¨Although this show is lighthearted (most of the time) and a fun kids show, it also has a strong mystery element and jokes that can go over kids’ heads.¨
--daisha williams, 10th grade
There is constant stress in the world especially now, with the trial, and the murders soon after, finals approaching, and just the stress of everyday life, the idea of watching something fun and light may sound appealing. Well I have the show for you! Gravity Falls is a children's cartoon that originally aired on Disney Channel but later moved to Disney XD. Written by Alex Hirsh, this show revolves around a set of twins, Dipper and Mabel, based off of himself and his sister. Dipper and Mabel are sent to stay with their Great-Uncle Stan, or “Grunkle” Stan. They stay with him for a summer in Gravity Falls, Oregon which is where the show takes place. Gravity Falls is a town that is more strange than it seems, with weird supernatural creatures, prophesies, and historical conspiracies. The show follows the twin’s adventures through the town. Mable is a fun-loving, outgoing, and carefree child, where Dipper is more reserved, shy, and intellectual. They compliment each other very well, and their dynamic is one of my favorite sibling dynamics in any piece of fiction. Although this show is lighthearted (most of the time) and a fun kids show, it also has a strong mystery element and jokes that can go over kids’ heads. This show is absolutely worth watching and you can find the entire series on both Disney+ and Hulu.
~The rest of this article will contain spoilers for the rest of the series, so if you haven’t watched it I’d recommend you go do that first.~
Gravity Falls is, in my opinion, THE best children's cartoon series. Here's why.
One of my favorite things about this show is the characters. When we are first introduced to the characters the archetype they each fit into is quite obvious. Dipper is nerdy, and Mabel is bubbly, and they are both the loveable main characters we expect. Grunkle Stan is the fun adult. Wendy is the cool girl/love interest. Soos is the comedic relief. Pacifica is the rich mean girl. And Old Man Mcgucket is the town psycho. But as the series progresses every last one of these initial ideas are scrapped. That doesn’t mean that Dipper isn’t nerdy, or that Wendy isn’t cool, but simply that that’s not all they are. That is something that can be assumed of all characters, but in Gravity Falls it is shown to the viewer which isn’t something that is taken the time to be done in a lot of children's media.
I have two favorite examples of that development, Wendy Corduroy and Pacifica Northwest. With Wendy this happens so subtly that I didn’t even realize that she was one of my favorite characters until the series was about to end. A lot of season one was solidifying this cool girl vibe that Wendy has. But the point where I think that starts to change is in season 2 episode 2, Into the Bunker. This episode is where Dipper confesses his feelings for Wendy. The cool girl cracked a bit, showing some vulnerability as she explained how much Dipper means to her, though she feels he is too young for her to consider him as a romantic partner. In the episode Society of the Blind Eye she is shown goofing around with Mabel because Mabel is upset about all of her failed summer romances. Little moments like these build up to the finale, where in the mists of terror and destruction, Wendy is scared and confused, as well as resourceful and independent. She isn’t just some cool badass girl, and we don’t expect her to be anymore.
