It's always fun to write the little bit of TV that the characters watch in 'Gravity Falls,' because it's a perfect place to poke fun at the media.
— Alex Hirsch
My sister, when we were in Elementary school, had one particular lime green fuzzy troll doll sweater with a gem sticking out of the belly and actual hair that stuck to it, and I just remember, even though I was very young, being like 'This is unusual. It is weird that she is wearing this in public.'
I think the No. 1 lesson I learned from 'The Simpsons' was just that animation could be as funny as live-action. That animation could be funnier than live-action. That animation didn't have to just be for kids.
I remember when I was a kid, whenever you'd see cartoons cross over with each other, it always ranged from a delightful, magical surprise to a cynical, annoying cash grab.
I remember spending one summer being utterly obsessed with trying to get the legendary unreachable 'Ice Key' from 'Banjo-Kazooie.'
The Internet never ceases to impress me.
A weird show attracts weird fans!
I always thought, if I was gonna make a kids show, I would want to make something that my own 12-year-old self would love. So, I put all that in a blender and stewed it together to create 'Gravity Falls.'
The best way to make a show that's going to resonate is to make a show that you'd love.
As long as I can recall I've always wanted to make cartoons.
Sometimes a sincere moment is the most surprising thing you can write.
When me and my sister were growing up, we just had very different personalities. I was sort of analytical and took myself too seriously, and she was sort of goofy and nuts and full of love - too much love, she had a crush on a different guy every week.
Yeah, my first love was 'The Simpsons,' but in terms of movies and stuff, I loved 'Back To The Future,' I loved 'Jurassic Park,' I loved 'The Truman Show.'
One of the interesting things about making a kids TV show is that you are in living rooms all across the world and you never know who's watching.
I spent 90 percent of my childhood playing SNES and N64, and my favorite games were the ones packed with secrets.
With Twitter and Tumblr, it's easy to get lost in the tidal wave of feedback from fans.
Gravity Falls' was a labor of love, but like all labor it could be painful at times.
I loved 'The X-Files.'
I loved 'The Simpsons' because it didn't talk down to its audience.
I was raised in the '90s. I love 'Seinfeld.'
I love the idea that if you watch something twice, three times, four times, you'll continuously notice new things.
With shows like 'The X-Files' or 'Eerie, Indiana' - even though they would have comedic moments, even though they would have character moments - there was a sincerity about magic.
Gravity Falls' normally follows very particular rules: we start out in reality close to the world as we know it, usually one magical element presents itself, and then it's essentially vanished or hidden back to where it came from by the end of the 20 minutes.
One day I'd love to release a coffee table book of all the crazy notes I got from Disney Channel's S&P and legal department.
I think the key as a creator is to just trust your own intuition, and follow your passion and trust that if you make something you love, an audience who loves it will find it.
If you ask anyone in animation, how long they've been into animation, they'll pretty much always tell you that it's since they can remember, and I'm no exception. I've always just loved drawing and loved cartoons.
I can speak to my experience and say that CalArts worked out very well for me. After CalArts, I went to Cartoon Network, and then came to Disney.
When I went to California Institute of the Arts, I was classmates with a lot of like-minded weirdoes, some of who have gone on to create other cartoon shows-J.G. Quintel, 'Regular Show;' Pen Ward, 'Adventure Time.' We were all friends in school and pushed each other and made each other laugh.
