Gummi Bears (1985) + Gravity Falls (2012)

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Episode 21 (Episode 8 of Season 2): My Gummi Lies Over The Ocean

A. *sings* My Gummi Lies Over The Ocean, my Gummi lies over the sea.... Curse the creators for choosing such a catchy title.

Anywho, the season finale of Season 2 provides us with a great adventure and a rather big change to the status quo by introducing a sort-of sixth ranger or rather a seventh Gummi Bear who will join the regular cast moving forward in Augustus 'Gusto' Gummi. Besides that, we also get a really cool locale with the island in the middle of a large hole in the ocean (and Gusto's dragon sculpture truly is a piece of art), some good character interaction setting up some future ones involving the rather free-spirited Gusto and the more hands-on Gruffi as well as an exciting climax with the escape from the drowning island (kinda reminded me a bit of the Monstro escape scene in Disney's Pinocchio). Overall, a fitting end to another good Gummi Bears season.

-Meet Augustus 'Gusto' Gummi, an artistic gummi with a free spirit, thus being a good future foil to the more practical Gruffi (and we certainly will have quite a bit of episodes featuring this pair). I like him quite a bit though that might be also thanks to a good vocal performance by none other than Rob Paulsen who needs no introduction given the amount of famous characters he voiced.

-We also get his animal companion Artie Deco introduced who is...decent. I have nothing much to say about him, but he did provide quite the heroic moment in this episode. This is the only time he is voiced by Jymn Magon who is not so much famous as a voice actor but more as a writer, story board artist and producer for this and many other future Disney Afternoon shows (perhaps the regular voice actor that started next season was not available in time?).

-I do wonder how long Gruffi and Tummi were away from Gummi Glen during all of this. I cannot imagine how worried-sick the other Gummis probably were after hearing nothing from them and probably searching high and low for them everywhere.

-I feel sad for Tummi but I can see Gruffi's point in all of this, fearing that Tummi might accidentally give away the existence of Gummi Bears by just willy-nilly cruising in his self-made boat. I do like however that we had hints at Tummi really liking ships in the previous episodes (what with his bottle ships and all).

-Can't say it enough...isn't it beautiful?

And thus ends Season 2. See you around for Season 3!

[BlackoutCreature]

Didn't realize that Gusto joined the show so late. His first episode was also the first episode of Gummi Bears I ever saw so for the longest time I always thought it was the pilot.

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Wouldn't be surprised since a later DA show would also start with a regular episode instead of the five-part series opener.

Now, regarding how I want to move forward:

-Obviously, since Gummi Bears has 65 episodes and Gravity Falls has 40 episodes, they wouldn't match up watching back-to-back. Still, I kinda want to let the shows end at the same time in my watch so I want to watch Gummi Bears episodes for the next 25 episodes until I reach the point where I can align it back with Gravity Falls's second season. I know it is a rather peculiar way of doing stuff, but that's just how my brain is wired.

Still, there is some Gravity Falls content I can go to in the meanwhile, since another thing that the modern Disney Shows brought was...shorts. Small videos usually released on Youtube to provide some content inbetween seasons mostly, but still content to talk about while I catch up with Gummi Bears in the meanwhile.

And what better way to talk about first regarding Gravity Falls than...the pilot.

Yep, while pitching Gravity Falls to Disney, Alex Hirsch was eventually asked to create a pilot of the series to show to the network. He accepted, and the series was later greenlit for production as a full series. Unsatisfied with the look and style of this pilot, Alex Hirsch personally hired his own team when the show was greenlit. The pilot has never aired on television, but the full episode was uploaded on August 3, 2016 after Cipher Hunt, as a prize for the completion of Bill's puzzle.

The pilot is in essence the first regular episode "Tourist Trapped" condensed to about 12 minutes, leaving many parts out that were in the regular version (the most important being Dipper not finding Journal #3 in this pilot but rather referring to "Dr. Crackpot's Book of the Damned" for information) and also only featuring Dipper, Mabel and Grunkle Stan with Soos and Wendy being absent.

