| Memories of Gravity Falls | |
|---|---|
|
Time |
7p.m. PST (UTC-8) |
|
Date |
June 15, 2016 |
|
Location |
Portland, Oregon, United States |
|
Filmed by |
Disney, Done & Dusted |
Memories of Gravity Falls is a concert event that took place on the evening of Wednesday, 15 June in Moda Center, Portland, Oregon. The proceedings combined the formal ceremonial celebration of the anniversary of the series, Gravity Falls (including speeches, hoisting of flags of the Gravity Falls fanbase worldwide and the blowing of the candle of the 50-foot birthday cake) with an artistic spectacle to showcase the series' run on television. The ceremony was attended by thousands of Gravity Falls fans not just in America, but worldwide. The spectacle was directed by live event director Hamish Hamilton.
Officials and guests[]
Seated in the green room were Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch, sister Ariel Hirsch, storyboard artist and girlfriend Dana Terrace, and main cast members Jason Ritter, Kristen Schaal, Linda Cardellini, T.J. Miller, J.K. Simmons, Dee Bradley Baker, Niki Yang, Carl Faruolo, Thurop van Orman, Jennifer Coolidge, Gregg Turkington, John DiMaggio, Nathan Fillion, and others. They were accompanied by crew members who worked for the series for the show's run.
Celebrity guests include "Weird Al" Yankovic, Alfred Molina, Bruce Springsteen, R.L. Stine, Jon Stewart, Coolio, Larry King, Kyle MacLachlan, Louis CK, Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla. Also in appearance are fellow animated show creators Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time), J.G. Quintel (Regular Show), Patrick McHale (Over The Garden Wall), and Justin Roiland (Rick & Morty).
Proceedings[]
Countdown (19:00-19:04)[]
The concert began at 7pm after a 60 to 1 countdown made up of screenshots of different locations of Gravity Falls.
A two-minute animated short, From the World to the Unknown, made by Mike Inel and produced by Disney, opened the show. To the sound of "Rise Like A Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst, the short film follows the adventures of a magic bean being shipped from Mexico to different locations in the West Coast. As a young boy and his sister (whose appearance resembles to that of Dipper and Mabel Pines) bought a bag of beans and they bring it home, the magic bean fell from the bag and it went to a small dirt hole in the middle of Washington Park. During a timelapse, the bean grew into a beautiful multi-colored flower. The petals of the flower has different color designs and it somehow resembled the flags of the top 25 countries with the highest Gravity Falls fanbase (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Philippines, Chile, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, France, India, South Korea, Japan, Venezuela, Colombia, South Africa, Spain, Netherlands, Argentina, Italy, Ireland, Russia, Poland and Portugal). Then, the petals were blew by the wind and it passed different points of interest in Portland. The petals' adventures ended when it reached the Rose Quarter. Then, the petals all assemble and they flew to the entrance of Moda Center. A live shot of the 25 flag bearers entering the arena, dressed in shiny and sparkling outfits, and they position on the catwalks on the left and right sides of the stage.
Welcome to the Show (19:04-19:09)[]
At the beginning, the arena contained the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. As Panic! at the Disco performs "Emperor's New Clothes", the camera then showed the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, who are sat in the standing zone behind the green room, who performed the Gravity Falls Main Title Theme alongside Melanie Martinez. The YouTube Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Walt Ribeiro, who made an orchestral cover of the theme song at one time. Then, Britney Spears joined the stage and performed her song "Circus", then she was accompanied by Panic! at the Disco, and Melanie Martinez. After the performance, pyrotechnics were fired at the arena.
During the performance, the flag bearers waved their flags as they perform.
Wayback Wednesday (19:09-19:25)[]
As OneRepublic's "Counting Stars" plays, some memorable Gravity Falls moments from season 1 flashed on the screen. Including some funny, memorable and epic scenes from the 1st season. Then, as Adele's "Skyfall" plays, memorable, and epic scenes from season 2 flashed on the screens. As Fall Out Boy's "Centuries" play, an interview with Alex Hirsch plays with flashes of scenes from all of the series.
