It’s the 10th anniversary of the beloved animated series Over the Garden Wall, and a little stop-motion short has been released to celebrate.
Every year, as the leaves start to turn brown, orange, red, and gold, there’s one thought that enters the mind of every Halloween fan around: it’s Over the Garden Wall season. Autumn (or Fall as you lot in the US call it), when the weather is actually pleasant, is definitely the cosiest of seasons, and a miniseries like Over the Garden Wall is the perfect accompaniment. Luckily its creator Patrick McHale knew there can be too much of a good thing, and there’s never been another season of it since it was released, but this year that’s kind of changed, all to celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary.
Cartoon Network had announced this earlier this year, and to mark the occasion, Wallace and Gromit maker Aardman has produced a stop-motion short of Over the Garden Wall, and with it being the 10th anniversary today, the short has now been released. You can watch it above and I really recommend you should, it’s absolutely wonderful. All of the puppets have a wooden look to them, almost a Pinocchio-like quality, which is funny considering McHale co-wrote the stop-motion Pinocchio film alongside Guillermo del Toro.
I’ll admit I can’t quite tell if the dialogue is entirely new, as there’s definitely some archival voice over from the ever-goofy Greg, but all of the animation is new, giving us a look at the characters from across the miniseries in a lovely new light.
If there are any of you out there who are experiencing Over the Garden Wall for the first time because of this short, I really recommend you give it a watch – it’s only 10 episodes, and they’re 10 minutes each, so an easy breezy viewing, and one that you’ll quickly find yourself every time you catch the leaves falling off the trees.
