Dipper Pines
Mason "Dipper" Pines is a fictional character and one of the two lead characters of the Disney Channel animated series "Gravity Falls". The character is voiced by Jason Ritter, and designed by and loosely based on the childhood of series creator Alex Hirsch. First appearing in the unaired unnamed pilot created by Hirsch with which he pitched the show; he later appeared in the first episode "Tourist Trapped". Dipper, along with his twin sister Mabel Pines, stars in every episode of the show. Dipper is the star of the "Gravity Falls" series of shorts titled "Dipper's Guide  to the Unexplained" and also appears in the shorts "Fixin' it with Soos" and "Mabel's Guide to Life". Background. Dipper is a 12-year-old boy who, along with his twin sister Mabel, is sent to spend his summer vacation in his great uncle's tourist trap, "The Mystery Shack". He endeavors to uncover the secrets of the fictional town of Gravity Falls and to find explanations for assorted strange situations. He is helped by his energetic and boundlessly cheerful twin Mabel and the Shack's handyman Soos. They often end up dealing with or encountering various supernatural or  legendary creatures, like gnomes, cryptids, demons, extraterrestrials, minotaurs, and vampires. Dipper tackles these mysteries with the aid of a journal—a large, red-bound book with a gold six fingered hand and number "3" on the front cover—that he found in the forest. This journal describes many of the supernatural occurrences of Gravity Falls. In "Scary-oke", he discovers another layer of knowledge in the journal only visible under black light. Dipper is uncommonly brave and determined for a pre-teen, and struggles with growing up. He is singularly devoted to solving the mysteries of Gravity Falls that he  has discovered, which often puts him at odds with Grunkle Stan. The adventures of Dipper and his sister are inspired by the childhood of series creator Alex Hirsch and his own twin sister, Ariel Hirsch. As a character, Dipper has been critically well received. He appears in various "Gravity Falls" merchandise, such as on clothing and in video games. Role in "Gravity Falls". Dipper Pines is a curious, clever and inventive boy from Piedmont, California, forced to spending his summer together with his great uncle Stan in the fictional town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. He is accompanied by his twin  sister Mabel Pines. He is portrayed as smart, wise, gentle, conventional, and very logical, showing knowledge in various areas like history, cryptography, puzzle-solving, etc. He first arrives in Gravity Falls upset with going to a small, boring town, with his twin sister Mabel for the summer, but because of his interest in mysteries and lust for adventure after finding the third of the three journals written by a mysterious author in the woods, he starts to adjust to life in town and goes on adventures with his sister to unravel its supernatural secrets. Dipper is shown as a very  organized child and often comes up with well-thought-out plans for his friends and family to follow, though has at times issues with hygiene such as not doing laundry. Throughout the series, Dipper wears a trademark white and blue cap with a symbol of a blue pine tree on the front, which he takes from the Shack's gift shop with his great-uncle ("Grunkle") Stan's permission. He also wears a navy blue vest, reddish orange T-shirt, gray shorts, black sneakers, and a wristwatch. "Double Dipper" reveals that his nickname comes from a birth mark on his  forehead in the form of the Big Dipper, which he hides with his bangs. His given first name, Mason, is seen one time in the series briefly: in "Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons", it is written messily on the bottom right corner of a piece of graph paper when Mabel comments on Dipper's spending a lot of time with Ford. In the book "Gravity Falls: Journal 3", a guide book about the series intended to be a replica of the fictional journal, Dipper tells Ford his name is Mason. Starting with "The Inconveniencing", Dipper is shown to have a crush  on 15-year-old Mystery Shack cashier Wendy Corduroy. However, his attempts to win her over are usually sidetracked by accidents or supernatural phenomena. In the episode "Into the Bunker", Wendy confirms her suspicions of Dipper's crush, and though she explains that she is too old for Dipper, they remain close friends. Show creator Alex Hirsch has stated on occasions that while Dipper is smart, he is still a kid. In a Reddit AMA he did in 2013, Hirsch stated that, "Dipper's smart but he's not a 'WALKING CALCULATOR'. There's a lot of kids shows featuring  a character who is 'the brains.' Dipper is better academically than Mabel, but he's also able to laugh at himself. He's a real kid. He has insecurities. He has things that he loves. I try not to pigeonhole these characters into 'ONE TYPE'. They lose their humanity if you do that. (Secret: Dipper's secretly jealous that Mabel's better socially than he is)." Behind the scenes. Dipper was based on series' creator Alex Hirsch's younger self. Mason "Dipper" Pines was voiced by actor Jason Ritter. He first appeared on "Gravity Falls" in the never released pilot  episode that the creator Alex Hirsch pitched to Disney Channel.