[zapdragon555]

Alright I've been wanting to post about this all day because I think y'all will really like this one.



This little cartoon is very much unlike most of the things that come through Cartoon Network's channel. It's a mini series that only lasted 5 nights, 10 episodes, starring Elijah Wood as the main character Wirt (the little guy with the pointy hat there). In this story Wirt and his brother Gregory get lost in the forest on their way home, and spend the rest of the series trying to find their way back home. Of course, they run into a lot of trouble along the way, and continuously receive ominous warnings from various people and creatures to beware "The Beast," a creature said to take the souls of children who get lost in the forest.

It's a little dark for CN, actually, but it also has it's immensely lighthearted moments. Literally everything Greg does (the little guy with the teapot hat) is lovely and cute and certainly bothersome to his brother Wirt. However many of the places they visit and people they meet are unsettling to say the least, and honestly borderline nightmare fuel for me, but it's always pretty well juxtapositioned against the cute lighthearted stuff (see: all of episode 3). If you plan to watch it, I suggest not looking it up on tumblr or any related sites because BOY are there some spoilers! They're everywhere!

And, you can watch the first full episode in HQ right here!
If you like it, this website here is alright for streaming episodes if you can deal with the ads. Otherwise, they're all on iTunes for relatively cheap, haha, but I've been watching the free ones.

So if you click that little link there and find you like it, or don't, what do you have to say about it? I wanna discuss this lovely show haha. Just remember to put spoilers in spoiler tags! I myself haven't finished it, but I'm on the second to last episode and boy howdy this is gonna be neat.

[Baconwizard]

Ahhhhhhhhhh! This show was the death of me! I marathoned it all last night. Gosh. If you want a nuanced, meaningful, gorgeous show, then howdy-do this is the right show for you. At first the characters were a little annoying (but Greg always had my heart), but they really do develop over the course of the story. It's fun figuring out the mystery of the forest, and man. The antagonist. Mmm. That's all I'll say.

Also I was able to watch it directly on CN's website? I think it was because of our cable/internet provider, but it's worth a try?

[Azura Rayume]

I love how Greg's costume makes no sense, but he totally justifies it with his tiny child reasons. Meanwhile, Wirt is like a garden gnome? or something? He doesn't even know. He just put on some stuff to go to the Halloween stuff.

This show is wonderful and precious. It's deep in the way that everyone tries to convince me Adventure Time is without the over-the-top ridiculous stuff with a bit of the darkness from (later) Gravity Falls thrown in. The whole thing is mysterious and wonderful and I'm gonna try and force my mom to watch it later because it's that good, homg. ; n;

It's short, weird, and just a bit spooky with life choices laid out in a not-wholly-clear manner. They do an awful lot of showing and very little telling, a great little plot with a lot of macabre overtones and references for those willing to look for them. I love it.

[zapdragon555]

Mannn I finally finished this series last night and I'm so glad I did. One thing I'd love to know is what are you guys' theories about what it all means? Like, what really happened? Just remember to use the [spoiler] tags haha. I have a pretty good idea of what I believe the show was trying to say, but I'd love to hear other peoples' first~

[Azura Rayume]

Okay, so, Sylphee put most of this in my head but okay.

Basically I think everything happened and yet didn't happen. Like, it was an in-between world of spirits. They actually did go through all of that, which is why the frog has the bell and everything was very much real. By going over the wall, though, they fell into a kind of limbo. A place where souls would find a way back to the world of the living, a place to stay (their own "heaven" so to speak like Greg found but abandoned because he couldn't leave his brother behind), or are found and consumed by the Beast and forgotten.

It's likely that most of the characters are people who died in the graveyard. Actually, the crazy old rich guy's name is on one of the headstones in the graveyard. It's partly why no time period seems to fit these people. They're from all walks of life, doing all different things, in a manner of styles that run the gammot of US time periods. I think it's that they- the old rich couple, the people of Pottsfield, the schoolteacher, the people at that one inn- have found a place where they belong, where they can do something to keep them happy. Those are not permanent, however; if their happiness begins to slip, the Beast can worm its way in a steal them. The bad things like the entire deal with the gorilla are a subtle way the Beast is finding his way into their existences, though I don't think he can fully show himself to them until they fall farther into his trap.

I think Beatrice and her family had found heaven, only to have one of those bad circumstances tear it away. They were probably very close to falling to the Beast after they were turned into birds, but their family bond kept him at bay. The same way the brothers' (mainly Greg) kept the ones around them safe by bringing back their joy.

Characters like Auntie Whispers and Adelade are probably not lost spirits per say but rather entities that exist to pull souls in one direction or another. Whether that be good or bad for the spirits in question depends on the motives of the entity. I think that the girl is safe with Auntie Whispers and will find that to be her "heaven;" meanwhile, if they boys had been caught by Adelade, that would have been where they stayed for good. They might not have enjoyed it, but they would still be safe from the Beast.

As for the Woodsman, I think he was lost just like Wirt and Greg. He took a side option, not finding his "heaven" and not being consumed either. He was something the Beast needed to survive and was released from that fate when he found out the lie that kept him bound to his duty. Perhaps he was beginning to suspect there was more the the story when he found out where the trees came from, but he was definitely losing heart in what he was doing which is why the Beast offered Wirt the same deal. I don't know if the Woodsman found his "heaven," which is why his daughter was there, or if she was never dead in the first place and he found his way to his actual home.

Long post is long. :U

[Baconwizard]

That was a goooooood post, Azura, yes. Definitely agree with it. I just enjoy the idea of them being in some sort of limbo, with everyone trying to protect their own little heaven. It explains why everyone was always a little defensive of their way of doing things. ALSO I LOVE HOW IN THE VERY BEGINNING WE SEE EVERYONE. Like. We see Beatrice and her dog and the woodsman and his daughter all looking into the woods. It's a big flashback and we don't even realize it. I love stories that do that; it makes the series all the more clever.

I think the main point I was going to say when I opened this was that I just love how in the title scene (with the cello and soft music) you can hear a train echoing in the distance. Hehe. Such a clever series.

[zapdragon555]

I looove these theories yes yes. ;v; I don't have time right this second to put mine down but I would like to drop this post on you guys because I found it super thoughtful and interesting.

[GrayGriffin]

*BUMPS THREAD AGGRESSIVELY*

So I kept seeing a bunch of gifs/quotes of this series, and finally I decided to bite the bullet and watch it. It is so, so good. I love all the characters and the stories so much, especially the little side stories that don't really advance the plot as obviously. Also I'm pretty sure I have now confirmed fictional siblings as my weakness.

[zapdragon555]

Eeeehehe welcome to the club Gray B)  Same tho tbh brothers/siblings just destroy me in any fictional work weeeeps.

[GrayGriffin]

Yeahhhhh. I just realized just how many sibling-pair characters I have. And I'm an older sibling myself as well, so ughhhh. *rolls around on the ground*

At least there are a bunch of hilarious scenes as well to offset all the EMOTIONS.

[Flame]

I'm so glad you bumped this thread, Gray, because I totally just watched the entire thing last night after reading it. SO GOOD. It's nice when CN puts out the occasional gem these days (like Adventure Time). Also, I couldn't get over the fact that Wirt was voiced by Elijah Wood. Like, whaaaaat. XD