List of allusions

The following is a list of allusions to works of fiction, people, places, events, and other cultural touchstones in the series Gravity Falls.

The allusions, references, similarities, homages, and other items on this list should be specific, detailed, unique, or identifying. Avoid adding incidental, broad, general, or tangential similarities.

See also: List of items in the Mystery Shack for allusions made by specific items.

• Multiple Episodes
• Gravity Falls Main Title Theme
• Season 1
• Shorts
• Season 2

• Characters frequently drink Pitt Cola. Given the similarity in the name and color of the can, this is a reference to Mr. Pibb soda. It was also named after Joe Pitt, one of the directors of the series.
• Lazy Susan's name is a reference to the spinning table.
• Pacifica Northwest's name is a pun on the U.S. region "Pacific Northwest," the region containing Oregon state.
• Characters sometimes use a Tapeman, an allusion to the Walkman.
• The book series "The Sibling Brothers" by Jenkins W. Jenkins, often read or referenced by Dipper, is a parody of the mystery novel series, The Hardy Boys published under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon.

When Dipper is exploring the cave, there are characters that look like runes. However, one of them does not match a known rune and the others do not translate into anything intelligible in English.

In the scene where the water tower with Gravity Falls painted on it is shown, In the background the Twin Peaks mountains are shown, referencing the show.

Mabel and Dipper walk past a taxidermy Jackalope in one scene.

For one frame, an image of Bigfoot flashes in the same pose as the alleged Bigfoot in the Patterson-Gimlin film.

Among the Polaroids are photos of Jackalopes, a Fiji mermaid, flying saucers, and the tabloid character Bat Boy.

Bill Cipher is a reference to the Eye of Providence.

In the ending, a photo with the logo on it is shown, and if one looks at the top right corner, two flying saucers can be seen in the same position as the two saucers over the Eiffel Tower in Paris in a famous fake photo.

The Konami Code is also visible.

In the animatic version of the theme song, Mabel and Dipper arrive on a "Fast Dog" bus. This is an allusion to Greyhound Lines buses.

• In the released version, it has changed to "Speedy Beaver." It may still be an allusion to the Greyhound Lines buses, though.

The post card segment, near the end of the intro, shows a UFO to the top right. It is one of the Billy Meier UFOs.

Tourist Trapped

• A poster resembling Justin Bieber is seen in the attic.
• Stan wears a Gill-man mask to scare Dipper. The Gill-man is from the 1954 film, Creature from the Black Lagoon.
• The gnomes tie down Mabel in a similar way to how the Lilliputians tie down Gulliver in Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.
• The way Mabel takes the grappling hook out of the box and spins around is a reference to the Legend of Zelda video game series.

The Legend of the Gobblewonker

• The Gobblewonker is an allusion to the Loch Ness Monster.
• Soos' pose when Dipper asks him to pretend to be Bigfoot is an allusion of the famous film of Bigfoot.
• A few notes from "Yankee Doodle" play when Dipper and Mabel look at Stan's boat when deciding whether to go fishing with Stan or to search for the Gobblewonker.
• During Dipper's fantasy, his outfit is based on the outfit worn by Indiana Jones in the film franchise of the same name.

Headhunters

• The episode plot is very likely a parody of The Twilight Zone episode "The New Exhibit" in which a man, devoted to a closed-down wax museum, stores the wax figures of famous mass murderers in his home, despite some strange and violent "accidents" that keep happening to his friends and family in the process.
• "It's a 2319" line from Monsters Inc. was said by Officer Blubs.
• When lamenting Wax Lincoln's death, Stan accuses Wax John Wilkes Booth of the death, referencing the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth.
• The nickname "Mabelangelo" is a reference to the famous sculptor and painter, Michelangelo Buonarroti.
• Mabel saying "wree, wree, wree!" while swinging an axe is a reference to Bernard Hermann's musical cue The Murder played during the shower scene in the film Psycho.
• When Mabel asks Wax William Shakespeare if he knows any limericks, he says "There once was a dude from Kentucky." This is a reference to an opening line for many (usually crude) joke limericks, "There once was a man from Nantucket."

The Hand That Rocks the Mabel

• The name of the episode is a play on the phrase, "the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."
• When Mabel "bezazzles" her face, it is a reference to the real product, the Bedazzler.
• While watching Gideon's commercial on TV, Mabel makes the same noise Scooby-Doo makes when questioning something.
• A billboard outside of the Gleeful residence has an icon that reads "Like from TV!" a reference to the "As seen on TV" icon.
• The "Club Club" is a reference to the "Red Room" in the Black and White Lodge from the TV series Twin Peaks.

The Inconveniencing

• The name of the haunted mini-mart, "Dusk 2 Dawn," is an allusion to the 1996 Quentin Tarantino movie, From Dusk Till Dawn.
• Mabel running sideways on the ground after she climbs over the fence is similar to what Curly Howard does in The Three Stooges.
• The article about "cheese crust pizza" alludes to the introduction of Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust Pizza on March 26, 1995
  • On May 2nd, 1995, Serbia launched a missile on Zagreb, referenced by the headline "(cut off) War or Something..." It was part of the Bosnian War.
• The mints packaging is very similar to that of Mentos.
• Smile Dip is a reference to Fun Dip.
• The Smile Dip dogs are similar to Lisa Frank's Casey and Camus.
• Wendy tells Dipper that he's surprisingly mature for his age. Dipper replies to Wendy by saying "yes, yes I am". This is a reference to a catchphrase said by Phineas Flynn (and other kid/teen characters) from Phineas and Ferb.
• Thompson plays a game called Dancy Pants Revolution. This is a reference to the game Dance Dance Revolution.
• Lee is put in a cereal box similar to Froot Loops with a blue toucan similar to Toucan Sam on it. The toucan says, "I'm bonkers for eating you alive" in the same way Sonny the Cuckoo Bird says "I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!"
• Mabel twisting her head 180 degrees while being possessed by a ghost is a reference to a scene in the movie The Exorcist, in which a demon, possessing a child, turns its head 180 degrees.