Also interesting is that it features a rather more tragic ending for the gnomes in that they are being turned to stone after Dipper (with Mabel's help) cracks a riddle from the highest gnome (who also was not in the regular episode).

Overall, it is a fun pilot concept and truly shows how much potential the show already had in its early stages seeing how they only needed to make marginal adjustments for the regular season premiere (instead of doing a 180).

-Alex Hirsch originally stated that he hoped this pilot would never be fully shown to the public, because it's "a mess" and it "would be like showing awkward photos from high school prom." Another reason was that pilots made for internal usage usually have a lot of unlicensed material, like songs, so releasing them to the general audience can cause legal trouble. This is probably the case with the musical pieces used in the pilot (the most notable to me being the song "In The Summertime" by Mungo Jerry).

-Cannot help but feel that the pilot version of Grunkle Stan bears an uncanny resemblance (facially) to Carl Fredricksen from "Up"

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Episode 22A (Episode 1 of Season 3): Too Many Cooks




B. Starting with a bit of a light-hearted segment into this season as this does not feature overcoming a villain but rather the three young gummis wanting to get their hands on some taffy. It has some funny scenes like the confectioner Sir Paunch being a bit of a prankster towards King Gregor, the three gummis attempting to cook the recipe as well as King Gregor's reactions to these attempts. Definitely enjoyable.

-Season 3 also marked a bit of a change for the German dub of the show with its switching channels and also the dubbing studios. While they were able to retain most of the previous seasons' cast, two notable recastings were with Sunni and Cubbi. While Sunni's new voice was not too bad, Cubbi's voice was just...he was now voiced by the same person who voiced Serena/Sailor Moon and Lisa Simpson in their respective German dubs, i.e. he got saddled with a high-pitched voice which was a far cry from his original German dub voice which sounded very close to the original.

-Taffy...something that mostly exists in the US, Canada and the UK, meaning I never got to taste it. Maybe one day.

-Sir Paunch's voice sounded really familiar...I first thought it reminded me of the Reluctant Dragon and was, thus, perhaps an appearance by Clarence Nash. Then I saw that Clarence already passed away before this episode so it could not have been him. Still, it sounds like a type of voice I have heard before.

-I think their biggest mistake in their first attempt was not adding three times the ingredients...but that they added the eggs without peeling off the shell first. That would have made some crunchy taffy for sure.


Episode 22B (Episode 1B of Season 3): Just A Tad Smarter



B. It was interesting to see Igthorn being ousted from his position of power for once (after seeing two segments where Toadie was ousted previously) and Tadpole was certainly a different kind of ogre that was never seen again in this show, being more merciless and well-spoken than the others. It was also nice seeing the Gummis and Igthorn working together for once.

-Tadpole I would have liked to have seen making a comeback in a group of returning villains perhaps since he is certainly unlike the other ogres in the show. Too bad the show never again delved into the idea of there being different ogres around than the ones in Igthorn's employ.

-I guess Igthorn is not worried about his army contracting possible illnesses from licking floors all over.

-There must be a lot of gummiberry bushes growing around if it would take the ogres a week to destroy them all.

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Short #1: Creature In The Closet

This first short actually was shown several months before the series premiere and is sort of a promotion for the show.

Already gives us a hint of the show focusing on mystery, wacky sibling interactions and scary moments so in that case I would say it succeeds as a promotion.

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Episode 23A (Episode 2A of Season 3): If I Were You



C. A decent but rather pedestrian body switch episode also featuring one of my least favorite birthday tropes: the "planning a surprise party but so the birthday boy/girl does not suspect anything, we act like we are totally forgetting his birthday". I just have grown to find that trope to be rather mean-spirited. Still, the segment did not bore me and I didn't feel like I wasted my time.

