Gravity Falls

Gravity Falls
Genre	Mystery Comedy Dark Fantasy
Created by	Alex Hirsch
Directed by	John Aoshima Aaron Springer Joe Pitt Rob Renzetti Matt Braly Stephen Sandoval Sunil Hall
Creative director	Michael Rianda (Season 1)
Voices of	Jason Ritter Kristen Schaal Alex Hirsch Linda Cardellini Dee Bradley Baker
Opening theme	"Gravity Falls Main Title Theme", composed by Brad Breeck
Composer	Brad Breeck
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	31 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Alex Hirsch
Producers	Tobias Conan Trost (line producer) (season 1) Brian Doell (line producer) (season 2) Rob Renzetti (supervising producer)
Running time	20-24 minutes
Production company	Disney Television Animation
Original release
Network	Disney Channel (2012-present) Disney XD (2014-present)
Release	June 15, 2012 (2012-06-15) – present (present)

Gravity Falls is an American animated television series created by animator Alex Hirsch for the Disney Channel, now on Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (voiced by Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (voiced by Kristen Schaal) in the fictional town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, while on summer vacation. At the start of the series, twins Dipper and Mabel are sent to spend the summer with their great-uncle (or "Grunkle") Stan, in the mysterious town full of unexpected situations that involve various paranormal and supernatural creatures. Grunkle Stan has the kids help him run The Mystery Shack, the tourist trap that he owns. The twins try to adapt to the weird surroundings but sense there is something strange about Gravity Falls and begin to unlock its secrets. When Dipper uncovers a cryptic journal that offers insight into the town's mysteries, he and Mabel use it and their enthusiastic desire to solve the imminent mysteries that surround them. The series officially premiered on the Disney Channel in the United States of America first episode on June 15, 2012.

Series creator Alex Hirsch first coined the concept for the show in an 11-minute low-budget student film which he made at the California Institute of the Arts. Hirsch was called in to do a pitch for the Disney Channel for a show based on the short pilot. The Disney Channel bought the idea and started airing the series in the summer of 2012. The series was inspired by Hirsch's own childhood experiences with his twin sister during their summer vacations.

On May 31, 2014, it was announced that the second season would air on Disney XD and Disney Channel. On June 14, 2014, it was confirmed that season 2 would premiere on August 1, 2014 on Disney Channel, with the rest of the season airing first on Disney XD as Disney XD is considered the new home for the series.

Overview

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, Oregon to live with their Great Uncle Stan (often shortened to Grunkle Stan). 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 realize that their everyday lifestyle has changed. With appearances from Wendy, Dipper's crush; Soos, 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.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Gravity Falls characters

Main

• Dipper Pines (voiced by Jason Ritter) - The 12-year-old twin brother of Mabel Pines, but 5 minutes younger than Mabel. Born in 1999, he is the same age as Mabel. He is armed with the journal marked "3" that he discovered in the woods. It has helped him solve the countless mysteries of Gravity Falls. As an adventurer, Dipper has trouble sitting still and is always looking for the next riddle to solve, leaving him restless in mundane situations. His attention to detail seems to be helpful when solving mysteries, but others question his credibility because of his zeal. He is considered to be wise beyond his years and cannot wait to grow up and become a man. Portrayed as goal-oriented and rooted in the facts, he sometimes overthinks possible scenarios and obsessively makes lists, which also makes him much more perceptive to the real danger Gravity Falls faces. Between seasons, Dipper hosted a series titled "Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained." It is revealed in one of the episodes that Dipper has a crush on Wendy. While he knows in his heart that he will never really be Wendy's boyfriend, that does not stop him from trying to do anything for her. In another episode it is revealed that he likes bubblegum pop music. He got his nickname from a birthmark on his forehead that is shaped like the Big Dipper. His real name has not yet been revealed.

