"Tourist Trapped" Heroic Analysis (1 of 40) of Dipper from "Gravity Falls"

Spoilers ahead:

Gravity Falls is a fantastic first look into a modern hero's journey that fits nearly every archetype of that story structure. I biasly believe that every single good story buys into this pattern as outlined by many scholars, most notably Joseph Campbell in his 1949 novel The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This Disney-animated children's cartoon created by Alex Hirsch shows us that adventures are all around us if only we choose to look for them, as such is seen with young Dipper Pines, the hero of this particular television series.

As the hero, Dipper fits many of the structural patterns found in the most common hero's journey. He leaves his ordinary world with his twin sister, Mabel, to stay with his great uncle (grunkle) Stan at his home in Gravity Falls, Oregon. Unlike Mabel, Dipper has a rough time with the transition, and seemingly didn't want to leave home for the summer in the first place. With that, we have a typical separation from the hero's ordinary world. Home for Dipper is calm and peaceful, and his summer in Gravity Falls is nothing short of a fantastical adventure from day one. Not every teenage boy can say that on the first summer visiting his grunkle he had to rescue his sister from forest gnomes who were seeking his sister's hand in marriage.

The world that Dipper enters is one filled with magic and mystery, marked by his uncle's home and store, the Mystery Shack. His uncle claims that the creatures and strange things on display here are merely fabricated to dupe the public, however there are strong hints that this may not be the case and that some of grunkle Stan's items are real. Stan, at this point, does seem to have a suspiciously coy attitude about the strange things found in Gravity Falls, as well as a hidden room that is only just revealed in the end of the show's premiere episode. I'm sure as the show progresses more information will be revealed. 

Dipper's call to adventure comes simultaneously with his first herald, the journal labeled "3," which is placed on the image of a 6-fingered hand (possibly a left hand if facing downwards on the cover). Convinced that Gravity falls has many secrets, Dipper goes looking for mysterious things, and that is just what he happens to find. The journal not only gives him insight into many of the curiosities of Gravity Falls, but also warns him to "trust no one." In this way, the book represents many things to Dipper's hero's journey. It acts as an unconventional mentor to Dipper because it helps him uncover the truths behind mysteries, as seen with how he uses the book to help Mabel defeat the gnomes whom Dipper believes to be a brain-hungry zombie. The journal acts as a herald because it informs Dipper that there is a need to act. Dipper, fearing for Mabel's safety, is encouraged to action because of what he learns from the book. Overall, it informs Dipper that his suspicions about Gravity Falls are believed, and even documented, by at least one other person who is or was in town.

The episode "Tourist Trapped," is a quaint exposition for the start of Dipper's hero's journey because it also spotlights some of the other traditional characters that one sees with heroes. Soos fits a lot of typical roles into one character. He acts a Mentor for Dipper because he encourages dipper to find evidence before jumping to conclusions. This shows that Dipper not only sees Soos as a guiding figure, but also establishes Soos as a Herald as well because it is the advice that Soos gives Dipper that helps him to discover the truth of Mabel's suitor. Soos is also an ally because he helps Dipper along the way with this advice and even literal gifts such as the shovel and baseball bat he gives Dipper to use to combat the zombies (though they actually turn out to be gnomes, that shovel still comes in handy). These tools also can mark the gift from a mentor which is seen in traditional and modern hero's journey alike, such as the invisible cloak given to Harry Potter or the Dire Wolves that Ned allows his children to keep. He also is a trickster figure for he provides comedic relief with his un-witty and dopey intellect. 

Every hero has some type of antagonistic force or forces. Dipper has many conventional shadows, such as his self-doubt or his threshold guardian of an uncle who appears to not believe in Dipper's superstitions. Norman is a literal representation of things not being normal, though his name would suggest otherwise. The gnomes that make up Norman (Jeff, Carson, Steve, Jason, and Shmebulock) are all shadows because they not only challenge the hero but have their own goals and aspirations. Though those goals are to oddly make a child their queen, they have goals nonetheless. Even Mabel herself has her moment as a threshold guardian. She does not believe Dipper about Norman and thus presents him with the challenge of convincing her that he is right.

Hopefully in later episodes other stand out characters such as Wendy, who appears to be an ally because she gives Dipper the keys to a golf-cart that saves Mabel and him, or the possibly werewolf postman will resurface, though it is more or less apparent that Wendy will be a predominant character because of how heavily she is in the opening credit sequence. There other many other aspects of the heroes journey that Gravity Falls touches on in the very first episode, so much so that each episode may possibly contain a complete cycle of the hero’s journey itself. Dipper has an ordinary world, a call to adventure, a refusal of the call, a meeting with multiple mentors, he crosses a first threshold, he meets allies and enemies, he is challenged with tests to overcome, he has an approach, he successfully overcomes a crisis, even though it is a minor one, he is rewarded after rescuing Mabel, and (skipping some steps here that are represented in episode one) he inevitably returns with the elixir that is the peace of mind now that he knows for a fact that Gravity Falls houses some strange creatures.