My Retrospective on the cartoon that taught me about death.

11:57 PM 11/10/2021

By: Gavin Neubauer

I arrived in my new home of DC in 2014 and didn’t have much to do but watch TV. During that fall of 2014, a 10-episode miniseries aired on Cartoon Network named Over The Garden Wall.

This show has stuck with me for the past 7 years, mostly because of the way it approaches the topic of death. The story takes place in the season of Autumn, which stands uniquely on the brink of life and death. Autumn is the season where the cold begins to take over and trees go from green to barren. That kind of environment has so much beauty to offer, from the color of the leaves to the homely scent of pumpkins and warm fires. Over The Garden Wall has such close connections to Autumn that it has become my personal go-to show for the season.

From some of my earliest writing, I drew inspiration from the unsettling characters of OTGW, namely The Beast.

His lifeless glowing eyes and mysterious figure left me with unease, and that was channeled into my stories. Now while the stories themselves haven’t survived the test of time, this show certainly has. The humor and pacing is always spot on and the themes will communicate deeply to almost any age of viewer. If you haven’t seen this show yet, I heavily recommend it.