Pacifica is the rich mean girl. She is portrayed like that from the first moment she steps into frame. But that starts to change a bit, quite sooner than Wendy, during season 1, episode 8. This episode is not about her, and I think that’s the right way to do it because she is a person that is used to everything being about her. So it becomes expected that an episode that has anything to do with her will be solely about her. During the episode Dipper and Mabel undercover a town secret, that the original town founder was not someone from the Northwest family. Because it is believed that the town founder was a Northwest, Pacifica’s family owns the town, lives in a mansion, and raised their daughter with an I’m-better-than-you mentality. Dipper and Mable give Pacifica this information toward the end of the episode, and although we don’t get to see it, this does give her some character development. Her justification for treating everyone as if they are beneath her just turned out to be a string of lies. Although it would take her some time to unlearn this behaviour that she has likely been practicing her whole life, we do see some progress towards that throughout the series. In season 2, episode 3, The Golf War, Pacifica is still not very nice to Mabel, giving her insults when she sees her. They agree to a Mini-golf tournament, which doesn’t go exactly as planned. (But when does anything in Gravity Falls??) Towards the end of the episode, we learn a bit more about Pacifica’s home life, learning that although it may seem easy and luxurious, her parents often neglect her in order to maintain their image as wealthy people. Pacifica accepts an offer of a ride home from Mabel, and after a bit of poking at her, a taco. She never would have done these things before, and it shows that even though she definitely still has things to work on, she’s starting to realize that she is not actually better than everyone else. In the Northwest Mansion Mystery we get the largest bit of character development in Pacifica. She not only is able to realize that her parents are wrong, but she actively rebels against them, something that has been shown to be hard if not impossible for her. And she does so because of her own morals. She even shares a romantic moment with Dipper. By then, maybe she isn’t the nicest, but she isn’t an enemy anymore.
Each episode of Gravity Fall has its own individual plot arc. And they are all tied together with an overarching plot. But the episodes that are simply their own individual thing, can be just as mystery and adventure filled as the ones that are not. But also there are ones that are just dumb fun. And those are equally as fun. One of my favorites is Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons which is episode 11 of season 2. This episode is a light break from all the dramatic plot development that had happened shortly before. During this episode Dipper is looking for a player to play his favorite game with him. The game DUngeons, Dungeon, and More Dungeons is similar to Dungeons and Dragons. He and his Great-Uncle Ford accidentally bring the game to like, and get stuck as characters for Mable and their Great-Uncle Stan to use. This episode is exciting, and fun, while giving us a break from the heavy plot and I love that. Another one of my favorite episodes is Bottomless Pit! This episode opens with Stan talking about the Bottomless Pit to Mabel, Dipper, and Soos. Right before the theme song plays they all fall into the pit. After realizing that they weren’t going to land on anything any time soon, the four characters decided to spend the time telling each other stories. We get to see a story told from the point of view of each four of them and then they fall out of the sky landing next to the pit. This episode is much more chill than most, no zombies, or clones, or secret societies. But it’s a nice fun time to just hang out with some of the main characters and get to know them a little better.
But of course the episodes that do drive the overarching plot are just as wonderful and well done. The first bit of the big plot was given to us in the very first episode. At the end of Tourist Trapped Stan is shown punching a code into the vending machine in the shop. Then it opens into a secret room that after glancing around, he steps into. We get other small pieces as we are introduced to the Journals, Bill, The Society of the Blind Eye, and other things. They draw it out, not too much though. We begin to understand how everything ties together at the end of season 2 episode 11. The show then takes the time to explain things in more detail during the next episode A Tale of Two Stans. This episode tells us the stories of both Stanley and Stanford. This episode takes the time to explain the tension between the two brothers, the questionable things that Stan has done, and Ford’s adventures and why he wrote the journals. This is done compactly and efficiently all in 21 minutes. For just a minute, it seems like all of the big questions this series has posed has been answered. Except for one thing, Bill Cipher.
Bill Cipher is one of my favorite villains ever. Bill is first introduced in Dreamscapers, episode 19 of season 1. Bill is a triangular dream demon and is all the things a good children's villain should be. He is fun, chaotic, and brightly colored. But he’s so much more than that. He’s also smart, manipulative, and a critical thinker. And of course, a bit insane. Bill has a variety of powers, but the ones that we see most often are his ability to possess people, venture into peoples minds, and to bind someone by making a deal with him. His deals are vague in the sense that the person almost never knows what he expects in return. That is why you should never ever shake his hand.
Bill is shown to be a serious, real, and very dangerous threat from right when we meet him. Villains similar in nature to Bill are Discord from My Little Pony and Toffee from Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Toffee and Discord are both characters I really enjoy. Discord has that insane chaotic vibe and Toffee can immediately be interpreted as a serious threat. Bill Cipher is both of those traits, melded together and taken to the next level.
