Over the Garden Wall Wiki
Advertisement
Over the Garden Wall Wiki
Walter

Walter from the 2006 Concept Pitch

Walter[]

Walter is one of the two half brothers featured in the 2006 pitch for "Tome of the Unknown". Walter is the prototype for Wirt, the eldest of the two half brothers in Over the Garden Wall.

Walter and his brother Gregory (Concept) accidently board a train destined for the afterlife. When the conductor removes his face to reveal a skeleton, prompting Walter and Gregory to jump from the train while it's still moving. They encounter the character "Old Scratch" who tricks Gregory into what is referred to as a "Faustian deal."[1] Scratch promises the two boys that he can return them home if they read a book of forgotten stories, "the Tome of the Unknown." If they fail they'll be whisked away to "live in the dark kingdom forever." Walter protests the deal, but Gregory was quick to sign the agreement, so Walter also signs his signature. Old Scratch then tears the pages and flings them into the air. The two boys then have to go find them to read them (Summarized from the Art of Over the Garden Wall book).

The original iteration of Walter is largely consistent with Wirt as he appears in Over the Garden Wall.

Appearance[]

Walter looks similar to Wirt, although his design looks more closely related to Gregory's design with his round head.

In the portrait of Walter from the 2006 bible he is seen cutting paper. Patrick McHale said that he had been "learning about Hans Christian Andersen,[2] and how he would often do paper cutting while telling his stories. By the end of the story, he'd have a beautiful little paper-cut work to reveal to his audience. I got into doing paper cutting myself, and wanted to include it somehow in the series. Walter, the proto-Wirt, was obsessed with cutting paper." Quoted from the Art of Over the Garden Wall book.[3] This paper cutting hobby is similar to Wirt's obsessions in the released show.

References[]

The Art of Over the Garden Wall

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hans-Christian-Andersen-Danish-author

https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/3000-616/Art-of-Over-the-Garden-Wall-HC

Advertisement