About a week ago a friend of mine was excited about a new animated television show from the Disney channel, and while I humored her I went fully expecting not to enjoy it. However despite my private pessimism (that was in no way improved when I saw the animation style) I was soon impressed not only by animation quality, but by a likeable cast of characters and plots, if simple, also fun to watch. The next day I watched the rest of the series (only six episodes are out at the moment, so it's not so great a task) and really enjoyed myself."When life gives you lemons, extract the juice and use it to draw a treasure map in invisible ink. That really works! Seriously!"
The show is called Gravity Falls,
created by Alex Hirsch (former writer for The Marvelous Misadventures
of Flapjack), who apparently based this series partially on his own
experiences during summers with his sister. The premise is that
twelve year old Dipper Pines and his twin sister Mabel are sent to
spend the summer with their Great Uncle Stan who owns a tourist trap
called 'The Mystery Shack' in Gravity Falls, Oregon. But strange
things happens in Gravity Falls and it's up to Dipper to save his new
home... or thereabouts. The show to me is somewhere between Courage the
Cowardly Dog and The
Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy in
so far that it's protagonists are dealing a wide variety of
supernatural elements. Only in tone and atmosphere it's more
reminiscent of Danny Phantom
and though its first few episodes have been episodic there have been
hints of a larger over arching plot to come which excites me
personally. Though I will note that the episodes do not seem to
follow any particular formula which keeps watching interesting.
I don't want to
hype the show to much for fear of raising unreasonable expectations.
After all this is still very much a children's show (Though at times
it does stretch its TV-Y7 rating, much to the enjoyment of the
teenage/adult following it has apparently gathered) and the plots are
not particularly shocking or complex. Still a lot of money and talent
has gone into Gravity Falls and it shows (especially in the opening
where the animation quality is simply outstanding) so it's more than
worth a watch if you're someone who likes mystery and high quality
animation. With a bouncy, nostalgic charm it's a good choice to close
the summer with.
