Yeah, I got some problems with so much of Disney's television output these days, but I won't get into that here. It just makes it all the better when they really make something splendid! Though the D's Phineas and Ferb was long the gold standard for contemporary western animation series, Gravity Falls does it one better, and is showing no signs of slowing down yet! Bringing back memories of darker "kids'" fare of yore, Gravity Falls is that rare show that in no way condescends or panders to its intended demographic. Its delightfully twisted "backwoods town with a dark (though technically, innumerably many) secret(s)" setting is guaranteed to haunt the nightmares of young and old alike... when we aren't too busy laughing our asses off at the lovable character-derived humor, that is.
Because, you see, beyond the trappings of all the spooky weirdness, Gravity Falls is a show about family and friendship, about growing up and growing wiser (...you'll get there someday, Mabel). There's a great sense of continuity as the seasons chug along (lacking any official statement, I'll just attribute this to inspiration from Arthur because that'd just be ridiculously awesome); characters recall past mistakes and at least try to learn from them, if not always to great success. Everyone has their strengths and flaws, and "happy endings" don't always make everyone happy. The depiction of lovable everykid-but-not-quite Dipper's hopeless infatuation with an older girl is some sad fucking true-to-life shit, man.
You can tell the writers aren't cooking up these situations from outta nowhere, even if they're using a recipe book that more often and not includes unusual ingredients such as cryptids, secret societies, and perhaps the creepiest villain seen in "kids' entertainment" for decades now. And most of all, whenever my neural pathways randomly trigger some reminiscence of Gravity Falls, the first thing to pop into my mind is the palpable mystery of it all. Regardless of age demographic, there have been precious few recent shows with quite its Twin Peaks-ish aesthetic of feverish mystique.
This is the kind of timeless show that transcends age; more than anything, it hearkens back to the classic animation series of the '90s.
As good as anything from the days of The Disney Afternoon.
Yeah, I got some problems with so much of Disney's television output these days, but I won't get into that here. It just makes it all the better when they really make something splendid! Though the D's Phineas and Ferb was long the gold standard for contemporary western animation series, Gravity Falls does it one better, and is showing no signs of slowing down yet! Bringing back memories of darker "kids'" fare of yore, Gravity Falls is that rare show that in no way condescends or panders to its intended demographic. Its delightfully twisted "backwoods town with a dark (though technically, innumerably many) secret(s)" setting is guaranteed to haunt the nightmares of young and old alike... when we aren't too busy laughing our asses off at the lovable character-derived humor, that is.
Because, you see, beyond the trappings of all the spooky weirdness, Gravity Falls is a show about family and friendship, about growing up and growing wiser (...you'll get there someday, Mabel). There's a great sense of continuity as the seasons chug along (lacking any official statement, I'll just attribute this to inspiration from Arthur because that'd just be ridiculously awesome); characters recall past mistakes and at least try to learn from them, if not always to great success. Everyone has their strengths and flaws, and "happy endings" don't always make everyone happy. The depiction of lovable everykid-but-not-quite Dipper's hopeless infatuation with an older girl is some sad fucking true-to-life shit, man.
You can tell the writers aren't cooking up these situations from outta nowhere, even if they're using a recipe book that more often and not includes unusual ingredients such as cryptids, secret societies, and perhaps the creepiest villain seen in "kids' entertainment" for decades now. And most of all, whenever my neural pathways randomly trigger some reminiscence of Gravity Falls, the first thing to pop into my mind is the palpable mystery of it all. Regardless of age demographic, there have been precious few recent shows with quite its Twin Peaks-ish aesthetic of feverish mystique.
This is the kind of timeless show that transcends age; more than anything, it hearkens back to the classic animation series of the '90s.