Gravity Falls (TV series)

Gravity Falls is an animated Disney Channel Original Series created by Alex Hirsch. The first episode aired as a preview on June 15th, 2012 and the series officially premiered on June 29th, 2012. On March 12th, 2013, the show was renewed for a second season at Disney upfront.

Plot

 * Main article: Episode guide

Twin brother and sister Dipper and Mabel Pines are in for an unexpected adventure when they spend the summer with their great uncle in the mysterious town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, in the Disney Channel animated comedy "Gravity Falls." Upon their arrival, Dipper and Mabel's huckster great uncle, also known as Stan Pines, enlists the siblings' help in running The Mystery Shack, a tourist trap he owns that overcharges unsuspecting customers. Although Dipper and Mabel quickly discover The Mystery Shack itself is a hoax, they sense there is something strange about their new town and together they begin to unlock the secrets of Gravity Falls.

Thrust into their new summer home, the fish-out-of-water twins try to adapt to their weird surroundings, especially Grunkle Stan, whose insatiable appetite for money drives him to spin every opportunity into a financial advantage. While Dipper grumbles about the prospect of the same boring routine of working at Grunkle Stan's hokey shop, his extremely optimistic sister seizes the chance to seek out an epic summer romance.

However, summer becomes much more interesting for the siblings after Dipper inadvertently uncovers a cryptic journal that offers insight into the strange and wondrous mysteries of Gravity Falls. Before long, Dipper begins noticing the town's idiosyncrasies, and with the book in tow and his enthusiastic desire to vanquish evil, he sets out to investigate the town's secrets. Trapped together in the small isolated town, the siblings quickly realize they need each other to battle the imminent mysteries lurking in Gravity Falls. Meanwhile, when he isn't busy trying to make a quick buck from his unsuspecting customers, Grunkle Stan guards his own secret that might hold the key to unlocking the mystery of Gravity Falls.

Main cast

 * Jason Ritter as Dipper Pines
 * Kristen Schaal as Mabel Pines
 * Alex Hirsch as Grunkle Stan and Soos
 * Linda Cardellini as Wendy

Recurring cast

 * Dee Bradley Baker as Waddles
 * Thurop Van Orman as Gideon Gleeful
 * Niki Yang as Candy Chiu
 * Carl Faruolo as Grenda
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Sheriff Blubs
 * Keith Ferguson as Deputy Durland
 * Alex Hirsch as Bill Cipher, Gnomes, Quentin Trembley, and Old Man McGucket
 * TJ Miller as Robbie
 * Jackie Buscarino as Pacifica Northwest
 * Stephen Root as Bud Gleeful
 * Jennifer Coolidge as Lazy Susan
 * John DiMaggio as Manly Dan
 * Will Forte as Tyler
 * Gregg Turkington as Toby Determined

Guest stars

 * Coolio as Wax Coolio
 * Larry King as Wax Larry King
 * John Oliver as Wax Sherlock Holmes
 * Justin Roiland as Blendin Blandin
 * Ken Jenkins as Pa Ghost
 * April Winchell as Ma Ghost
 * Matt Chapman as Mermando
 * Alfred Molina as Multi-Bear
 * Lance Bass as a Sev'ral Timez member
 * Brian Bloom as Rumble McSkirmish
 * Jeff Bennett as Summerween Trickster
 * Corey Burton as Lawyer
 * Greg Cipes as Craz
 * John Roberts as Xyler

Trivia

 * Unlike recent Disney Channel cartoons, such as Phineas and Ferb and Fish Hooks, Gravity Falls does not have two episodes in one 30 minute time slot, but uses the entire 30 minute time slot for one episode.
 * Additionally, rather than starting with an opening theme, Gravity Falls starts with a cold open, similar to Disney Channel's live action shows and older Disney Channel cartoons.
 * Dipper and Mabel are based on the show's creator, Alex Hirsch, and his twin sister, Ariel Hirsch.
 * The first episode was available as a free HD/SD download off the US iTunes Store for a limited time.
 * Gravity Falls is animated in Korea by Digital eMation, Inc. and Rough Draft Studios Korea Co., Ltd.
 * The reason why some characters have four fingers and others have five was an aesthetic choice. In the character designing phase it was decided some characters simply looked better with five fingers over four. Michael Rianda has stated that for various reasons they should have kept it consistent, so the audience should just pretend everyone has five fingers.
 * In the early promotional material of Dipper's postcard home has a few strands of Joe Pitt's real hair.
 * Disney had originally planned for an eight month long hiatus in between "Summerween" and "Boss Mabel" instead of the four month long one it had.

Production
The series, created, directed and executive-produced by 2007 California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) graduate Alex Hirsch (Fish Hooks, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack), is a production of Disney Television Animation. Set in the Pacific Northwest woods, the animated series features supernatural elements of adventure and mystery, inspired by the real-life summer trips shared by Hirsch and his twin sister while visiting relatives as kids.

"Mabel is going to be one of the breakout characters of the show. I really owe it to my sister and her many quirks. When we were growing up, my sister was obsessed with the boy band ’N Sync. She even broke her toe jumping up and down during one of their concerts. So, we did a show about a boy band, and of course, I had to get Lance Bass to do the voice of the singer. I had my sister fly down to meet him. She also always wanted to have a pet pig when we were kids, so I gave Mabel a pet pig on the show and she can live vicariously through her. She owes me big!"

The town of Gravity Falls was inspired by various towns and national parks Alex Hirsch in which has spent time, particularly Boring, Oregon. As Hirsch has commented, "We passed a sign for Boring, Oregon. We never went there, but I was positively enchanted with the idea that there was a town called Boring, Gravity Falls is partially from what I imagine Boring might be like. Or maybe the opposite of Boring, Oregon, would be Gravity Falls."

References in Other Media

 * Gravity Falls was seen on MAD, a series from Cartoon Network. Dipper, Mabel, and Wendy appeared as photos in the background of the 10th episode of Season 3 of MAD.
 * In "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" Comic Issue #5, a pony named "Maybelle" appears in Rarity's nightmares. Alex Hirsch joked about suing Lauren Faust, (an old friend) on Twitter.

Critical reception
The series has received universal acclaim. It currently holds a 8.8 rating on TV.com, and 7.7 rating from over 2,127 users on IMDb.com. From critics, the show has received generally positive reviews. Brian Lowry of Variety stated, "The show has a breezy quality that should play to kids, and tickle some twinges of nostalgia among their parents." While the Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd referred to the program as "..gently twisted, with some Disneyfied action and heart-warming folded in". In his review, David Hinckley of New York Daily News called Gravity Falls, "quirky and endearing", and offered praise for the character of Mabel Pines. Matt Blum, writing for Wired, favorably compared the show to Cartoon Network's animated program Regular Show and Disney Channel's animated program Phineas and Ferb, hailing Gravity Falls as "clever, strange, and somewhat poignant".