Gravity Falls
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''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...
created by Alex Hirsch for
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
and
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...
. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines ( Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel ( Kristen Schaal), who are sent to spend the summer with their great-uncle (or "Grunkle") Stan (Hirsch) in Gravity Falls,
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, a mysterious town full of
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
incidents and
supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
creatures. The kids help Stan run the "Mystery Shack", the tourist trap that he owns, while also investigating the local mysteries. The series premiered on June 15, 2012, and ran until February 15, 2016. On November 20, 2015, Hirsch announced that the series would conclude with its second season, stating that this was "100% choice" and that "the show isn't being cancelled – it's being finished" and was reaching its intended conclusion. The series ended on February 15, 2016, with a one-hour finale, " Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls". Hirsch later stated that he remains open to continuing the series with additional episodes or specials, with the story continued in written form with the 2016 replica of '' Journal 3'', the 2018 graphic novel '' Gravity Falls: Lost Legends'' and the 2024 teen-oriented novel '' The Book of Bill''. ''Gravity Falls'' received critical acclaim for its writing, characters, voice acting, animation, and humor. Additionally, the series won two
Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
, three
Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origi ...
, and a BAFTA Children's Award, among various other wins and nominations. ''Gravity Falls'' garnered high viewership amongst kids, teenagers, and young adults during its run and was Disney XD's highest rated show in 2015 and early 2016, while also setting several ratings records for the network. The series attracts a broad and passionate
fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...
, is considered to be an influence for many animated shows that followed it, and spawns a variety of official merchandise.


Premise

For their summer vacation, 12-year-old twins Dipper and Mabel Pines are dropped off from their home in Piedmont, California, to the fictitious town of Gravity Falls, Roadkill County,
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, to spend the summer with their great uncle Stan Pines (often shortened to Grunkle Stan), who runs a tourist trap called the "Mystery Shack". Things are not what they seem in this small town, and with the help of a mysterious journal that Dipper finds in the forest, they begin unraveling the town's mysteries each day. With Wendy Corduroy, Mystery Shack cashier; Soos Ramirez, a friend of Dipper and Mabel and handyman to Grunkle Stan; plus an assortment of other characters, Dipper and Mabel always have an intriguing day to look forward to.


Episodes

Main series Shorts Other specials


Voice cast

* Jason Ritter as Dipper Pines, the 12-year-old twin brother of Mabel Pines and the
straight man The straight man (or straight woman in the case of female characters), also known as a "comedic foil", is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically ...
to his sister's antics. * Kristen Schaal as Mabel Pines, the 12-year-old hyperactive and fun-loving twin sister of Dipper Pines. * Alex Hirsch as: ** Stanley Pines (also known as "Grunkle Stan"), the greedy, grumpy, yet loving great-uncle of Dipper and Mabel Pines and owner and manager of the Mystery Shack. ** Jesus "Soos" Ramirez, the 22-year-old handyman at the Mystery Shack. ** Bill Cipher, an interdimensional demon that can be summoned and released into a person's mind. He resembles a one-eyed yellow triangle superficially similar to the Eye of Providence and wears a top hat and a bow tie. He serves as the main antagonist of the series. *
Linda Cardellini Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her starring roles in the teen drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), the medical drama ''ER (TV series), ER'' (2003–2009), and the thriller ...
as Wendy Corduroy, a tomboyish 15-year-old part-time cashier at the Mystery Shack and Dipper’s unrequited crush. * J. K. Simmons (season 2) as Stanford Pines, Stanley's six-fingered long-lost older identical twin brother and the author of the journals.


