Alex Hirsch

I feel like the best kids shows aren't just for kids.

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with UFOs in particular, and the paranormal.

A lot of kid characters you see on TV are sassy, and snarky, and think they're just the coolest kids in the world, and are mean spirited.

I was obsessed with the Loch Ness Monster, I would look through these books in the library and dream about visiting Loch Ness one day… That stuff was really kind of what I loved as a kid."

I watched the classics as a kid, and I could tell that Bugs Bunny in drag was a cartoon and a joke. It didn't make me start dressing in drag.

The puberty train came late to the station for me. I was the shortest kid in my sixth-grade class - they made me pose for the yearbook with the tallest kid for comedic contrast.

I remember when I was a kid, whenever you'd see cartoons cross over with each other, it always ranged from a delightful, magical surprise to a cynical, annoying cash grab.

My sister, when we were in Elementary school, had one particular lime green fuzzy troll doll sweater with a gem sticking out of the belly and actual hair that stuck to it, and I just remember, even though I was very young, being like 'This is unusual. It is weird that she is wearing this in public.'

I think there are a lot of shows out there that value being hip or cool over being funny and heartfelt.

It's weird because we live in this age of reboots. Everything is getting rebooted: 'The X-Files,' 'Twin Peaks.' We have shows like 'Gravity Falls' that were inspired by these shows, that are now ending and being followed up by reboots of the shows that inspired them.

Gravity Falls' has so much inspiration that comes from 'Twin Peaks,' the idea of Agent Cooper being the one to drive Dipper and Mabel home made me feel like, yeah, they're going to be all right.

We passed a sign for Boring, Oregon. We never went there, but I was positively enchanted with the idea that there was a town called Boring. 'Gravity Falls' is partially from what I imagine Boring might be like. Or maybe the opposite of Boring, Oregon, would be 'Gravity Falls.'