Dipper vs. Manliness

• The song Disco Girl by the girly Icelandic pop sensation BABBA is a reference to the song Dancing Queen by the Swedish pop group ABBA.
• The jerky that Dipper is eating while in the forest has a picture of a man on the front of the bag bearing a striking resemblance to Hulk Hogan.
• The Manotaurs are a reference to the mythological Minotaur.
• One of the scenes in the training montage shows Dipper having his eyes held open by the Manotaurs and being shown inspirational posters, which is a reference to the Ludovico technique from the book and the movie, A Clockwork Orange.
• The concept of "Many Minotaurs" might possibly be a reference to the character "Mannish Man," also known as "The Manly Minotaur," from the Adventure Time episode "The Enchiridion."

Double Dipper

• The song that Mabel sings, "Don't Start Un-Believing," is an allusion to the song "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey.
• The Tapeman is a reference to the Sony Walkman, a portable audio cassette player.
• The tall man whom Dipper calls "Stretch" does Michael Jackson's famous Moon Walk.
• On Dipper's list, steps 19 and 20 reference his knowledge of "Monstermon," a reference to the Pokémon franchise.
• The cracker packs are an allusion to Handi-Snacks.

Irrational Treasure

• The title of the episode is an allusion to National Treasure.
• The Depants-ipation Proclamation is an allusion to the Emancipation Proclamation, enacted by United States President Abraham Lincoln.
• Quentin Trembley's speech "The only thing we have to fear is gigantic man-eating spiders" is an allusion to the famous line "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," made by former president Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inaugural speech.
• The cryptogram decodes as "E PLURIBUS TREMBLEY" (Latin for "From Many, Trembley"), a play on the phrase "E PLURIBUS UNUM" (Latin for "From Many, One") found on the Great Seal of the United States and on all US coins.
• Stan screaming "PIONEER DAY!" to the sky is reminiscent of the beginning to every episode of Dan Vs.
• Quentin Trembley rides his horse backwards, much like Dudley Do-Right from Rocky and Bullwinkle.

The Time Traveler's Pig

• The title of the episode is an allusion to the novel, The Time Traveler's Wife.
• The two Time Police are named Lolph and Dundgren, a reference to the actor Dolph Lundgren and the character he portrayed in Universal Soldier.
• Fertilia and Grady Mecc's surname refers to Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) which produced the video game The Oregon Trail.
• Mabel and Waddles eating the same slice of pizza from different ends references the scene in the Disney animated film, Lady and the Tramp, where the main characters eat a single strand of spaghetti from either end.
• At the end of the episode, Dipper quotes the line "That'll do, pig. That'll do," from the novel and the film, Babe.
• The cryptogram at the end of the episode says "NOT H.G. WELLS APPROVED." This references the science fiction novella The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells.

Fight Fighters

• The title of the episode and the arcade game Fight Fighters is an allusion to the Street Fighter series. The characters in the game are based on Street Fighter characters as well:
  • Rumble McSkirmish's movement and attacks are primarily based on Ryu and Ken.
  • Dr. Karate uniform and attacks are derived from those of M. Bison, while he has Guile's haircut.
  • "Beastor", "Suggessica", and "N. Buffalo" are based on Blanka, Chun-Li and M. Bison respectively.
• Games in the Arcade:
  • NORT: a backwards spelling of the classic sci-fi movie, Tron, and appears to be like the light cycle game, only with Segways.
    • Soos trying to "enter the game" is a reference to the plot of Tron.
  • Ho-Down Hero: a reference to Guitar Hero series and Dance Dance Revolution series.
  • Ghost Maze: a reference to Pac-Man.
  • Nerd Punch: a reference to the Punch-Out!! series.
  • FrogTime: a reference to Frogger.
  • PizzaTime: a reference to BurgerTime.
• The Fight Fighters character select screen, in which a plane flies across a map, is based on Street Fighter II.
• When Dipper is talking about power-ups to Rumble:
  • Pizza boxes is a reference to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games
  • Gold rings is a reference to the Sonic the Hedgehog series
• Rumble picking up garbage off the street to use as weapons is a reference to the game Streets of Rage.
• Rumble throwing barrels after Robbie, who must jump over them, is a reference to the arcade game Donkey Kong, in which the player must leap over barrels thrown by a gorilla.
• Rumble punching the car in the "bonus round" is a reference to an identical bonus level in Street Fighter II and Final Fight. "OH! MY CAR" is a reference to a man saying the same at the end of the bonus round in the Super Nintendo version of Final Fight.
• When Rumble shouts "All you can eat!" as he uppercuts the grill, the "all you can" is pronounced with the same cadence as "Shoryuken", an identical spinning uppercut move from the Street Fighter series.
• The cry of "Finish him!" when Rumble is fighting Robbie is borrowed from the Mortal Kombat series.
• The combo move Rumble uses to defeat Dipper ends with the latter lying on the ground below the former, who faces away from the screen with a glowing red symbol on his back - a reference to Akuma from the Street Fighter series, whose infamous "Raging Demon" combo move ends this same way.
• The end credits scene contains several references:
  • The character select screen is modeled after that of Super Mario Bros. 2.
    • Mabel's character says "It's a-me, a-Mabel!", referencing Mario's catchphrase.
    • Stan is the tallest character, is slower than the others, and jumps higher. All of these are attributes of Luigi.
    • This sequence takes place in Soos' dream, much like the events of Super Mario Bros. 2 takes place in Mario's dream.
  • Soos is shown as a large head eating the characters, a reference to Pac-Man.
  • The cryptogram reads "Sorry Dipper, but your Wendy is in another castle." This is a reference to Super Mario Bros, in which Toad says, "Thank you, Mario, but our Princess is in another castle."

