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Dana "Stargirl" Pines
The main protagonist of the franchise. Dana is a curious, clever, inventive 12-year-old. With her twin brother Marcus along for the ride, she dares to uncover the secrets of Gravity Falls.
- Affectionate Nickname: Marcus occasionally calls her "Stargirl".
- Ambiguously Jewish: This is mostly due to the fact that her brother Marcus occasionally uses Yiddish phrases like "mazel tov".
- Badass Bookworm: Dana is often seen reading the journal or sketching pictures in a notepad. Despite that, she's very capable of putting up a fight. In "Headhunters", she has an epic sword fight with wax Sherlock Holmes, and even tricks him to go outside so that the sun can melt him. This kid right here, outwitted Sherlock bleedin' Holmes.
- Badass Normal: Dana relies entirely on her wits and her resourcefulness in order to defeat foes and overcome obstacles.
- Berserk Button: NEVER call her a tomboy. It will only motivate her to solve mysteries.
- Butt-Monkey: She's humiliated on a regular basis.
- The Cassandra: Almost no one believes her about the strange things going on in Gravity Falls.
- City Mouse: The county police like to call Dana "city girl".
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: She often plays this to Marcus with varying degrees of success, although on some occasions she's just as goofy as he is.
- The Comically Serious: Big time. Anytime she attempts to look smart and mature, expect it to be ruined by Marcus' or Salls' antics or her own hidden goofiness.
- Coming of Age Story: Several of Dana's experiences in Gravity Falls include learning about herself, defending a first crush, and boldly standing up for what is right, all elements of this trope.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Considering that she's in Gravity Falls, she's more often than not is Properly Paranoid.
- Control Freak: Though not overbearing per se, her over attention to detail and occasional irritation with Marcus and Salls leads her to be insistent on her own direction of things.
- Crazy-Prepared: Dana brings seventeen disposable cameras for a monster hunt. This is because she realizes that cameras keep getting destroyed or lost during monster hunts.
- Creator Cameo: The author voices her in the video promotion
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- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible one to Marcus' foolishness.
- Guile Hero: In "Headhunters", when she tricks wax Sherlock Holmes onto the roof of the Surprise Hut so that the rising sun will melt him.
- Guilty Pleasures: Dana ADORES rock groups.
- Iconic Outfit: Dana is always seen in a blue cap with a tree symbol on it.
- Insufferable Genius: Light example. She's the most intelligent of the main cast and Not So Above It All (often) shows a lot more common sense. Her neurotics can be irritating however and she can be a bit prideful if over aware of her logic. Not to mention being an apt Deadpan Snarker.
- Messy Hair: Justified since she doesn't use conditioner.
- Nice Girl: For the most part, she's a pretty sweet kid.
- Non-Action Guy: She's this most of the time before she Took a Level in Badass, but all bets are off when Marcus is in danger.
- Tomboy: Though you may not want to mention it where she can hear you.
- Took a Level in Badass: In "Headhunters", and she takes it to new levels in "Dana vs. Girlishness" when it's revealed she's capable of killing someone.
Marcus Pines
Dana's twin brother. Energetic and optimistic, Marcus makes the best of every scenario with a big goofy smile.
- Affectionate Nickname: Salls occasionally calls Marcus "hambone".
- Amazon Chaser: He thinks "gamma girls" are hot.
- Ambiguously Jewish: This is mostly due to the fact that Marcus occasionally uses Yiddish phrases like "mazel tov".
- Badass Driver: As seen in "The Legend of the Gobblewonker" when he takes up driving Salls' boat.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Marcus is the sweetest person you could hope to meet, but he's something else whenever he gets angry.
- Brother–Sister Team: A rather refreshing one with Dana, in that they're not constantly bickering and actually make quite a remarkable team.
- Catchphrase: "Holy smokes!"
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: And when it happens, watch out. In the pilot alone he takes down a hundred gnomes using nothing but a leaf blower.
- Cute Bruiser: Cute kid. Will beat you up in without the need for Waif-Fu, thank you very much.
- Cute and Psycho: Marcus is a mild version of this trope, but he's definitely a high-intensity-low-stability kind of boy. Who else could wield an axe with a great big grin on his face?◊
- Fun Personified: A very cheerful and silly character. Just about everything about him screams fun.
- Improbable Weapon User: When he's not kicking and punching, he tends to grab whatever's handy. He uses a leaf blower to blow away a hundred gnomes back into the woods in "Tourist Trapped" and in "Headhunters", uses candles to take down a group of wax statues that had him surrounded.
- Iconic Outfit: Marcus is hardly ever seen without a Pony medallion.