-Now there's a character I wish to know about: Malsinger. What is his M.O.? Just a wandering magician selling various magical trinkets for a price? Or is he something else? Sadly, it's his only appearance in the show (voiced by Michael Rye who basically talked with himself during his whole appearance in Drekmore).

-Asparagus cake? While sounding revolting, I could imagine some chefs nowadays actually creating stuff like this. At least, it's not Baked Bads.


Episode 23B (Episode 2B of Season 3): Eye Of The Beholder



B+. Now this more than makes up for the first segment. Probably the first (and maybe only?) segment only featuring one Gummi in Sunni and how she managed to single-handedly saved the kingdom of Dunwyn from an evil witch. Interesting set-up with a witch that loses her magic due to sugar and who can easily enchant a whole kingdom into doing her bidding. Some nitpicky stuff keep it from being an A episode but still a very good segment.

-From this episode, Brian Cummings takes over for the late Roger C. Carmel as the now third voice for Sir Tuxford. Luckily, he would keep the role until the end of the show's run. Nothing really noteworthy as Sir Tuxford only has a couple of lines in this one.

-After this segment, King Gregor should have an angry letter exchange with the kingdom that borders to his regarding just dropping off threats like that and letting it be someone else's problem.

-Take a shot anytime someone says: "Marzipan is the sweetest woman in the world."  Kinda ironic though considering her weakness. Although in her non-hag disguise, she does look radiant.

-One nitpick I have with this episode is the scene where Sunni tries various things to show Marzipan's true face. Sunni did not see exactly what was in the pouch Marzipan had on her when the other kingdom guards ousted here, so why she suspected that it had to be food items like pepper, mustard, eggs etc. is kinda odd since we don't know how she came to that conclusion. I guess it was just added to pad out the segment's runtime.

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Short #2: Dipper's Guide To The Unexplained #1: Candy Monster



The first short series of Gravity Falls is Dipper explaining some of the anomalies around Gravity Falls. In this first entry, we get the candy monster who nabs the kids' Summerween candy (giving a clear indication when this episode takes place) but they find a more powerful source of attraction: late night TV.

I do wonder whether this candy monster belongs to the same line of monsters as Krumm:

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Episode 24A (Episode 3A of Season 3): Presto Gummo

B. A cute episode featuring Tummi wanting to be a magician (but more in the vein of doing tricks to make others laugh, not that he has any intention of being Zummi's successor) and Cubbi pulling a rather elaborate prank on him...until Igthorn enters the scene. Overall, I had fun with this one due to Cubbi coming up with some great stuff to make Tummi believe he really is a magician and I like how they work together at the end to escape from Igthorn.

-One cannot say about Cubbi that he is lazy when it comes to pranking someone. I mean those preparations probably took quite a bit of time.

-It would be really interesting to know how one would become a real magician in the Gummi world. So far, it seems like anyone could be a magician with a written spell and doing some vague hand motions. But perhaps there is more to it than that. Too bad that the show never really went into that well to explain how Gummi magic comes into being.

-Hmm, those magician outfits look vaguely familiar...I have seen them before...but where?

Episode 24B (Episode 3B of Season 3): A Tree Grows In Dunwyn

C. Here come the trolls again....as I mentioned before, I am not a big fan of them (would have preferred the Carpies making more appearances), mostly because it is not enough to put a troll coat over what is essentially 1930s gangsters (it would not have been out of place for them to say "We are gonna steal King Gregor's treasure, see? And the gummi bears won't stop us, see?"). I like how Gruffi eventually outsmarts but otherwise this is a meh episode. I thought that Gruffi getting that trophy would play more of a part (like making him overconfident like how it was for Baloo in that Talespin 2-parter) but it was virtually unimportant.

-Have to say as much that I don't care about them, I find that walnut machinegun (a family-friendly substitute for a real machine gun) kinda neat.

