A "review" of Over the Garden Wall

"So my theory is, hot dogs are not actually dogs, regardless of what they teach in school."

The mini-series is dead. Back in the day though they were significant television events lasting up to seven nights and you'd want to set your VCR to record every night just in case chess club ran late on Thursday because you're not going to get a re-run any time soon.

Nowadays we have instant streaming services where full seasons of shows are released at once for viewing at whatever pace you choose. Audiences are not expected to stop everything anymore just to sit down and watch an episode of a one-time-only TV event. Mini-series aren't a thing anymore because the content waits for the consumers now and not the other way around. So calling Over the Garden Wall a mini-series doesn't really do it justice. It's not an epic tale like Shogun or The Blue and the Gray. It's a ten-episode animated series with no second season. Its story has a beginning, and middle, and an end, though not necessarily told in that order.

I first saw Over the Garden Wall about 3 years ago by accident. It follows the path of two brothers on their journey home, they hope, through a timeless world of (basically) fantasy and fairy tales. It's less The Lord of the Rings meets A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and more like The Wizard of Oz meets Lost in Yonkers. There's danger and drama and singing and a frog that might be God. What?

The frog might be God. Maybe not the God, but perhaps a god. I don't know. The story structure of Over the Garden Wall is complexly interwoven and a little bit obtuse. Individual episodes may have an episodic plot, but some of those discrete characters and events exist in a larger story that isn't fully revealed until you take a step back to look at the big picture and see how those pieces all fit together. It is beautifully drawn, engaging, and expertly written.

One of the main characters is an endlessly quotable young boy of maybe 5 years old who provides comedy, commentary, and youthful non sequiturs at opportune times to ease the substantial tension that builds in the story. Despite his naïvité, the boy is neither stupid nor totally helpless. He possesses the distinct moral fiber and ethics that only a 5-year-old has, with the added benefit of carrying his Godfrog and wearing a silver teapot on his head like a hat because he is pretending to be an elephant. Naturally.

The older boy is his protector, brother, and reluctant babysitter trying to keep themselves alive. If the child is the comic relief, the older brother is the angsty, would-be Dicey in Homecoming surrogate parent who has no earthly clue how to get himself home and is really just trying to keep the pair as safe as he can in an unsure world of fairy tale baddies, many of whom have a Brothers Grimm-strength penchant for eating children.

Christopher Lloyd and Tim Curry have small roles, little better than glorified cameos, of dark, nuanced characters that each bear a heavy, ominous aura that drives home the creepiness they provide with their highly talented voicework. Lloyd's voice is haggard and angry, Curry's is wispy and sing-song, a veneer of frailty that you just know is an act that conceals something much, much scarier.

Each episode is a unique little gem that in totality compose an elegant crown of storytelling. You will laugh, you will worry, you will crave potatoes and molasses.

Over the Garden Wall is currently available online on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video...

...and that's a rock fact!