Animation
Over the Garden Wall
Balancing the warm feeling of a fall cider with chilly spookiness and humor, ‘Over the Garden Wall’ is a niche autumn tradition for some. But for kids, this miniseries has some skeletons in the closet.
The city of Swellview has always had a hero in Captain Man and his sidekick, Schwoz. But defending an entire city is hard work. In fact, it’s a job best performed by a whole group of heroes.
Enter the four newest superheroes-in-training at Swellview Academy for the Gifted: Chapa, brother-and-sister duo Miles and Mika, and Bose.
Each of these trainees has their own set of gifts and super-secret names. Chapa, known as Volt, can harness electricity. Miles, or AWOL, can teleport. Mika, aka ShoutOut, uses her supersonic scream to fight baddies. And Bose, known as Brainstorm, has the power of telekinesis.
Together, these recruits and future superheroes come alongside Captain Man to save Swellview from all sorts of dangers. But working together and cooperating isn’t easy. And this team will have to put their brains together, and their pride aside, to become the best Danger Force around.
Nickelodeon’s Danger Force is a spinoff of its popular, long-running superhero sitcom Henry Danger. This newest live-action kids’ show premiered in 2020 and is now in its second season. Each episode is around 20 minutes, packed with laugh tracks, action and mild stage violence.
Kids that were fans of Henry Danger will probably find many similarities in this show, like Captain Man’s quirky, often arrogant personality and the reoccurring issue that he always seems to need redirection…often from a group of kids far younger than himself.
Captain Man and his team teach lessons like teamwork, kindness, patience and problem solving. But this TV-Y7 show still has plenty of issues. Attitudes, name calling, sexual innuendo and mild violence all appear quite frequently. We also hear conversations revolving around transgender and gay characters that make their appearance throughout.
Captain Man lets his pride get the best of him and goes on strike until the citizens of Swellview appreciate his role as a superhero. But his plan backfires when a superhero from France is called to replace him.
A superhero says that he might hit someone upside the head with a fire extinguisher. A group of baddies try and steal famous art pieces. Captain Man often kicks and punches to take down enemies. A villain tries to drop the Danger Force into hot lava.
A mayor calls Captain Man “cocky.” We hear phrases and words like “dang it,” “oh my god,” “shut up” and “stupid.”
A woman is referred to as “local hot mom.” Captain Man says the town keeps “crawling back to daddy.”
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
Balancing the warm feeling of a fall cider with chilly spookiness and humor, ‘Over the Garden Wall’ is a niche autumn tradition for some. But for kids, this miniseries has some skeletons in the closet.
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