Gravity Falls is the newest animated series on Disney Channel. And to my surprise, it was good very good. Almost as good as early Phineas and Ferb. Now if I had to describe the show, it's tough but I guess I would say that his elements of the bizarre and strange. Perhaps mythical and sci-fi/fantasy. It's clever and really fun. I'd have to say that this show shows me that Disney Channel is finally airing good shows again. I've seen this show called a kid's version of Twin Peaks and well, I can't safely say if that is true or not as that show was before my time. Anyways let's get to the review.
Intro
I really like the theme for this show. It's hard to describe why I like it but it has an eerie yet mysterious sound to it while at the same time, I swear it sounds like whistling and the opening scenes do well to show what this show is about. You know the more I think about it, this show in some respects is akin to Scooby Doo, not the early series but stuff like Zombie Island where the monsters turned out to be real. Although it is more outlandish and it has a lot of silly jokes that to an older audience may seem dumb but for it's target audience, they work.
Episode Title
Headhunters
I really like the title for this episode as it is simple and doesn't reveal too much about the episode either.
Plot
The plot of this episode is pretty unique I must say and that is something that I've seen in the two episodes that I've watched. This episode starts off with our two main characters, Dipper and Mabel watching TV and eating popcorn when their friend and Great Uncle or Grunkle Stan, Soos shows them Gravity Falls used to have a wax museum and apparently Stan forgot about it and he was going to reopen it but the wax figure of Abe Lincoln had melted. This led to one of my favorite jokes from Stan blaming the wax figure of John Wilkes Booth. I'm surprised that a Disney Channel show would get away with a show like this. Mabel tells Stan that she'll make a new wax figure and she does but she has a hard time finding her muse until she sees Stan and makes a wax figure of Stan. Stan becomes highly attached to himself, which in other shows but for some reason, it worked here. I don't know why but it just did. Granted, the funeral was a bit much. Yeah, I'll get back to that. Anyways, Stan holds a press conference announcing the grand reopening of the wax museum but everyone there is less than thrilled as Stan is not well liked by the citizens of Gravity Falls. Later that night, Stan finds that his wax figure had been beheaded. Dipper and Mabel decide to solve the case and try to find the culprit and it was such an odd twist as to the true culprit was. I'll get to that when I talk about when I talk about the villains. All in all, this was a decent plot.
Plot Devices
Ax
The biggest plot device in this episode was this ax as it was the main weapon used to behead the wax figure of Stan and this is what sent Dipper and Mabel on their journey to find the killer.
Characters
Dipper voiced by Jason Ritter
Now if there was one issue that I took with this show at first was the voice actor for Dipper. I don't know it's nothing against Jason Ritter, son of the late John Ritter but he us supposed to be playing a 12 year old and at first I couldn't feel that but after time I came to like him as he seems to be the most logical character. Dipper is the one that is into all the weird stuff that this show focuses on and here Dipper shows his detective skills and almost gets the killer but who he thought was the killer didn't turn out to be who he thought it was. If you recall how I said that this show was like Scooby Doo, this scene goes even further with that by having Dipper explain how the killer took his supposed revenge upon the wax Stan. When he gets to fight the true villain, it is a really fun watch and he is so smart in how he defeats him.
Mabel voiced by Kristen Schaal
Mabel is a character that your either going to really love or find completely and utterly annoying. For me, in the pilot, I found her really annoying but this episode helped me to warm up to her. She's still not my favorite but she was toned down in this episode. Also this episode helped her shine and actually show off her talent of being artsy and crafty whereas the pilot had her going boy crazy and I think that may be part of the reason why I was annoyed by her antics. I will say out of the main cast, Mabel feels the most like a cartoon character. I know that sounds odd but let me explain, while this show is very odd, a lot of the characters still feel human but Mabel feels like you could pluck her out of this show and she'd fit in another one. For any Bronies that read this, she is a lot like Pinkie Pie from the tiny amount that I know about Pinkie Pie. Mabel compared to her brother is very eccentric and over the top. Which works for this character but as I said I have a feeling that she is going to be the most divisive character in the show but I will say that she at least played a key role in this episode.
Stan voiced by Alex Hirsch
Stan, is voiced by the show's creator. He is at best a cheapskate and I think you could even compare him to Mr. Krabs from Spongebob but I think he's more likable because even though he is stingy you can see that he does have a soft spot for his niece and nephew and while he may be tough on them, he'll always take care of them. As I mentioned earlier he really falls for the wax figure of himself and for some reason, even though it should seem weird it doesn't I mean yeah, he treats him like a real person but it reminds me of how I still sometimes treat my stuffed Mickey as if he were real. Some might say the funeral was little much but I thought it was nice little touch with Stan even starting to give a eulogy. I honestly think that the best way to describe Stan is that he seems like the type of uncle who you'd catch watching late night TV in his boxers while sipping on a beer.
Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland voiced by Kevin Micheal Richardson & Keith Ferguson
Now if I had to pick any two characters that were annoying, it would have to Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland. Why is it that in these shows set in small town that the law enforcement characters are annoying. And that's sad really because these are two great voice actors who I feel are being wasted. Honestly, they secured a spot of annoying characters when Durland hollered "City Boy" and just the way that Blubs patronized Dipper for being a city boy. Thankfully, these two weren't in the episode for long.
Toby Determined voiced by Greg Turkington
Toby was at first thought to be the culprit but it was the case. The best way to describe this character is just as odd and very anxious and I do like the fact that even though there was build up to him being the villain but he wasn't and he was even able to prove his innocence. Which is another nice touch.
Villains
The Wax Figures
Yep, the true culprits were The Wax Figures. They wanted to take revenge upon Stan for him forgetting about them for ten years. There was a nice little fight between the figures and Dipper and Mabel. There leader seemed to be a wax figure of Sherlock Holmes and as I mentioned above, I really like the way Dipper defeated him. It was so simple as he just led him outside and let the sun melt him and by the way one of the wax figures there is Coolio and there is also a wax Larry King and he is the only one that survives.
My Final Thoughts
It's so strange, I feel like I should hate this show. I mean Alex Hirsch, the creator of this show is a creative consultant on Fish Hooks, a show that I loathe. Even when I saw the promo for this show, I thought it looked stupid and corny but y'know what, while corny, it wasn't stupid. It was good and clever. It's so strange but each time that I watched this show I felt like this show should've been on Cartoon Network but boy am I glad that it wasn't because Disney Channel needs more shows like this. I highly suggest this show, if you want a good time with some funny characters. I can't suggest and praise it enough.
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