Then, as the music is done, live scenes from the arena returned with Måns Zelmerlöw performing "Heroes" live on stage as more scenes from all seasons flash on the big screen.
Preparing the Cake (19:25-19:35)[]
As Lindsey Stirling and Lzzy Hale perform "Shatter Me" on the stage, the screen opens up, revealing the 50-foot cake. Each two of the flag bearers went down the ramps and they position on the cake, except for the American flag bearer. As Stirling and Hale are done performing, the flag bearers planted their flags onto the cake. Then, the bearers came down from the cake and they form a circle around it. Then, Victoria Justice performs "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the American flag is being planted on the top of the cake. The cake was illuminated into the American flag and pyrotechnics were popped. As the flag is planted, the Gravity Falls theme song plays as the bearer of the flag from "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls", who is dressed as Soos, plants the flag on the other side of the American flag.
Entrance of the Gods (19:35-19:47)[]
The cast and crew members of Gravity Falls enter the arena and into the green room in front the stage. The parade was led by series creator Alex Hirsch, followed by the cast members, and finally the crew members enter in random order. The parade was accompanied by popular songs, including "Lose Yourself" by Eminem and "Oops!... I Did It Again" by Britney Spears. The music was edited with a very exciting rhythm to keep the audience pumped for what's ahead in the show. Once all the cast and crew members are in the green room, gold and silver confetti exploded from the small pool in front of the stage. The running order of the parade are as follows.
| Name | Series role | Notable character role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Will Forte | voice actor | Tyler Cutebiker |
| Gregg Turkington | voice actor | Toby Determined |
| Jessica DiCicco | voice actor | Tambry, .GIFfany |
| Kevin Michael Richardson | voice actor | Sheriff Blubs, Tats |
| Nathan Fillion | voice actor | Preston Northwest |
| Jackie Buscarino | voice actor | Pacifica Northwest |
| Kari Wahlgren | voice actor | Shandra Jimenez, Priscilla Northwest |
| T.J. Miller | voice actor | Robbie Valentino |
| Scott Menville | voice actor | Nate |
| John DiMaggio | voice actor | Manly Dan Corduroy |
| Thurop van Orman | voice actor | Gideon Gleeful |
| Michael Rianda | writer, creative director, voice actor | Lee, Thompson |
| Jennifer Coolidge | voice actor | Lazy Susan Wentworth |
| Carl Faruolo | voice actor | Grenda |
| Keith Ferguson | voice actor | Deputy Durland |
| Niki Yang | storyboard artist, voice actress | Candy Chiu |
| Stephen Root | voice actor | Bud Gleeful |
| Justin Roiland | voice actor | Blendin Blandin |
| Brad Abrell | voice actor | Agent Trigger |
| Nick Offerman | voice actor | Agent Powers |
| Matt Chapman | writer, voice actor | Abuelita, Mermando, Marius von Fundshauser, Keyhole, Paci-Fire, Dippy Fresh |
| Linda Cardellini | cast member | Wendy Corduroy |
| Kristen Schaal | cast member | Mabel Pines |
| J.K. Simmons | cast member | Ford Pines |
| Jason Ritter | cast member | Dipper Pines |
| Dana Terrace | Alex Hirsch's girlfriend, storyboard artist, animator | - |
| Ariel Hirsch | Alex Hirsch's twin sister, voice actor | one of Pacifica's friends |
| Alex Hirsch | Creator, executive producer, writer, outliner, cast member | Stan Pines, Soos Ramirez, Old Man McGucket, Bill Cipher |
As the cast and crew are in their places in the green room, the bridge and final chorus and refrain of "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift plays. As the song is done, confetti was burst in the arena.