A finale can make or break a show. And for Gravity Falls this is definitely the case. The finale starts with Mable giving Bill the dimensional rift, thinking that it’s Blendon Blandon. He drops it, opening the rift between this world and the Nightmare Realm, letting Bill materialize in the real world, giving him more strength in this dimension. That all happens in episode 16 of season 2, and at the beginning of episode 17, entitled Weirdmageddon 1 we jump right into the madness. Bill goes a bit more insane with his newfound power, causing chaos and destruction however he can. He turns people into gold statues, rearranges someone's face, and many other weird, fucked up things. And he does this all parading around laughing. Bill finds that he can’t use this power outside of Gravity Falls, when Dipper, Mabel, and the gang realize this and become determined to stop Bill before he figures out how to expand his terror. The way in which Bill was defeated was absolutely amazing. They tried using the zodiac, but because Stan and Ford begin to argue it doesn’t work. This makes perfect sense for these brothers. Stan’s fatal flaw is his selfishness and Ford knows that that selfishness is the cause for what he did all those years ago. Ford still hasn’t been able to forgive him for that. They were both given a chance to let these things go and help save the world but they didn’t. Not the first time anyways. Then the Pines brothers had to get a bit more creative in their method. Stan ended up sacrificing his mind to defeat Bill, something that he never would have been able to do at the beginning of the series, and this really shows his development. Ford is able to recognise this act of selflessness and finally forgive his brother. Although this moment was dulled because Stan was able to retain his memory just a few scenes later, I still believe that it was done magnificently.
But what makes Gravity Falls different? Was it its humor, its mystery, its wonderfully developed characters? Well, yes. But also it was the fact that it ended. Disney has a habit of stretching things out or compacting them depending on how much money it makes. But, Alex Hirsh planned for this show to have 2 seasons, and stuck to that. I think had it been drawn out for any longer, the viewer would have had too much time to lose the excitement and wonder that the series brings. For example, another one of my favorite cartoons is Star vs the Forces of Evil. SVTFOE had four seasons. And although I love the show, by the time the season 4 finale came out, I had checked out in a sense. Gravity Falls doesn give you the chance to do that. But even as the series ended Gravity Falls was integrated into the real world more than most fictional shows are. The Cipher Hunt took place from July 20th to August 2nd of 2016 and the Journal that drives a huge part of the show's plot came out July 26th of that same year. These things, along with books and TV shorts, are what made Gravity Falls leave a lasting mark on people even years after the series has ended. That is why Gravity Falls is the best children's cartoon series, and maybe even the best show of all time.
~The rest of this article will contain spoilers for the rest of the series, so if you haven’t watched it I’d recommend you go do that first.~
Gravity Falls is, in my opinion, THE best children's cartoon series. Here's why.
One of my favorite things about this show is the characters. When we are first introduced to the characters the archetype they each fit into is quite obvious. Dipper is nerdy, and Mabel is bubbly, and they are both the loveable main characters we expect. Grunkle Stan is the fun adult. Wendy is the cool girl/love interest. Soos is the comedic relief. Pacifica is the rich mean girl. And Old Man Mcgucket is the town psycho. But as the series progresses every last one of these initial ideas are scrapped. That doesn’t mean that Dipper isn’t nerdy, or that Wendy isn’t cool, but simply that that’s not all they are. That is something that can be assumed of all characters, but in Gravity Falls it is shown to the viewer which isn’t something that is taken the time to be done in a lot of children's media.
