Gravity Falls facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gravity Falls |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | |
| Created by | Alex Hirsch |
| Creative director(s) | Mike Rianda (S1) |
| Voices of |
|
| Theme music composer | Brad Breeck |
| Opening theme | "Gravity Falls Theme" |
| Composer(s) | Brad Breeck |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 40 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Alex Hirsch |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Editor(s) | Kevin Locarro |
| Running time |
|
| Production company(s) | Disney Television Animation |
| Distributor | Disney–ABC Domestic Television |
| Release | |
| Original network |
|
| Picture format | HDTV 720p |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Original release | June 15, 2012 – February 15, 2016 |
Gravity Falls is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series ran from June 15, 2012, to February 15, 2016.
The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (voiced by Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (voiced by Kristen Schaal) who are sent to spend the summer with their great-uncle (or "Grunkle") Stan (voiced by Hirsch) in Gravity Falls, Oregon, a mysterious town full of paranormal incidents and supernatural creatures. The kids help Stan run "The Mystery Shack", the tourist trap that he owns, while also investigating the local mysteries.
On November 20, 2015, Hirsch announced that the series would finish with its second season, stating that this was "100% [his] choice" and that "the show isn't being cancelled- it's being finished" and was simply reaching its natural 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.
Gravity Falls received critical acclaim with praise directed at its writing, characters, humor, and multi-generational appeal. Additionally, the series won two Emmy Awards, three Annie Awards, 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 has attracted a broad and passionate fandom and has been considered to be an influence for many animated shows that followed it, and has also spawned a variety of official merchandise including books, toys, and a video game.
In February 2018, on the second anniversary of the final episode of the show, Hirsch used a cipher to announce Gravity Falls: Lost Legends, a continuation of the Gravity Falls story in a new graphic novel that was later released on July 24, 2018. On August 8, 2020, Disney Channel aired a Gravity Falls-inspired episode of the show Amphibia, created by Matt Braly who served as a storyboard artist and director for the show. The episode is titled "Wax Museum", with Hirsch guest-starring. On October 3, 2021, show villain Bill Cipher made a cameo in The Simpsons episode titled "Bart's in Jail", with Hirsch guest voicing him.
Contents
Overview
For their summer vacation, 12-year-old Dipper Pines and his twin sister Mabel are dropped off from their home in Piedmont, California to the fictitious town of Gravity Falls, Roadkill County, Oregon to live 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 local mysteries. With appearances from Wendy Corduroy, Mystery Shack cashier; Soos Ramirez, 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 primary characters
Main
- Dipper Pines (voiced by Jason Ritter) – The 12-year-old twin brother of Mabel Pines.
- Mabel Pines (voiced by Kristen Schaal) – The 12-year-old twin sister of Dipper Pines.
- Grunkle Stan (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – The great-uncle of Dipper and Mabel Pines.
- Soos Ramirez (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – The 22-year-old handyman at the Mystery Shack.
- Wendy Corduroy (voiced by Linda Cardellini) – A 15-year-old girl who is a part-time employee at The Mystery Shack, whom Dipper also has a crush on.
- Stanford Pines, also known as The Author (voiced by J. K. Simmons) – Grunkle Stan's six-fingered long-lost twin brother. Promoted to main cast after the tenth episode of season 2, having briefly appeared in a silent capacity in previous episodes.
Recurring
- Waddles (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker; Neil deGrasse Tyson as guest) – Mabel's pet pig.
- Candy Chiu and Grenda (voiced by Niki Yang and Carl Faruolo, respectively) – Mabel's best friends.
- Fiddleford Hadron "Old Man" McGucket (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – The "local kook" of Gravity Falls, and former friend of Stanford.
- Bill Cipher (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – A powerful dream demon from another plane of existence that can influence or control citizens of Gravity Falls through a trans-dimensional mindscape.
- "Li'l" Gideon Gleeful (voiced by Thurop Van Orman) – A young con artist and rival of Grunkle Stan.
- Toby Determined (voiced by Gregg Turkington) – Homely proprietor of and sole editor for the Gravity Falls' Gossiper.
