MABEL PINES

Mabel Pines (voiced by Kristen Schaal) is one of the main characters of the Disney Chanel animated show “Gravity Falls,” alongside her twin brother Dipper, and her great uncle Stanley, “Grunkle” Stan, with whom she is spending the summer, in the strange town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. She is a bright, extroverted 12-year-old girl (13, after the events of the finale), known for her endless enthusiasm for art, romance and adventure. A charming agent of love and chaos, Mabel’s personality sharply contrasts with the awkwardness of her brother and the cynicism of her great uncle. Despite their differences, however, they must work together as a family to uncover the secrets of the town and keep each other safe from the dangers they may face in the process.

Other important people in her life include her co-weorkers at the Mystery Shack, Wendy and Soos, her friends, Candy and Grenda, her great uncle Stanford, “Grunkle Ford,” and her pet pig Waddles. As the deuteragonist of the story, Mabel is featured in every episode of the series, as well as multiple shorts and much of the extended material.

Appearance

Mabel is a young girl with long, wavy brown hair, which she usually adorns with a headband. She has a round face with pink cheeks, as well as long eyelashes, which put together make her look adorable. More often than not, she is seen wearing unique, colorful sweaters, which she knits herself, though her most iconic one is a strong pink one with a shooting star in the front. Her usual outfit also tends to include a simple skirt, long socks, and black shoes. Occasionally, she wears earrings.

Another important feature of Mabel’s appearance is the fact that she wears braces, implying she has crooked teeth. She is also slightly taller than her twin brother Dipper, as stated in the episode Little Dipper, though this detail is barely noticeable in the actual visuals, if at all.

Mabel has a long purple shirt with a floppy-disk design, which is said to be a hand-me-down from her father, who works in tech, and she wears it as a nightgown in multiple episodes

Personality and Abilities

Mabel is a fun-loving energetic kid, always excited to meet new people and make friends, though unfortunately for her, being sociable is not always synonymous with being socially aware. Her unrestrained enthusiasm and willingness to openly express herself can be overwhelming and off-putting at first, even if ultimately she manages to charm most of the people she encounters. This lack of social awareness, however, can often lead to her hurting the people she cares about, even as she tries to help them, like when she tries to help Grunkle Stan get over his fear of heights, or when she tries to help Dipper get over his crush on Wendy. Her confidence and occasional inability to respect boundaries and take things seriously can make her appear selfish, even as she is one of the kindest members of the cast.

Despite liking all things stereotypically girly, like sparkles and unicorns and the color pink, Mabel does not quite conform to stereotypical femininity, as demonstrated by her strength, stubbornness and unabashed chaotic energy. She is obsessed with the idea of a “summer romance,” and is often described as being “boys crazy,” though most of her attempts at dating don’t end well for her. Her insistence on trying to find an ideal romantic relationship and her distress at not getting one, as well as she constantly attempting to help the people around her sort out their interpersonal issues, could be influenced by her parents’ tumultuous marriage, though there isn’t enough evidence to confirm this.

Mabel displays skill in multiple fields of art, such as sculpture, painting, fiber arts, dancing, singing and theater. Some of her most notable works include a multitude of sweaters, the Wax Stan figure, a pair of matching Summerween costumes, Glove Story: A Sock Opera, and her summer scrapbook. This creativity, ability to improvise and out-of-the-box thinking are some of her greatest strengths, something shown most prominently in episodes like Irrational Treasure and Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons. She is also athletic, demonstrating a particular affinity for mini-golf.

Mabel’s biggest fear is that of confronting the harsh realities of growing up and potentially losing the people she loves, though as is the case with the rest of her flaws, she learns to overcome this by the end of the show with the help of her family, in particular her twin brother Dipper, who she loves the most in the entire world and would give everything for.

Story

Dipper and Mabel were born on August 31, in either the year 1999 or 2000, and were raised together in Piedmont, California, their current place of residence. They are of Jewish heritage in their father’s side, but they were raised non-religious, choosing to celebrate every holiday at Mabel’s insistence.

When they are 12 years old, her parents decide to send her and her brother away to Gravity Falls, under the assumption the children will be spending the summer under the care of their Great Uncle Stanford. It is implied they were in a rush to do this due to their increasingly tense marriage and potential divorce.

Arriving to Gravity Falls

Soon after arriving to the town, sometime in late May or early June, Mabel begins her quest to find a boyfriend to spend the summer with, eventually settling for a teen going by the name of Norman, even if Dipper doesn’t seem to trust him. Ignoring her brother’s advice, she continues to go on dates with Norman, until one day he reveals that he is in fact a group gnomes pretending to be a teenager (as opposed to the hot vampire she expected him to be.) Disappointed at this development, she rejects their offer to become their gnome-queen, only to be promptly kidnapped. This sets the stage for a series of unfortunate summer romances to come.

