Mason "Dipper" Pines is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Disney Channelanimated seriesGravity Falls. The character is voiced by Jason Ritter, and designed by and loosely based on the childhood of series creator Alex Hirsch. The character first appeared on the unreleased, 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, who 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. Although Dipper can find his twin sister Mabel pesky and annoying, he will do anything to protect her from danger. 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 interest in mysteries and lust for adventure after finding the third of the three journals written by his great uncle Stanford "Ford" Pines, he starts to adjust to life in town and encourages his sister to join him in unraveling 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. 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. 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.