• Mabel Pines (voiced by Kristen Schaal) - The 12-year-old twin sister of Dipper Pines, but 5 minutes older than Dipper. Mabel is an eccentric, buoyant, and an energetic optimist, who expresses herself through an assortment of extremely colorful knitted sweaters as well as skill at various arts and crafts. Her outgoing, curious personality often helps Dipper solve mysteries, though her silliness is often seen as a burden. Mabel enjoys preteen novels and seeks romance (especially in vampires). Despite what she sees as dating obscurity in Gravity Falls, Mabel stays optimistic. She once went out on a date with Li'l Gideon, but this did not continue after Li'l Gideon attempted to kill Dipper. In the episode "Irrational Treasure", she is made an official U.S. congresswoman by the eighth-and-a-half president, Quentin Trembley, with a political platform of "legalizing everything". She wins a pet pig in the episode "The Time Traveler's Pig" and names it Waddles. She also makes guest appearances in "Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained," but also has her own series titled "Mabel's Guide to Life." Both of these shows aired in between seasons.

• Stanford "Grunkle Stan" Pines (voiced by Alex Hirsch) - The great uncle of Dipper and Mabel Pines, best characterized by his selfishness and abrasiveness. He runs and lives in The Mystery Shack, a tourist trap which is billed as "the world's most bizarre museum." Grunkle Stan is a salesman first and foremost, putting most of his effort into showmanship, and is eager to sell the Shack's knickknacks, trinkets and baubles for exorbitant prices. Because of his drive to make money, his methods of obtaining it aren't always legal. When he's not making money, he's usually at home watching television. Stan usually wears a fez (the symbol on which has changed over the episodes), carries around an 8-ball topped cane, and infrequently wears an eyepatch over his glasses---the last of which is expressly for personal image. He frequently sends the twins on what they consider to be outrageous and unpredictable errands, but he is protective of them and loves them unconditionally. Despite his age and questionable physique, Stan is physically fit to the point of being able to fight back when threatened, even against zombies and pterodactyls. Behind his vending machine, he has a hidden staircase to an unknown location. In the season 1 finale, this location is revealed to contain a large hidden device which is powered by encrypted information in the three journals. Stan has the first journal, Li'l Gideon had the second, and Dipper has the third. Later on, he collects all three after Li'l Gideon's arrest and when Dipper shows him the third one. He later returns the third journal back to Dipper. in season 2, we learn more about Stan's dark secrets as he continues to work on the portal in the basement of the mystery shack

• Jesus "Soos" Alzamirano Ramirez (voiced by Alex Hirsch) - The Hispanic handyman at the Mystery Shack. A friend of Dipper and Mabel, Soos is a portly, hamster-like, lovable man-child who desires to be where the action is. He often drives the twins around town when they need. He's rather clumsy, not the brightest in the group, and is often making mistakes. Despite this, he has a wide variety of talents, including engineering, DJ-ing and pinball, and enjoys bonding with Dipper by doing "boy stuff" such as heating hot dogs in a microwave until they explode. He says "dude" after almost every sentence. In "Blendin's Game," his birthday was revealed, July 13. It was also revealed he didn't have a good father-son relationship with his dad.

• Wendy Corduroy (voiced by Linda Cardellini) - A mellow, tomboyish, "cool" 15-year-old girl who is a part-time employee at The Mystery Shack. She is Dipper's crush, and several episodes focus on his misguided attempts to impress her. Wendy has stated that she had many boyfriends in the past — so many, in fact, that there is one ex-boyfriend with whom she cannot remember ever breaking up with. Wendy is the oldest and tallest child in her family, and her father is Manly Dan, one of the local lumberjacks of Gravity Falls. Being the typical sociable and nonchalant teen, she has many friends who are around her age. Her most recent ex-boyfriend is Robbie, whom Dipper despises and saw as a rival. Wendy almost always stands up for Dipper in front of Robbie.

• Waddles (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker; Neil DeGrasse Tyson as guest) - Mabel's pet pig. She won Waddles at the fair, and ever since then the two have been inseparable. It is shown that Waddles enjoys spending time with Mabel just as much as she enjoys spending time with him. In "Summerween", Waddles allows Mabel and her friends Grenda and Candy to dress him up as a businessman and take humorously captioned pictures of him in the style of "lolcat" internet memes.