- Large Ham: Sometimes he can be really over the top.
- Limited Wardrobe: He always wears a pink t-shirt and purple shorts.
- Motor Mouth: Chatty, opinionated, and has no trouble saying whatever comes to mind, no matter how strange or unsettling.
- Mr. Imagination: Is prone to wild flights of fancy.
- The Pollyanna: Marcus has been described as a "glass half full" kind of guy.
- Product Placement: You can clearly see the Sony logo on his dark pink headphones.
- Real Men Wear Pink: A literal example. He usually wears a pink T-shirt. He also really likes ponies, and is a huge brony.
- Sweet Tooth: In "The Inconveniencing", he eats a ton Smile Dip.
- Weirdness Magnet: Weird stuff is always gravitating toward him.
Great-Aunt "Graunt" Silvia Pines
Silvia Pines is Marcus and Dana's generous great-aunt. She runs the Surprise Hut, a little shop full of gemstones and jewelry. When she's giving tours, Dana and Marcus sneak out to explore the town's secrets.
- Adults Are Useless: Especially in "Tourist Trapped".
- Agent Scully: She adamantly doesn't believe that there is anything weird going on in Gravity Falls, telling Dana that it's all drummed up by town kooks.
- Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry: Her motivation for the Surprise Hut.
- Guilty Pleasures: Her favorite sitcom is 30 Rock: the
Unaired Episodes. - Iconic Outfit: Silvia is always seen in a fez and a black woman's suit.
- Maiden Aunt: She doesn't want to get married and she takes good care of her appearance.
- Vocal Dissonance: Word of God says her voice makes her sound like a Sassy Black Woman.
Salls
An employee at the Surprise Hut. Salls often accompanies Dana and Marcus on their adventures. She acts much like One of the Kids, though you'll find she's actually quite intelligent.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Not to the same extent as Marcus, but she often goes off on odd tangents.
- The Conscience: Surprisingly often.
- In "Legend of the Gobblewonker"(to Dana and Marcus) "I guess the real lake monster is you two."
- In "Legend of the Gobblewonker"
- Crazy-Prepared: She gives Dana a baseball bat in "Tourist Trapped" just in case she sees a pinata.
- Fat Idiot: Subverted. She's actually smarter than you'd think, though she's got a weird way of thinking.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Dana and Marcus.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: When the Gobblewonker attacked Salls immediately got serious.
- Mama Bear: A mild example but let's just say when Dana and Marcus are in trouble Salls knows to drop the act and be an adult.
- Older Sidekick: Not a side character.
- One of the Kids: She mostly hangs out with the twins or joins them on their mysteries.
- Smarter Than You Look: At first glance you would think she's a Fat Idiot. She isn't.
- Tagalong Adult
- Tomboy: She's also into "guy stuff" like Dana.
William Corduroy
A teenager who works at the Surprise Hut. Dana happens to have a crush on him.
- Artistic Age: He sure doesn't look fifteen.
- Cool Big Bro: Is a surrogate one to Dana and Marcus.
- Missing Mom: We've seen his dad and brothers, but his mom isn't even mentioned.
- Nerves of Steel: He almost never loses his cool.
- One of the Kids: Not as much as Salls, but he has some traits of it.
- Out of Focus: Of the five main characters, he has the least amount of screen-time of all.
- Redhead In Green: He has chin-length red hair and wears a jade plaid shirt.
Jennifer Gleeful
Jennifer Gleeful is a self-proclaimed television psychic. She owns the Castle of Telepathy and is Marcus' Pony pal.
- All Girls Like Ponies: She and Marcus share a mutual appreciation for all things Pony related.
- Fat Best Friend: She's not exactly fat, but Marcus is skinnier than her.
- Heel–Face Turn: At first, she initially becomes friends with Marcus as part of her mother's plan. However, because of his good heart, she eventually decides she truly wants to be Marcus' Pony pal.
Bonnie Gleeful
The widowed mother of Jennifer Gleeful. Bonnie runs a used car lot right behind the family's house. She currently owns the second book, the prequel to Dana's.
- Affably Evil: She has no problem happily talking to a photo of her dead husband about the day she killed him, all while playfully holding a blood-stained knife.
- Big Fun: A rare female example of this trope.
- Black Widow: She only needed a husband for his sperm.
- Expy: Her sweet personality and cheerful voice makes her an overweight version of Dallas Royce.
- Foil: Bonnie is far more of a cheapskate than Silvia, her business partner.
Becca V.
A friend of William's, and a rival of Dana's for his friendship.
- Crossover Ship: In-Universe example. She appears to have a crush on Spencer Wright from Dude, That's My Ghost!.
