My TV Show Review on Over the Garden Wall · 1:49pm Oct 30th, 2019
My 15th TV show review.
Boy, compared to the amount of film reviews I have, I seem to have quite a small amount of TV show and episode reviews.
But enough about that.
Today, I'll be reviewing a show that I'm very proud to be saving for this occasion: "Over the Garden Wall".
Here's what this series is about:
In this miniseries by Cartoon Network, two stepbrothers by the names of Wirt and Greg find themselves lost in a mysterious forest, referred by many as 'The Unknown'. As they try to find their way home, they encounter a wide array of strange characters, including a rather humble Woodsman, and a talking bird named Beatrice, the latter whom offers to guide them for the way home.
But the two boys must be on their toes throughout the journey, as a mysterious being called 'The Beast' continually stalks them for intentions referred to as devilishly wicked.
Will Wirt and Greg be able to go home? Or will they be doomed to wander the woods forever until 'The Beast' claims them?
Having seen this miniseries two times via Hulu, I really must say that this...is a truly amazing program!
The voice acting, casting, characters, and character development were among the reasons on why this show was so impressive.
The performers were able to play their characters with raw emotional power, especially like they were clearly meant for them. Something I also can't help but note is that each character was given quite the unusual dialogue, but yet...they fit each character so well, and the performers said them in a way that was so natural you can't think of their lines as anything but creative.
Each character featured likewise had excellent personality and dimensionalism, and the developments of the leads in particular, including the Woodsman, were so strong that one would suddenly not think of them as mere cartoon characters.
The overall story featured throughout the series was impressive as a plus. I love how the writers and directors, under the authority of series creator Patrick McHale, were able to make something so interesting out of a mere "getting lost in the woods" concept by not only taking Wirt and Greg to various locations and having them meet so many unique inhabitants, but also making the concept bigger than anyone could've expected. Its balanced tone, which would range from being scary, emotional, mysterious, or humorous was nicely worked too; and so were its themes about hope, choice, trust, friendship, and family, if I may add.
The animation that the series had was likewise excellent. Even though it was done in a made-for-television kind of format, there was a theatrical feel to it that was able to make it seem like something more than that. The overall visualization of it gave off a perfect made-for-screen comic book vibe to it that made things all-the-more entrancing.
Finally, the music that was made for this series was fantastic! Whoever was responsible for the music as a whole gave it serious depth and emotion that aided the series in being so powerful, especially to reflect the tone, the feelings of a character, everything!
In conclusion, "Over the Garden Wall" proves itself to be an extraordinary and powerful series that's absolutely worthy of watching, with a large thanks being not just to everything I mentioned, but to how all-out Patrick McHale went into making this something spectacular. I especially recommend this for people eight and older, mostly because of some scary moments in the series and because the concept may not be something people under eight can understand.
So, I rate "Over the Garden Wall" a solid five out of five stars.
The Beast was a magnificent villain.
This review has inspired me to see it.
Ah, this little show was a treat. The fact, as some note, it seems to be a modern take on Dante's Inferno, plus the hints their little soujourn in the other world was in part, real was a nice touch