Opinion: Over the Garden Wall

I dream of exploring the woods after class at the gothic castle where I attend university. I wear comfortable trousers and a black turtleneck sweater, my glasses slipping down the bridge of my nose as I try not to step on any frogs that may be on the forest floor.

Sigh.

What a dream that is. Alas, I cannot do that because the capitalist overlords want me to work forever. A great respite from our eternal labor is to watch “Over the Garden Wall!” It came out quite a while ago, but it’s definitely worth watching again because it’s such a gem. 

The story is mysterious and haunting, yet lighthearted. Two brothers, Wirt and Greg, find themselves lost in the forest and try to find their way home. On their journey, they meet many interesting characters and get into lots of trouble. My favorite characters that they meet are the highwayman, the horse, the Pumpkin king, and Lorna. The beast of the forest is also following them. There are so many twists and turns in the show, so I won’t continue my summary to avoid spoiling anything!

The music in the show is absolutely beautiful! There are so many different genres of music and they’re all so catchy. They’re mostly folky songs and music inspired by New Orleans. I literally have “Ms Langtree’s Lament” on my Spotify. Here is the link to the album!

Oh gosh, this is going to sound so cliche coming from an English major, but this show makes me feel so melancholic in the best ways. It reminds me of childhood when I watched “Adventure Time” and Coraline. It’s definitely a little spooky for children, so I would advise against watching it with little ones! The show is available on Hulu. Enjoy!