- The Northwests (voiced by Jackie Buscarino, Nathan Fillion, and Kari Wahlgren) – The most popular and wealthy family in Gravity Falls, they are a father (Preston), a mother (Priscilla), and a daughter (Pacifica).
- Robert "Robbie" Stacy Valentino (voiced by T.J. Miller) – A local teenage Emo boy who is Dipper's primary rival for Wendy's affections.
- Tambry, Thompson, Nate, and Lee (voiced by Scott Menville, Michael Rianda, and Jessica DiCicco) – Wendy's four friends.
- Manly Dan (voiced by John DiMaggio) – A lumberjack, Wendy's father.
- Lazy Susan (voiced by Jennifer Coolidge) – The owner of Greasy's Diner who always has one eye closed, and is Stan's crush.
- Tyler Cutebiker (voiced by Will Forte) – "Local Enthusiasm Enthusiast", the current mayor of the town.
- Shandra Jimenez (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) – The reporter of Gravity Falls.
- Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson and Keith Ferguson) – The two police officers of Gravity Falls.
- Bud Gleeful (voiced by Stephen Root) – Stan's rival, Gideon's father, and a car dealer.
- Abuelita (voiced by Matt Chapman) – Soos's grandma, who lives with Soos.
- Gnomes - (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – Living garden gnomes that wanted Mabel to be their queen.
- Gompers - (voiced by Frank Welker) – A goat who lives on the Mystery Shacks's property.
- Blendin Blandin (voiced by Justin Roiland) – a worker at the Time Anomaly Correction Unit who has frequent encounters with Dipper and Mabel.
- Agent Powers and Agent Trigger (voiced by Nick Offerman and Jeff Rowe) – Two government agents that investigated Stan's portal and the town itself.
- Ghost-Eyes (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – An inmate at the Gravity Falls Prison who is friends with Gideon.
- Xyler and Craz (voiced by John Roberts and Gregory Michael Cipes) – The two main characters of Mabel's favorite movie, "Dream Boy High", who often appear in her daydreams.
- Time Baby (voiced by Dave Wittenberg) – A time giant and the last of his kind, Time Baby serves as leader of the Time Anomaly Correction Unit until he is vaporized by Bill Cipher. According to a cryptogram, it will take Time Baby 1,000 years to re-assemble his molecules, and when he is back, he is going to be very cranky.
Episodes
| Gravity Falls | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Genre | |
| Created by | Alex Hirsch |
| Creative director(s) | Mike Rianda (S1) |
| Voices of |
|
| Theme music composer | Brad Breeck |
| Opening theme | "Gravity Falls Theme" |
| Composer(s) | Brad Breeck |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 40 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Alex Hirsch |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Editor(s) | Kevin Locarro |
| Running time |
|
| Production company(s) | Disney Television Animation |
| Distributor | Disney–ABC Domestic Television |
| Release | |
| Original network |
|
| Picture format | HDTV 720p |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Original release | June 15, 2012 – February 15, 2016 |
Gravity Falls is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series ran from June 15, 2012, to February 15, 2016.
The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (voiced by Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (voiced by Kristen Schaal) who are sent to spend the summer with their great-uncle (or "Grunkle") Stan (voiced by Hirsch) in Gravity Falls, Oregon, a mysterious town full of paranormal incidents and supernatural creatures. The kids help Stan run "The Mystery Shack", the tourist trap that he owns, while also investigating the local mysteries.
On November 20, 2015, Hirsch announced that the series would finish with its second season, stating that this was "100% [his] choice" and that "the show isn't being cancelled- it's being finished" and was simply reaching its natural 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.
Gravity Falls received critical acclaim with praise directed at its writing, characters, humor, and multi-generational appeal. Additionally, the series won two Emmy Awards, three Annie Awards, 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 has attracted a broad and passionate fandom and has been considered to be an influence for many animated shows that followed it, and has also spawned a variety of official merchandise including books, toys, and a video game.
In February 2018, on the second anniversary of the final episode of the show, Hirsch used a cipher to announce Gravity Falls: Lost Legends, a continuation of the Gravity Falls story in a new graphic novel that was later released on July 24, 2018. On August 8, 2020, Disney Channel aired a Gravity Falls-inspired episode of the show Amphibia, created by Matt Braly who served as a storyboard artist and director for the show. The episode is titled "Wax Museum", with Hirsch guest-starring. On October 3, 2021, show villain Bill Cipher made a cameo in The Simpsons episode titled "Bart's in Jail", with Hirsch guest voicing him.
