Alex Hirsch, the creator of Gravity Falls, shows hilarious and ridiculous notes about the script changes that Disney requested. “Gravity Falls” is celebrating its tenth anniversary after two seasons that aired on the Disney Channel and Disney XD between 2012 and 2016. He received critical acclaim and received several awards, including two Emmy Awards and a BAFTA Children’s Award.
“Gravity Falls” tells about a mysterious town in Oregon, where 12-year-old Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) go to spend the summer with their great uncle or grandfather Stan (Alex Hirsch) in his tourist trap Cabin of Wonders. As they uncover the truth behind the local legends and the real secrets of the city, rather than the fake ones exposed in the Hut, various secrets of the community are revealed. With the help of a magazine and wacky townspeople, Dipper and Mabel discover a new adventure every day.
As the series turns ten years old, creator Alex Hirsch (via Twitter) shares some of the emails he exchanged with Disney censors about the dialogues and content of Gravity Falls. He includes some rather ridiculous fears and his answers to dispel them.
Disney’s Standards and Practices department had some interesting ideas on how to make Gravity Falls “family friendly”. This includes a lot of ridiculous ideas, such as concerns that the use of “poopface” is offensive, concerns about the slang meaning of “hoo-ha”, the problematic connotation of the word “chub” and several other equally meaningless requests to change the content of the show. Hirsch includes his responses to each query, explaining his choice of why he used those words, as well as either his refusal to change or his annoyance at having to change. He insists that the caricature will not really offend anyone, and no one will come up with a dirtier meaning of offensive phrases. In the full context of the show, many problems are quickly solved.
Another problem with censorship is the relationship between Gravity Falls Blabs and Durland, which, according to Disney, should “remain comical, not flirtatious.” Hirsch has already called out the hypocrisy of Disney’s representation of LGBTQ+ characters, and this is demonstrated by this particular comment. Hirsch’s general response to the concerns of the censors can be summarized in one question that he asked them: “Why should we be held hostage by any imaginary reflex complainers who are probably trying their best to pretend they are offended by it? ?”This is the perfect response to these ridiculous changes proposed by Disney. Obviously, Hirsch had a special vision for Gravity Falls, and these notes are a perfect example of studio intervention when it comes to interfering with the creators’ work.