The gnomes are too stubborn to let Mabel go, even after Dipper comes to rescue her. They form a gnome-giant, comprised by the whole gnome colony, and chase the twins all the way to the Mystery Shack. Then, when all seems lost, Mabel tricks the gnomes and uses the leaf blower to defeat them.

Dipper and Mabel give each other an awkward sibling hug and go back into the Mystery Shack, where Grunkle Stan, noticing their low spirits, offers them to keep any one piece of merchandise in the gift shop. Mabel picks a grappling hook, a weapon that will accompany her for the rest of the series.

Despite being a bitter old man, Mabel gets closer to Stan in the following days, going to fish with him at the lake and sculpting a wax figure in his likeness.

Relationship with Gideon Gleeful

Mabel has a short lived friendship and even shorter relationship with Gideon Gleeful. She meets him during one of his shows in the Tent of Telepathy, a rival business to the Mystery Shack, after which they become friends. They both like fashion, sparkles, and being adorable, and for a while it seems like Mabel has found someone to spend time with who shares her interests. However, soon Gideon makes it clear that he wants something other than friendship with Mabel, which she isn’t very excited about. Too scared to break his heart, she decides to give him a chance and go on a date with him.

Unfortunately, it becomes impossible for her to break up with Gideon, who leverages grand romantic gestures and social pressure to keep her in a relationship. It becomes too much to handle, so Dippers offers her to break up with him in her place.

When an enraged Gideon tries to kill Dipper, it is up to Mabel to save his life. She takes Gideon’s magic amulet and breaks it, rendering him powerless, and finally puts an end to their abusive dynamic. Despite her assertiveness, Gideon remains under the impression that the reason Mabel decided to break up with him was not because of any fault of his own, but because her family has “poisoned her mind and turned her against him.” He becomes a recurring threat in later episodes, trying, and failing, to capture Mabel and destroy the Pines family.

Rivalry with Pacifica Northwest

During a party organized by Grunkle Stan at the Mystery Shack, Mabel meets Candy and Grenda, her first genuine friends in Gravity Falls. They are the “weird kids” at the party; Candy is a nerdy girl using forks as augmentations for her fingers, while Grenda has brought her pet lizard and is feeding it popcorn.

But Candy and Grenda are not the only girls her age Mabel meets at the party, for this is where she meets Pacifica Northwest, who is quick to put Mabel and her newfound friends down.

Mabel takes it upon herself to beat her in becoming the queen of the party, a position elected by the partygoers based on the energy, talent and charisma of the contestant. Mabel gives her all in the dancefloor and in the karaoke, and yet, by the end up the night, she ends up tied with Pacifica. Unable to accept this outcome, Pacifica uses the power of money to bribe Old Man McGucket to cheer for her, ultimately winning her the crown. While Mabel is obviously disappointed, at the end of the day she still has Candy and Grenda, who are worth more to her than any crown.

This is not the end of Mabel’s rivalry with Pacifica though. Soon after the party, during the Gravity Falls holiday known as Pioneer's Day, Pacifica, who claims to be descended from the town’s founder Nathaniel Northwest, makes fun of her from the center stage, calling her fashion sense silly and embarrassing in front of the crowd.

In an effort to prove herself a serious investigator, she accompanies Dipper in his quest to uncover the true identity of the founder of Gravity Falls. Time and time again, Mabel’s “silliness,” her unconventional way of thinking, proves vital in solving the puzzles scattered across the town and leading them to the truth.

And the truth was this: That Nathaniel Northwest was a fraud, and that the true founder of Gravity Falls was Quentin Trembley, 8½th president of the United States, and ridiculously, unabashedly silly. While Mabel could use this information as a way to hurt Pacifica, she decides not to, happy with the knowledge that being silly is maybe not so bad, after all, and that there is value in being herself, regardless of what other people might think. Dipper, who has always seen the inherent value in Mabel’s way of being, isn’t satisfied with this, though, choosing to take revenge against Pacifica anyway. Good for him.

Pacifica also has a small role in Time Traveler's Pig, further serving as a foil to Mabel.

Meeting Waddles

While attending a fair organized by Grunkle Stan, Mabel participates in a game in which she correctly guesses the weight of one of the pigs being given away as prizes. She wins the pig and names him “Waddles,” quickly getting attached to him. In the timeline in which she is unable to win him Mabel becomes depressed, demonstrating just how much she adores her pet.

Waddles is featured in the background of multiple episodes, often providing comic relief. Some of his more prominent roles are in Carpet Diem, in which he trades bodies with Soos, and more significantly Land Before Swine, in which he is preyed upon by a pterodactyl. The latter puts her love for Waddles and her love for Grunkle Stan at odds, since it was Stan’s neglect that lead to her losing her pet in the first place. By the end of the episode, however, Stan decides to risk it all to save Waddles, fixing her relationship with Mabel in the process.

Taking Back the Shack

Warming up to Pacifica

The Sock Opera

Helping Others

Trusting Family

Weirdmaggedon

Quotes

Trivia

Gallery