Messages of Love (19:47-20:09)[]
The Lonely Island band member, Jorma Taccone, who has made a one-time appearance on the show as Gabe Bensen, stood on stage along with 24 other Gravity Falls fans from across America. 10 of them, including Taccone, told how much they have loved the show since its inception. After Jorma says the words, "We will always remember your masterpiece for a thousand years", the 10 fans leave the stage, except for the remaining 14, to reveal Christina Perri standing behind them. The remaining 14 stood behind Perri in a semi-circle position, holding hands, with roses in one of their hands. She gave a little speech before she performs "A Thousand Years". While she performs, the 14 remaining fans slowly walked into the catwalks and they gave their roses to one of the cast and crew sitting in the green room.
Interval Act (20:09-20:20)[]
The 13 best life lessons that Gravity Falls has to offer, made by YouTube channel, ChannelFrederator, flashed onto the big screen while the smaller screens showed the happenings outside the venue. The lessons were flashed in descending order and was accompanied by "In My Remains" by Linkin Park, "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson, and "BO$$" by Fifth Harmony. The video was shortened to 12 minutes and was muted, and instead, it was given commentary by Watchmojo.com host Rebecca Brayton, via the arena's public address system, to avoid unwanted noise created by the video's commentary and the song playing. The 13 life lessons are as follows in ascending order.
- "Change just (is)/Don't be afraid of the future."
- "You can't force someone to love you."
- "Never be ashamed of who you are."
- "Never underestimate the lady."
- "Manliness is over-rated."
- "Holding a grudge is never healthy."
- "Teamwork, man!"
- "Be wary of tunnel vision."
- "Morality is relative."
- "Don't pine for what you can't attain."
- "A blank slate isn't a clean one."
- "Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold."
- "Know your audience."
Lighting the Candle (20:20-20:30)[]
A full-sized taxidermy buffalo, rode by Jillian Bell arrived with the torch that serves as the candle to the 50-foot cake, via N Vancouver Ave and NE Wheeler Ave. As the buffalo is driving towards the Rose Quarter, "Run The World (Girls)" by Beyonce plays. As the taxidermy buffalo arrives at the Rose Quarter, Bell then passed the torch to former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jeff Rowe (a nod to the name of one of the series' writers of the same name). He runs from around the Rose Quarter and into the arena. As he enters into the venue, he runs around the stage, and lights the candle atop of the cake and in between the flags. While he runs, Rachel Platten performs "Fight Song".
Happy Birthday to You! (20:30-20:40)[]
Once the torch is placed on the cake, Todrick Hall invited Alex Hirsch on to the top of the cake to blow the candle. He was accompanied by his sister, Ariel Hirsch, his girlfriend and the show's storyboard artist, Dana Terrace, and fellow cast members Jason Ritter and Kristen Schaal. Todrick then asked Alex and his friends to form a circle so that they can blow the candle together. He also asked the audience to sing "Happy Birthday" before they blow the candle. Once the candle is blown, a waterworks system in the cake activates, which forms a majestic fountain in the middle of the arena. Hirsch then gave a speech for the people below him. He thanked everyone for supporting the show, and he also thanked the amazing cast and crew of the show.
Dance Again (20:40-20:47)[]
This section was named after a song by Jennifer Lopez. Todrick Hall, then told Alex that he has an amazing fanbase from the arena and all over the world. He then showed him how wild his fanbase is asking the audience if they are the bestest of all audiences alive, which made the people in the arena cheer. Alex then asked if they are the best-looking audience in the world, which made them all cheer again. Todrick then asked the audience to scream as loud as they can to show their love for the show, which made them all scream and shout like crazy. He also asked the audience to keep silent, which made them all go quiet. Todrick then asked Alex to ask something in the audience. He asked the audience if they had a present for him for his upcoming birthday, which made them all say "no." Todrick then asked the audience if they want to dance, which made them all scream. The lights' colors then turned into the colors of Mabeland, and he said, "Calling all Gravity Falls fans from across America and all over the world. Let's all dance for the man that brought us great memories. The one and only, Alex Hirsch!" Then, the camera then showed Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull coming down from the lover level of the arena and into the stage, performing "On The Floor." The audience then synchronized in the beat and danced.
While they are performing, the screen showed people in the streets of many cities across America dancing to the beat, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Miami, New York City, and San Francisco. These scenes were shot via their respective ABC affiliates.