Little Dipper

• The title of the episode refers to the constellation Ursa Minor, often referred to as the Little Dipper.
• When trying to reveal the wizard, Mabel shouts "Expecto Wizarium," a reference to "Expecto Patronum," a spell from the Harry Potter series.
• Gummy Koalas are a spoof of Gummy Bears.
• The book on Gideon's desk, "In Art of War," is a reference to The Art of War.

Summerween

• Mr. Adequate-bar is a reference to Mr. Goodbar candy bars, and Count Discount is a reference to Count Chocula cereal.
• Waddles dressing in a suit and tie may be a reference to George Orwell's Animal Farm. When all the pigs start acting like human politicians and create their own society at the end of the novel.
• When the boys tell Stan that they're not scared, Stan replies, "Oh, you will be. You will be." This is the same response Yoda gives Luke Skywalker to the latter's not being scared in The Empire Strikes Back.
• Stan pretending to have Waddles jump out of his stomach is a reference to the Ridley Scott film Alien, in which the aliens impregnate the humans by laying their eggs in the human's mouths. When the eggs hatch, they burst out of the human's chest, killing them. The same reference occurs when Soos bursts out of the Summerween Trickster, screeching.
• The Summerween Trickster's second form is an homage to Spirited Away's No Face.
• The score playing during the shower scene with Stan is The Murder from the film Psycho.
• The pictures of Waddles with humorous captions are a reference to the well-known I Can Haz Cheezburger meme pictures.
  • One of the pictures has the caption, "i hate mondais," a reference to the trademark catchphrase of comic character Garfield.
  • Other of the pictures resembles the Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother Album Cover.

Boss Mabel

• The game show, Cash Wheel, is a reference to Wheel of Fortune.
• The Singin' Salmon is an allusion to Big Mouth Billy Bass.
• When decoded, the cryptogram in the end credits reads "HEAVY IS THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE FEZ." This is a reference William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2, in which King Henry says the famous line, "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown," which is often misquoted as "heavy is the head that wears the crown (Act III, Scene i)."

Bottomless Pit!

• Dipper saying, "How you diddly-doing, Soos?" is a reference to how Ned Flanders of The Simpsons talks.
• Stan's story, "Grunkle Stan wins the football bowl", is a reference to the Super Bowl. Also, the uniforms of the football players in the story resemble the uniforms of the Green Bay Packers.

The Deep End

• Before Mabel gives Mermando the sandwich, the score when Mabel bobs her head in and out of the water is an homage to the famous theme from the film Jaws.
• After Mermando is freed into Lake Gravity Falls, Mabel runs forward and he leaps over her in the same manner as the famous scene in Free Willy.

Carpet Diem

• The title is a play on the Latin aphorism carpe diem meaning "seize the day."
• The boy band movie, "Boyz World" is a parody of the Spice Girls movie, "Spice World."
• Soos says that he has to squeeze into his break room "like a video game puzzle block," referring to Tetris.
• Calling All Boys: Preteen Edition is an allusion to such games as Girl Talk and Dream Phone, in which players can talk to male characters on electronic phones.
• The book Dipper reads, "The Sibling Brothers" by Jenkins W. Jenkins is a parody of the mystery novel series, The Hardy Boys published under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon.

Boyz Crazy

• In the beginning of the song "Cray Cray," the set is from the NSYNC song "Bye Bye Bye."
  • When Ergman Bratsman tells the unborn clone to dance, the last part of it is a reference to the N'Sync's dance in their hit song "Bye Bye Bye."
  • When Creggy G jumps between Deep Chris, he appears to land in JC Chasez's pose in the second verse of "Bye Bye Bye."
• The band "aggressively dancing at" Candy and Grenda is a reference to the musical play West Side Story, in which a gang's signature dance involves very similar synchronized snapping.
• When Mabel tells Sev'ral Timez to "get out before she changes her mind", it is a reference to the Gary Puckett & The Union Gap song "Young Girl".

Land Before Swine

• The title is a play on the title of the film series The Land Before Time.
• Mabel's dance moves on the counter as well as her pumping her fists into the air while collapsing to the floor during her "Pig Dance Party" are a reference to the dance scene in The Breakfast Club.
• The scene picturing the mosquito in the sap is a reference to the Steven Spielberg movie Jurassic Park, in which mosquitos preserved in tree sap are used to obtain dinosaur DNA.
  • Stan says later that he should open a theme park with the dinosaurs: "Jurassic Sap Hole".
• Bobby Renzobbi is a parody of Billy Mays, a television direct-response advertisement salesperson.
• Stan yells, "From Heck's heart, I stab at thee" referencing the quote "From Hell's heart, I stab at thee" by Ahab from the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick.
• The gang using the geyser to escape from the mine is a possible reference to a similar scene in Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, or from the 1959 movie adaptation, where a lava geyser is used to eject the heroes away from a dinosaur that is attacking them.

