Given how Gravity Falls is still considered one of the best shows of the 2010s, Alex has a lot to live up to. I almost feel bad for him…almost.
In al seriousness, I hope this project works out for everyone involved.
I remember he was getting canceled for saying they can't have a character in a hijab because that would be a political statement (American manchildren doesn't seem to realize France has a different political stance on Arabs).
Relevant to the discussion, but I noticed the "reformed bully" trope is becoming overused, and sometimes it bears unfortunate implications. There's this character Amity from Owl House whom some fans are accusing of being a creator's pet. She was basically just Ethel Hallow but because the show has a shitty pacing she becomes sympathetic in the next episode she appears in. I think her relationship with Luz is fine, but she was actively bullying another girl, Willow, until it was revealed they used to be best friends before Amity stared bullying her to protect her from her parents. And this part annoys me because while kids don't become bullies out of nowhere, it's not a healthy message to teach little kids that if your best friend suddenly becomes abusive, they must have a good reason for it. But Amity is given a pass because she's a lesbian.
Yeah, Amity's arc was always something that rubbed me the wrong way. It's implied that Amity's been acting like an utter bitch to Willow for years at this point, and is forgiven by Willow far too easily for everything she's done to her. She also acts like an asshole to Luz because she's an icky human and thus shouldn't even be going to their witch school, as far as she's concerned. After like a single episode making Amity somewhat sympathetic, everyone forgives Amity for being a racist bully and they all act like they've been best buddies since they were in diapers.
Like, have they ever talked to thirteen year old girls? They'll hold a grudge for months, if not years over stupid, petty shit, let alone something genuinely grudge-worthy like long-term bullying. Insta-forgiveness after one attempt at being a decent person is just plain unrealistic. Amity does definitely give off creator's pet vibes (her uncanny resemblance to Dana doesn't help lmao), and I'm pretty sure the only reason why she gets off so easily is because she's gay and the main love interest.
I put this under spoilers because it ended up being WAY longer than I expected.
I think a good example of a reformed bully character would be Sasha Waybright from Amphibia, which runs on the same channel but gets less love and attention despite being better in almost every aspect. Probably because of the lack of underage lesbians for twitter to salivate over. She's kind of in the midpoint of her reformation arc, but it's already infinitely better than Amity's. Sasha is, to put it lightly, a bitch, and this becomes increasingly clear to the audience and the main character, Anne. Their relationship is a little bit different from Amity and Willow/Luz in that Sasha is both a best friend and a bully to Anne, and the narrative really hammers home about how she's a shitty person because of how she treats the people closest to her and how this negatively affects them. Anne grows increasingly more frustrated and done with Sasha's actions, culminating in her chewing her out in the season finale, telling her to her face that she's terrible, that she's used up every single chance Anne has given her to change, and that their friendship is effectively over unless Sasha can by some miracle get her shit together. Sasha is clearly torn up about this- she's treated the people she loves like shit, but despite everything she does love them, which is also displayed often throughout the series.
It's pretty obvious that she's on the track for a redemption arc, as when the BBEG rears his head she immediately sides with the main characters against him and is apparently in charge of La Résistance in Amphibia while the main character is stuck in the human world, but it's very likely to not be easy considering Anne now personally trusts her about as far as she can throw her. Despite her bitchiness, she's still a really likable and well-written character and you want to see her redeem herself, especially if it's a long, hard process for her.
In general, she's a character with far more depth and development than Amity and despite the fact that she's just starting down her path of reformation, she's already much more believable. As someone who was bullied at about the same age as the characters in both shows, I have to say that the writers of Amphibia are handling the situation so much better and more realistically than the Owl House writers, and I really appreciate that.
Yeah, Amity's arc was always something that rubbed me the wrong way. It's implied that Amity's been acting like an utter bitch to Willow for years at this point, and is forgiven by Willow far too easily for everything she's done to her. She also acts like an asshole to Luz because she's an icky human and thus shouldn't even be going to their witch school, as far as she's concerned. After like a single episode making Amity somewhat sympathetic, everyone forgives Amity for being a racist bully and they all act like they've been best buddies since they were in diapers.
Like, have they ever talked to thirteen year old girls? They'll hold a grudge for months, if not years over stupid, petty shit, let alone something genuinely grudge-worthy like long-term bullying. Insta-forgiveness after one attempt at being a decent person is just plain unrealistic. Amity does definitely give off creator's pet vibes (her uncanny resemblance to Dana doesn't help lmao), and I'm pretty sure the only reason why she gets off so easily is because she's gay and the main love interest.
I put this under spoilers because it ended up being WAY longer than I expected.
I think a good example of a reformed bully character would be Sasha Waybright from Amphibia, which runs on the same channel but gets less love and attention despite being better in almost every aspect. Probably because of the lack of underage lesbians for twitter to salivate over. She's kind of in the midpoint of her reformation arc, but it's already infinitely better than Amity's. Sasha is, to put it lightly, a bitch, and this becomes increasingly clear to the audience and the main character, Anne. Their relationship is a little bit different from Amity and Willow/Luz in that Sasha is both a best friend and a bully to Anne, and the narrative really hammers home about how she's a shitty person because of how she treats the people closest to her and how this negatively affects them. Anne grows increasingly more frustrated and done with Sasha's actions, culminating in her chewing her out in the season finale, telling her to her face that she's terrible, that she's used up every single chance Anne has given her to change, and that their friendship is effectively over unless Sasha can by some miracle get her shit together. Sasha is clearly torn up about this- she's treated the people she loves like shit, but despite everything she does love them, which is also displayed often throughout the series.
It's pretty obvious that she's on the track for a redemption arc, as when the BBEG rears his head she immediately sides with the main characters against him and is apparently in charge of La Résistance in Amphibia while the main character is stuck in the human world, but it's very likely to not be easy considering Anne now personally trusts her about as far as she can throw her. Despite her bitchiness, she's still a really likable and well-written character and you want to see her redeem herself, especially if it's a long, hard process for her.
In general, she's a character with far more depth and development than Amity and despite the fact that she's just starting down her path of reformation, she's already much more believable. As someone who was bullied at about the same age as the characters in both shows, I have to say that the writers of Amphibia are handling the situation so much better and more realistically than the Owl House writers, and I really appreciate that.
Apparently there was more than TDS holding him back for this one. The project was announced back in 2018 I believe but was in development hell for the longest time. Supposedly Hirsch said they still weren’t sure what the show was going to be about back then.
Aside the slight update in animation, it doesn't look that much different from the original version. Who wants to bet the mole people are gonna be openly gay this time around though?
Yeah in 2005 it had all the subtiles of a village people concert but they never outright said it.