• The Author (voiced by Alex Hirsch) Grunkle Stan's six-fingered long-lost identical twin brother, who returns from the dimension portal in the Season 2 episode "Not What He Seems" after thirty years.

Recurring

• Gompers the Goat (voiced by Frank Welker) - A goat who lives in the forest near the Mystery Shack. Gompers frequently enters the Mystery Shack uninvited and unannounced. He once ate all of the household's tin cans, as well as Grunkle Stan's fez.

• Candy Chiu and Grenda (voiced by Niki Yang and voiced by Carl Faruolo) - Mabel's best friends whom she first met at a party hosted by the Mystery Shack. Candy and Grenda are both considered unpopular by Pacifica Northwest and the more social kids because they have flaws; Candy is shy, insecure and does some strange things, such as taping forks to her fingers as an "improvement of human being," and Grenda is quite large, likes lizards, and has a deep, masculine voice. Mabel sees these qualities as endearing and thus finds two kindred spirits in Gravity Falls. The two are big fans of Waddles, taking pictures of him on Candy's phone in the episode "Summerween." They have many things in common with Mabel, such as their love of paranormal, romance novels, preteen magazines, and the 1990s-style boy band Sev'ral Timez.

• Fiddleford Hadron "Old Man" McGucket (voiced by Alex Hirsch) - The "local kook" of Gravity Falls. Despite his apparent insanity and stereotypical hillbilly demeanor, Old Man McGucket is both a technical mastermind, capable of creating massive, complex animatronics (such as a robotic sea monster or a homicidal robot dinosaur) and a skilled chemist, to the point he was able to create a formula to alter a human's voice. His son works as a ranger at the lake, and the two seem to have a strained relationship, which adds to McGucket's insanity and need for attention. It is revealed in the end credits of "Little Dipper" that his full name is Fiddleford H. McGucket. In the episode "Society of the Blind Eye", it is revealed that he worked for the author as a research assistant and wiped his own memories after creating the Society of the Blind Eye.

• Sheriff Blubs (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) - The sheriff of Gravity Falls. He is shown to be rather lazy, often choosing to sit around and drink coffee instead of pursuing a case. Despite his apparent lack of police skills, he believes himself superior to all, and often looks down on the twins, which undermines their mystery solving abilities. His lazy personality seems to stem from the extremely low crime rate in Gravity Falls, which is demonstrated when Deputy Durland once comments on how unused their equipment is.

• Deputy Durland (voiced by Keith Ferguson) - A police officer, Sheriff Blubs' partner and right-hand man. He is shown to be unintelligent and childlike where he cannot even read. Sheriff Blubs, however, seems to find these qualities endearing, and refers to him as a "diamond in the rough". Instead of "doing their duties," he and Sheriff Blubs like to joke around, ignoring their duty for the sake of having fun.

• Bill Cipher (voiced by Alex Hirsch) - Bill Cipher is a powerful demon that can be summoned and released into a person's mind. He is a one-eyed, yellow, triangular pyramid with a top hat and a bow tie, superficially similar to the Eye of Providence. Bill first appeared physically in "Dreamscaperers;" however, many references to him had been hidden in previous episodes as images or sentences that flashed across the screen. He has a snappy sense of humor but loses his temper quite easily due to impatience. In "Dreamscaperers," Li'l Gideon summons Bill as an attempt to steal Stan's deed to the Mystery Shack. The two of them make a deal that if Bill goes into Stan's mind and steals the combination to the safe where the deed is hidden, Gideon will eventually have to help Bill with his mysterious plans. He seems to have the abilities to read people's minds and memories, shift forms, decipher codes, and shoot lasers from his eye and fingers. Bill claims he could use Soos, Dipper, and Mabel against the "darkness coming". In the episode "Sock Opera" he tricks Dipper into making a deal with him, and briefly possesses Dipper's body. His name may be either a pun on the Beale ciphers, or a reference to the Eye of Providence that appears on the dollar bill.

