Little Dipper

"Little Dipper" is the 11th episode in Season 1 of Gravity Falls. It debuted on September 28, 2012.

Overview
Dipper feels self-conscious that Mabel is taller than him and is becoming the alpha twin, so he seeks out a magic way to grow himself the same height as her. Meanwhile, Lil' Gideon takes advantage of Dipper's and Mabel's height discrepancies.

Synopsis
The episode starts with Gideon inside his room, deciding how to get revenge on the Pines family. After considering different things, such as giant man eating caterpillars, he decides to gain control of the Mystery Shack. Gideon's lawyer appears at the front door of the Mystery Shack. Stan mistakes him for a tax collector and tries to hide his money elsewhere. The lawyer then says that Stan won ten million dollars and all he has to do is to sign a contract. The huge ten million dollar check rips apart and Gideon reveals himself. He says that he tricked them into selling the Mystery Shack, but instead of signing his real name, Stan had written "SUCK A LEMON LITTLE MAN." Gideon swears revenge on the Pines.

Later, Dipper and Mabel play a game of chess when Soos asks Mabel to reach a brain in a jar for him. Dipper asks why Soos chose Mabel over him, Soos replies because Mabel looks taller than Dipper. Dipper denies, so Soos measures them and Mabel is indeed revealed taller than Dipper by one millimeter. Mabel and Stan start making fun of Dipper's height, and he storms off to his bedroom. Looking through 3, Dipper realizes that there are height-altering properties in the forest, and he goes to investigate. He comes across several crystals, that cast blue and pink light. The pink light makes things smaller and the blue lights make things bigger. He takes a crystal and fastens the crystal to his flashlight and makes himself a millimeter taller.

Mabel still believes she'll be taller in the end, so Dipper zaps himself again. Mabel then thinks Dipper is using something magical, and questions whether Dipper has a wizard in his closet. Dipper finally gives in and tells her about the flashlight which Mabel instantly wants. Then Gideon arrives at the door of the Mystery Shack with cursed Egyptian termites, but Stan stops him from letting them devour the Shack as Gideon had planned, and the termites instead attack Gideon. After Mabel and Dipper fight for control of the magic flashlight, it falls into Gideon's hands, and he shrinks the two and puts them in a jar, which he takes back to his house.

In Gideon's room, Gideon places Mabel inside a bag of Gummy Koalas, where she eagerly takes a bite out of one. Gideon then interrogates Dipper about if he read about the crystal somewhere. Dipper then blows an air horn in Gideon's ear. Gideon nearly squashes Dipper in anger, but decides to use them. Soos and Stan finish setting up the Maze of Mirrors, a new attraction, when the phone rings. Stan goes to answer it, leaving his fez behind, which Soos puts on himself. On the other end of the phone is Gideon, who claims that great harm will befall Dipper and Mabel if the deed to the Mystery Shack is not given to him. Stan refuses, and Gideon decides to go to the Shack, armed with the magic flashlight, to shrink Stan and take the Shack for himself.

Dipper and Mabel escape using hair from a hair brush (fashioned into a rope), and ride a balloon to the Mystery Shack. Once there, Mabel distracts Gideon by messing up his hair with a gummy koala, and prepares to enlarge Dipper, however the duo argue about their height difference, and Gideon captures them. He then shrinks what he thinks is Stan; in reality it was just Soos wearing his fez.

After Soos inadvertently reveals Stan's location, Gideon sticks the jar containing the trio into his shirt pocket and heads to the Maze of Mirrors. Dipper asks Mabel why she was making fun of him, and she reveals that Dipper beats Mabel at pretty much everything, and she wanted to win at something for once. They quickly make up and escape the pocket. The trio climb up Gideon's jacket and along his neck, but Soos is knocked off. Gideon decides to break the mirrors to find Stan, but he appears in front of Gideon, demanding that he pays $500 for each mirror he broke. Dipper gets an idea, and he and Mabel tunnel under Gideon's shirt to his armpit, tickling him so much that he can't attack Stan, who simply rolls him out of the Mystery Shack. Mabel and Dipper return to normal size using the magic flashlight. Mabel stomps on the crystal to destroy it, but realizing Soos is still small, they decide to glue it back together to change him back to his regular height.

Gideon is pacing around his house, and his dad says he will get his revenge one day. Gideon angrily tells him that it's not just about revenge; he wants the Shack, the physical building, because there's a secret hidden inside of it. He then laughs maniacally while eating ice cream. In the credits scene, another person arrives at the door, telling Stan he's won $10 million. Stan simply closes the door in disgust, and the money is offered to Old Man McGucket, who eats the giant check.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Tim McKeon
 * Zach Paez
 * Alex Hirsch
 * Directed by:
 * Aaron Springer
 * Joe Pitt
 * Storyboards by:
 * Chris Sonnenburg
 * Niki Yang


 * With the Voice Talents of:
 * Kristen Schaal - Mabel Pines
 * Jason Ritter - Dipper Pines
 * Alex Hirsch - Grunkle Stan and Soos
 * Jennifer Coolidge - Lazy Susan
 * Grey DeLisle - Mrs. Gleeful
 * Stephen Root - Bud Gleeful
 * Thurop Van Orman - Gideon Gleeful


 * Additional Voices:
 * Corey Burton - Lawyer
 * Jennifer Coolidge
 * Alex Hirsch - Old Man McGucket
 * Casting By:
 * Sara Goldberg

Production notes

 * See also: List of allusions and List of goofs.

Character Revelations

 * Dipper is a millimeter shorter than Mabel.
 * Soos is seen without his hat for the first time.
 * Stan isn't familiar with texting.
 * Gideon knows a secret about the Mystery Shack.
 * Old Man McGucket's full name is revealed to be "Fiddleford H. McGucket."
 * Bud Gleeful is a used car salesman.
 * Gideon is extremely ticklish, and really hates being tickled.

Series continuity

 * The model of the Mystery Shack and the dolls of Mabel, Stan, and Dipper that Gideon makes in "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel" reappear.

Trivia

 * Viewership: This episode was watched by 2.599 million viewers on its premier night.
 * Gideon's school ID number is 618, a number that occurs frequently in the series, because it's Alex Hirsch's birthday (6-18-1985).

Cryptogram

 * During the end credits, there was a cryptogram that read "GSV RMERHRYOV DRAZIW RH DZGXSRMT." Once decoded, it reads, "THE INVISIBLE WIZARD IS WATCHING."