Divine Comedy Inspiration in "Over the Garden Wall”
Matteo Ghielmetti
Image credit: Over the Garden Wall (Patrick Mchale, 2014)
Over the Garden Wall is a 10 episode mini series released by cartoon network in 2014. The story follows two brothers, Wirt and Greg, as they make their way through the Unknown, a location in the woods which mirrors many key parts of architecture shown in Inferno. As the brothers try to navigate their way out, they encounter characters who symbolize or are affected by the sins present in the different levels of Inferno. In contrast to the poem, instead of simply observing, they help or are helped by many of these characters. While the series takes heavy inspiration in its structure, imagery, and characters from the Divine Comedy, differences or manipulations of its source material like their interactions with others are constantly present as the series attempts to create a new message. Using its medium of animation and space on a kid’s network, the show creates a much more hopeful view of sin and redemption. Wirt, the series’ main character, holds the most in common with his source character, Dante. He writes poetry, shows extreme insecurity, and can show a lack of hope in his own abilities or others to improve. On the other hand, characters such as Greg or Beatrice the bluebird act very differently from their source characters while still acting as guides. Greg, who can be seen as an appropriation of Virgil, holds no knowledge of their surroundings; however, he is still able to act as a guide through the woods because of the ignorant bravery and hope his childhood innocence provides him. Beatrice the bluebird, an obvious appropriation of Beatrice from Paradiso, is not an embodiment of perfection or a love interest like her source character. These differences allow her to act as a more effective moral guide though, as her advice can serve as a path to improvement, rather than the end goal of doing so. While Wirt’s extreme similarity to Dante serves as a main similarity between both sources of media in the series’ beginning, the guidance he receives from other characters allows him to form an alternate outlook on himself and those around him: everyone can improve or redeem themselves.