Production


Conception

Prior to working on the series, series creator Alex Hirsch's primary inspiration growing up was the popular
animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of a television sitcom that is animation, animated instead of being filmed live-action, and is generally made or created for adult animation, adult audiences in most cases. ''The Simpsons'', ''SpongeBob SquarePan ...
''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'', where he observed that "animation could be funnier than live-action. That animation didn't have to just be for kids. That it could be satirical and observational and grounded in a sense of character interaction". Hirsch graduated from the
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
, and was hired to work as writer and storyboard artist for the
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
series '' The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack'', where he was paired up with Pendleton Ward, the creator of ''
Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward and co-produced by Frederator Studios for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn the Human, Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
''. Afterwards, he moved on to co-develop the Disney Channel animated series ''
Fish Hooks A fish hook or fishhook, formerly also called an angle (from Old English ''angol'' and Proto-Germanic ''*angulaz''), is a hook used to fishing, catch fish either by piercing and embedding onto the inside of the fish jaw, fish mouth (angling) or, ...
''; shortly before he pitched ''Gravity Falls'', which was subsequently
green-lit In the context of the film and television industries, to greenlight is to give permission to proceed with a project. It specifically refers to formally approving its production finance and committing to this financing, thereby allowing the projec ...
. Hirsch said he was at the
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
when he turned down
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
executive
Jeffrey Katzenberg Jeffrey Katzenberg ( ; born December 21, 1950) is an American media proprietor and film producer. He served as chairman of Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994, a position in which he oversaw production and busin ...
out of a desire to work for Disney. He first coined the concept for the show in an 11-minute low-budget student film that he made at the institute. Hirsch was called in to do a pitch for Disney Channel for a show based on the short pilot. Disney Channel bought the idea and the series premiered on June 15, 2012. The series was inspired by Hirsch's own childhood experiences and his relationship with his own twin sister growing up during their summer vacations, such as roadside attractions including the Mystery Spot and Oregon Vortex, and a road sign for a town named Boring. He placed many of his real-life experiences in the show, like living in Piedmont and trick-or-treating with his sister as kids. Dipper is based on Hirsch's memory of how it felt to be a kid. When Hirsch was around Dipper's age, he "would record imelf and play it backwards and try to learn to speak backwards". Hirsch described himself as "that neurotic kid who would carry 16 disposable cameras everywhere I went". Mabel Pines was inspired by his twin sister, Ariel Hirsch. According to Alex Hirsch, just like Mabel, his sister "really did wear wacky sweaters and have a different ridiculous crush, every week." In the series Mabel gets a pet pig, just like his sister had always wanted when she was a kid. Grunkle Stan was inspired by Hirsch's grandpa Stan, who according to Hirsch "was a guy that told tall tales and would frequently mess with us to get a rise out of us. So, my family really inspired the characters on the show."


Writing

In an interview with '' Oh My Disney'', Hirsch claimed he already had the beginning, middle, and end of the story for ''Gravity Falls'' planned out when he first pitched the series. He originally thought the series would "be two or three seasons". However, Hirsch had never created a TV series before and after experiencing how "incredibly draining" it was, he initially wanted to end the series after season one and, ultimately, on a cliffhanger. After the series premiered and became a huge commercial success, Hirsch began to rethink his decision. Two people convinced him to return and do a second season:
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...
, the former host of ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
'' (and eventual ''Gravity Falls'' guest star), who told Hirsch that his kids loved the show, and Patrick McHale, who created the animated series '' Over the Garden Wall''. McHale had been watching the series and told him: "Look, after that cliffhanger, you've got to finish it." Hirsch decided that he had about ten more episodes left in him, so he went to the network, who said, "We only take seasons in twenties". So he said, "Okay, one more season, … Before we started the econdseason, it said in my contract, before I put pen to paper, that this is my last season." The studio agreed, under the condition that Hirsch could not tell anyone. As a result, Jason Ritter, who voices Dipper, did not know the series was ending until after he read the finale script, claiming that "when I read the finale I thought, this feels like, not just the season finale. It feels like a series finale." Hirsch explained in an interview with ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' that during the production of season one, a typical episode was conceived in a room reserved for writers, where a simple synopsis was presented, and from then on
dramatic structure Story structure or narrative structure is the recognizable or comprehensible way in which a narrative's different elements are unified, including in a particularly chosen order and sometimes specifically referring to the ordering of the plot: ...
was defined, and the plot was modified to include a character-driven subplot, which Hirsch expressed as "the hardest thing ... to find a character story that actually uncovers, explores, or pushes tension—on something our characters care about—that is properly explored via the magic or monster or impossibility of the week." B- and A-stories were created and were given to a writer to produce an outline, which was then subsequently checked-off by Hirsch for feedback. The writer produced a draft from these edits, where more notes may have been given. Hirsch stated that he and creative director Mike Rianda may have personally created a draft for themselves before a final script was produced, in which the dialogue from the draft received from the writer was significantly revised; Hirsch stated that the revising process "is not a discredit to our writers—it's just we have a very particular vision. In particular, I usually rewrite almost all of Dipper's dialogue and most of Mabel's dialogue, just because I have them in my head. Me and Mike will stay up for about 24 hours prior to the delivery of every script. We'll take the weekend, we'll work all night, we'll drink
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
, we'll sleep on the couch in shifts like maniacs, we'll slap each other in the face."


