Beatrice had originally planned to give them both to Adelaide as slaves in exchange for a pair of scissors that would lift the curse off herself and her family, but she had a change of heart as she grew attached to the brothers. V. Club praised the series, giving it a grade of "A" and writing that "with such a perfect blend of mood, atmosphere, story, and characterization, Over the Garden Wall 's 10-episode run will leave you wanting more, but like every great fairy tale, it's a story that knows when it's over. The series' voice cast also includes Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, Bebe Neuwirth, Chris Isaak, Shirley Jones, Thomas Lennon, Jack Jones, Jerron Paxton, John Cleese and Samuel Ramey.

Lloyd later wrote that it evoked "a kind of artisanal quality", both in its design and setting, and though the writing felt "a little too intent on its own folksiness", it became more enjoyable throughout. In The New York Times, Mike Hale also felt the writing was sometimes weak and the stories "perilously thin", but concluded that McHale developed an environment worth visiting. The brothers keep on rambling as they walk through the woods as a bluebird watches them in the trees. Wirt then sees the Woodsman knocked down at his feet as the Beast appears, offering to keep Greg's soul alive inside the lantern in exchange for Wirt taking over the Woodsman's duties in keeping it lit.Nick Cross served as art director and Nate Cash as supervising director; both worked with McHale alongside storyboard artists located in New York and Chicago.

Daniel's garden for him once he is gone, to which Wirt refuses, and decides to name Greg's frog "Jason Funderburker" to cheer him up as he tries to break the Edelwood branches off. As the sun sets, having used up what little Edelwood he had left, the Woodsman ventures into the woods and finds Greg transforming into a new Edelwood tree. Meanwhile, the Beast reminds the Woodsman that the flame inside his lantern contains his daughter's soul, and that he must cut down Edelwood trees so the fire can keep her alive. Greg cheers everyone up by adding molasses to the potatoes that they're having for lunch, interrupted by Miss Langtree's benefactor father.They run from the Woodsman and come across a lonely cottage in which they come across a young girl named Lorna who warns them to hide, as her caregiver Auntie Whispers (Adelaide's sister) is coming.

The series' art was inspired by a variety of sources, including the 1890s McLoughlin Brothers board game Game of Frog Pond, [16] illustrations by Gustave Doré for Cervantes's Don Quixote, [17] old illustrations for the Hans Christian Andersen story " The Tinderbox", [18] the Cheshire Cat illustration by John Tenniel from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, [19] and the " Dogville Comedies" short films. At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International, a preview of the show was screened along with various panels for other shows on the network.The Woodsman, angry at their actions but still forgiving, tells them to follow the path but warns them to beware the Beast, as he and the two brothers go their different ways. Songs from the series include "Into the Unknown", its title song, composed by Patrick McHale and sung by Jack Jones; "A Courting Song", composed by the Petrojvic Blasting Company and performed by Frank Fairfield; and "Come Wayward Souls", sung by Samuel Ramey as the Beast. In this musical comedy, a young man visiting the ultra-modern estate of his aunt falls in love with the old-fashioned, stuffy neighbor's niece. The residents, who seem to be living pumpkins at first but are actually skeletons, sentence the trio to a few hours of manual labor.

According to McHale, the comic books would be similar to the one-shot comic, detailing the events that occurred in between certain episodes and would expand on the television miniseries. Before working as a storyboard artist on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, artist Patrick McHale pitched the show in 2006, then known under the title Tome of the Unknown.Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "a little too folksy and fairy story" at times, but that its "contemporary strangeness wins out", and concluded that "it is throughout something to behold". A one-shot comic book adaptation penned by McHale has been produced, with four further issues commissioned. McHale initially envisioned eighteen chapters in the series, but the episode count was brought to ten to accommodate budget and time constraints. The brothers and Greg's frog sail down a lake, where they hear the Beast's singing, and Greg remains hopeful while Wirt has given up. While not discounting its storytelling, music, and production design, he felt that production skimped on animation; he was still looking forward to the series.