6-Minute Preview of CN Mini-Series ‘Over the Garden Wall’

Last weekend at New York Comic Con, Cartoon Network screened the following six-minute preview of their new fantasy project Over the Garden Wall created by former Adventure Time creative director Pat McHale. The ten-episode mini-series will premiere over five consecutive nights beginning Monday, November 3 at 7pm ET/PT.

While I’m really looking forward to watching the entire series, the preview revealed the weaknesses of constructing a whimsical cartoon universe with limited TV animation. The generic movement does nothing for the eccentric characters on display; their behavior begs for a full range of motion—think Swing Wedding (a frog-to-frog comparison) or even the personal animation style of the project’s art director Nick Cross.

Let’s be clear, I’m not discounting the show; its evident that the combination of production design, storytelling and music guarantee something unique, and possibly something quite special. However, it skimps on the one thing that I love most about animation, and that’s animation itself.