-I wonder whether the author forgot that the middle ages did not have searchlights like those seen in the picture above. Or maybe there is a work-around by using fireflies? I mean, Cubbi used something like that in the previous episode.

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Short #3: Dipper's Guide To The Unexplained #2: Stan's Tattoo



Wow, Stan is really protective of that tattoo. I wonder if it has some meaning to him.

Gotta love some of the efforts Dipper puts into trying to see that tattoo despite it leading to him having "Goober" written on him and having to hide from Stan for a bit.

Funny short all in all.

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Episode 25 (Episode 4 of Season 3): Day Of The Beevilweevils

A. Double-length episodes rarely disappoint and this is no exception, introducing us to a new locale, new enemies-turned-friends in the end and some more world-building in regards to the Gummi Bears. Adventure episodes like this where there is no definite antagonist (I mean, the Tree Folk certainly had good reason to not be that welcome towards Gummi Bears) have their charm and it is good to see that from this point onward, it is made clear that Gusto was not just a secondary character of the day but a living part of the group going forward. Definitely a highlight episode of Season 3.

-Only very minor nitpick I have is that I don't really like the title since it puts too much focus on the Beevilweevils who, despite setting up the events of the episode, only play a very minor part. I dunno, "Adventures In Fangwood Forest" might have been more fitting.

-Considering the ogres would have taken a week to destroy all Gummi Berry bushes, the Beevilweevils certainly are a more dangerous pest.

-Gusto and Artie return (the only diffence is that Artie is now voiced by Brian Cummings, pulling double duty as the new Artie voice as well as the new Sir Tuxford voice) though this episode does not make it clear whether he lives with them or not. Definitely still like him as much as I did in his debut episode.

-South Gumton, despite not looking like much these days, definitely provides an interesting insight into Gummi culture as in that different warrens focused on different aspects. As Gusto himself said, Gummi Glen was more the centre of learning while South Gumton was more the centre of agriculture. This type of world-building is one of the reasons I like this show so much.

-Three elderly trees and one older tree? I may be the only one but I wouldn't have minded if they had gotten Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty for these roles. Despite that, the tree folk are an interesting addition to this show and their reason for hating the Gummis makes sense considering their sudden flight caused...well...most of the tree folk to die of starvation (which is not mentioned outright but implied). That's...really dark. (I could argue that it must have rained at least sometimes over these years but then again, these are living, talking trees and not just your standard run of the mill trees).

-I wonder whether the contraption Tummi built and which caused this whole mess is based on something real. Is there really such a thing as a wooden contraption with holes that you swing around, causing it to make bee sounds to attract bees?

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Short #4: Dipper's Guide To The Unexplained #3: Mailbox



Now this short was funny. I like the idea of a mailbox being connected to a being that knows the answer to all questions...and how Mabel's gummy worm video is what ultimately caused it to go "Screw this, I'm outta here!"

Poor Dipper though, I hope he will find out through other means who wrote Journal #3.

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Episode 26A (Episode 5A of Season 3): Water Way To Go



B. I guess it was only a matter of time before we got a mermaid in our fantasy world. Though the most fun I had with this segment was not so much related to Aquarianne, but more seeing Gusto interacting more with another Gummi besides Gruffi and Tummi for a change. I found their interactions nice and I liked the design of Aquarianne's pet, Finwithit (weird name) as well as Igthorn's plan to use Aquarianne's flute to bring down the walls of Dunwyn. Definitely a good segment.

-Well, Aquarianne is certainly cute though it's too bad that she does not get that much to do in this segment. Another character where I wish that she had made further appearances in the show.


-This segment also introduces us to Gusto's actual home, revealing that he does not live with the others in Gummi Glen but rather in a rather swank looking hideout behind a waterfall.



-We also learn that Toadward cannot swim. Yikes, that was perhaps the cruelest move Iggy ever did to him.