• "Lil Gideon" Charles Gleeful (voiced by Thurop Van Orman) - Li'l Gideon is a young boy who owns the "Tent of Telepathy," a successful competitor of the Mystery Shack, and is instantly identifiable with his spoken Southern accent and massive, white pompadour hairstyle. He has a deep rivalry with Grunkle Stan that presumably started long before the twins arrived. Despite his cutesy and charming personality onstage, in reality he is conniving, vicious and more than willing to hurt whoever he wants to get his way; on more than one occasion he has even abused his own parents, threatening his father and apparently having reduced his mother to a nervous wreck some time ago. He also has an unhealthy obsession with Mabel, and his belief that Dipper and Stan are the only things keeping them apart, prevent him from seeing that Mabel doesn't like him at all. He previously owned an amulet that endowed him with telekinesis, but it was destroyed by Mabel after he attempted to use it to kill Dipper. It is shown that he owned the journal marked 2, the previous volume of the journal Dipper owned. He seems to be one of the only residents who is fully aware of the mysteries and secrets of Gravity Falls. Li'l Gideon's mission is to gain possession of the Mystery Shack, saying that it has 'a secret you couldn't possibly begin to imagine.' In the Season 1 finale, Stan successfully reveals to the townspeople that Li'l Gideon's psychic ability is a ruse and that Li'l Gideon is a fraud. Li'l Gideon is arrested by Sheriff Blubs shortly thereafter, although he quickly managed to turn his fellow inmates into more of his followers.

• Pacifica Elise Northwest (voiced by Jackie Buscarino) - Pacifica is the most popular girl in Gravity Falls. She comes from a wealthy family, being the great-great-granddaughter of the supposed founder of Gravity Falls, Nathaniel Northwest — the real founder of Gravity Falls being Quentin Trembley (8 1/2th President of the United States). Pacifica is an unfriendly, sarcastic, and spoiled girl and is Mabel's primary rival. Pacifica looks down on Mabel and thinks her eccentric personality is annoying and immature. She uses people's insecurities to manipulate them into doing whatever she wants and despises Mabel for standing up against her. She gets her comeuppance when Dipper reveals to her that her entire family's prestige is built on a lie, horrifying Pacifica. In the episode "The Golf War," she turns into Mabel's friend after defeating the Lilliputtians. Also, in the episode "Northwest Mansion Mystery," it is shown that she is afraid of standing up to her parents and disappointing them. Later though, she finds out all of the terrible things her family has done, she proves herself to be different from her family by defying her parents and opening up the Northwest Mansion gates to commoners (mostly to save Dipper). Her name is a pun on Pacific Northwest, given the town of Gravity Falls is located in Oregon.

• Robert "Robbie" Stacy Valentino (voiced by T.J. Miller) - Robert "Robbie" Stacy Valentino is a local teenage punk rocker boy who is Dipper's primary rival for Wendy's affections. He is angsty, and has a cynical attitude toward most characters, though despite his neglect to listen to Wendy while playing a video game in the episode "Fight Fighters," he has been shown to genuinely care for her. Robbie and Wendy were dating for a time which annoyed Dipper. However, in the episode "Boyz Crazy," Dipper managed to break them up when he informed Wendy that the song Robbie wrote for her had a backmasked mind-controlling message, although Wendy was most upset that the song wasn't written for her. After the break up, Robbie seemed greatly upset about losing her, though his attempts to win her back have only caused her to stay annoyed with him. As of the episode "The Love God", he has given up his efforts to win back Wendy, as he is now in a relationship with Tambry. His parents are both undertakers, though their personalities are the polar opposite of their son's, possibly due to their work with the dead.

• Buddy Gleeful (voiced by Stephen Root) - Lil' Gideon's polite and well-meaning father. Despite having a nervous wife and a manipulative child, Bud seems to always find ways to make money, even to the point of becoming allies with Grunkle Stan (Lil' Gideon's mortal enemy) for a business deal. Besides working at Lil' Gideon's "Tent of Telepathy", Bud also sells used cars. He was also a member of the Society of the Blind eye, and was spotted in the past in the episode Blendins Game, pushing a stroller with Gideon in it.

