Welcome to “Let's Watch Cartoons”! Here, I’m just going to talk
about cartoons or animations that I enjoy and hopefully can get others interested in watching
them as well! I just want to let people
out there know that cartoons are great!
The first cartoon that I’m going to talk about is the mini-series
“Over the Garden Wall”.
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“Over the Garden Wall” is a ten part (about 12minutes each)
mini-series by Patrick McHale, mostly known for his
work as the former creative director for the first five seasons of “Adventure
Time”. He also worked on 10 episodes for “The Marvelous Adventures of Flapjack”.
“Over the Garden Wall” follows two brothers, Wirt (Elijah
Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean), who are lost in the Unknown, a strange forest
filled with unique and eccentric characters. While trying to find their way
back home they run into the denizens of the Unknown, one being an elderly Wood Chopper
(Christopher Lloyd) who warns the children of “The Beast”, an ominous presence
that inhabits the Unknown. The series draws inspiration from myths and fairy
tales.
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| Concept art |
I don’t know enough about art style to really speak on the
matter, but I really enjoyed the look and feel of the series. The characters
are simple and clean and the background environment (done by Nick Cross) is
vivid and enchanting. Wirt and Greg also remind me of the Animal Crossing
villagers. Some art can be seen here: http://jasonfunderburker.tumblr.com/.
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| Wonderful background paintings from the show by Nick Cross |
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The music in the series is done in such a way that it brings
the world alive with characters breaking into jaunty tunes or eerie operatic
verse. The show features talents such as Samuel Ramey, Jack Jones, Chris Isaak,
and Deborah Voigt. The series even opens with a song, titled "Into the Unknown", that essentially sets the
tone. You can hear it here: http://youtu.be/5llaSW0Bxy4.
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| Gregory and Wirt |
Wirt and Greg are the main protagonists and they can’t be
more polar opposites. Elijah Wood does a great job playing a diffident, timid teen while Collin Dean really brings the fun.
I would say more about the show, but I really hope some of
you who read this will watch it. It’s available CartoonNetwork.com (if you have
a cable subscription), Amazon Video, or other means.
Links: Patrick McHale's Twitter
I hope you enjoyed this first installment of “Let's Watch
Cartoons” Please let me know what improvements I may need to make this better.