Episode 26B (Episode 5B of Season 3): Close Encounters Of The Gummi Kind



C. I really like how at this point Season 3 succeeded in making Gusto a genuine part of the show by having him make several appearances in the past couple of episodes. And his interactions with Gruffi here are the highlight of an otherwise average segment dealing with a gummi decoy leading everyone to start believing in Gummi Bears again for a bit.

-The last segment and this one finally give us a better idea of Brian Cummings's work as Tuxford. To be honest, I think I liked Bill Scott's and Roger C. Carmel's interpretations better than his. His Tuxford sounds a tad...dimwitted for my liking.

-Ok, maybe it is just me but did they accidentally switch the VAs of the two children? I swear, the girl speaks with a boy voice and the boy speaks with a girls' voice.

-Proof that Gusto and Gruffi could make a good team with Gusto providing the creativity while Gruffi bringing the plan to think things through to the end.

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Short #5: Dipper's Guide To The Unexplained #4: Lefty



Yikes, this one certainly took me by surprise. This one is good not so much due to the humor but really through the mystery of Lefty and the various methods Dipper tries to show them his right side.

Definitely among the better shorts.

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Episode 27A (Episode 6A of Season 3): Snows Your Old Man



B. Have to say that the world of the Gummi Bears has some interesting characters in it. I mean a guy that comes across as a Viking version of Jack Frost possessing a wind horn that can turn every landscape into winter is certainly something to behold. It is also fun to see Dunwyn as a winter wonderland and the cubs trying to get one up on Chillbeard (or rather, spoiler alert, his son Chillbeard Jr.).

-Given that nothing is ever said about other seasonal deities existing during the show's run, I presume that Chillbeard and family are not in charge of bringing winter to all places when it is time for it (like some sort of Viking My Little Pony G4) but just a dude brandishing a wintry item for kicks.



-And that's how the Gummi Bears learned of the wonderful sport of skiing.

-We learn that Gusto resides in Gummi Glen during the winter season (which makes sense since I doubt the waterfall would be very cosy in winter times being iced over and all).

-I wonder how many viewers were put off by Chillbeard's squeaky voice when they first heard it (of course, we eventually find out the reason for it but it is certainly a bit grating at first).


Episode 27B (Episode 6B of Season 3): Boggling The Bears



C. While I like the idea of introducing a new addition of bestiary in the form of the Boggles, the episode itself is kinda average at best. I like Sunni's interactions with the little creature but there is just nothing that outstanding in this one to me.

-Meet the Boggles, squirrel-like creatures that have the ability to shapeshift into any inanimate object they desire (though I guess as long as it is smaller than themselves; for larger objects, they have to do it together).



-...OK, there's a small creature that can shapeshift and Sunni names it...Ditto? I wonder if someone working on the North American translation of Pokemon watched this episode as a child.

-Guess not all wolves are the same nice variety of wolf like Loopy was back in Season 1.

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Short #6: Dipper's Guide To The Unexplained #5: The Tooth



Now this was certainly quite the creepy short though it still provided a bit of fun with Mabel and Bear-o.

Still, this guy kinda reminds me of the mountain yokai that appears in Inuyasha.

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Episode 28 (Episode 7 of Season 3): The Knights Of Gummadoon



A. Starting with the nice Brigadoon reference in the title and plot (both media having to do with a place that appears every 100 years for a day), it is again really sweet to see more Gummis and get a bit more insight into Gummi culture. The titular knights are quite the formidable fighters (using a type of staff that doubles both as a weapon and a sleeping potion distributor), the castle of Gummadoon looks splendid and I like the lengths Cubbi would go to in his friendship with Cavin even after gaining a knighthood for a day. Throw in a good climactic ending battle against Duke Igthorn and you got an episode that would have certainly fit as a season finale.

