Gravity Falls - research
Today in class I decided to look at a cartoon called "Gravity Falls" because it really reminds me of my theme Purple Haze. Especially it ties with the Haze part of the theme. It is very mysterious and for me haze or fog are weather elements that make me uncomfortable or scared.
I have not focused on the word Haze before because I was concentrated of understanding purple more in depth. I did not think about the mystery caused by the word Haze. In general, when I think of Purple Haze, I think of something a little chaotic and mysterious. Also if I was going to list sensations that I feel when I think of what would it be like to stand in a Purple Haze, I think of a very thick air - making it difficult to breathe and generally I think of disorientation caused by the color. Generally if people want to feel nice and calm, it is advised for them to imagine they are breathing in and out their favorite color. I can see that for people who like purple a lot, it could be a pleasant experience, but I also see purple as a very heavy color that could make the breathing more difficult.
Going back to Gravity Falls, it is a highly successful cartoon, and I decided to see why. Looking at the characters - they are human like characters and they look friendly. I think they tick off the appeal from the list. However, I do not think there is much extremely interesting about the characters and how they look. What might be 'selling' them to young children is that they look like human children, therefore they are relatable.
I decided to start my research by googling 'what made Gravity Falls successful'. I think finding a very general answer would be a good start.
One of the first things that popped up was an article titled 'Five Reasons Gravity Falls Is The Best Thing Ever'. I looked through the article and some of the things mentioned caught my attention.
The thing that I find the most interesting is how the relationship between the siblings is something people find good to look at.
The twins exposed to rather paranormal events and situation tend to ditch each other from time to time but in the end they realize that they can only trust one another (Morris, 2016). In my opinion this is a very beautiful message for children, showing that you can trust your family even if there are ups and downs. Especially when it comes to siblings, children tend to argue with their siblings and that is normal and showing those typical family relations in a cartoons, but still highlighting that even when a brother and sister do not get along, they still can count on each other, is a great message. I get an idea that people like seeing normal family relations which are often not perfect and there are normal arguments and it is relatable for everyone. I feel like when cartoons portray those relations, even the adults are interested in them.
I found an interview with the creator of Gravity Falls, where he talks about creating a show for all ages. According to Alex Hirsch in an interview with Lin (2014) the best way to create a cartoon is to target it at yourself and make something you would like personally. I think it is an interesting piece of advice, however I do not think everything I will like, will be suitable for small children. This is an advice that needs to be approached critically. I think basing some ideas on things I like watching and I would enjoy seeing is great, but if I based a whole cartoon on only things I would like, it would no longer be for all, but for very narrow group of people. I think what is important is to create something I enjoy and find interesting but not make it targeted specifically at myself.
Gravity Falls is a show packed with paranormal activities, outlandish situations and creatures, but somehow it still is understood by many and not too complex. I think the mysteries in the show and all of the extraterrestrial moments make the show very complex, which would possibly be difficult to understand by young viewers. However, as I mentioned before, children have incredible imagination and all that information that for us - adults make very little to no sense, somehow makes sense in a child's mind. Also what brings the show back to earth is the basic family relations and normal human problems. I think it is important to keep this balance between the fantastic elements and creatures and the down to earth subjects.
The Haze of mystery is something very complex and can appear as difficult to understand it is why I want to give some sort of mystery to my cartoon, but knowing I want the characters not to be humans, I need to remember to keep the balance and my mysteries cannot be as crazy as they are in Gravity Falls, because then the cartoon would not make sense to anyone. I think what I took out from this research is that having fantastic elements and things out of this world is desirable, but there needs to be balance between that and very down to earth problems to keep the viewers interested and understanding.
Reference list
Hirsch, A. (2014) 'Disney's Gravity Falls Creator on How to Create a Show for All Ages', Interviewed by Lin, J. Time 01/08. Available at: https://time.com/3064362/gravity-falls-alex-hirsch-interview/ (Accessed: 11/02/2021)
Morris, S. (2016) 'Five Reasons Gravity Falls Is The Best Thing Ever', Geek & Sundry, 21/03. Available at: https://geekandsundry.com/five-reasons-to-why-gravity-falls-is-great/ (Accessed: 11/02/2021).
Animated cartoons for children have evolved a lot over the past decades and seem to be increasingly surreal. My own experience of contemporary animation demonstrates that animators are becoming more adventurous in terms of what they show kids - take something like 'The Bagel and Becky Show' for example - a genuinely unsettling but hilarious animation aimed at 8 to 12 year olds that stretches the boundaries of taste and what animators can achieve in terms of how it looks and the scriptwriting. What I am saying is, it doesn't talk down to kids or even treat them like children - it presupposes that the children watching it are capable of understanding what they are looking at.
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