• Preston and Mrs. Northwest - Preston (voiced by Nathan Fillion) and his unnamed wife are Pacifica Northwest's wealthy and apparently snobby parents. They place heavy stress on Pacifica to ensure she maintains their family's image of perfection.

• The Gnomes (voiced by Alex Hirsch) - The Gnomes are small creatures who debuted in the first episode, where they capture Mabel to try to make her their queen, saved by Dipper. They appear as garden gnomes with pointed red caps and white beards, although they often run on all fours and have sharp teeth. The leader, Jeff, has sworn vengeance on the twins, but has yet to wreak it. The twins call on the gnomes later in the series to help take down a common enemy, but failed as Gideon forces them to carry them away.

• Agent Powers and Agent Trigger (voiced by Nick Offerman and Brad Abrell) - Agent Powers and Agent Trigger are agents of the US government. They went to Gravity Falls to investigate paranormal activity in the area. After Dipper raises the dead, the two are seen dragged off by zombies into a ditch. They later reappear alive at the end of the episode and are sure that Gravity Falls is the town they are looking for. They also appear in the background sitting in seats during the episode Sock Opera behind large newspapers, as well as in the after credits of Northwest Mansion Mystery, talking about a power surge they measured during the party.

• Tambry (voiced by Jessica DiCicco) - Tambry is one of Wendy's friends. She has dyed hair and rarely looks up from her phone, either texting or updating her status. As of the episode "The Love God", she is in a relationship with Robbie.

• Lee and Nate (voiced by Michael Rianda and Scott Menville) - Wendy's friends. The two of them are usually seen together. Lee has blond hair and wears a red shirt, while Nate wears a cap and a black shirt. They both act like stereotypical, sarcastic, care-free teenagers.

• Thompson (voiced by Michael Rianda) - Thompson is one of Wendy's friends. He is usually seen participating in the games the guys play, such as putting ice in his pants and trying to shoot a jelly bean into his navel.

• "Lazy Susan" Wentworth (voiced by Jennifer Coolidge) - The sluggish woman who works as a waitress in the local diner. She is shown to love fixing things, despite not being at all skilled. Her name is a pun on her lazy eye, as well as a kitchen device she was trying to fix. She has several cats, three of which are named Donald, Sandy, and Mr. Cat-Face. Grunkle Stan had a crush on her, and eventually worked up the nerve to win her over (with the help of Mabel), but he later regretted it after she called him repeatedly leaving unusual voice messages. She is shown to be scatterbrained in the episode "Summerween," when she categorically failed to guess what Soos, Mabel, and Mabel's friends were dressed as.

• Toby Determined (voiced by Gregg Turkington) - A journalist for the Gravity Falls Gossiper. He is a hard-hitting yet wimpy journalist, shown to be terrible at his job — an example is that in one episode, he tried to use a turkey baster as a microphone and a cinderblock as a camera. He has an unrequited crush on local TV news reporter Shandra Jimenez which goes to such an extent that he has a cardboard-cutout of her in his closet and flirts with it when alone, as shown in the episode "Headhunters." His name is a pun on "to be determined," said when information in a news story is currently unavailable.

• Blendin Blenjamin Blandin (voiced by Justin Roiland) - Blendin Blenjamin Blandin is a time traveler from the year 207̃012 (pronounced twenty-sñeventy-twelve) who was sent back in time to Gravity Falls to remove a set of time anomalies that Mabel and Dipper assume they started. He makes a full appearance in 'Time Traveler's Pig', but has made cameo appearances in episodes 1, 2, 3, and 20, cleaning up the time anomalies. He also is the main antagonist in the episode "Blendin's Game", where he competes with the twins in a game called "Globnar" in order to get revenge on the twins for getting him arrested, by way of a "time wish", allowing one paradox-free wish to the holder, but he loses the game. It is suggested that he will no longer be a villain after the episode "Blendin's Game" when Dipper and Mabel actually helped him get his job back and gave him pretty hair.