Overview
For their summer vacation, 12-year-old Dipper Pines and his twin sister Mabel are dropped off from their home in Piedmont, California to the fictitious town of Gravity Falls, Roadkill County, Oregon to live 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 local mysteries. With appearances from Wendy Corduroy, Mystery Shack cashier; Soos Ramirez, 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 primary characters
Main
- Dipper Pines (voiced by Jason Ritter) – The 12-year-old twin brother of Mabel Pines.
- Mabel Pines (voiced by Kristen Schaal) – The 12-year-old twin sister of Dipper Pines.
- Grunkle Stan (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – The great-uncle of Dipper and Mabel Pines.
- Soos Ramirez (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – The 22-year-old handyman at the Mystery Shack.
- Wendy Corduroy (voiced by Linda Cardellini) – A 15-year-old girl who is a part-time employee at The Mystery Shack, whom Dipper also has a crush on.
- Stanford Pines, also known as The Author (voiced by J. K. Simmons) – Grunkle Stan's six-fingered long-lost twin brother. Promoted to main cast after the tenth episode of season 2, having briefly appeared in a silent capacity in previous episodes.
Recurring
- Waddles (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker; Neil deGrasse Tyson as guest) – Mabel's pet pig.
- Candy Chiu and Grenda (voiced by Niki Yang and Carl Faruolo, respectively) – Mabel's best friends.
- Fiddleford Hadron "Old Man" McGucket (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – The "local kook" of Gravity Falls, and former friend of Stanford.
- Bill Cipher (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – A powerful dream demon from another plane of existence that can influence or control citizens of Gravity Falls through a trans-dimensional mindscape.
- "Li'l" Gideon Gleeful (voiced by Thurop Van Orman) – A young con artist and rival of Grunkle Stan.
- Toby Determined (voiced by Gregg Turkington) – Homely proprietor of and sole editor for the Gravity Falls' Gossiper.
- The Northwests (voiced by Jackie Buscarino, Nathan Fillion, and Kari Wahlgren) – The most popular and wealthy family in Gravity Falls, they are a father (Preston), a mother (Priscilla), and a daughter (Pacifica).
- Robert "Robbie" Stacy Valentino (voiced by T.J. Miller) – A local teenage Emo boy who is Dipper's primary rival for Wendy's affections.
- Tambry, Thompson, Nate, and Lee (voiced by Scott Menville, Michael Rianda, and Jessica DiCicco) – Wendy's four friends.
- Manly Dan (voiced by John DiMaggio) – A lumberjack, Wendy's father.
- Lazy Susan (voiced by Jennifer Coolidge) – The owner of Greasy's Diner who always has one eye closed, and is Stan's crush.
- Tyler Cutebiker (voiced by Will Forte) – "Local Enthusiasm Enthusiast", the current mayor of the town.
- Shandra Jimenez (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) – The reporter of Gravity Falls.
- Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson and Keith Ferguson) – The two police officers of Gravity Falls.
- Bud Gleeful (voiced by Stephen Root) – Stan's rival, Gideon's father, and a car dealer.
- Abuelita (voiced by Matt Chapman) – Soos's grandma, who lives with Soos.
- Gnomes - (voiced by Alex Hirsch) – Living garden gnomes that wanted Mabel to be their queen.
- Gompers - (voiced by Frank Welker) – A goat who lives on the Mystery Shacks's property.
- Blendin Blandin (voiced by Justin Roiland) – a worker at the Time Anomaly Correction Unit who has frequent encounters with Dipper and Mabel.
- Agent Powers and Agent Trigger (voiced by Nick Offerman and Jeff Rowe) – Two government agents that investigated Stan's portal and the town itself.
- Ghost-Eyes (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – An inmate at the Gravity Falls Prison who is friends with Gideon.
- Xyler and Craz (voiced by John Roberts and Gregory Michael Cipes) – The two main characters of Mabel's favorite movie, "Dream Boy High", who often appear in her daydreams.