Animation

After a script was delivered, an episode then got translated into a
storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...
, where feedback was received from Hirsch to the board artists if a certain element, such as a gag, did not work. Afterwards, a pitch for the episode was given to the network, where they did a read-through, and then the episode was either checked out by the network, or retooled in the small amount of time allocated before an
animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animation, animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales ...
must receive something to work with. The series was animated by Rough Draft Korea, Digital eMation and Yearim Productions. Whenever a sequence was deemed too important for the outside animation studios to realize, it was animated in-house by storyboard artist and supervisor Dana Terrace.


Broadcast


Initial broadcast

The first twelve episodes of ''Gravity Falls'' aired in a regular weekly slot on
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
starting in mid-2012, but subsequent episodes were broadcast without similar regularity; it took until August 2013 to broadcast the remaining eight episodes of the first season. The second season began airing a year later in August 2014, transitioning over to
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...
, but again without any regularity as to when new episodes would be first broadcast. The first nine episodes aired from August to November 2014, the following two in February and March 2015, the next eight from July to November 2015, and the finale aired on February 15, 2016. According to Disney XD, as each episode took about six months of work to complete, they opted against stockpiling episodes to show weekly but instead take advantage of the serial nature of the show, broadcasting each episode as it was completed and making an event out of it. On November 20, 2015, Hirsch announced that the series would conclude with its second season, stating that this was "100% choice" and that "the show isn't being cancelled – it's being finished" and was reaching its intended conclusion. Hirsch has stated that he remains open to continuing the series with additional episodes or specials, On April 2, 2018, reruns of the show started airing on Disney Channel, although reruns of the show still air on Disney XD.


International broadcast

The series began airing on Disney Channel Canada on September 1, 2015, following Corus Entertainment's acquisition of Disney Channel rights in Canada. In Canada the show began airing on Disney XD starting on December 1, 2015, following the launch of Disney XD. The show started broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland on July 20, 2012, as a preview and officially premiered on September 7, 2012. In Australia and New Zealand it previewed on August 17, 2012, and premiered on September 24, 2012. It also premiered in Southeast Asia on October 27, 2012. In India, it premiered on September 16, 2013. The series preview debuted in Canada on June 15, 2012, and premiered on July 6, 2012, on Family Channel, until January 2016 when it moved to the local Disney XD channel following
Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. (often simply known as Corus) is a Canadian mass media and television production company. The company was founded in 1987 as Shaw Radio Ltd. as a subsidiary of Shaw Communications and was spun-off from Shaw in 1999. It h ...
's acquisition of Disney Channel rights in Canada from Family's owner DHX Media. In Australia, the show airs on Disney XD and
7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...
while in Chile, the show was broadcast on Canal 13 on November 24, 2013, under its programming block ''
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''. In the Philippines, the show was shown on TV5 beginning on May 4, 2014, while in Brazil, the show also began airing on
Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...
on May 10, 2014. In Indonesia, the show premiered on RCTI on August 17, 2014.