Dreamscaperers

• "Conflict Boat" is a reference to the game Battleship.
• Grandpa the Kid is a reference to Billy the Kid.
• The Nyarf toy guns are references to Nerf toy guns.
• When Bill says he knows "lots of things," a number of images flash on his body. Some are references to the following, in order of appearance:
  • The assassination of US President John F. Kennedy.
  • UFO sightings
  • Aztec calendar
  • Apollo moon landing
  • Stonehenge
  • The pyramids of Giza
  • Crop circles
• One part of the incantation Dipper reads to transport himself, Mabel and Soos into Stan's mind is "Inceptus Nolanus overratus," which is broken Latin, essentially meaning "Nolan's Inception is overrated."
• The Bijou Theater is an homage to the Bijou Theater at CalArts which is the campus projection room at the school Alex Hirsch attended.
• The dance Xyler and Craz do when threatened by Bill Cipher is the same as Jonathan Knight (in red vest) and Joey McIntyre (in the green jacket) from the 1990 cartoon New Kids on the Block.
• Soos' attack on Bill, "Soos Love Stomach Beam Stare" is a reference to the "Care Bear Stare" from the Care Bears.
• As the gang wakes up, Dipper's left hand disappears. This is a reference to the Spielberg film Back to the Future when Marty realizes that he is slowly disappearing because George and Lorraine's relationship is on the line.
• The end credits are an homage to the opening credits of the TV series Twin Peaks.
  • Like Angelo Badalamenti's instrumental "Falling," the Gravity Falls Theme Song plays over a very slow pan across a waterfall and down a lazy river through the forest.
  • A woodpecker can be heard, echoing the Bewick's Wren seen at the start of the Twin Peaks opening credit montage.
  • The Gravity Falls ending theme has been drastically slowed from its familiar racing beat down to the tempo of very relaxed breathing, matching the tempo of the Twin Peaks theme.
  • At this pace, the Gravity Falls theme only plays through halfway, trailing off just when we anticipate the theme's bridge picking up in intensity. This surprising tempo change is borrowed from a second track, the title track from Badalamenti and David Lynch's album Floating Into the Night, sung by Julee Cruise, composed by Angelo Badalamenti with lyrics written by David Lynch.

Gideon Rises

• "Gideonland" and its logo design are references to Disneyland.
• When Deputy Edwin Durland said "What on Earth happened here," it may be an allusion of the "Zoomates" gag of the Nickelodeon show, Oh Yeah! Cartoons.

Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained

Candy Monster

• The "Mobius chicken strip" is an allusion to the Möbius strip.

Stan's Tattoo

• One of the "secret society symbols" is Oroborus, a serpent eating its own tail, in a lemniscate.

Mailbox

• The mailbox tells Dipper that the end of the world is in 3012, a reference to the apocalyptic theory based on Mayan calendar that the world would end in 2012.

Lefty

• Mabel's theory that the man was a "half man, half lizard man," is a reference to the Reptilian conspiracies.

Tooth

• Bear-O is based off of Billy Bob Brockali of the animatronic band, The Rock-afire Explosion.^{[citation needed]}

The Hide-Behind

• The Hide Behind creature is a reference to a creature from American folklore know as the Hidebehind.

Mabel's Guide to Life

Mabel's Guide to Dating

None

Mabel's Guide to Stickers

• The Aztec text's story about a talking dog and its ability to play basketball is a reference to the 1997 movie Air Bud.
• Mabel's scrapbook cover has a sticker of Kilroy looking over a watermelon and with the world "smile".

Mabel's Guide to Fashion

• Mabel makes over Soos to look like Jareth, the Goblin King, the main antagonist of the 1986 fantasy movie Labyrinth.

Mabel's Guide to Color

• Mabel's sweater is a reference to the cover of Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon.
• The name of the wizard "Crayondalf" who gave the world color is very similar to the name of the wizard Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings.

Mabel's Guide to Art

• Mabel's costume while experimenting on flight, and the words "Amelia Awesomeheart" is a reference to American aviation pioneer, Amelia Earhart.

Fixin' It with Soos

Fixin' It with Soos: Cuckoo Clock

• While Soos' computer is rendering his video, the mouse pointer is identical to Apple's spinning pinwheel.

TV Shorts

TV Shorts 1

None

TV Shorts

The title screen of "Teenz Talk" is a reference to that of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Mabel's Scrapbook

• Both shorts start with Mabel in a rocking chair by a fireplace, a homage to Masterpiece Theatre.

Mabel's Scrapbook: Heist Movie

• One of the films playing at the movie theater is called "Toy Storage 2," a reference to the Disney/Pixar film Toy Story 2.
• The Ragtime Theater is a reference to the Ragland Theater in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Mabel's Scrapbook: Petting Zoo

• The picture of Mabel surrounded by dogsled dogs is in the exact arrangement of one of the posters for the 2002 Disney movie Snow Dogs, with Mabel taking the place of the Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character, Ted Brooks.

