Over the Garden Wall @ The Beacon Cinema

Saturday, October 22 • 2 pm SOLD OUT!
Sunday, October 23 • 11 am SOLD OUT!

The Beacon Cinema doesn’t just show movies; sometimes they just want to hang out with friends and watch some great television on a big screen. Since its 2014 debut on Cartoon Network, the gorgeous, Emmy-winning animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall has become an annual way to ring in the crisp autumn weather.

I’m a recent convert to what the Beacon describes as the “cottagecore horror primer for kids,” so I asked some friends what brings them back to the strange adventures of brothers Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean) and their talking bluebird friend Beatrice (Melanie Lynskey).

“It’s spooky and sweet and it feels like fall.” –Sarah Kremen-Hicks, horror fan

“‘It’s a rock fact!’ Seriously, though, it’s macabre without being scary. It’s eerie, but ultimately a safe space for oddness.” —Cole Hornaday, creator and co-producer of The Panel Jumper

“Clever and beautifully animated but with heart! So much heart!!!” —Kelleen Conway Blanchard, playwright

“It mines the essential sadness at the heart of scariness, the sense that what we love and what we fear (or what we believe might inspire either in us) are both hidden. Also, though, it’s a toybox version of the American Romantic (Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, Irving), and that stuff’s my bread and butter.” —Lyam White, theater artist and martial arts conditioning specialist

“It has one of the most realistic sibling relationships I’ve ever seen, set against a truly fairy-tale backdrop, including all the bone-deep horror that entails.” –Scarlett Gale, fantasy romance author

“I’ve always admired the character design and worldbuilding. It feels like an old storybook come to life.” –Bane Ignacio-Singian, filmmaker

“‘Ain’t that just the way.’ I don’t have a tattoo, but this is the closest I’ve come to getting something tattooed.” —Carley Callahan, festival producer at SIFF

“I love how the animation is so sweet and endearing, with a vintage callback that really invoked a strong uncanny valley feeling throughout the show.” –Whisper de Corvo, local artist

“The ‘Potatoes and Molasses’ song is bizarre, delightful, and sung frequently in my home.” — Emily Leong, lighting designer

“I quote ‘Shut it, Kathleen!’ far too often.” –June Apollo Johns, performer

“The world is so well-constructed and thought-out that being dropped in the middle of it right off the bat feels like the beginning of a fun adventure. I was ready to learn more rather than merely confused.” —Maggie McMuffin, Miss Coney Island 2023

“Frog.” —Megan Garbayo-López, film programmer “and actual frog”

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