50 Fun Facts About Over the Garden Wall

Who created Over the Garden Wall?

He had been creative director on Adventure Time and a storyboard artist on Flapjack before the network asked him for a pilot.

Where did the miniseries air in November 2014?

It was the network's first ever miniseries, running over five consecutive nights.

How many episodes make up the miniseries?

McHale had envisioned eighteen chapters before budget and time cut it down.

What was the forest called in McHale's original 2006 pitch, before it became the Unknown?

That version had brothers Walter and Gregory chasing pages of a lost book after a deal with a devil named Old Scratch.

Who voices Wirt, the anxious older brother?

Wood said that if the show were a record it would be played on a phonograph.

What kind of animal is Beatrice, the irritable travelling companion voiced by Melanie Lynskey?

She was once human; her whole family was cursed into birds.

Which Back to the Future star voices the Woodsman?

He believes his daughter's soul burns in his lantern, which is why he keeps chopping Edelwood.

Which opera singer voices the Beast?

McHale drew on classic American opera singing for the music; Ramey sings 'Come Wayward Souls'.

What do the Beast's victims turn into once they lose hope?

Their oil is what feeds the lantern — the Woodsman has been unwittingly keeping the Beast alive.

What are Wirt's two secret passions?

The tape he made for Sara contains both, which is why he is so desperate to get it back.

What running gag involves the frog the younger brother carries?

Wirt finally settles the matter in the last episode.

What name does Wirt finally give Greg's frog in the last episode?

It is the name of the boy back home who was going to ask out Wirt's crush.

How did the brothers end up in the Unknown?

They jumped a cemetery wall to escape a police officer, dodged a train and rolled unconscious into the water.

What is Wirt trying to retrieve on Halloween night in the flashback episode?

Sara is actually delighted to see him; he is the only one who cannot tell.

In 'The Old Grist Mill', what turns out to be the 'beast' that chases the brothers?

Once it coughs up the turtle it reverts to a calm domestic dog — but the mill is already destroyed.

In Pottsfield, what are the residents dressed as when the brothers arrive at the harvest festival?

They really are skeletons under the pumpkins; the brothers are told they arrived 'too early'.

What is the name of the Pottsfield village leader who sentences the brothers to manual labour?

He jokes about putting them to death but only makes them help dig in the field — from which skeletons then rise.

In 'Schooltown Follies', what does Greg add to the bland mashed potatoes to cheer everyone up?

The students are all animals; the human teacher Miss Langtree mistakes Wirt for one of them.

What is the name of the talking horse Wirt steals from the tavern?

Fred later helps Quincy Endicott search his mansion for a ghost.

Why do the brothers pretend to be Quincy Endicott's nephews?

Endicott's 'ghost' turns out to be his business rival Margueritte Grey, whose mansion connects to his.

In 'Lullaby in Frogland', what instrument does Wirt reluctantly play in the ferry band?

Greg's frog then unexpectedly starts to sing, and their disguise holds.

What did Beatrice originally plan to trade the brothers to the 'good woman of the woods' for?

Wirt discovers the betrayal, and it sends him into the hopelessness the Beast feeds on.

How does Auntie Whispers control the girl Lorna?

Greg's frog eats the bell, and Wirt uses it to command the demon out of Lorna's body.

What does Greg wish for from the Queen of the Clouds after defeating the North Wind?

His first wish was to find the way home, but the Queen tells him Wirt is already covered in Edelwood branches.

What does Wirt realise is really inside the Woodsman's lantern?

He hands the lantern back to the Woodsman, who blows it out.

What is the title of the show's theme song, sung by Jack Jones?

Jones, the crooner of the Love Boat theme, also voices Greg's frog.

Which group composed the soundtrack?

Their 32-track album was pressed on 180-gram vinyl by Mondo in 2016.

What was the working title of McHale's original pitch and pilot?

The 2006 pitch had brothers Walter and Gregory chasing pages of a book after a Faustian deal with Old Scratch.

Which award did Over the Garden Wall win in 2015?

Rotten Tomatoes' consensus called it 'a whimsically witty series for viewers of all ages'.

Which studio produced the stop-motion short released for the 10th anniversary in 2024?

McHale, Elijah Wood and Melanie Lynskey all returned for the three-minute film.

The show's digital backgrounds were designed to resemble which kind of painting?

The overall look evokes 19th- and 20th-century Americana, vintage Halloween postcards and New England foliage.

Which 1890s McLoughlin Brothers tabletop title was among the inspirations for the show's art?

Other influences included Gustave Doré's Don Quixote illustrations and Tenniel's Cheshire Cat.

Where was the animation outsourced to?

Studio Digital eMation did the animation while most design work happened in Burbank.

Which comics publisher released the Over the Garden Wall comic adaptation?

The one-shot grew into a 20-issue ongoing series and then graphic novels; half of it follows the Woodsman's daughter Anna.

What was the name of the Mondo cassette release based on the tape seen in the show?

It featured Wirt's poetry read by Elijah Wood plus songs by the Blasting Company.

What is the name of the woman Beatrice is leading the boys to, 'the good woman of the woods'?

She turns out to want the boys as servants.

What season has Over the Garden Wall become associated with, prompting annual rewatches?

The Week called it 'something of a fall tradition — or necessity'.

In which cities were the storyboard artists based, making remote production 'daunting' for McHale?

Nick Cross was art director and Nate Cash supervising director.

What is the title of the pilot that preceded the series?

In it the brothers borrow a vegetable car from a songwriter named John Crops.

What glows in the hospital at the very end, hinting the whole adventure was real?

The series closes with a montage of the Unknown's residents changed by the brothers.

Before making the miniseries, Patrick McHale was creative director on which Cartoon Network show?

He had earlier been a storyboard artist on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, and the network invited him to pitch a pilot after his Adventure Time work.

Which Monty Python member is part of the miniseries' voice cast?

The cast also includes Tim Curry, Bebe Neuwirth, Chris Isaak and Shirley Jones, a roster that leans heavily on veteran stage and screen performers.

Who voices Greg, the carefree younger half-brother?

He and Elijah Wood both reprised their roles from the Tome of the Unknown short, and both returned for the 2024 stop-motion anniversary film.

Over how many consecutive nights did Cartoon Network premiere the ten chapters in November 2014?

The whole series was put on iTunes before broadcast. It was the network's first miniseries, and Elijah Wood said it would be played on a phonograph if it were a record.

Mondo released the 32-track soundtrack at Comic-Con in July 2016 in which format?

Songs like 'A Courting Song' were performed by Frank Fairfield, and Samuel Ramey sings 'Come Wayward Souls' in character as the Beast.

In the ongoing comic, what is the name of the Woodsman's daughter who became lost in the Unknown?

The comic ran parallel stories: half followed her, while the other half followed Greg slipping back into dreamlands in his sleep. It ended in November 2017.

In a dropped four-episode plot from the pitch bible, Greg was to be transformed into what animal?

Wirt was to become 'either a bear or a dog ... Nobody can tell which'. Early drafts also had a skinless witch and a villain carving dice from children's bones.

How many chapters did McHale originally envision before budget and time cut the count to ten?

He chose the miniseries format because he felt it would feel higher quality than a regular series could manage.

In McHale's 2006 pitch, the brothers made a Faustian deal with a devil of what name?

The brothers were then called Walter and Gregory, and their quest was to track down the pages of a book of forgotten stories, hence the title Tome of the Unknown.

Which overseas studio handled the miniseries' animation?

Production itself was based in Burbank, California, with Nick Cross as art director and Nate Cash as supervising director.