Scary-oke

• Two songs on Mabel's karaoke machine ("We Built This Township on Rock and Roll" and "Danger Lane to Highway Town") are references to "We Built this City" by Starship and "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins.
• MC Rapper is a parody of rapper MC Hammer.
• The song name "The Rapper's Rap" is an allusion to the early rap song, "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang.
• Agent Powers' claim to have no sense of humor is an allusion to Men in Black, wherein Agent K says, "We at the FBI do not have a sense of humor we're aware of."
• Stan's contraband box contains a Tamagotchi and a Street Sharks doll.
• The magazines in Stan's trunk (e.g. "Fully Clothed Women") are a reference to adult magazines such as Playboy.
• The show Soos watches, "Gossiping Housewives," is a reference to the TV series Desperate Housewives.

Into the Bunker

• Using the symbol substitution cipher, one of the journal's pages says "ICE" "ICE" "BABY," which is a famous hip hop song from 1990, "Ice Ice Baby" by rapper Vanilla Ice.
• Smez is a spoof of Pez.
• When the Shape Shifter first reveals itself to Dipper and Wendy, it takes the form of an upside-down spider-like creature with a long worm-like neck attached to man's snarling head. This is a reference to the 1982 science fiction horror film The Thing, where the titular shape-shifting alien adopts a very similar appearance in a scene.
• When the Shape Shifter transforms to demonstrate the different forms he can take from the Journal, he briefly transforms into Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy.
• The layout of the bunker and its entrance are a reference to the video game Myst.

The Golf War

• The title "The Golf War" is a play on words referencing the Gulf War from 1990-91.
• One of the obstacles at Ye Royal Discount Putt Hutt is a large shoe house, a reference to the nursery rhyme "There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe."
• The Lilliputtians are a reference to the Lilliputians, a society of tiny people who inhabit the island of Lilliput (which represents the Kingdom of Great Britain) in Jonathan Swift's satirical novel Gulliver's Travels. Also, the way they tied up Pacifica was done in a similar manner to how Gulliver is tied up by the Lilliputians.
• When the pirate Lilliputtians first appear, a tune very similar to the main theme of the Pirates of the Caribbean series plays.
• The story of Big Henry and how he died pushing the ball to the end of the mine is a reference to the story of John Henry and how he died building an entire railroad track to the promised land.

Sock Opera

• The entire episode is an allusion to Faust. In the tale of Faust, Faust makes a deal with the Mephistopheles (The Devil) in which he gains all the knowledge of the world, but he will lose his soul in ten years to Mephistopheles. Faust with the help of a maiden, outsmarts Mephistopheles. In the episode Dipper makes a deal with Bill Cipher in which he has to give up a puppet for a hint to the laptop, and in the end Dipper and Mabel both outsmart Bill.
• The screaming head that Bill conjures is based on Khal Drogo from HBO's Game of Thrones.
• The outfit Candy wears during the show is based off of the outfit worn by David Bowie during the music video for his song "Ziggy Stardust."
• The face made by Dipper in puppet form to show his aggravation is similar to the aggravated face of Muppet Kermit the Frog, particularly based on a meme of that face during a sketch from Sesame Street where he gets frustrated as a girl keeps trying to add "Cookie Monster" to the alphabet.
• The preacher outfit that Bill wears during the show is based on the character Harry Powell from The Night of the Hunter.
• Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria" is heard when the Stan puppet falls in slow motion.
• The Stan and Old Man McGucket puppets in the balcony during the credits are modeled after Statler and Waldorf from The Muppet Show.
• The cryptogram in the end credits references Reptilian conspiracies.

Soos and the Real Girl

• The title is a spoof of the film Lars and the Real Girl, in which a man deals with his shyness by treating a life-sized doll he ordered off the internet as his girlfriend.
• A number of stores at Gravity Malls are parodies of popular stores:
  • The store in the mall, Build A Beaver, is a parody of Build-A-Bear Workshop.
  • The store Edgy On Purpose is a spoof on Hot Topic.
  • BeeblyBoop's Videogames' logo is an allusion to the GameStop logo.
• Soos' bedroom has a number of items that reference toys and pop culture:
  • A picture of something resembling a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
  • A Stretch Armstrong doll.
  • A Furby doll.
  • A Godzilla action figure.
  • A Nintendo 64 console and controller.
  • A poster, "HE'S GOT ATTI-CUBE," which has a COOLCUBE logo at the top that is a cube made of C's, a parody of the Nintendo GameCube whose cube is made of G's. The running cube on the poster also resembles a Rubik's Cube and 7-Up's old mascot, Cool Spot.
• The cardboard cutout that Soos knocks over is a parody of Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider series.
• The restaurant Hoo-Ha Owl's Pizzamatronic Jamboree is based off of ShowBiz Pizza Place and the Rock-afire Explosion.
• Will E. Badger's name is a parody of Chuck E. Cheese's.
• Stan saying "I'm gonna get that badger," is a reference to the famous, recurring line said by Elmer Fudd about Bugs Bunny: "I'm gonna get that wabbit (rabbit)."
• The fact that Giffany killed her creators after becoming sentient is a nod to GLaDOS from the Portal series. Giffany's animation depicting a bunch of stick figures at computers greatly resembles similar animations played in Portal 2.
• On Giffany's screen, the binary code translates to "SPACEJAMTWO." This is a reference to the film Space Jam and it's then-announced 2021 sequel, starring LeBron James.
• Soos not knowing how to pronounce Giffany's name is a nod to the arguments online on how to pronounce the file type .GIF.

  File:Latula Pyrope in GF.png

  Homestuck reference.

