Over the Garden Wall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Over the Garden Wall |
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| Genre |
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| Created by | Patrick McHale |
| Based on | Tome of the Unknown (2013) |
| Story by |
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| Directed by |
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| Voices of |
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| Composer(s) | The Blasting Company |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Patrick McHale Jennifer Pelphrey Curtis Lelash Brian A. Miller Rob Sorcher |
| Producer(s) | Pernelle Hayes |
| Running time | 11 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Cartoon Network Studios |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | Cartoon Network |
| Picture format | HDTV (1080i) |
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| Original release | November 3 – November 7, 2014 |
Over the Garden Wall is an American animated TV show created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. It's a dark fantasy and comedy-drama story. The show is about two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg, who get lost in a strange, mysterious forest. They meet many unusual characters and things as they try to find their way home.
The series is based on McHale's short film called Tome of the Unknown. Elijah Wood voices Wirt, and Collin Dean voices Greg. Melanie Lynskey voices Beatrice, a talking bluebird. Over the Garden Wall was shown on Cartoon Network every night from November 3 to November 7, 2014. It was the first miniseries ever on the network. The show won an Emmy Award in 2015 for being an amazing animated program.
Exploring the Mysterious Forest: The Plot
The story follows two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg. They find themselves lost in a strange forest known as the Unknown. Wirt is the older brother. He worries a lot and likes to keep to himself. He enjoys playing the clarinet and writing poetry, but he's shy about sharing these hobbies.
Greg, the younger brother, is very different. He's cheerful, carefree, and a bit silly. He carries a pet frog that he tries to give a name to throughout their journey. To find their way home, the brothers get help from a mysterious old man called the Woodsman. They also travel with Beatrice, a talking bluebird. Beatrice wants to find a woman named Adelaide. She believes Adelaide can remove a curse on her family and help the boys get home.
Facing the Beast and Finding Hope
A scary creature called the Beast is always watching Wirt and Greg. The Beast tries to trick lost souls in the forest. He wants them to lose hope and turn into "Edelwood trees." These trees are used to fuel his lantern.
When Wirt and Greg finally find Adelaide, they learn she plans to make them her slaves. Wirt is upset that Beatrice didn't tell them the truth. He takes Greg and leaves Beatrice behind.
The Truth About the Unknown
Later in the series, we learn that Wirt and Greg are actually modern-day kids. They fell into a pond on Halloween. Wirt was trying to get back a cassette tape he made for a girl he liked. He and Greg ended up in a graveyard. A police officer scared them, and they jumped over a garden wall. On the other side, they landed near train tracks. To save Greg from a train, Wirt pulled him into a pond. This made them both pass out and enter the strange world of the Unknown.
In the last episode, Wirt saves Greg from becoming an Edelwood tree. They wake up in a hospital back in their hometown. Greg's frog, which swallowed a magic bell in the Unknown, starts to glow. This hints that their adventure might have been real. The show ends by showing how Wirt and Greg's journey changed the lives of the characters in the Unknown.
Meet the Voices: The Cast
Many talented actors lent their voices to the characters in Over the Garden Wall.
Main Characters' Voices
- Elijah Wood as Wirt
- Collin Dean as Gregory (Greg)
- Melanie Lynskey as Beatrice
- Christopher Lloyd as the Woodsman
- Jack Jones as Greg's Frog
- Samuel Ramey as the Beast
Other Voices You Might Know
- Emily Brundige as Sara
- John Cleese as Quincy Endicott and Adelaide
- Tim Curry as Auntie Whispers
- Chris Isaak as Enoch
- Shirley Jones as Beatrice's Mother
- Thomas Lennon as Jimmy Brown
- Bebe Neuwirth as Margueritte Grey
- Fred Stoller as Fred the Horse
Episodes of the Miniseries
Over the Garden Wall is a short series with a pilot episode and ten main episodes.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
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| First aired | Last aired | |||
| Pilot | September 9, 2013 | |||
| Miniseries | 10 | November 3, 2014 | November 7, 2014 | |
Pilot Episode: Tome of the Unknown
The pilot episode, called "Tome of the Unknown: Harvest Melody," was released on September 9, 2013. In this episode, Wirt and Greg borrow a car made of vegetables. They travel to a town where vegetable people dance. They accidentally bring crows and other animals with them, but they manage to escape.
Main Miniseries Episodes
The main series has 10 episodes, each about 11 minutes long. They aired from November 3 to November 7, 2014.
- The Old Grist Mill: Wirt and Greg get lost and meet a talking bluebird and the Woodsman. They learn about the Unknown and the Beast.
- Hard Times at the Huskin' Bee: Beatrice, the bluebird, joins the brothers. They arrive in a strange town called Pottsfield, where the residents are like living pumpkins.
- Schooltown Follies: Wirt and Beatrice find a school for animals. Greg helps cheer everyone up during a concert.
- Songs of the Dark Lantern: The brothers visit a tavern and hear more about the Beast. They learn the Beast turns people into oil trees for his lantern.
- Mad Love: Wirt and Greg pretend to be nephews of a rich man to get money for a ferry. Beatrice tells Wirt she was once human and needs Adelaide to break a curse.
- Lullaby in Frogland: The group sneaks onto a ferry full of frogs. Beatrice plans to give Wirt and Greg to Adelaide as slaves but changes her mind.
- The Ringing of the Bell: The brothers meet the Woodsman again, who warns them about the Beast. They find a girl named Lorna who is controlled by her Auntie Whispers.
- Babes in the Wood: Wirt loses hope, but Greg remains positive. Greg dreams of a cloud city and wishes to take Wirt's place with the Beast.
- Into the Unknown: This episode shows what happened before the series started. Wirt and Greg fall into a pond on Halloween, leading them to the Unknown.
- The Unknown: Wirt saves Greg from the Beast. They wake up in a hospital, and the series ends with a look at how their adventure changed the Unknown's residents.
Music and Sounds of the Unknown
| Over the Garden Wall (Original Television Soundtrack) | |
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| Soundtrack album by
various artists
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| Released | September 19, 2017 |
| Genre | Jazz, folk |
| Length | 53:13 |
| Label | Cartoon Network |
| Producer | The Blasting Company |
The music in Over the Garden Wall is very special. It uses many old-fashioned melodies and songs from before the 1950s. Elijah Wood, who voices Wirt, said the show would sound like a record played on an old phonograph.
Some popular songs from the series include "Into the Unknown," sung by Jack Jones. Another is "Come Wayward Souls," sung by Samuel Ramey, the voice of the Beast. You can find most of the show's songs officially uploaded on YouTube.
A special version of the soundtrack was released on a vinyl record in 2016. It had 32 songs and was about 44 minutes long. There was also an audio cassette tape called "For Sara," based on a tape seen in the show. It features poetry read by Elijah Wood as Wirt.
Comic Book Adventures
Over the Garden Wall also has comic book adaptations! A special one-shot comic was released in November 2014. It was overseen by Patrick McHale, the show's creator. The comic was drawn by Jim Campbell, who also worked on the TV series.
Because the first comic was so popular, more issues were made starting in August 2015. These comics told new stories that happened between the episodes of the TV show. Later, the comics became an ongoing series. These new comics acted as both a sequel and a prequel to the show. They showed Greg's adventures in mysterious dreamlands and told the story of the Woodsman's daughter, Anna. After the ongoing series ended, new Over the Garden Wall comics continued as miniseries and graphic novels.
Images for kids
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Greg (left) and Wirt, two half-brothers who act as the miniseries' main protagonists, along with Beatrice the bluebird and Greg's pet frog.
See also
In Spanish: Más allá del jardín (miniserie) para niños