- Time Baby (voiced by Dave Wittenberg) – A time giant and the last of his kind, Time Baby serves as leader of the Time Anomaly Correction Unit until he is vaporized by Bill Cipher. According to a cryptogram, it will take Time Baby 1,000 years to re-assemble his molecules, and when he is back, he is going to be very cranky.
Episodes
Template loop detected: List of Gravity Falls episodes
Development
Concept
Prior to working on the series, series creator Alex Hirsch's primary inspiration growing up was the popular animated sitcom The Simpsons, 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, and was hired to work as writer and storyboard artist for the Cartoon Network series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, where he was paired up with Pendleton Ward, the creator of Adventure Time. Afterwards, he moved on to co-develop the Disney Channel animated series Fish Hooks; shortly before he pitched (and was subsequently green-lit) Gravity Falls.
Production
Hirsch explained in an interview with The A.V. Club during production of season 1, that a typical episode is conceived in a room reserved for writers, where a simple synopsis is presented, and from then on dramatic structure is defined, and the plot is modified to include a character-driven subplot, which Hirsch expresses 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 are created, and are given to a writer to produce an outline, which is then subsequently checked-off by Hirsch for feedback. The writer produces a draft from these edits, where more notes may be given. Hirsch states that he and creative director Mike Rianda may personally create a draft for themselves before a final script is produced, in which the dialogue from the draft received from the writer is majorly revised; Hirsch states 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, we'll sleep on the couch in shifts like maniacs, we'll slap each other in the face."
A script is delivered, which then gets translated into a storyboard, where feedback is received from Hirsch to the board artists if a certain element, such as a gag, doesn't work. Afterwards, a pitch for the episode is given to the network, where they do a read-through, and then the episode is either checked out by the network, or retooled in the small amount of time allocated before an animation studio must receive something to work with.
Broadcast
The first twelve episodes of Gravity Falls aired in a regular weekly slot on Disney Channel 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, but again without any regularity to when new episodes would be first broadcast. 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.
Ciphers
At the end of every episode, there is a ciphered text in one of many substitution ciphers:
Season 1
- Caesar cipher, hinted at by a voice in the opening sequence, which played backwards says "three letters back". This cipher was used in episodes 1–6.
- 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 the given number. It 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 symbol cipher appears in the 2 part season finale. It also frequently appears in the journals. The symbols for 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".
- Season 2 also uses the symbol cipher mentioned above.
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 | 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 | John Aoshima for “Tourist Trapped” | Nominated | ||
| Best Writing for an Animated Series | Michael Rianda & Alex Hirsch for “The Inconveniencing” | Nominated | ||
| Best Voice Actor in an Animated Series | Alex Hirsch | Nominated | ||
| Best Voice Actress in an Animated Series | Kristen Schaal | Nominated | ||
| Best Artistic/Visual Achievement in an Animated Series | 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 | Won | ||
| 2014 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Animated Animal Sidekick | Waddles | Nominated |
| 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Ian Worrel for "Dreamscaperers" | Won | |
| 2014 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 | ||
| 5th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Animated Series | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| 67th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Alonso Ramirez Ramos for "Not What He Seems" | Won | |
| British Academy Children's Awards | International | Production team of Gravity Falls | Won | |
| 2015 Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV: Animated Show | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| 2016 | 43rd Annie Awards | Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience | "Not What He Seems" | Nominated |
| Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Matt Braly for "Northwest Mansion Mystery" | Won | ||
| Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Ian Worrel and Jeffrey Thompson for "Xpcveaoqfoxso (Weirdmageddon)" | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Alex Hirsch, Shion Takeuchi, Josh Weinstein, Jeff Rowe, and Matt Chapman for "Not What He Seems" | Nominated | ||
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Cartoon | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| Peabody Awards | Children's Programming | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| 2016 Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Show: Animated | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| 44th Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Shion Takeuchi, Mark Rizzo, Jeff Rowe, Josh Weinstein and Alex Hirsch for "Weirdmageddon Part 3: Take Back the Falls" | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Kevin Locarro, Andrew Sorcini, Nancy Frazen and Tony Mizgalski for "Weirdmageddon Part 3: Take Back the Falls" | Nominated |
Images
-
Jason Ritter and Kristen Schaal at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013
-
Series creator Alex Hirsch at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Gravity Falls para niños
Development
Concept
Prior to working on the series, series creator Alex Hirsch's primary inspiration growing up was the popular animated sitcom The Simpsons, 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, and was hired to work as writer and storyboard artist for the Cartoon Network series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, where he was paired up with Pendleton Ward, the creator of Adventure Time. Afterwards, he moved on to co-develop the Disney Channel animated series Fish Hooks; shortly before he pitched (and was subsequently green-lit) Gravity Falls.