It also showed different Gravity Falls fans worldwide, in their houses, watching the event and dancing to the beat, including those in Atlanta (Georgia, USA), London (United Kingdom), Toronto (Canada), Sydney (Australia), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Manila (Philippines), Santiago (Chile), Cologne (Germany), Jakarta (Indonesia), Mexico City (Mexico), Paris (France), Mumbai (India), Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Caracas (Venezuela), Bogota (Colombia), Johannesburg (South Africa), Barcelona (Spain), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Rome (Italy), Dublin (Ireland), St. Petersburg (Russia), Warsaw (Poland), Lisbon (Portugal), Oslo (Norway), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Auckland (New Zealand), Lima (Peru), Stockholm (Sweden), Bangkok (Thailand), Brussels (Belgium), live scenes from a viewing party held in Hong Kong Disneyland (Hong Kong, China), St. Louis (Missouri, USA), Cleveland (Ohio, USA), Baltimore (Maryland, USA), Minneapolis (Minnesota, USA), Denver (Colorado, USA), Salt Lake City (Utah, USA), New Orleans (Louisiana, USA), and a Pakistani fan dancing infront of the Pakistan Monument in Islamabad. There was also a special appearance footage by Bruce Springsteen, the E Street Band, and the cast of the Netflix show Lilyhammer,
The camera then returned in the arena, with the big screen filling all of the live shots of the people dancing. The camera also showed the people at the top of the cake also dancing, including Alex himself. Todrick then joined the stage to perform the song. The party then continued, with confetti being burst in the arena after the performance. As Lopez and Pitbull thank the fans, the people in the stage level raised their hands and clapped as they thank Alex Hirsch, who is still standing atop of the cake. The screen also showed the dancers in London, United Kingdom, Toronto, Canada, Sydney, Australia, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Chicago, Illinois applauding.
Happy Now, Ariel? (20:47-20:50)[]
This section is named after a decoded message at the end credits of the Gravity Falls episode, Boyz Crazy. As soft piano notes play, one of the members of NSYNC, Lance Bass, escorted the Hirsch twins down the cake and into their front row seats in the green room. Bass was then accompanied by his former bandmates Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, Justin Timberlake, and JC Chasez, to perform "Mabel Girl", "It'll Be This Way Forever", and "Cray Cray", both by Sev'ral Timez. To end the segment, the band performed their signature song, "Bye Bye Bye." The performance ended with the band saying "Happy now, Ariel?" which made her respond and shout "Yes!"
Music[]
| Piece | Artist | Written by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Rise Like A Phoenix" | Conchita Wurst | Charlie Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski, Julian Maas | Played in the animated short. |
| "Emperor's New Clothes" | Panic! at the Disco | Brandon Urie, Jake Sinclair, Lauren Pritchard, Sam Hollander, Dan Wilson | Performed inside the arena during the Countdown segment. |
| "Gravity Falls Main Title Theme" | Melanie Martinez and the YouTube Symphony Orchestra | Brad Breeck | Performed during the Countdown segment and in the Wayback Wednesday segment. |
| "Circus" | Britney Spears, Panic! at the Disco, Melanie Martinez | Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly, Benjamin Levin | Performed during the Countdown segment. |
| "Counting Stars" | OneRepublic | Ryan Tedder | Played during the Wayback Wednesday segment. |
| "Skyfall" | Adele | Adele, Paul Epworth | Played during the Wayback Wednesday segment. |
| "Centuries" | Fall Out Boy | Michael Fonseca, Raja Kumari, Jonathan Rotem, Justin Tranter, Andy Hurley, Patrick Stump, Joe Trohman, Suzanne Vega, Pete Wentz | Played during the Wayback Wednesday segment. |
| "Heroes" | Måns Zelmerlöw | Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb | Performed live in the arena during the Wayback Wednesday segment. |
| "Shatter Me" | Lindsey Stirling and Lzzy Hale | Lindsey Stirling, Dia Frampton, Mark Maxwell | Sung live as the 24 flag bearers plant their flags around the 50-foot cake. |
