So Nathaniel Hawthorne, Norman Rockwell and The Brothers Grimm all walk into a bar… That’s the only way to even attempt to describe Over The Garden Wall. However the analogy does do a disservice to the shows creator, Patrick McHale, and the originality of his imagination. If you throw Marty Mcfly in with the four men above you pretty much have the perfect summation of the influences that come together in this unique show.

For those of you who missed this amazing show (don’t be embarrassed it received virtually no hype outside of the U.S.), Over The Garden Wall was a series of 10 short cartoons aired by Cartoon Network in November 2014. Each episode tracks the strange and wonderful odyssey of half brothers Wirt (voiced beautifully by Elijah Wood) and Greg ( The ultimated little brother voiced provided by Colin Dean), as they attempt to find their way out of the unknown and back to their home. The unknown by the way is not a metaphysical summation of Wirt and Greg’s adolescence and the perils it contains, it is quite literally the name of the shows setting. The unknown is the place both main characters find themselves in after chasing frogs. It takes the form of a labyrinthine forest, with occasional oasis’, that come in the form of supernatural towns and settlements. Each stranger than the last. Some are inhabited by anthropomorphic school animals, others by undead farmers, more still by witches and ghouls. These villages are the plots of early American Gothic fiction given life in glorious Technicolor.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and Poe would nod approvingly at episodes like “The Ringing of The Bells” a classic moral fable, about the dangers of strangers. It deals with themes of possession and wickedness that echo the Salem Witch Trials. Even The Beast, Over the Garden Wall’s main antagonist, is a classic embodiment of the all the reasons not to venture into the woods. Such shadowy and mysterious threats hark back to an America that is barely recognisable now, an America where venturing into the woods was less about taking a hike and more of a last resort with little hope of return. Indeed much of the boy’s journey, Wirt’s especially seems to mimic the plot of Hawthorne’s famous short story Young Goodman Brown.i

The aesthetic of the series is a throwback to a time forgotten. The team of artists bringing this world to life is clearly one that takes a great pride in their work. Each scene is beautifully crafted looking exactly like early Victorian paintings of forests and idyllic scenes from nature. The scenes mimic the seasons as the tale of the two brothers progresses. With a springtime palette being utilised in the early naive beginnings and winter being the setting for the the far grittier finale. Each one seems to be based on the works of Hudson River schoolii as evidenced below in the comparison:

Nature is not the only background to this tale. In one episode each protagonist must stow away on Louisiana style riverboat inhabited entirely by frogs dress in the fine southern garments of the 18th century south. Despite the fact that each is dressed like a southern belle and gentlemen and are seen to engage in high society, they still cannot speak. Each background is a masterpiece in itself, lending an oddly hyper idyllic tone to the entire show that really enforces the notion that The Unknown is a place completely at odds with the modern day and one that is firmly rooted in the past. It should be pointed out that Forest Interior in Autumn is from 1865 and that I have been referencing periods such as The Salem Witch Trials which occurred in 1692. This obviously makes them two completely different points in American history but that is simply another facet of OTGW that makes it so fascinating. Patrick McHale has taken all of early American history and turned it into a giant chronal melting pot. Much like the countries early beginnings filled with Puritans, Pilgrims and Natives. It is as though he is seeking to remind the country obsessed with constant progress that their beginnings were humble and often harrowing and that this cannot be whitewashed.

Never is this historic diversity better showcased then in the characters themselves. Each unique character, sometimes charming, sometimes disturbing can be seen as a homage to times and traditions that have been left behind. Take for example Quincy Endicott (surprisingly voiced by John Cleese, who also provides the voice of Adelaide of the Forest.) whom the brothers meet in the fifth episode, Mad Love. Greg and Wirt happen upon mans estate and quickly attempt to con the man out of a small amount of money so as to travel of on the aforementioned steamboat. Endicott is decidedly British and the fact that his wealth has come about as the result of his tea empire is a fitting nod to the America that came before it’s famous revolution. As the plot of Mad Love unfolds, taking many of it’s cues from Henry James’ famous Gothic story The Turn of the Screwiii, we understand that tribute is paid to the French colonies which made their way towards Louisiana and further. This tribute comes in the form of the Frenchwoman and Endicott’s rival Marguerite Grey, whom he does not realise has been the cause of his love and encroaching madness all at once. Much of the tense and eerie atmosphere of James’ original story is maintained, albeit in a much lighter form and specifically for comic effect.