Broadcast edits

The symbol on Grunkle Stan's fez was changed from a crescent shape resembling the Islamic
crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...
to a fish-like symbol mid-way through the first season's broadcast. The symbol represents his membership in the Royal Order of the Holy Mackerel. When the series was released to
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, the crescent-shaped symbol was edited out entirely, leaving a symbol-less fez in the early episodes—later episodes featuring the fish-like symbol were unaffected. However, the crescent symbol remains in the thumbnails, and on the zodiac wheel in the title sequence. Hirsch drew attention to the change on Twitter. Disney has not commented on why it was removed. Sometime later, the symbol on the fez was restored. In 2017, Disney Channel redubbed Louis C.K.'s minor role as "The Horrifying Sweaty One-Armed Monstrosity" in the 2015 episode "Weirdmageddon Part 1", as well as its 2016 follow-up episode and series finale, " Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls", following the comedian's admission of sexual misconduct. Series creator Alex Hirsch is now credited as voicing the character.


Merchandise


Home media

On March 27, 2018,
Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...
announced that they would release the complete series as a box set on July 24, 2018, on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The box set is available in a "Collector's Edition", which includes an exclusive bonus features disc. The complete series has only been released in the United States and Canada. The box set is now out of print.


Books


Video game

A video game was created for the series, titled '' Gravity Falls: Legend of the Gnome Gemulets''. The game was released exclusively on
Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
on October 20, 2015. It was developed and published by
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
and produced by
Disney Interactive Studios Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and inter ...
. The game is a
platformer A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
and uses the same graphics as the series.


Reception


Critical reception

''Gravity Falls'' received critical acclaim with praise directed at its writing, characters, voice acting, animation, humor, and multi-generational appeal. Both seasons of ''Gravity Falls'' hold a 100% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
. On Rotten Tomatoes, season one has an average critic score of 7.40 out of 10 based on 12 reviews. Season two has an average critic score of 8.80 out of 10 based on 8 reviews. The website's critical consensus for season one reads: "''Gravity Falls warm humor and bright performances elevate this children's cartoon to a show for all ages", while the website's critical consensus for season two reads: "''Gravity Falls'' continues to blend old fashioned storytelling with a modern sense of humor to create a uniquely enjoyable viewing experience." 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." Robert Lloyd of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' 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 The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' called ''Gravity Falls'' "quirky and endearing", and offered praise for the character of Mabel Pines. Matt Blum, writing for ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
'', favorably compared the show to
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
's ''
Regular Show ''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its Regular Show season 8, eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the cours ...
'' and Disney Channel's ''
Phineas and Ferb ''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated series, animated Musical film, musical-television comedy, comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series originally aired on t ...
'', hailing ''Gravity Falls'' as "clever, strange, and somewhat poignant". Erik Kain of ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' called ''Gravity Falls'' "the best thing on TV at the moment", saying "I don't care how old you are, if you're not watching ''Gravity Falls'' you're missing out on some of the cleverest, most enjoyable television you can find". Kayla Cobb of ''
Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' * '' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machin ...
'' called ''Gravity Falls'' "one of the most structurally smart shows ever created". Matt Fowler from ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' called ''Gravity Falls'' "a quirky and gently twisted heart-warmer for all ages. Smart, satirical, and sweet. ''Gravity Falls'' was a one-of-a-kind gem." Michelle Jaworski writing for ''