-Most of the regular VAs pull double duty in voicing several one-shot characters like June Foray voicing both Grammi and Councilor Wooddale, Brian Cummings voicing Artie Deco and Sir Gumlittle, Rob Paulsen as Gusto and Sir Blastus etc.. Only difference is the main knight, Sir Plucky, being voiced by Jim Cummings returning for another guest part as well as He-Man's own Skeletor, Alan Oppenheimer, voicing Councilor Bearybaum. The latter was a nice discovery especially since I am so used to him being Skeletor that it is easy to forget that Alan is a good VA in general.

-Cavin's only appearance in Season 3 marks the only appearance of his voice actor this season, who is perhaps the most famous of them all: David Faustino who, in the same year, started the role he would become most famous for as Bud Bundy on "Married...With Childen". He does a decent job in that his Cavin voice does not sound that drastically different than his two predecessors.

-Kinda love the contrasting styles of the more sophisticated quick cars in Gummadoon looking like swans compared to the more birds of prey-based design of the Gummi Glen gummi ones.



-Ewwww, dude! She's like still a pre-teen! At least she does not appear to be flattered by his advances.



-Found the horses the knights ride on also to be quite unique. I guess gummis and unicorns can live in harmony.



-This episode also marks the first time that we see ogres drink the gummi berry juice (well, technically Toadwart already drank it one time in Season 1's "Toadie's Wild Ride" but since he drank it in excess, it did not display what it could do for him normally). As it turns out, it gives them also super strength so at this point, I guess bouncing abilities are really only effects for the gummi bears themselves.

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Short #7: Dipper's Guide To The Unexplained #6: The Hide-Behind

And we finish the Dipper-focused shorts with a reference to Slender-Man (I think? The hide-behind kinda looks like how I remember the Slenderman depictions looking several years ago).

Overall, I liked these Dipper shorts with the various interesting mysteries he explored. But I am looking forward to what Mabel's offering in her own series of shorts.

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Episode 29A (Episode 8A of Season 3): Mirthy Me

C. A rather average segment sees Cubbi befriending a Gigglin over their shared fondness of pranks. I didn't find the Gigglin to be particularly interesting and I would have liked Cubbi learning a lesson about a prank only being funny when both people can laugh about it. It is still fun to look at the various pranks they pull though (especially the final one where they get one up on the Gigglin).

-It is kinda interesting that they reuse a setting from a previous episode which is not one of the usual primary locations. In this case the prison where Cubbi, Igthorn and the Ogres were imprisoned by Flint Shrubwood in "A Few Sovereigns More".

-The Gigglin is voiced by Gruffi VA Corey Burton and, given his design, I wonder if he is a sort of off-spring species from the Slumber Sprites we met before (in "A Gummi In A Strange Land".

Episode 29B (Episode 8B of Season 3): Gummi Dearest

C. Uhm, an interesting title for a Gummi Bear episode (since no wire hangers are seen, I guess it made sense to do this title). Still, this episode only seems to trod over ground we already saw in the earlier "Loopy Come Home" segment regarding Gruffi and Cubbi's relationship and even the adorable baby griffins, I mean, mervyns cannot help that.

-Still gotta admit: the design of the adult griffin is pretty good and the mervyns are suitably adorable.

-Apparently the reason that the baby griffins are called "Mervyns" (which does not have any grounds in any other medium related to griffins) is because it is a humourous reference to famous TV host Merv Griffin.

Yeah, I definitely would have put "The Knights Of Gummadoon" as the season finale instead of this petered out episode.

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Short #8: Mabel's Guide To Life #1: Mabel's Guide To Dating

Yeah, I think I will like this short series a lot more mostly because I find Mabel hilarious.

And this short certainly provides in Mabel hilarity as she gives us her dating tips and even does an impromptu version of The Dating Game with Soos, Grunkle Stan and Dipper.

Very entertaining indeed. And don't worry Dipper, I am sure most of us would fall under the "questionable" label.

[WoodStoner1]

Just watched the Gummi Bears with the rat catcher, he makes a real deep cut reference considering who voiced him.