Blendins and Ciphers and Grappling Hooks, Oh My! - Tooned Up #17
Tonight, on a very special episode of Tooned Up: Cam the Animation Guru, and Captain Kaye are joined by Billy Pollihan of the See You Next Summer Podcast to talk about a town where something's rotten in the air, and it ain't just Old Man McGucket. Our intrepid trio takes a hike through the town of Gravity Falls, and recap/review the highly influential Disney Channel Original.
How’s it going, fellow Renegades? While our Fearless Leader goes into his Odin Sleep for the remainder of the month, he’s asked me - The Director - to step in and fill in some mighty big shoes on the site. As such, I’m more than happy to come at you guys with a special episode of Tooned Up where my favorite animation-lovin’ pals talk about Gravity Falls!
I’ll admit, I’ve never really been big on modern animation: I grew up in the early 2000’s, so I’ve resigned myself to the fact that the shows airing on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney just aren’t for me anymore. Top that off with my own closed-mindedness with animation at the time (I guess you can call it rose-colored glasses for all my past faves), you would be excused for painting me as a classic case of “Old Man Yells At The Clouds.“
That all changed when me and my mom watched Gravity Falls, and we instantly fell in love with the show. My own prejudices of modern animation immediately melted away as I was just floored with the chemistry between Dipper and Mabel Pines. The characters that populated the small town found a special place in my heart, and the witty writing of Alex Hirsh opened my eyes to what modern cartoons are capable of. While Cam and Mike are more critical of the episodic and filler nature of season 1, I can honestly say that after watching multiple live action AND animated shows that strove for serialized storytelling, the Monster-of-the-Week structure was a nice change of pace for me. In fact, the slow build-up of Season 1 helped me appreciate the focus on story in the following season.
If you haven’t checked out Gravity Falls, it comes highly recommended from all of us here at Renegade Pop Culture. Especially right in time for the Spooky Season!
This episode of Tooned Up comes courtesy of the creepy and kooky Kawaii Kyle!
Previously on Renegade Animation, Captain Kaye, The Animation Guru, Haley, and Teresa dove head first into the Spring anime season and took in the good, the bad, and the bizarre. And now… Squid Game: The Anime.