• One of the girls shown by Giffany is a reference to Latula Pyrope from the webcomic Homestuck.
• The cryptogram at the end slide is a parody of the theme song of the DiC/CWi dub of the anime Sailor Moon. "WINNING HEARTS BY DAYLIGHT! / POSSESSING ROBOTS BY MOONLIGHT! / HER EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE IS A REAL FRIGHT! / SHE HAS THE ONE NAME GIFFANY." Similarly, the first four lines of the DiC/CWi's Sailor Moon theme song are "Fighting evil by moonlight / Winning love by daylight / Never running from a real fight! (or 'With her Sailor Scouts to help fight' in a later verse) / She is the one named Sailor Moon!"
• The idea of Giffany being a stalker and obsessed with Soos is a reference to the "yandere" trait in Japanese animes, giving in the fact that the director, Matt Braly and his girlfriend are being joked as "weeaboos."
• In a promotional art picture, Soos is holding a Fire Flower from Super Mario Bros.

Little Gift Shop of Horrors

• The title is a parody of Little Shop of Horrors.
• The episode is a trilogy of 3 horror segments, similar to The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror series".
• One item in the gift shop is a Palantír from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, in which the Eye of Sauron can be seen.
• The title card for Hands Off is in the style of famous graphic designer Saul Bass.
• The Hand Witch's robe is nearly identical to that of The Master from the movie Manos: The Hands of Fate.
• The Hand Witch sits on a chair made from hands that resembles the Iron Throne from HBO's Game of Thrones.
• Dipper helps hang a painting of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam.
• The What-the-heck-ahedron is a reference to 3D combination puzzles, like the Rubik's Cube.
• "Loinclothiclese" searching for the "Golden Pants" is a reference to the myth of the Golden Fleece.
• The movie "Honey, I Shrunk A Ghost" seen on top of the VCR is a reference to the 1989 film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
• Harry Claymore's old gorilla model is a reference to King Kong.
• Harry Claymore and his works are an homage to real-life animator, director, producer, special effects legend: Ray Harryhausen. The claymation monsters (skeletons, cyclops, gorgons, etc.) are references to his films Jason and the Argonauts, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Clash of the Titans.
• A poster in Harry Claymore's studio features a flying creature that resembles Rodan, a monster from Toho's Rodan and the Godzilla franchise.
• When Soos turns into clay, he resembles iconic stop-motion character Gumby. He also says, "Holy toledo," which was the catchphrase of Gumby's pal, Pokey.

Society of the Blind Eye

• McGucket's middle name is a nod to the Large Hadron Collider.
• The statue inside The Hall of the Forgotten looks very similar to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio De Janeiro.
• When Mabel and Wendy discuss Mabel's failed romances, a Triforce is visible on the wall.
• The cryptogram on the journal page is a parody of the song "My Favorite Things" from the musical The Sound of Music.
• During the ending credits, Stan's coffee mug, notepad, and pen are sucked into the Universe portal. During an episode of Rick and Morty titled "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind," the same items appear falling out of a portal.
• The poster of Gabe reads "Master of Puppets: He'll Pull You're Heartstrings!" This is a reference to the song Master of Puppets by Metallica, which contains the lyric "Master of Puppets! I'm pulling your strings!"

Blendin's Game

• The episode's title is a reference to the book Ender's Game.
• When Dipper and Mabel enter the Globnar arena, a man can be seen falling infinitly through two portals. This is a reference to an internet meme from the Portal video games in which the player can use a portal gun to place to portals directly above and below each other and jump into them, falling infintely until one portal is moved.
• Some signs in the background in the future say "Time Baby is Watching," a reference to George Orwell's book 1984, in which numerous signs say "Big Brother is watching".
• Lolph and Dundgren are based on the actor Dolph Lundgren, and their uniforms are similar to the outfit worn by Lundgren's character Andrew Scott (aka GR13) in the film Universal Soldier.
• Soos had a poster of Michael Jackson's 1988 film Moonwalker in his room as a child.
• Some games of Globnar trials are references to: TRON (glowing cycle races), American Gladiators (the joust), Jenga, etc.^{[citation needed]}
• The cipher key "capacitor" is an allusion to the "flux capacitor," which made time travel possible in the Back to the Future movie trilogy.
• The reference to the "Digi-cod" codpiece is an allusion to Deckard’s Ajax model Mountibank Codpiece from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the novel which was the basis for Blade Runner.
• When Dipper and Mabel enter Soos' house in the past, you can see a red balloon in the door window, a reference to the Stephen King book 'It'.

The Love God

• The name of the episode is an allusion to one of Don Knotts' movies, The Love God?
• Woodstick is a parody of the music festival Woodstock.
• The Valentino Funeral Home doorbell is "Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565" by Johann Sebastian Bach.
• Woodstick artist parodies of real life indie artists:
  • "Dracula Weekday" = "Vampire Weekend"
  • "Lawrence + the Bicycles' = "Florence + the Machine"
  • "Boyz II Infantz" = "Boyz II Men"
  • "DJ OK" = "OK Go"
  • "Boston, Massachusetts" = "Boston"
• Tambry's photo is the popular duckface.
• When Mabel talked with "that guy from the ten dollar bill," she was referring to Alexander Hamilton.
• Tambry's text alert tone is the Bits & Bytes tone.