• Sir Lord Quentin Trembley III Esquire (voiced by Alex Hirsch) - The 8 1/2th President of the United States in which he never finished his term after jumping out of a window). He is known for being the silliest president in the United States where he waged war on pancakes, legalized marriage with woodpeckers, issued the de-pantsipation proclamation, and so on. Queentin is the true founder of Gravity Falls, but was replaced by Nathaniel Northwest (Pacifica's ancestor) as he was an embarrassment. He was found preserved in peanut brittle. After being freed by the twins, he gave Dipper his President's Key (which can open any lock in America) and made Mabel a US congresswoman.

• "Manly Dan" Corduroy (voiced by John DiMaggio) - The strong lumberjack and father of Wendy and three sons. Manly Dan is unstable and has serious anger issues, often punching or destroying objects when angry, but enjoys family bonding activities such as fishing on the lake. Manly Dan hangs out at Skull Fracture, a local biker joint in downtown Gravity Falls. He is also good friends with Tyler the Cute Biker.

• Tyler the Cute Biker (voiced by Will Forte) - A slim, well-groomed biker. He appears to be rather childlike and effeminate, and he is well known for showing up in crowd scenes saying his catchphrase, "Get 'em! Get 'em!". He tends to be indecisive, and is a frequent visitor of the Mystery Shack.

Minor characters

• Corduroy Boys - The Corduroy Boys are the three sons of Manly Dan and the younger brothers of Wendy. Their names have not yet been revealed. The three are often seen with their father, destroying things.

• Free Pizza Guy - The Free Pizza Guy is a background character in Gravity Falls. He is usually seen eating pizza and is disappointed when Stan breaks his promise of free pizza in "Head Hunters". He is most recognizable by his red 'free pizza' shirt.

• Ranger McGucket (voiced by Alex Hirsch) - Ranger McGucket is a stoic worker at Lake Gravity Falls and is the son of Old Man McGucket. His eyes are always hidden under his hat.

• Mr. Poolcheck (voiced by Michael Rianda) - Mr. Poolcheck is the head lifeguard at the Gravity Falls Pool, although he acts more like a drill instructor. He was Wendy's boss at the Gravity Falls Pool and later agrees to hire Dipper. At first he takes a liking to Dipper, but comes to realize both Wendy and Dipper do not take the job of lifeguard seriously enough. Near the conclusion of the episode, he fires both Wendy and Dipper.

• Mrs. Gleeful (voiced by Grey DeLisle) - Mrs. Gleeful is the mother of L'il Gideon Gleeful and wife of Bud Gleeful. She is first seen in "Little Dipper" and then in "Gideon Rises." Life with Gideon seems to have reduced her to a traumatized, nervous wreck who can do little more than vacuum compulsively while muttering frantically under her breath. She was also spotted in the episode Blendin's Game in the background when Dipper and Mabel go to the past, pushing a stroller with Gideon in it.

• Pacifica's friends (voiced by Ariel Hirsch, the magenta-haired one) - They are the unnamed cronies of Pacifica Northwest who are usually seen following their dominant counterpart around and obliging to her every whim.

• Reginald and Rosanna (voiced by Will Friedle and Grey DeLisle) - Reginald and Rosanna are a proposed couple who are commonly seen background characters in the show. They appear to be currently going out, as they are often seen together.

• Shandra Jimenez (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) - Shandra Jimenez is a news reporter in Gravity Falls and Toby Determined's secret crush. It appears she takes her job seriously when she refers to herself as "a real reporter."

• Shmipper and Smabble - Shmipper and Smabble are two very young characters (one male and one female) who are sometimes used as complete opposites of Mabel and Dipper. They have a grandpa who shows his loving affection towards them, in contrast towards Grunkle Stan.

Episodes

Main article: List of Gravity Falls episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired	Network
Pilot			December 9, 2010 (2010-12-09)		—
1	20		June 15, 2012 (2012-06-15)	August 2, 2013 (2013-08-02)	Disney Channel
2	20		August 1, 2014 (2014-08-01)	February 15, 2016 (2016-02-15)	Disney XD

Production

The series, created 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."

