Review of "The Magical Garden" (Music) by Zachary Simpson, Erin Rementer, Kalen Kelly, and Jimmy Sweeden

Score: 93+/100 (9.3+ out of 10)

"The Magical Garden" is a charming, whimsical, and magical little musical number that kicks off the amazing Cate and the Garden Bandits musical (based on Cate and the Garden Bandits by Betsy Coffeen)!

"The Magical Garden" is crafted & written by Zachary Simpson, a multi-time Outstanding Creator Awards winner! A superbly multi-talented individual—the "Benjamin Franklin of the Story Monsters brand"—Simpson has demonstrated proficiency as an author, scriptwriter, and producer of extraordinary music like this! Is there nothing he can't do?!

Apparently, he was also an actor, singer, and dancer working for Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Seaworld! He has a degree in Music Composition and composed music for film, TV, and video games! Simpson is truly one of the most talented individuals to come through our contests!

And this talent is put to good use in "The Magical Garden."

This song effectively serves as the introduction to the setting, plot, characters, and stakes of the musical. It effectively builds up the idea that the "Magical Garden" is a truly wonderful, incredible, and invaluable place. There's nowhere else in the world exactly like it. Furthermore, it's more than just a garden, it's an ecosystem, a habitat, a workplace, a neighborhood, a community, and—most of all—a home. It's something worth saving and protecting. So, when mysterious foreign "bandit bugs" come and seem to threaten that harmony later, the stakes are made extra clear to the audience.

It also introduces us to Cate, the main character, a spunky butterfly who seems to be a natural-born leader, and her many fellow bugs in the garden including Davy the Dung Beetle, Pete the Potato Bug, and Walter the Earthworm—each one bringing their own unique charm and purpose to the ecosystem. These aren’t just cute bug characters for the sake of having a bug ensemble; they represent the real roles that such creatures play in the natural world. Davy improves the soil, Pete tends the flowers, and Walter helps the roots breathe—all subtle nods to ecological science wrapped in a bright, fun, musical package.

"The Magical Garden" also highlights the reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationship that the bugs have with the garden. Specifically: "All of us here tend to the garden and shower it with plenty of water and love, and in return, the garden provides us with a nice place to rest our eyes and daydream."

Through the upbeat lyrics and infectious melody of "The Magical Garden," the audience is invited into a world of joy, unity, and stewardship. It’s the kind of song that sticks in your head—not just because it’s catchy (which it absolutely is), but because it means something. The message is simple yet powerful: when everyone contributes, and when kindness and teamwork lead the way, even a small garden can become a magical paradise.

It’s no wonder this number feels like a mini-celebration—it encapsulates the heart of Cate and the Garden Bandits and sets the bar high for the emotional journey to come. By the time the bandit bugs arrive, we care—because Simpson made us fall in love with this garden in under three minutes flat.

This song is beautifully performed by the super-uber-talented Erin Rementer, who also performed "Who Are These Bugs?" and presumably many of the other songs in the musical. She voices the main character, after all. Uniquely, Rementer provides a very high-pitched, squeaky voice fitting of a tiny, cute, charismatic little critter like Cate.

Rementer's voice (as Cate) is truly adorable! It's the kind of voice you'd expect in a Barbie or My Little Pony commercial, which is ironic considering Rementer has lended her voice to commercials like that. Her bio lists her as performing for Disney, Delta, Cisco, Hasbro Toys, Mattress Firm, NumberBlocks, The Learning Company, Storypod, Universal Studios, Summit Checking, and more!

It's quite a compelling performance!

It's especially interesting to compare her tone in this song versus "Who Are These Bugs?" "The Magical Garden" is a much more cheerful, positive, and uplifting tune, and Rementer (appropriately), sings this song in a much more cheerful, positive, and uplifting way.

In contrast, "Who Are These Bugs?" is a far more brooding with a tinge of mystery, frustration, confusion, and even a bit of anger (in response to the bug invaders taking flower petals). In "The Magical Garden" you can tell how much the garden means to Cate and the other bugs based on the lyrics and Rementer's performance. You can also tell how at home she feels as well as how happy the garden makes her.

Perhaps something that we didn't fully appreciate until now is how both "Who Are These Bugs?" and "The Magical Garden" highlight Cate as a leader and as someone who feels a responsibility for the garden.

In "Who Are These Bugs?" she even says that the other bugs "all count on [her] to grow" the plants in the garden. Though "The Magical Garden" is more subtle in this regard, it is telling that it's Cate who takes charge and encourages the other bugs to introduce themselves ("Hey! Why don’t you three go and introduce yourselves?"). It is friendly and polite while also subtly demonstrating Cate's assertiveness as a leader in her community.

Speaking of these introductions, it's so nice, refreshing, and special to hear each of the bugs voice acted! Davy the Dung Beetle, Pete the Potato Bug, and Walter the Earthworm each has their own unique voice! We're not 100% sure who voiced who, but we're guessing that Kalen Kelly provided some (if not all) of these additional voices.

Again, to reiterate, each one sounds a bit different and even has their own cadence and tonation, mostly fitting the melody in that section of the song.

Even more special is when all of these voices come together and harmonize in the end! How cool!

This song features several instruments, but primarily the acoustic guitar. Jimmy Sweeden does a superb job on the guitar, setting the tempo for everything and everyone else in the song.

Commendable work, everyone!
What an adorable song! Check it out on Spotify!