Northwest Mansion Mystery

• The Ghost Harassers' uniforms closely resemble those of the Ghostbusters from the film of the same name. Also part of Dipper's spell to exorcise the ghost ("I ainta afraida no ghosta") is a reference to the film's theme song.
• The "Used to be About History Channel" is a parody of the History Channel, which initially focused on broadcasting documentaries and historical fiction series before they began to primarily show more non-historic programs, such as contemporary reality shows and sensationalized pseudo-documentaries.
• When Dipper mentions the scale of ghosts' malevolence, he opens to a page with a childlike ghost designed very similarly to Casper the Friendly Ghost.
• When Dipper is flipping through Journal 3, a page on ghost with an appearance similar to Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street can be seen.
• Candy describes Marius as the white whale who will destroy them if they hunt him. This is a reference to Moby Dick where Ahab is destroyed and ultimately killed by his obsession with the white whale.
• In the scene where the lumberjack ghost is about to grab Pacifica from behind, the curtain draped over the painting is a reference to a similar scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Not What He Seems

• The reality TV show "Ker-Prank'd" is a reference to MTV's Punk'd.
  • Justin Kerprank, the host of "Ker-Prank'd," is based on Ashton Kutcher, the original host of Punk'd.
• One of Stan's aliases is "Alcatraz," which is the name of an infamous, retired island prison.
• When the timer is counting down, Soos says, "It's the final countdown! Just like they always sung about," referring to the song "The Final Countdown" by Europe.

A Tale of Two Stans

• The title of this episode is a reference to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
• The "Mothgar" poster in Stanley and Stanford's childhood room is based on the American theatrical poster for the 1961 film Mothra.
• The "Sham Total" is a parody of "Shamwow!"
• Posters of Nikola Tesla and Carl Sagan are on Ford's dorm room wall.
• McGucket's house is virtually identical to Steve Jobs' house.
  • There is a poster in McGucket's old home, which shows a colorful, bitten-off strawberry similar to the Apple logo, and the words "Ponder alternatively," which is a play on Apple's slogan "Think differently."
• One of Mabel's drawings reads "What Hath Science Wrought?" a reference to "What hath God wrought?," a phrase from the Book of Numbers.
• There's an object in Ford's room that has the Great Diamond Authority symbol from Steven Universe on it.

Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons

• The title and the game in this episode is a parody of the popular role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.
  • Like D&D, Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons use an assortment of polyhedron dice.
  • The 38-sided die is based on the 20-sided icosahedron die used in Dungeons & Dragons to resolve most rolls. There are no 38-sided die used in any real life RPGs; the closest is a 30-sided die, but this an unusually rare and impractical type of die.
• Cheese Boodles are a parody of the snack food Cheez Doodles.
• FCLORP (Foam and Cardboard Legitimate Outdoor Role-Play) is similar to LARP (Live-Action Role-Playing); an offshoot of table-top role-playing that uses physical play instead of dice.
• The font used for the title of "Diggity Dungeons & All That," resembles the title art of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
• A scene where Stan ends up swatting a fairy on his back has it saying "Hey! Look! Listen" which is a reference to Navi, a fairy character from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, that is known for using the phrase "Hey! Listen!" constantly.
• When Stan presents his taxidermy of Duck-tective, the violin riff originating from the film, Psycho, plays.
• Stan describes Duck-tective as: "A TV show that has big mystery elements and jokes that go over kid's head's" which is a meta joke on Gravity Falls.
  • Additionally, when the Pines family, Soos, and Grenda are disappointed with the Duck-tective season finale's plot twist, Soos mentions predicting it a year ago. It is a reference to how fans of Gravity Falls predicted Stan having a twin brother which was confirmed two episodes previously in "Not What He Seems."
• The fantasy names posted up on the boards in the living room by Dipper and Ford are all parodies of names from The Flight of Dragons, an animated film adaptation of Gordon R. Dickson's book The Dragon and the George by Rankin/Bass Productions. (Jason Ritter's father, John Ritter, was the voice of the protagonist, Peter Dickinson, in the movie.)
  • Gorbasch- there's a human/dragon character named Gorbash in both the book and movie.
  • Smerghol- Smrgol, another dragon from the movie adaptation.
  • Omhadawn- the evil wizard Ommadon, from the movie adaptation.
• The Hot Elf is a reference to Legolas from the Lord of the Rings movies.
• The Hot Elf saying "Excelsi-whatever" is a reference to Stan Lee's catchphrase, "Excelsior!"
• The ogre that guarded the path to Probabilitor alluded to the myth of Hercules. The ogre challenged Mabel, Stan, and Grenda to seven labors, as Hercules was.
• While watching the season finale of Duck-tective, Mabel eats a snack very similar to Pringles.

The Stanchurian Candidate

• The episode's title is a reference to the 1959 Richard Condon novel The Manchurian Candidate, which was adapted into a 1962 film and 2004 film of the same name. Incidentally, it is also about mind-controlling a political candidate.
• When Bud Gleeful gives his speech at the Town Hall, he gives everyone in the room fifty percent discount on a used car. This is an allusion to Oprah Winfrey's famous car giveaway on the September 13, 2004 episode of the The Oprah Winfrey Show. Bud's line "You get half off a used car, you get half off a used car" is an allusion to Oprah's line "You get a car, you get a car."
• Stan's campaign slogan "Yes We Stan" parodies Barack Obama's 2008 tag "Yes We Can."
• Stan's "One does not simply" meme is a reference to the popular internet meme of the same name, both of which are based on a quote from the first Lord of The Rings movie, in which Boromir says, "One does not simply walk into Mordor."
• When Stan walks to Greasy's Diner, music plays that is similar to the Bee Gees song Stayin' Alive, which was featured in a similar scene in the movie Saturday Night Fever.
• During the final debate, Mabel makes Soos say "I can promise you a kitten in every pot!". This is a reference to Herbert Hoover's presidential campaign slogan in 1928: "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage".
• The monitor worn by Bud Gleeful while being possessed by Gideon is based off of Krang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
• The poster in Gideon's cell of a picture of a cat hanging onto a branch that reads "HOLD ON TO THAT BRANCH OR DIE, CAT!" is a reference to a well-known poster of a cat hanging from a branch that reads "HANG IN THERE."

