“Over the Backyard Wall” creator Patrick McHale at all times thought of Aardman to be the top of animation, and he was at all times within the artwork of stop-motion. Although he is labored in some extremely influential reveals like “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack” and “Journey Time,” and he did co-write the script to “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” it wasn’t till this 12 months that he fulfilled his dream of working in stop-motion — and with Aardman, no much less.
Simply in time for its tenth anniversary, Cartoon Community launched an “Over the Backyard Wall” brief movie from Aardman and McHale, and it is a full circle second for the animator in additional methods than one. As McHale instructed Inverse, “In some methods, it looks like ‘Over the Backyard Wall’ most likely ought to have been realized in stop-motion all alongside — it simply feels type of proper for that world,” and he’s completely proper.
Dan Ojari and Mikey Please (“Robin Robin”) directed this brief and in addition co-wrote it with McHale, who created the unique present utilizing 2D digital animation. The brief reunites the principle forged, bringing again Elijah Wooden as Wirt and Melanie Lynskey as Beatrice. Collin Dean, who voiced Greg when he was 9, returns within the type of unused takes from the unique sequence. The Blasting Firm, who did the beautiful music for the 10-year-old miniseries, additionally returned to attain the brief movie.
The unique “Over the Backyard Wall” follows Wirt and Greg, half-brothers misplaced in a magical forest realm often known as “The Unknown,” the place they encounter all types of quirky characters and fantastical creatures, whereas additionally they run away from a menacing monster often known as The Beast. From its colourful artwork path, to its spooky vibes, the miniseries is taken into account a fan-favorite fall re-watch. Now in cease movement, it feels as if “Over the Backyard Wall” has change into what it was at all times meant to be.
Over the Backyard Wall is tailored for cease movement
The “Over the Backyard Wall” tenth anniversary brief isn’t a follow-up, or a remake. As an alternative, it looks like a lacking scene from the unique that occurred once you weren’t trying. It follows Greg and Wirt as they anticipate Beatrice earlier than persevering with on their journey. Whereas Wirt ponders unnecessarily melancholically on the that means of time, we get glimpses at a number of the characters we met all through the unique, from the pumpkin individuals, to the Woodsman, the butcher, the baker, the toymaker, and plenty of extra.
It is a huge meta speech by Wirt — one which asks whether or not the characters are perpetually trapped within the story being instructed, whether or not they can ever transfer on, and whether or not they’re merely playthings for some unseen arms to maneuver them and inform new tales. In different phrases, an ideal “Over the Backyard Wall” story when it comes to tone and theme. However what actually makes the entire thing sing is the stop-motion animation. The unique “Over the Backyard Wall” miniseries evokes a specific feeling and a selected picture in the best way few motion pictures or reveals (no matter medium) do. It does for creepy but charming enchanting forests what Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy does for the English (or New Zealand) countryside, capturing the spirit of the autumn season, its alluring thriller and marvel, its risks and horrors, and its coziness.
As beautiful because the animation and artwork path of the unique “Over the Backyard Wall” is, having the characters be hand-carved wood puppets, and the backgrounds be actual, miniature units, does give the sequence an added layer of creepiness, and in addition of consolation. It is each new and acquainted. In different phrases, it is the right strategy to carry this cartoon again.
The Over the Backyard Wall anniversary brief is a lesson in bringing again older reveals
As Patrick McHale stated on Cartoon Community’s social accounts, a part of the choice to do the anniversary brief as stop-motion animation was “as a result of it appeared like a pleasant strategy to reimagine Wirt and Greg’s story with out disrupting the fragile ecosystem of the sequence itself.” That is the lesson studios ought to take relating to revisiting outdated properties. It is easy to assume that they need to simply do a sequel, or a remake, or a spin-off, however McHale is true in that regardless of how good the follow-up is, it at all times takes away from the unique and disrupts the story that was.
However the method on this new “Over the Backyard Wall” brief does one thing completely different. It tells a (very) brief story that could possibly be set at any level within the unique sequence run, utilizing a model new medium that separates the brand new model as not a alternative, not an improve, however merely one thing new, a approach of experimenting with the supply materials with out tarnishing what got here earlier than. Relatively than, say, carry again “Rugrats” however in CGI (and now live-action) and inform the identical tales, to do a side-story in a wholly new medium makes the brand new model really feel particular and justified.