| "The Star Spangled Banner" | Victoria Justice and the YouTube Symphony Orchestra | Francis Scott Key | Sung live as the American flag is being placed atop of the 50-foot birthday cake. |
| "Gravity Falls Main Title Theme" | YouTube Symphony Orchestra | Brad Breeck | Played while the Take Back The Falls flag is being placed atop of the 50-foot birthday cake. |
| "Lose Yourself" | Eminem | Eminem | Played during the Entrance of the Gods segment |
| "Oops!... I Did It Again" | Britney Spears | Max Martin, Rami Yacoub | Played during the Entrance of the Gods segment |
| "Shake It Off" | Taylor Swift | Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback | Played during the Entrance of the Gods segment |
| "A Thousand Years" | Christina Perri | Christina Perri, David Hodges | Performed live during the Messages of Love segments |
| "In My Remains" | Linkin Park | Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson, Mike Shinoda, Dave Farrell Joe Hahn, Chester Bennington |
Played during the interval act. |
| "Only Teardrops" | Emmelie de Forest | Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, Thomas Stengaard | Played during the interval act. |
| "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" | Kelly Clarkson | Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin, Ali Tamposi | Played during the interval act. |
| "BO$$" | Fifth Harmony | Eric Frederic, Joe Spargur, Daniel Kyriakides, Gamal "LunchMoney" Lewis, Jacob Kasher, Taylor Parks | Played during the interval act. |
| "Run The World (Girls)" | Beyonce | Terius "The-Dream" Nash, Beyoncé Knowles, Wesley Pentz, David Taylor, Adidja Palmer, Nick van de Wall | Played during the Lighting the Candle segment. |
| "Fight Song" | Rachel Platten | Dave Bassett, Rachel Platten | Sung live as the torch bearer lights the candle atop of the 50-foot birthday cake. |
| "On The Floor" | Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull | RedOne, Kinda Hamid, AJ Junior, Teddy Sky, Bilal "The Chef", Armando "Pitbull" Perez, Gonzalo Hermosa, Ulises Hermosa | Performed live during the flash mob performance in the Dance Again segment. |
| "Mabel Girl" | NSYNC | Brad Breeck, Alex Hirsch | Performed live during the Happy Now, Ariel? segment. |
| "It'll Be This Way Forever" | Performed live during the Happy Now, Ariel? segment. | ||
| "Cray Cray" | Performed live during the Happy Now, Ariel? segment. | ||
| "Bye Bye Bye" | Kristian Lundin, Jake Schulze, Andreas Carlsson | Performed live during the Happy Now, Ariel? segment. |
TV coverage[]
The event was broadcast simultaneously across all Disney XD channels worldwide. The broadcast began at exactly 7pm and was shown uniterrupted until 9pm. The event was also broadcast on selected Disney Channel networks worldwide. The English commentators were Olivia Holt, Dove Cameron, and Zendaya, with singer-songwriter Ariana Grande giving live commentary from the green room. Closed captioning was used in all international broadcasts of the event.
The event was also broadcast tape-delayed on local TV networks worldwide, such as El Trece in Argentina, 7flix in Australia, Canal 13 in Chile, RCTI in Indonesia, K2 in Italy, RTE2 in Ireland, Azteca 7 in Mexico, TV2 in New Zealand, TV5 in the Philippines, and CITV in the United Kingdom. Brazilian TV network, Rede Globo, which broadcasted Gravity Falls in 2014, once declined the broadcast of the event. The network used the fact that the show has given the network very low ratings as the reason why the network decided to not broadcast the event. A petition by Brazilian Gravity Falls fans was put up on change.org with 7,055 signatures. The petition was put up so that "Brazilian Gravity Falls fans who didn't have cable service, who found out the awesomeness of this amazing show because of the power of the internet and Rede Globo, can watch the concert event, without wasting so much money for a cable service." Because of that, the network decided to air the event on Globo Play, Rede Globo's on demand streaming service.
The event was also broadcast on demand via Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and AT&T. It was shown on a two-day delay on selected ABC affiliates and on Freeform.