The show does not draw purely from Americas founding for its inspiration. One of the greatest homages of the entire show is the brief song of The Highwayman in the episode The Songs of the Dark Lantern. The Song he sings as well as the style in which he is animated are reminiscent of the early cartoons of the 1930’s which featured the likes of Betty Boop and Felix the Cat. He is creator Patrick McHale’s tribute to all the animators and artists that paved the way for animators today. The Highwayman’s brief vignette is especially similar to Koko the Clowns song in the 1933 short cartoon Snow White starring Betty Boopiv.

Its clear that the cadence and movement of Koko (Voiced by Cab Calloway in the above clip) is heavily mimicked by the Highwayman as well as the slightly morbid lyrics. This is not the only time that old cartoons are paid tribute to in Over the Garden Wall. In Episode 8 Babes in the Woods, Greg travels off on his own to the city of the clouds. As you may have surmised the plot of this episode is even stranger than usual. When he reaches this city he is greeted by a host of strange animals and abstract concepts brought to life. Each one looks like the early draft of a Disney cartoon or a Popeye reject, each one bringing to mind America’s golden age of animationv. (Each one is actually a little creepy something that has been noted by better critics than me vi).

So far much of the discussion in this essay has been focused on the distant past of America and the elements that clash within it. None of these elements clash quite as much as the two brothers themselves. When the show begins all we know about the boys is that they are trying to ”walk home” as the series continues it becomes increasingly clear that the unknown is less of a simply forest and rather a metaphysical conundrum. It becomes clear that it is a kind of purgatory or limbo that the boys must struggle to escape. Why would this even cross the minds of the viewer? Episode 9: Into the Unknown. In this episode we are finally shown just where the Brothers home is and just how lost they have become. A subplot is revealed in this episode and we find out that Wirt and Greg have found their way to the Unknown after narrowly avoiding an accident with a train and ending up sinking to the bottom of lake. This leaves the viewer wondering whether the boys are dead or alive, supporting the purgatory theory. What is more interesting about this episode is that it contains information that final unravels the mystery of where the boys come from. It becomes clear that the boys belong to an 80’s style town similar to that of many typical movies from that era. The reason that they are dressed so strangely is that it is Halloween at the time they fall in the lake. With this revelation comes a very strong change to tone to the final few episodes. The trials and social change of modern America begins to bleed into the fairytale narrative ultimately making it a darker tale. Factors like the fact that Wirt’s mother has remarried and he struggles to adjust to this. As well as the struggles with the crush that he can’t quite talk to. All of this really makes Wirt the most interesting character of the series as well as the main protagonist in the whole series, but that is an article in itself.

There are other nods to 20th century America peppered throughout the show one particular occasion occurs in Mad Love. Greg has finally gotten the money so that they can travel on the steamboat, a grand total of 2 cents. He abruptly throws them in a Koi pond with no reason, stating: ”Uncle Endicott pegged me all wrong, I got no cents, no cents at all…” with a sombre expression. Not only is it a wonderful pun but it sounds exactly like something from a 1950’s hard-boiled detective novel.

It is clear then that Over the Garden Wall is a brilliant mix of everything that has come before in America and rather than shy away from the quaintness and oddness of those times it seeks to embrace them. In a time when the terms ”quirky” or ”zany” are used all too often to describe cartoons, it can be difficult to discern what is good and what is merely bizarre. What makes this show quality is the passion with which Patrick McHale and his team have brought the two brothers to life in a grand fairytale which explores adolescence, modern mythology and exactly where America came from.