Ciphers

At the end of every episode, there is a ciphered text in one of many substitution ciphers:

Season 1

• Caesar cipher which is hinted at by a voice in the opening sequence, which played backwards says "three letters back", this cipher was used in episodes 1-7
• Atbash cipher which is announced in an episode in Caesar cipher that it will be used this time, this cipher was used in episodes 7-13
• A1Z26 cipher is a simple substitution cipher decoded by substituting the nᵗʰ letter of the alphabet for given number was used in episodes 14-19
• A combined cipher is a mix of two or more ciphers seen in the show. The first time such cipher has been used is at the end of "Gideon Rises." It's solved by converting to letters using the A1Z26 cipher, then flipping the letters with the Atbash cipher, and finally by using the Caesar cipher. Season 2's combined ciphers start with the Vigenère cipher.
• A substitution cipher where each letter is substituted with an integer that corresponds to the letter's place in the alphabet from 1 to 26.
• A symbol cipher appears in the 2 part season finale. It also frequently appears in the journals. The symbols for J, Q, X, and Z are currently unknown.

Season 2

• Vigenère cipher which is used in the end credits like all the other ciphers. The keyword for the cipher is hinted at by subtle clues in the episode. The voice at the end of the theme song hints at this cipher so when played backwards it says "Key Vigenère."

Reception

Critical reception

Gravity Falls has received critical acclaim from television critics. 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." 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".

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 views 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's The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex, becoming the highest rated episode of the series so far.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2012	40th Annie Awards	Production Design in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production	Ian Worrel	Nominated
		Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production	Kristen Schaal	Won
2013	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Animated Show	Gravity Falls	Nominated
	41st Annie Awards	Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children's Audience	Gravity Falls	Nominated
		Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production	John Aoshima	Nominated
		Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production	Alonso Ramos-Ramirez	Nominated
	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television: Animation	Gravity Falls	Nominated
	PAAFTJ Television Awards	Best Animated Series	”Gravity Falls”	Nominated
		Best Directing for an Animated Series	“Gravity Falls” John Aoshima for “Tourist Trapped”	Nominated
		Best Writing for an Animated Series	“Gravity Falls” Michael Rianda & Alex Hirsch for “The Inconveniencing”	Nominated
		Best Voice Actor in an Animated Series	Alex Hirsch for “Gravity Falls”	Nominated
		Best Voice Actress in an Animated Series	Kristen Schaal for “Gravity Falls”	Nominated
		Best Artistic/Visual Achievement in an Animated Series	“Gravity Falls” Phil Rynda (production design), Ian Worrel (art direction), Chris Houghton & ‘C’ Raggio IV (character design) & Mark Garcia (storyboard) for “Fight Fighters”	Nominated
		Best Main Title Theme Music (New Shows Only)	“Gravity Falls” Disney Channel	Won
2014	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Animated Animal Sidekick	Waddles	Nominated
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation	Ian Worrel for "Dreamscaperers"	Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Animated Show	Gravity Falls	Nominated
2015	42nd Annie Awards	Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience	Gravity Falls	Won
		Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production	Rob Renzetti	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production	Luke Weber, Alonso Ramirez Ramos, Neil Graf & Steve Heneveld	Nominated

Broadcast

Disney Channel

The series preview in Canada on June 15, 2012 and premiered on July 6, 2012. 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. In the Middle East region, the series was previewed on October 19, 2012, and premiered on November 10, 2012.

Disney

In the United Kingdom it previewed on July 19, 2012 and premiered on September 7, 2012.

Other

In Australia, the show is also aired on 7mate while in Chile, the show is aired on Canal 13 on November 24, 2013 under its programming block CuBox. In the Philippines, the show is broadcast on TV5 beginning on May 4, 2014 while in Brazil, the show began airing on Rede Globo on May 10, 2014. In Indonesia, the show is broadcast on RCTI on August 17, 2014.

External links

• Official US website
• Gravity Falls at IMDb