Production
Hirsch explained in an interview with The A.V. Club during production of season 1, that a typical episode is conceived in a room reserved for writers, where a simple synopsis is presented, and from then on dramatic structure is defined, and the plot is modified to include a character-driven subplot, which Hirsch expresses 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 are created, and are given to a writer to produce an outline, which is then subsequently checked-off by Hirsch for feedback. The writer produces a draft from these edits, where more notes may be given. Hirsch states that he and creative director Mike Rianda may personally create a draft for themselves before a final script is produced, in which the dialogue from the draft received from the writer is majorly revised; Hirsch states 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, we'll sleep on the couch in shifts like maniacs, we'll slap each other in the face."
A script is delivered, which then gets translated into a storyboard, where feedback is received from Hirsch to the board artists if a certain element, such as a gag, doesn't work. Afterwards, a pitch for the episode is given to the network, where they do a read-through, and then the episode is either checked out by the network, or retooled in the small amount of time allocated before an animation studio must receive something to work with.
Broadcast
The first twelve episodes of Gravity Falls aired in a regular weekly slot on Disney Channel 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, but again without any regularity to when new episodes would be first broadcast. 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.
Ciphers
At the end of every episode, there is a ciphered text in one of many substitution ciphers:
Season 1
- Caesar cipher, hinted at by a voice in the opening sequence, which played backwards says "three letters back". This cipher was used in episodes 1–6.
- 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 the given number. It 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 symbol cipher appears in the 2 part season finale. It also frequently appears in the journals. The symbols for 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".
- Season 2 also uses the symbol cipher mentioned above.
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 | 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 | John Aoshima for “Tourist Trapped” | Nominated | ||
| Best Writing for an Animated Series | Michael Rianda & Alex Hirsch for “The Inconveniencing” | Nominated | ||
| Best Voice Actor in an Animated Series | Alex Hirsch | Nominated | ||
| Best Voice Actress in an Animated Series | Kristen Schaal | Nominated | ||
| Best Artistic/Visual Achievement in an Animated Series | 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 | Won | ||
| 2014 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Animated Animal Sidekick | Waddles | Nominated |
| 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Ian Worrel for "Dreamscaperers" | Won | |
| 2014 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 | ||
| 5th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Animated Series | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| 67th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Alonso Ramirez Ramos for "Not What He Seems" | Won | |
| British Academy Children's Awards | International | Production team of Gravity Falls | Won | |
| 2015 Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV: Animated Show | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| 2016 | 43rd Annie Awards | Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience | "Not What He Seems" | Nominated |
| Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Matt Braly for "Northwest Mansion Mystery" | Won | ||
| Outstanding Achievement, Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Ian Worrel and Jeffrey Thompson for "Xpcveaoqfoxso (Weirdmageddon)" | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Alex Hirsch, Shion Takeuchi, Josh Weinstein, Jeff Rowe, and Matt Chapman for "Not What He Seems" | Nominated | ||
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Cartoon | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| Peabody Awards | Children's Programming | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| 2016 Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Show: Animated | Gravity Falls | Nominated | |
| 44th Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Shion Takeuchi, Mark Rizzo, Jeff Rowe, Josh Weinstein and Alex Hirsch for "Weirdmageddon Part 3: Take Back the Falls" | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production | Kevin Locarro, Andrew Sorcini, Nancy Frazen and Tony Mizgalski for "Weirdmageddon Part 3: Take Back the Falls" | Nominated |
Images for kids
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Jason Ritter and Kristen Schaal at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013
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Series creator Alex Hirsch at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Gravity Falls para niños
