Reccomendation of the Month: Gravity Falls

"When life gives you lemons, extract the juice and use it to draw a treasure map in invisible ink. That really works! Seriously!"

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.

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.