The Last Mabelcorn

• The episode's title and the unicorns are a reference to the 1982 Rankin/Bass film The Last Unicorn. The unicorns' condescending attitudes are also a reference to Lady Amalthea's lack of appreciation for anybody's help throughout the film.
  • The episode's vigenère key, "SCHMENDRICK" is the name of a bumbling wizard who was a major character in The Last Unicorn (both in the book by Peter S. Beagle and the animated adaptation).
• Dipper is seen with a book titled The Sibling Bros, a spoof of the novel series The Hardy Boys.
• Various board games that Dipper and Mabel find in the closet are references to other real life games:
  • Battle Chutes & Ladder Ships is a spoof of the games Chutes and Ladders and Battleship.
  • Necronomiconpoly is a spoof of Monopoly and the Necronomicon.
  • Shhh... Don't Wake Stalin! is a spoof of Don't Wake Daddy.
  • Connect Forty-Four is a spoof of Connect Four.
  • Imperfection is a spoof of Perfection.
  • Satiated Hippos is a spoof of Hungry Hungry Hippos.
  • What Could Go Wrong?: The Game is a spoof of Jumanji, a book and film of the same name, about children who play a safari-themed game which comes to life as they play it.
• Mabel asks Ford if he is sending her and Dipper who are finally of age to wizard school, and if there is an owl in his bag. This is a reference to Harry Potter and how the titular character was accepted to magic school once he reached of age and recieved an owl as a present.
• Wendy's shirt has a design similar to the Direwolf sigil of the Starks from HBO's Game of Thrones.
• The text on the page in The Cipher File references:
  • The Lion King: "[...] warthogs and meerkat, is made tender by their carefree lives and trouble-free philosophies [...]"
  • National Treasure: "[...] setting for conspiracy movies. Like that one where the guy has to steal the Declaration of Independence [...]"
• Celestabellebethabelle reads Whinny, Pray, Trot, a reference to the travelogue memoir, Eat, Pray, Love.
• When hit with fairy dust, Celestabellebethabelle exclaims, "What the hay!", which is a common "swear" in the TV series, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
• Grenda says "Join the Dark Side!," a clear reference to Darth Vader's famous quote in the Star Wars franchise.
• During Mabel's montage, one shot shows Mabel, Candy, and Wendy in a shopping cart, with Grenda holding an old woman on her shoulders in the background. This shot is an allusion to the DVD cover of the direct-to-DVD movie Foodfight!

Roadside Attraction

• Emma Sue's email, "kewlgrl@jeemail-dot-crom," is a reference to Google's email service, Gmail.
• A Paul Bunyan statue is at the entrance to Mystery Mountain.
• Flame Retardant Raccoon is a reference to Smokey Bear.
• The geyser at Mystery Mountain, Old Reliable, is a reference to Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.
• The cryptogram in the credits is a reference to the 1993 film Homeward Bound.

Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future

• Audi's logo is drawn in great uncle Ford's chalkboard.
• Mabel says that TV taught her that high school was some kind of musical, referring to High School Musical.
• The episode's Vigenère key, BLUEBOOK, is a reference to Project Blue Book, which was a series of investigations done by the United States Air Force studying UFOs.
• The message "Betty and Barney were here" is a reference to the case of claimed alien abductees.
• Dipper and Ford walk by a chair with an alien skeleton sitting in it. This references the Space Jockey from Alien.
• The cryptogram Dipper took a selfie with contains a number of allusions:
  • "Probability drive engine" refers to the Infinite Improbability Drive from Douglas Adams' book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
  • "Blerg bloth and beyond" references the store chain Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Weirdmageddon Part 1

• When Ford says "So this is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a boop, boop," he is referencing the last line of T.S. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men, "This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but with a whimper."
• Bill saying "The being whose name must never be said." is a reference to the one of the famous epithets referring Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter franchise.
• The center where Dipper tries to punch Bill but is sent flying back mimics a similar scene in the first Pokémon movie where Ash Ketchum tries to do the same thing to Mewtwo but ends up with the same result.
• When Bill and Gideon said "Hench-Maniacs, Roll out!" and "Discount Auto-mart Warriors, Roll out!" respectively, these lines refer to the famous catchphrase of Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise where he says "Autobots, Roll out!"
• Two of Gideon's henchmen wear sunglasses similar to those worn by Dave Strider and Dirk Strider from Homestuck.
• The entire car chase scene is an homage to the Mad Max film franchise.
  • One of Gideon's henchmen also resembles Max Rockatansky.
    • Gideon sitting on Ghost Eyes shoulders is another reference, specifcally to the character Master Blaster.
• During the Weirdness Bubble car chase scene, when Dipper and Wendy are drawn anime style, Spritle and Chim Chim from the TV series Speed Racer are seated in the back seat of the car.
  • This scene is also similar to Gumball, Darwin, