thanks to their great appeal, as you watch Wirt and Greg observe this man and come across a monster who’s attacking The Woodsman’s mill who they assume is the Beast, only to later learn that it wasn’t the Beast, you feel like you’re observing and wondering about the truth alongside them.  With well-defined characters, a moody atmosphere appropriate for the setting, and scenarios that get you to ask questions and anticipate answers, this is a great premiere episode to start off the big grand ride that is this whole series. 10/10

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode, "Hard Times at the Huskin' Bee."