Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Over the Garden Wall



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”.
“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.
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/.
Wonderful background paintings from the show by Nick Cross
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
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. 

          

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.