Growing Up With ‘Gravity Falls’

From 2012 to 2016, Disney aired a mystery thriller series featuring horrifying shapeshifters, sadistic interdimensional demons, government conspiracies and the apocalypse. It was instantly clear that “Gravity Falls” would push the boundaries of children’s television and Disney’s strict censorship. The show, aimed at a wide audience of kids, teens and young adults alike, was unafraid to be spooky and weird. 

Mystery-obsessed members of Gen Z, including myself, were enraptured by showrunner Alex Hirsch’s (“Inside Job”) endless plot twists, hidden messages and cliffhangers that resulted in a massively popular and exceptionally unique show. Beyond the mysteries and dark themes, the show also tackled the uncertainties of growing up. I saw myself mature alongside the two main characters, grappling with the same insecurities and worries about leaving behind your childhood imagination and being forced to change with age. Like other young fans of the show, “Gravity Falls” became intertwined with my own coming of age across its four-year run. When the finale aired, it felt like the end of much more than just a series — it was the end of an important period of my life. 

“Gravity Falls” follows 12-year-old twins Dipper (Jason Ritter, “Joan of Arcadia”) and Mabel Pines (Kristen Schaal, “Bob’s Burgers”) as they spend the summer with their great uncle “Grunkle” Stan (Hirsch) in the fictional town Gravity Falls, Ore. The twins quickly begin to uncover the supernatural secrets of the town, discovering that nothing is as it seems. Charmed by the humor and adventure of the show, it was clear to me even then that “Gravity Falls” was special. The show never talked down to its young audience. Hirsch spoke to young viewers like equals and never assumed kids were incapable of understanding darker themes. In doing so, it joined a growing number of shows written for both children and adults to enjoy. 

Notably, the show challenged its contemporaries by showing the importance of quality and intentionality in children’s media. While it’s easy to assume kids don’t know any better and slap together a show with a few cheap jokes and trite lessons, Hirsch approached his work with the care and passion frequently reserved for adult programs. “Gravity Falls” featured clever clues, foreshadowing and character-driven arcs unparalleled by other shows on the Disney network at the time. In contrast with the money-grabbing trend of renewing shows well beyond their expiration dates, Hirsch had the beginning, middle and end of the story planned out from the start. He was quick to assure viewers that when the show ended after two seasons, it was on his terms — not on Disney’s — and that “Gravity Falls” came to a natural end. The focus on quality storytelling led to the series becoming both a cult classic and a critically acclaimed program. “Gravity Falls” made me realize that TV was not just entertainment — it could be an art. 

By the time “Gravity Falls” was wrapping up, I was 12 and beginning to feel too old to still be watching Disney shows. I was just starting to pick up on the adult jokes, hints of LGBTQ+ representation and themes in the show that previously went over my head, deepening my appreciation for the series. Suddenly, “Gravity Falls” wasn’t just about mysteries and the supernatural, it was about self-discovery and growing up. 

The show had always put its character development first, something I didn’t notice until close to the end of its run. As the twins approached their 13th birthday, the story delved into the uglier parts of getting older. Mabel in particular faced unfair backlash from audiences as she acted selfishly in fear of change and growing up. In the episodes “Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future” and “Weirdmageddon 2: Escape from Reality,” the plot lines center around Mabel’s fears about growing up and the end of their summer in Gravity Falls, both symbolizing the end of an era. While Mabel at first tries to live in denial that things are changing, she discovers that running away only makes things worse. Both twins are uncertain about the future, but they know that summer can’t last forever. The scariest thing in Gravity Falls isn’t the ghouls, curses, monsters or even the apocalypse – it’s the fact that leaving is inevitable. 

Throughout its run, the show pairs a sense of adventure and curiosity with fear of uncertainty. The Pines twins and I had reached the age where the ultimate unknown was the future, but the show tells viewers that the best way to deal with change is to accept its inevitability. Despite the show’s success, summer had to come to an end. When the twins finally boarded the bus back home in the last minutes of the finale, it felt like losing an old friend. “Gravity Falls” has been with me since I began the transition from childhood to adolescence. It shaped children’s TV, influencing successors and proving that shows made for kids could be beautiful, intelligent and meaningful. The end of the show was scary for me, but Hirsch reminds us in the final moments that there’s always next summer.

As the former child fans of “Gravity Falls” now enter adulthood, the show’s message remains relevant. With the release of Hirsch’s “The Book of Bill,” a book based on the world of “Gravity Falls” released over the past summer and targeted at an older audience, the world of “Gravity Falls” appears to have grown with us. When I watched the finale at age 12, it felt like my childhood was ending. Now, I’m 20 and I still feel like my childhood is ending. Even as we continue to grow up, Hirsch leaves us a roadmap to return to Gravity Falls. 

Daily Arts Writer Isabelle Perraut can be reached at iperraut@umich.edu.

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