Gravity Falls Review: Weird But Epic

Gravity Falls Review: Weird But Epic

      Gravity Falls is one of Disney’s best shows, if not the best. It is a kid-friendly comedy, but also a mystery with coming-of-age themes. It mixes a carefree feeling with supernatural elements and heartfelt moments between characters. The whole show has a really cool design for all its creatures and a unique animation style for its characters. It has gotten good reviews from a lot of different places, including 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and 4.9 stars on Google. Having come out in 2012 and getting a 2nd season in 2014, it is not expected to have more seasons.

      Gravity Falls follows 2 twelve-year-old siblings named Mabel and Dipper that go to live with their great uncle Stan, who owns a store called the Mystery Shack in Gravity Falls. Gravity Falls is a town plagued by weird creatures and magic, and this is the main part of the show. The shack is a tourist attraction store that is mostly a scam. Mabel and Dipper are very friendly towards each other in general, but throughout the show they don’t always get along great. Mabel is a very happy and enthusiastic girl, while Dipper is an awkward and nerdy boy who is obsessed with the mystery of Gravity Falls. The whole town is filled with magic and crazy creatures. During the summer, they meet 2 employees at the shack named Wendy and Soos. Soos is a lovable 22 year old man and Wendy is a 15 year old girl, they all become friends. Dipper quickly develops a crush on Wendy, but eventually realizes it won’t work and they just stay friends. Season 1 is more about getting to know the characters, learning about the town by the adventures they go on, and setting the events of the second season into motion.

      Throughout the story, Grunkle Stan (Dipper and Mabel’s great uncle) is more of a side character and isn’t involved much in the story of the siblings, but at the start of the second season, he reveals he had a secret brother that had been stuck in a different dimension for 30 years. After he is freed, they learn about Stan’s backstory and learn about his brother (who is also named Stan). Dipper gets pretty close with the second Stan and they have some cool adventures. As the season progresses, Stan #2 offers Dipper to stay in Gravity Falls with him to learn more about it. This would mean leaving Mabel. This leads them to have one last conflict, ending in the Bill Cipher being released. Bill Cipher is the ultimate enemy in the show and was hinted at throughout the show, and he is (in my opinion) the best character. He triggers an apocalypse, and the episodes it’s in are the best of the series, in my opinion. They’re really weird, but in a good way. In the end, they free Mabel from a prison and destroy the Bill. They eventually bid the people they met goodbye and go home, it ends on a really satisfying note.

      I need to give some praise to Alex Hirsch. He wrote, directed, made the art for, and produced the show, in addition to voicing Stan, Soos, Bill Cipher, and many more small characters. Without him, the show would be nothing.

      Usually I don’t watch kids shows, but this is definitely an exception. Part of it is the fact the jokes aren’t just for kids, they’re funny for everyone. This show also has some pretty intense stuff in it. Like when animal heads mounted on the wall start pouring blood from their mouth and eyes, or when someone’s ears, eyes, and mouth swap places. The plot is also very compelling and interesting. This all comes together for a great show for all ages. I give it 95/100 raisins.