Gravity Falls

If there's one thing to know about me, it is that I love off-the-wall, kooky situations and characters that make me laugh. There are few things in the world of comedy (states side at least) that happen to make me smirk much; and I love laughing, so it's an unfortunate tragedy.


Enter "Gravity Falls," a show about a pair of twins, Dipper and Mabel Pines, who are forced by their parents to go away for the summer to live with their odd Great Uncle (Gruncle) Stan at his house in Gravity Falls, Oregon. This is essentially Disney Channel's response to Cartoon Network's wildly popular "Adventure Time," but in a lot of ways this show is a lot funnier. AT tends to be a little too random at times with its humor, which is fine, especially for those who've grown up on the network's equally absurd Adult Swim block for the last decade.

GF has the advantage of mixing a kind of "Scooby Doo" mystery aura with an AT silliness. The silliness is far tamer than the Cartoon Network show, but it doesn't feel any less "epic." The show's main appeal is its brilliant delivery of lines. Much like the way the first "Shrek" surprised kids and adults with its smart humor, this show has a similar pull. Adult sensibilities are lobbed in with silliness and mystery to make this one of the better cartoons I've seen in a long time, and--in time--maybe even rivaling '90s epics like "Ren and Stimpy," "Rocko's Modern Life," and "Animaniacs."

It also has the advantage of having the brilliant Kristen Schaal on as the voice of Mabel. She's best known as Mel from "Flight of the Concords" and more recently as Hazel from "30 Rock." Lots of the wacky humor comes from Mabel, who is a pseudo female version of AT's Finn, while the exposition of the story is expounded by brother Dipper, voiced by James Ritter.   

Best of all, the show has a mysterious plot that is blossoming before our eyes every episode, with little clues injected each episode that get at the larger picture; whatever that plot may be is part of the allure of the show.

Something very strange is going on in Gravity Falls, and I'm completely on board. I highly suggest grabbing a buddy or two and watching this.