Adventure Time and Gravity Falls follow closely behind (and no, I've never seen Steven Universe so I can't say that's my favorite). Anyway, after my friend Brynn pestered me for an entire dance class to watch it, I gave in and downloaded all the episodes of Over the Garden Wall onto my phone. I watched them all in one night. That being said, there are only 10 episodes, and each is only 10 minutes long, but it may be the best 100 minutes of animation that have ever been on television.
Over the Garden Wall was a miniseries that aired on Cartoon Network last year created by the same artists and writers as Adventure Time. It centers around a pair of brothers named Greg and Wirt who get lost in an unfamiliar forest and have to find their way back out, being challenged along the way by what the forest;s inhabitants refer to as “the beast.” Adventure Time's great, but what I love about OTGW is how much amazingness is packed into such a short time. By the time Jason Funderburker (the frog) had played the seventh note of the opening theme on that spinning piano, I knew I was going to get completely sucked into this beautiful world of "The Unknown."
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| image courtesy imperial general |
The music in this show is just so. Freaking. Good. I didn’t know that cartoons hired amazing composers like that (The Blasting Company), but apparently OTGW could. I legit want the music to be the soundtrack for my life. I don’t even know how to describe it, but the feeling that you get when you listen to it is absolutely magical and it suits the show perfectly. Since I’m bad at explaining things, go listen to the opening theme yourself. It will not disappoint.
OTGW gives off the same creepy/humor-y vibe and has the same amount of deeper meaning that Gravity Falls does, but in less than two hours of content. You can go back and watch it as many times as you want; you’ll always find something new that you missed the last time. It’s fast-paced, witty, and could appeal to many different groups of viewers of all ages.
Did I mention that the art is beautiful? It’s cartoony, don’t get me wrong, but you can tell that a lot of time was put into making it meticulous. Just like the music, it matches the theme of the story and enhances the point that the writers are trying to get across. It’s very detailed and the backgrounds look like the kind of watercolor paintings that you’d find in a museum. Since there weren’t as many episodes, the artists could probably put more time into it than they usually do when working on Adventure Time.
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| image courtesy adam wilcox |
Since watching the show, I’ve developed an intense desire to cosplay Greg and Wirt with a friend. It’ll be easy and I’ll have plenty of opportunities. Anyway, go watch Over the Garden Wall. It’ll only take two hours, and it’ll consume your thoughts for weeks. You’re welcome.
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