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'' described ''Gravity Falls'' as " classic summer story woven into a smart and addictive show tackling the paranormal, the supernatural, and the pains of growing up." '' IndieWire''s Michael Schneider said "''Gravity Falls'' is a kids' show so dense with mythology, pop culture jokes, Easter eggs, and mystery that grown-ups were often more invested." Joey Keogh from ''
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...
'' wrote "''Gravity Falls'', is a spooky-cute must-watch for adults who never grew out of Halloween." Donna Dickens from ''
Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...
'' said "Not only does ''Gravity Falls'' deal with the inexplicable supernatural occurrences in the town, the whole thing is just one big puzzle of secrets waiting for fans to uncover and solve." Myles McNutt from ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' said "With a complex mythology and a deep lexicon of cultural references, there's sophistication to the show's epic storytelling that immediately drew the attention of a wider audience." Liz Baessler writing for '' Film School Rejects'' said "''Gravity Falls'' is an exceptional kids' show — brilliant, hilarious, and carefully crafted." Kevin Tash from ''
Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...
'' called ''Gravity Falls'' "one of the greatest things that Disney has ever produced in general". Brian Tallerico from '' RogerEbert.com'' said "''Gravity Falls'' deserves to be in the conversation with ''
Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is centered on the Belcher family—parents Bob Belcher, Bob and Linda Belcher, Linda and their three children, Tina Belcher, Tina, G ...
'', ''
Rick and Morty ''Rick and Morty'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated science fiction Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadvent ...
'', and ''
BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated tragicomedy television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...
'' when people discuss the best animated programming of the '10s. It is a beautiful blend of old-fashioned storytelling with a modern sense of humor that never feels like it's talking down to kids. It works for all ages. It sounds cheesy, but the best fiction for kids doesn't hammer them with a message but incorporates it into the characters and story. It's a deliriously strange, fascinating show, with sources of humor and heart that always find a way to surprise. It also helps that the voice work is uniformly fantastic." ''
Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...
's'' Joel Pesantez said "''Gravity Falls'' exemplifies Disney's ability to appeal to all ages with captivating mysteries and a diverse, relatable cast. The show cleverly blends comedy and horror to keep viewers hooked, pushing boundaries without crossing them." Abigail Stevens of ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...
'' said "There is so much to learn about from ''Gravity Falls two seasons, which pack in plenty of laugh-out-loud and tear-jerking moments." Stevens further added, "''Gravity Falls'' also created something of a cult of mystery, encouraging viewers to find hidden codes in each episode and giving rise to a fandom that was able to predict the show's biggest twist. However, at its core, ''Gravity Falls'' is about family and letting go of childhood." Lilian McDonough from CBR called ''Gravity Falls'' "the undeniable peak of Disney Channel cartoon history" and said "by utilizing an overarching narrative to an extent that no prior Disney cartoon had and funneling that into an intricately crafted and endlessly interesting location overflowing with lovable and hilarious characters, ''Gravity Falls'' broke every barrier imaginable and made what, for good reason, became one of the most beloved shows of the era." In 2015, ''
Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...
'' ranked ''Gravity Falls'' as the third Current Kids Cartoon That Adults Need to be Watching. In 2018, '' IndieWire'' ranked ''Gravity Falls'' at number 12 on their list of The 50 Best Animated Series Of All Time. In 2019, ''
Yardbarker Yardbarker is a digital media property focused on the publishing of sports and entertainment news and information. Founded in 2006, the property distributes content on Yardbarker.com, social media platforms and via third party syndication partn ...
'' ranked ''Gravity Falls'' at number 21 on their list of The 25 Greatest Animated Shows of All Time. Also in 2019, ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' placed ''Gravity Falls'' at Number 19 on their list titled The 25 Best Adult Cartoon TV Series and ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' placed ''Gravity Falls'' at number 48 on their list of The 100 Best TV Shows of the 2010s.


