There are few things I hate more on television than the Disney Channel. This factory of mediocrity has churned out "gems" like The Suite Life with Zach and Cody and the unfortunately popular Hanna Montana. The Disney Channel is a place for Uncle Walt's successors to push talentless teens out in front of the world. Said teens get a few moments of fame and the Mouse gets another few million.
Why do I make this cynical and cliché critique of the Disney Channel? Because I want to make sure every person who reads this understands how shocked and delighted I am by Gravity Falls.
Gravity Falls takes place in a remote Oregon town of the same name. It features Dipper and Mabel Pines (voiced by Jason Ritter and Kristen Schaal respectively), a pair of twins, staying with their Great Uncle (or Grunkle, a term I believe needs to be used more often) Stan (voiced by show creator Alex Hirsch), a sleazy con-artist that runs a tourist trap called the Mystery Shack. Stan rips off gullible vacationers and townies with "supernatural" attractions and a less than stellar gift shop, overseen by man-child Soos (also voiced by Hirsch) and a down-to-earth slacker teenager Wendy (voiced by Linda Cardellini). It looks like a dull summer for the twins, but they soon find out that there is quite a lot of strange goings on in the little town.
This show has that right mix of humor and adventure every family program ought to have. It's written in a way that can engage people of all ages without pandering to anyone.
The voice actors were chosen masterfully, especially in Mabel Pines. I can't imagine anyone else but Schaal (who also voiced Trixie in Toy Story 3 and plays Mel in Flight of the Conchords)playing the bubbly, effervescent Mabel.
This show also features DIY voice acting from Hirsch, a seemingly common occurrence in animated shows today (Regular Show creator JG Quintel voicing Mordecai and High Five Ghost and Adventure Time creator Pen Ward voicing Lumpy Space Princess as well as a myriad of side characters). Hirsch shows quite a bit of range voicing miserly Stan and obvious Soos.
Gravity Falls is also able juxtapose the supernatural and the normal growing pains of adolescence. On a nearly weekly basis, the observant and intelligent Dipper finds a way to crack a mystery involving gnomes and crystals that change an object's size, yet he can't muster the courage to ask his crush, Wendy, on a date.
There are a lot of TV shows and movies that try so hard to reach that sweet spot where they can appeal to kids, parents and young adults, but fall painfully short. Gravity Falls, though, hits that spot brilliantly.
Like his fellow CalArts alumni Quintel and Ward, Hirsch's product is one made out of love and care and it's made clear in every episode. Most impressively, though, is that it gives me a reason to watch the Disney Channel.