I have two favorite examples of that development, Wendy Corduroy and Pacifica Northwest. With Wendy this happens so subtly that I didn’t even realize that she was one of my favorite characters until the series was about to end. A lot of season one was solidifying this cool girl vibe that Wendy has. But the point where I think that starts to change is in season 2 episode 2, Into the Bunker. This episode is where Dipper confesses his feelings for Wendy. The cool girl cracked a bit, showing some vulnerability as she explained how much Dipper means to her, though she feels he is too young for her to consider him as a romantic partner. In the episode Society of the Blind Eye she is shown goofing around with Mabel because Mabel is upset about all of her failed summer romances. Little moments like these build up to the finale, where in the mists of terror and destruction, Wendy is scared and confused, as well as resourceful and independent. She isn’t just some cool badass girl, and we don’t expect her to be anymore.
Pacifica is the rich mean girl. She is portrayed like that from the first moment she steps into frame. But that starts to change a bit, quite sooner than Wendy, during season 1, episode 8. This episode is not about her, and I think that’s the right way to do it because she is a person that is used to everything being about her. So it becomes expected that an episode that has anything to do with her will be solely about her. During the episode Dipper and Mabel undercover a town secret, that the original town founder was not someone from the Northwest family. Because it is believed that the town founder was a Northwest, Pacifica’s family owns the town, lives in a mansion, and raised their daughter with an I’m-better-than-you mentality. Dipper and Mable give Pacifica this information toward the end of the episode, and although we don’t get to see it, this does give her some character development. Her justification for treating everyone as if they are beneath her just turned out to be a string of lies. Although it would take her some time to unlearn this behaviour that she has likely been practicing her whole life, we do see some progress towards that throughout the series. In season 2, episode 3, The Golf War, Pacifica is still not very nice to Mabel, giving her insults when she sees her. They agree to a Mini-golf tournament, which doesn’t go exactly as planned. (But when does anything in Gravity Falls??) Towards the end of the episode, we learn a bit more about Pacifica’s home life, learning that although it may seem easy and luxurious, her parents often neglect her in order to maintain their image as wealthy people. Pacifica accepts an offer of a ride home from Mabel, and after a bit of poking at her, a taco. She never would have done these things before, and it shows that even though she definitely still has things to work on, she’s starting to realize that she is not actually better than everyone else. In the Northwest Mansion Mystery we get the largest bit of character development in Pacifica. She not only is able to realize that her parents are wrong, but she actively rebels against them, something that has been shown to be hard if not impossible for her. And she does so because of her own morals. She even shares a romantic moment with Dipper. By then, maybe she isn’t the nicest, but she isn’t an enemy anymore.
Each episode of Gravity Fall has its own individual plot arc. And they are all tied together with an overarching plot. But the episodes that are simply their own individual thing, can be just as mystery and adventure filled as the ones that are not. But also there are ones that are just dumb fun. And those are equally as fun. One of my favorites is Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons which is episode 11 of season 2. This episode is a light break from all the dramatic plot development that had happened shortly before. During this episode Dipper is looking for a player to play his favorite game with him. The game DUngeons, Dungeon, and More Dungeons is similar to Dungeons and Dragons. He and his Great-Uncle Ford accidentally bring the game to like, and get stuck as characters for Mable and their Great-Uncle Stan to use. This episode is exciting, and fun, while giving us a break from the heavy plot and I love that. Another one of my favorite episodes is Bottomless Pit! This episode opens with Stan talking about the Bottomless Pit to Mabel, Dipper, and Soos. Right before the theme song plays they all fall into the pit. After realizing that they weren’t going to land on anything any time soon, the four characters decided to spend the time telling each other stories. We get to see a story told from the point of view of each four of them and then they fall out of the sky landing next to the pit. This episode is much more chill than most, no zombies, or clones, or secret societies. But it’s a nice fun time to just hang out with some of the main characters and get to know them a little better.