Ratings

A special preview of the series following the Disney Channel Original Movie '' Let It Shine'' was watched by 3.4 million viewers. The series garnered high viewership on its fifth episode, which aired on July 13, 2012, and attracted 3.6 million viewers. On March 15, 2013, the episode "The Deep End" was watched by 4.5 million viewers after the premiere of ''
Wizards of Waverly Place ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wi ...
'' '' The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex'', becoming the highest-rated episode of the series. Later moving on to Disney XD, the episode " A Tale of Two Stans" became the highest-rated telecast ever on Disney XD, with 1.91 million viewers. In addition to total viewers, "A Tale of Two Stans" also set a network record in kids ages 2–11 (1.036 million), boys ages 2–11 (686,000), boys ages 6–11 (574,000), kids ages 6–14 (1.279 million) and boys ages 6–14 (856,000). In 2015, ''Gravity Falls'' accounted for Disney XD's top seven regular animated series telecasts of all time among kids ages 6–11. During the week of July 12–18, 2015, ''Gravity Falls'' was the top-rated program in its 8:30 p.m. timeslot across kids and boys ages 2–11, 6–11 and 6–14. That same week, it was also cable TV's number 1 scripted telecast in total viewers, according to estimates from
Nielsen Ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
. ''Gravity Falls'' ranked as Disney XD's number 1 series of 2015 across all target demographics with an average of 1.8 million viewers per episode. Additionally, ''Gravity Falls'' ranked as 2015's third animated cable TV series in boys ages 9–14. In kids ages 6–11, the series averaged 654,000 viewers and 790,000 in kids ages 2–11. Among boys ages 6–14 it pulled in 680,000 views. That is strong viewership in Disney XD's core demographics, but it also makes it clear that older teens and young adults make up more than half of the show's audience according to '' Variety''. In February 2016, ''Gravity Falls'' was the number 1 regular series telecast on record across kids ages 6–11 (1.0 million/4.4 rating), boys ages 6–11 (642,000/5.3 rating), kids ages 2–11 (1.3 million/3.4 rating) and boys ages 2–11 (797,000/4.0 rating). The series finale " Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls" beat the ratings record previously held by "A Tale of Two Stans" becoming Disney XD's most-watched telecast ever, with 2.47 million viewers in the United States. "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls" also established new all-time network highs in kids ages 6–14 (1.5 million/4.1 rating) and boys ages 6–14 (909,000/5.0 rating). The all-day ''Gravity Falls'' marathon that preceded the premiere of "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls" generated 10.7 million unique total viewers, of which 5.4 million were kids ages 2–14. Marketing for '' The Book of Bill'' in January 2024 revealed that ''Gravity Falls'' was one of the top 50 shows with the most hours watched on
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
of all time and that more than half of the viewers were families with kids over the age of thirteen.


