It's a question that has been nagging at "Gravity
Falls" viewers ever since this
Emmy Award-winning series first debuted on the Disney Channel back in June of
2012: What is the deal with Grunkle Stan?
I mean, sure. There's a lot that fans of this Emmy
Award-winning animated series already know about Stan Pines. That he loves
fleecing the rubes … I mean "customers" who come by the Mystery
Shack, that tumbledown roadside attraction which Pines runs. And while he may
not be the greatest role model for his grand-nephew & niece, Stan does seem
to genuinely care about the twins Dipper & Mabel.
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And yet, from the very first episode of "Gravity
Falls," "Tourist
Trapped," there were signs that
Grunkle Stan really shouldn't be trusted. From that SPOILER ALERT secret
passageway which is hidden behind a vending machine in the Mystery Shack's gift
shop to that enormous whatever-it-is deep down in Pines' underground lab which
Stan uses information from Dipper's journal to fire up in the last episode of
Season One, "Gideon Rises" … There are aspects of Stan Pines that
are genuinely disturbing.
And as Season Two of this Disney XD series unspooled, there
were "Gravity Falls"
fans who were desperate to learn more about what Grunkle Stan was up to. Which
is why they decoded each & every secret message that had been stashed in
the show's credits. Not to mention repeatedly watch every episode of "Gravity
Falls" and then freeze-framing
particular moments. All with the hope that something which was hidden in the
background might then hold the key to uncovering the central mystery that seems
to be driving this show's overall storyline.
And you know who's thrilled about all these viewers who hop
on Twitter & Facebook immediately after each episode of "Gravity
Falls" airs so that they can
then immediately share their thoughts about the latest plot twists? Series
creator Alex Hirsch.
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"When a new episode of "Gravity
Falls' airs, the 24 hours that
follow are — for me, anyway — some sort of weird combination of Christmas
morning and getting your report card. Immediately there are innumerable crazy
and fun tributes online, great pieces of fan art, things that show how engaged
people are with what we've been doing with 'Gravity
Falls,' " Hirsch explained.
"Mind you, I'm a 'The customer is always right' kind of guy. If some guy
says 'That episode wasn't so hot,' I don't say 'Get out of my life.' I say
'Yeah, no, you're probably right. There's a lesson to be learned here.' I've
very much engaged in seeing what the fan response to the show is. Trying to
discover what provokes passion among our audience and what provokes 'Meh.'
"
And given how well the first season of "Gravity
Falls" was received … Well,
Alex was ready to really step up his storytelling with Season Two of this
Disney Television Animation production.
"And it wasn't just me. The artists who work on 'Gravity
Falls' — now that they knew that people were really enjoying the sort of
season-long storytelling we were trying to do here — they wanted to step up
their game as well," Hirsch continued. "That's why — just before we
officially started working on Season Two — me and all the artists who work on
this show took a road trip together. It was like 11 art nerds in a van driving
the California coast up to the
tip of Oregon and back down. We
stopped at every single roadside tourist trap that we could find and then took
a million pictures."
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And that was all because they wanted to get the world that
Stan Pines lives in and works in right. A world that's sure to change when
"Not What He Seems," airs tonight on Disney XD at 8:30 p.m. / 7:30
p.m. Central.
"We know that we're taking a big chance when we do
something like this. We know that we could possibly turn off viewers. 'Gravity
Falls' fans might say 'This isn't
what I signed up for,' " Alex stated. "But as I and the great team of
artists I work with were blocking out Season Two, we kept asking ourselves
'What would we want to watch? and What would be fun to write?' I mean, if you
have a character who — every time they appear onscreen — you can sort of
suspect what they're going to do next … Well, that character then becomes one
note. Repetitious. And we're not interested in repeating ourselves on 'Gravity
Falls.' "
And not repeating themselves has clearly been paying off.
Given that — just last month — Alex and the "Gravity
Falls" production team were
honored at a 2015 Annie Award for the Best Animated Television/Broadcast
Production For a Childrens Audience.
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But that was last month. Whereas tonight, some very big
questions will be answered on this Disney Television Animation production. In
fact, as SPOILER ALERT government agents take Stan into custody, Dipper &
Mabel then begin question how much they really know about their Grunkle Stan.
"When I first pitched this show to the Disney Channel,
I shared my 'Gravity Falls'
mission statement. The road map — if you will — for where this show is
headed. Because what we're really trying to do here is honestly experimental
for a kid's animated television show," Alex said. "Combining half
hour stories with season-long arcs like this, it's kind of uncharted territory.
The people writing on this show have certainly never done it before. So we're
all kind of learning as we go."
"But 'Gravity
Falls' — as I imagine it, anyway
— definitely does have a beginning, a middle and an end. I mean, it's all
about this one insane summer that these 12 or 13 year-old twins have just
before they become teenagers. And so far, we feel very fortunate that what we
hoped people would feel while they're watching this show is mostly tracking.
What people feel while they're watching, you can never fully predict an
audience's response. But so far with 'Gravity
Falls,' I could not ask for a
better audience response," Hirsch concluded.
"Gravity Falls" fans finally learn what the deal really is with Grunkle Stan when
"Not What He Seems" airs on Disney XD tonight.
This story was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on March 9, 2015