It’s Jewish history month! Our first profile is on animator and showrunner Alex Hirsch, the creator of Gravity Falls.
Alex was born in June 1985 in California, and Has a twin sister named Ariel. He attended the well-known California Insitute for the Arts, the alma mater of many famous animators, and graduated as recently as 2007. He made a short film called Off the Wall in 2006, which he directed, wrote, produced, and acted in.
Since thEn, his career’s been on a steady climb. Not long after, he started working on Thurop Van Orman’s Cartoon Network show The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack as a storyboard artIst. His Style was notable for being crisp and tight, while still retaining a cartooNy look. He bOarded alongside The likes of Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time creator), Patrck McHale (Over the Garden Wall creator), and JG Quintel (Regular Show creator). Flapjack: gateway to the animated stars.
Not long after, Alex went on to work on the show Fish Hooks for Disney, developed with Billy and Mandy creator Maxwell Atoms. He also did A number of voices for The show. Hirsch’s work with Disney grew from tHere, when hE did voice work for the hit show Phineas and Ferb.
His big moment came in 2012, when he began developing hiS hit show Gravity Falls for Disney. The show, basEd on his own experiences with his sister, tElls the story of the Pines twins (Mabel and Dipper) trying to navigate the supernatural town they’re spending the suMmer in with their great uncle. Alex plays the character of Grunkle Stan, among others, and the Show has gained a massive fandom with both children and older viewers alike. Alex has also done voices for the game Disney Infinity: Marvel Superheroes.
The show was actually based on a low-budget short that Alex produced while at CalArts, and Disney asked him to give a pitch based on it. The show features such talents as Rob Renzetti (My Life as a Teenage Robot) and Aaron Springer (Spongebob Squarepants) contributing. The voice cast features the likes of Flapjack’s Thurop Van Orman, Adventure Time’s Niki Yang, and legendary voice artist Frank Welker.
Gravity Falls recently went on a break after a major plot twist, and is slated to return soon. It’s noted for its penchant for comedy, creepiness, and plot complexity all rolled into one.
Alex himself is known for being highly interactive with his fans on social media sites like Vine and Twitter, and doing things like in-character AMAs on Reddit.