Influence, legacy and industry impact

''Gravity Falls'' has been considered to be an influence for many animated shows that followed it, including ''
Steven Universe ''Steven Universe'' is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe (character), Steven Universe (Zach Callison), who lives with the Crys ...
'', '' Star vs. the Forces of Evil'', ''
The Owl House ''The Owl House'' is an American animated fantasy television series created by Dana Terrace that aired on Disney Channel from January 10, 2020, to April 8, 2023. The series features the voices of Sarah-Nicole Robles, Wendie Malick, Alex Hi ...
'', ''
Amphibia Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods, but excluding the amniotes (tetrapods with an amniotic ...
'', and ''
Rick and Morty ''Rick and Morty'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated science fiction Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadvent ...
'', the latter three of which with it features numerous
Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...
crossovers. Other examples of the show's influence include
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
representation and series-long story arcs as opposed to isolated single-episode stories. The show also maintains a loyal and passionate
fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...
, even years after the series finale. The creator of the show hid a variety of codes, cryptograms, backwards messages, and other secret clues for fans to find in every episode, which often contributed to the show's mysteries and lore. Some have compared ''Gravity Falls'' to more adult-oriented mystery shows like '' Lost'', ''
Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...
'', and ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
''. While it was on the air, the show was Disney XD's highest-rated series, with an average of 1.8 million viewers per episode. In the summer of 2016, ''Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch threw an international treasure hunt known as the " Cipher Hunt", the goal of which was to find the real-life Bill Cipher statue briefly glimpsed in the series finale. It ran from July 20 to August 3, 2016, and involved retrieving and decoding riddles and codes hidden in various locations worldwide. One clue involved a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle that took several days to complete with someone almost always working on it. On August 3, 2016, the statue was found in a forest in Reedsport, Oregon. While the first ones to the statue received various prizes, Hirsch made it clear that the hunt itself was the real treasure. On August 3, the statue was removed by authorities due to a property dispute and was temporarily held at the Reedsport police department while Hirsch arranged for it to be moved somewhere else. By August 5, the statue temporarily ended up in Bicentennial Park in Reedsport, before being permanently relocated to Confusion Hill in Piercy, California a few weeks later. In celebration of the release of '' Journal 3'' and the end of the ''Gravity Falls'' series, Oh My Disney and Cyclops Print Works teamed up with Gallery Nucleus in
Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...
to hold an official ''Gravity Falls''
art show An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is occasionally true, it is stated to be a "permanent ...
, titled ''Farewell to the Falls: A Gravity Falls Art Show'', on August 6–21, 2016. Creator Alex Hirsch along with other production staff and professional illustrators contributed new and original artwork to this exhibition. Some fans camped out overnight to see the show and some works of art sold for over $1,000. On August 8, 2020, Disney Channel aired a ''Gravity Falls''-inspired episode of the show ''
Amphibia Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods, but excluding the amniotes (tetrapods with an amniotic ...
'' titled "Wax Museum". The episode served as a tribute to ''Gravity Falls'' and features Alex Hirsch in a voice role. On September 11, 2020, a short was released on the Disney Channel YouTube channel called "Gravity Falls x Line Rider". The short is based on the Internet game '' Line Rider''. It is the first of a new series of shorts for Disney. Disney partnered with ''Line Rider'' artists Mark Robbins, Ben Harvey and David Lu for the series. On September 25, 2020, a ''Gravity Falls'' short was released on the Disney Channel YouTube channel called "Call Me Maybe Parody". In the short, Mabel sings "Call Me Mabel", a parody of
Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
's " Call Me Maybe". The short was released as a part of a series called "Broken Karaoke" where various Disney characters sing parodies of pop songs. On October 3, 2021, the television show ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' aired the episode " Bart's in Jail!" which featured a brief cameo of Bill Cipher as one of
Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
's many incarnations, voiced by Alex Hirsch in a guest role. Several former storyboard artists and production crew members who worked on ''Gravity Falls'' have gone on to create their own series and movies, including Matt Braly (a former director and storyboard artist who went on to create ''
Amphibia Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods, but excluding the amniotes (tetrapods with an amniotic ...
''), Dana Terrace (a former storyboard artist who went on to direct on the first season of ''DuckTales'' and create ''
The Owl House ''The Owl House'' is an American animated fantasy television series created by Dana Terrace that aired on Disney Channel from January 10, 2020, to April 8, 2023. The series features the voices of Sarah-Nicole Robles, Wendie Malick, Alex Hi ...
''), Tim McKeon (former writer who went on to create the educational live action shows '' Odd Squad'' and '' Helpsters''), Aury Wallington (a former writer who went on to create '' Spirit Riding Free'' and co-written the film '' Spirit Untamed''), Chris Houghton (a former storyboard artist who went on to create '' Big City Greens'' with his brother Shane Houghton), Mike Rianda (a former creative director, and writer who went on to make the film '' The Mitchells vs. the Machines'') Shion Takeuchi (a former writer who went on to create ''Inside Job''), and Jeff Rowe (a writer on the show who went on to co-write and co-direct ''The Mitchells vs. the Machines'' and write and direct '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem'').


Awards and nominations


Future

On July 14, 2017, Hirsch revealed that he and Disney had talked about making a ''Gravity Falls'' film. Disney ultimately passed on the project, as the studio felt the show "wasn't big enough to warrant film; Hirsch stated that he was still interested in the idea. In February 2018, on the second anniversary of the series finale, Hirsch used a
cipher In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...
to announce '' Gravity Falls: Lost Legends'', a continuation of the ''Gravity Falls'' story in a new
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
that was later released on July 24, 2018. In an interview with '' Inverse'' in March 2021, Hirsch expressed interest in continuing the story of ''Gravity Falls'' in the form of a video game that "is really, really in-depth to the lore of the series and includes new canon that has been in the periphery of the series." In June 2024, Disney Television Vice President Meredith Roberts revealed that they were having discussions with Hirsch about the show, adding "never say never".


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 2010s American animated television series 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American mystery television series 2010s American surreal comedy television series 2012 American animated television series debuts 2016 American television series endings American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated drama television series American children's animated fantasy television series American children's animated mystery television series Animated television series about children Animated television series about siblings Animated television series about twins Annie Award–winning television shows Cryptozoological television series Disney Channel original programming Disney XD original programming American English-language television shows Fiction about secret societies Fictional populated places in Oregon Identity theft in popular culture Oregon culture Television series about conspiracy theories Television series about vacationing Television series by Disney Television Animation Television series by Rough Draft Studios Television series created by Alex Hirsch Television shows set in Oregon Disney and LGBTQ