Grunkle Stan

Stanley "Stan" Pines, also known as "Grunkle Stan", and formerly known as Stanford Pines, is one of the main characters of the Disney Channel animated series Gravity Falls, created and voiced by the series creator Alex Hirsch. In an interview, Alex Hirsch claims that Grunkle Stan is loosely based on his grandfather, also named Stan.

Stan is the great-uncle (or grunkle) of the show's two main protagonists, Dipper and Mabel Pines, who are sent to live with Stan at the Mystery Shack, his house and tourist trap which presents creatures and objects of supposedly supernatural origins. He is most often depicted wearing a black suit, white shirt, red string bow tie, red fez, and a cane topped by a billiard 8-ball. At home, he is usually seen wearing slippers, blue and white-striped boxer shorts, a white tank top and a gold necklace.

At the beginning of the show, Stan, known as Stanford Pines, is portrayed as a relatively simple character, with his shady past being used primarily as a joke until later in the series. In the episode "A Tale of Two Stans", his real name is revealed as Stanley Pines, who spent 30 years covertly working to bring his twin brother, the real Stanford Pines, back to their reality after being sucked through an inter-dimensional portal.

Besides his appearances in the main series, Stan has also appeared in the 2018 graphic novel, Gravity Falls Lost Legends and an alternative version of the character, named Mr. Ponds, appeared in a 2020 episode of Amphibia with Alex Hirsch reprising his role.