Over the Garden Wall

Its surreal nature, adult themes, and dependence on old fairy tale lore reminded me a lot of Spirited Away (I mean Auntie Whispers seems like she could be Yubaba and Zeniba's lost sister). Additionally, OtGW maintains an incredibly contemporary self-awareness and humor that it marries beautifully with absurdist horror. Part of its success comes from the fact that even though it is feature movie length, its episodic format adds to the oneiric quality and carefully crafted eerie atmosphere.

Charming, bizarre, eerie, funny, absurd, and fascinating. Very much in the tradition of The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland, but with a decidedly modern twist. Wonderful.

At the same time silly and scary, modern and old fashioned, and both childish and very adult in story and style, OtGW stands as a wonderfully surreal, dark and heartfelt piece of animation. Think Americana folk lore meets Miyazaki-lite.

A charming slice of melancholy Americana that doesn't overstay its welcome. It's surreal, but never aggressively so, and it really respects the characters and lets them grow. Goes to show you that maybe the dark isn't so scary after all.

A wonderful throwback to the children's tales of old, effortlessly balancing the whimsical carelessness of childhood with the unknowable darkness surrounding it. I am amazed and thrilled that something like this exists, especially given it's high production value.

These pretty neat fairy tales are charming enough, but they also felt a bit insubstantial. I was on the fence for the first eight episodes and prefer the last two in which the shenanigans become a bit more grounded. Greg's epic elephant costume also earns the series some extra points.

I could not have expected to fall in love with this as deeply as I did. Over The Garden Wall is perfect in almost every respect. I am left a mess of so many emotions, all of which I don't know what to do with. So strange, so amazing, and so genuine. Fantastic.

Even after seeing screencaps and memes of this for years, it surprised me in multiple ways. It's weird, atmospheric, cute, creepy, and fun, with good characters and a strong narrative.

Stunning animated piece that manages to feel like a fully fleshed out series despite its shortened format. Pays homage to American folk traditions while simultaneously making those same genre works feel fresh and interesting.

Once in a while a show comes along that is (almost) perfectly executed. Over the Garden Wall runs for 10 episodes totalling ~2 hours, which allows it to setup its characters and establish its whimsical, ethereal world in which they have a few adventures along their journey before overcoming the main obstacle. Its tight pacing, eerie atmosphere and short injections of humour into an otherwise dark story makes it a great watch. A Halloween classic, at least in my eyes.