But of course the episodes that do drive the overarching plot are just as wonderful and well done. The first bit of the big plot was given to us in the very first episode. At the end of Tourist Trapped Stan is shown punching a code into the vending machine in the shop. Then it opens into a secret room that after glancing around, he steps into. We get other small pieces as we are introduced to the Journals, Bill, The Society of the Blind Eye, and other things. They draw it out, not too much though. We begin to understand how everything ties together at the end of season 2 episode 11. The show then takes the time to explain things in more detail during the next episode A Tale of Two Stans. This episode tells us the stories of both Stanley and Stanford. This episode takes the time to explain the tension between the two brothers, the questionable things that Stan has done, and Ford’s adventures and why he wrote the journals. This is done compactly and efficiently all in 21 minutes. For just a minute, it seems like all of the big questions this series has posed has been answered. Except for one thing, Bill Cipher.
Bill Cipher is one of my favorite villains ever. Bill is first introduced in Dreamscapers, episode 19 of season 1. Bill is a triangular dream demon and is all the things a good children's villain should be. He is fun, chaotic, and brightly colored. But he’s so much more than that. He’s also smart, manipulative, and a critical thinker. And of course, a bit insane. Bill has a variety of powers, but the ones that we see most often are his ability to possess people, venture into peoples minds, and to bind someone by making a deal with him. His deals are vague in the sense that the person almost never knows what he expects in return. That is why you should never ever shake his hand.
Bill is shown to be a serious, real, and very dangerous threat from right when we meet him. Villains similar in nature to Bill are Discord from My Little Pony and Toffee from Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Toffee and Discord are both characters I really enjoy. Discord has that insane chaotic vibe and Toffee can immediately be interpreted as a serious threat. Bill Cipher is both of those traits, melded together and taken to the next level.
A finale can make or break a show. And for Gravity Falls this is definitely the case. The finale starts with Mable giving Bill the dimensional rift, thinking that it’s Blendon Blandon. He drops it, opening the rift between this world and the Nightmare Realm, letting Bill materialize in the real world, giving him more strength in this dimension. That all happens in episode 16 of season 2, and at the beginning of episode 17, entitled Weirdmageddon 1 we jump right into the madness. Bill goes a bit more insane with his newfound power, causing chaos and destruction however he can. He turns people into gold statues, rearranges someone's face, and many other weird, fucked up things. And he does this all parading around laughing. Bill finds that he can’t use this power outside of Gravity Falls, when Dipper, Mabel, and the gang realize this and become determined to stop Bill before he figures out how to expand his terror. The way in which Bill was defeated was absolutely amazing. They tried using the zodiac, but because Stan and Ford begin to argue it doesn’t work. This makes perfect sense for these brothers. Stan’s fatal flaw is his selfishness and Ford knows that that selfishness is the cause for what he did all those years ago. Ford still hasn’t been able to forgive him for that. They were both given a chance to let these things go and help save the world but they didn’t. Not the first time anyways. Then the Pines brothers had to get a bit more creative in their method. Stan ended up sacrificing his mind to defeat Bill, something that he never would have been able to do at the beginning of the series, and this really shows his development. Ford is able to recognise this act of selflessness and finally forgive his brother. Although this moment was dulled because Stan was able to retain his memory just a few scenes later, I still believe that it was done magnificently.
But what makes Gravity Falls different? Was it its humor, its mystery, its wonderfully developed characters? Well, yes. But also it was the fact that it ended. Disney has a habit of stretching things out or compacting them depending on how much money it makes. But, Alex Hirsh planned for this show to have 2 seasons, and stuck to that. I think had it been drawn out for any longer, the viewer would have had too much time to lose the excitement and wonder that the series brings. For example, another one of my favorite cartoons is Star vs the Forces of Evil. SVTFOE had four seasons. And although I love the show, by the time the season 4 finale came out, I had checked out in a sense. Gravity Falls doesn give you the chance to do that. But even as the series ended Gravity Falls was integrated into the real world more than most fictional shows are. The Cipher Hunt took place from July 20th to August 2nd of 2016 and the Journal that drives a huge part of the show's plot came out July 26th of that same year. These things, along with books and TV shorts, are what made Gravity Falls leave a lasting mark on people even years after the series has ended. That is why Gravity Falls is the best children's cartoon series, and maybe even the best show of all time.
