The Unknown

After leaving Wirt with her family, Beatrice navigates through the storm to find Greg, who she sees performing meaningless tasks for the Beast. She is whisked away by the strong wind and crashes into Wirt, who was wandering in the storm holding Greg's frog, and leads him to where she last saw Greg. As the sun sets, having used up what little Edelwood he had left, the Woodsman ventures into the woods and finds Greg slowly transforming into a new Edelwood tree. The Woodsman refuses to allow this and attempts to free Greg before fighting the Beast away from the clearing as Wirt and Beatrice arrive. Coming to, Greg reveals to Wirt that he stole his "Rock facts" rock from his neighbor Mrs. Daniel's garden. He asks Wirt to return it 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. 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. Wirt is tempted to accept this offer, but he realizes that the flame within the lantern is actually the Beast's own source of life. After explaining this to everyone in the clearing, Wirt frees Greg and asks for Beatrice to come with them. But she declines as she wants to return home and admit to her family that she is responsible for their curse. Wirt gives Beatrice Adelaide's magic scissors, which Wirt had kept from their encounter, sheepishly admitting that he had kept them from her out of spite. They head off as the Woodsman, mortified to learn that Edelwood trees grew from the bodies of the lost and that he had never been keeping his daughter alive, resists the Beast's lies and extinguishes the lantern, ending the Beast's life once and for all. The scene cuts to black as Wirt and Beatrice exchange one final goodbye. Wirt wakes up under the lake and pulls Greg and his frog to the surface, passing out as the police and his friends show up. The brothers are taken by ambulance to the hospital. Wirt wakes up at the sound of Sara. He asks for Greg, who is standing near him telling Wirt's friends about the adventures they just had. Sara also tells Wirt that she hadn't listened to the tape yet, as she doesn't own a cassette player. Wirt offers for her to listen to it at his house, which she accepts. Greg shakes his frog and it rings, revealing that Auntie Whispers' magic bell is still inside it and that everything that had taken place was real. Back in the Unknown, the Woodsman is sitting on his porch in melancholy when his daughter comes out of his home, having been brought back to life. The other Unknown residents are shown to be living much happier lives as a result of Wirt and Greg's influence, including Beatrice and her family restored to human form. Greg's frog, now with a proper name, "Jason Funderburker", plays the piano and sings. One final shot is shown of Greg returning the rock to Mrs. Daniel's garden.

Wirt, Greg, Woodsman, Beatrice

A ten-part mini-series, the first on Cartoon Network. Each show consisted of two chapters, and was originally aired over five consecutive nights.

Wirt and Greg travel across a strange land until they find their way home, aided by a wise old Woodsman who gives them directions and a bluebird named Beatrice. Music plays an important role in the series with a soundtrack full of Americana-influenced original songs.

The series is adapted from McHale's animated short, Tome of the Unknown. Both the short and the series create a unique look at styling by juxtaposing an extremely simplistic character design with moody, ornate watercolor backgrounds.