Gravity Falls
Gravity Falls is an American animated series created by Alex Hirsch. It is hailed as the greatest cartoon ever to air on Disney, despite its frequent use of hidden messages and ability to give small children nightmares in the dark.
Premise[edit]
The series takes place in Gravity Falls, a town situated in the middle of Oregon. It depicts the misadventures of two twin siblings whose summer plans were trashed by their parents, and now must cope with living in a museum filled with dead animals being run by their creepy old uncle.
The town itself is apparently haunted by ghosts, monsters, strange individuals, and other supernatural elements (much like Scooby Doo, minus the talking dog and lunatics running around in cheap costumes). Yet the inhabitants are blissfully unaware of any of it and the twins are the only few people who realize the danger their parents have left them in. Luckily, they are aided with a book of secrets which mentions facts about the paranormal phenomena of Gravity Falls.
At the end credits of every episode, a message is shown in cryptogram format. Usually it is something random, or a sort of innuendo for the adults to laugh at while the younger viewers remain gluing their eyes to the TV screen.
Characters[edit]
Main cast[edit]
- Dipper Pines: The protagonist of the series, Dipper is a kid who was named for his dipping habits and for having the world's most embarrassing birthmark. He is just about the smartest and wimpiest character in Gravity Falls and usually the first person to deal with its many unusual anomalies. He uses the book of secrets, which he found in the middle of the woods, to deal with such things. Dipper is sworn to keep this book from entering the wrong hands, like Gideon or a potential perverted reader, as well as keep his sister out of harm's way.
- Mabel Pines: Dipper's naive, retarded sister who loves cute boys and anything cuddly. She constantly annoys her brother with her antics, girly friends, and knack of getting him into trouble. She is also the only person besides Dipper, Wendy, and Soos to know about the paranormal creatures which terrify them on a daily basis. Once she almost got married to a pack of garden gnomes which Dipper foolishly thought was a zombie at first.
- Grunkle Stanley Pines: Great uncle Stan is the guardian of Dipper and Mabel. He is basically a taller, uglier version of that old guy from Up. He owns a scrappy museum called the Mystery Shack, which is really just his house decorated with stuffed animals and other phony stuff, which he uses to scam idiots. According to the book of secrets, Stan is not what he seems.
- Soos: One of the Mystery Shack's few employees,
SeussSoos is a chubby man-child who says "dude" in every sentence, just to sound cool. He also wrote a book about a human-sized talking cat that wears a long striped sock on its head. - Wendy Corduroy: A red-headed teenage chick who also works at the Mystery Shack. Dipper loves her, despite being three years younger and typical harassment from her goth boyfriend. This, however, was toned down when the goth boyfriend turned out to be a hallucinogen junkie who only went with Wendy to torment Dipper. Finding out about his scheme to brainwash her, Wendy dumped him. He's found a new girl, and its rumored that they're currently working for an somewhat insane Painted Turtle worshipping cult.
Recurring[edit]
- Waddles: A pig that Mabel bought from the state fair without her family's consent. Despite its name, it doesn't actually waddle.
- Lil' Gideon: The main antagonist of the series. He has planned to take over the Mystery Shack ever since a failed attempt to do Mabel. Once thought to be a sweet little boy with psychic powers, the town would soon realize that he was actually just a midget who was spying on them with hidden cameras.
- Stanford Ford Pines: Stan's long-lost twin brother who was born with extra fingers and the ability to see the dead. He was presumably murdered thirty years ago, only to return thanks to unholy supernatural forces.
- Robbie: The local goth boy. He and Dipper compete for Wendy's affection as nobody finds it weird for a 12-year old to date a girl in her mid-teens, similar to how in Avatar: The Last Airbender, no one has a problem with it either. Once he tried to force Wendy into making love with him with the help of Subliminal Advertising. That didn't turn out too well.
- Pacifica Northwest: Some little blonde bitch who makes fun of Mabel and her few friends. She would later develop a crush on Dipper after realizing how much her family sucks and because her father is a douche, presumably even a Neo Nazi fanatic.
- Old Man McGucket: An old man even creepier than Stan, sporting a long thick beard which may very well be hiding a third arm. He is the village idiot/psychopath, known for acting completely mental, building mechanical monsters, and attempted cannibalism.
- Bill Cipher: The floating Dorito demon who wishes to plunge the world into weirdness. He was once summoned by Gideon to infiltrate the mind of an old man who loves money and fully-clothed hot girls. He knows lots of things. LOTS OF THINGS.
- Everyone else: These include lesser-known characters such as Sheriff Blubs, Deputy Durland, Manly Dan, and most of the supernatural creatures.
Critical reception[edit]
Gravity Falls currently receives almost universal acclaim, which is a big surprise considering what the Disney Channel has come to these days. Not only do critics like it, but it has been called one of the few modern day cartoons that won't rot your children's brain cells.
Oscar Wilde describes it as a combination of Scooby Doo, Regular Show, and Adventure Time. Disney itself is proud to finally have another hit animated series on their TV spot just as their only other good cartoon was hogging up all the attention from their more inferior programming.
See also[edit]
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American animated television series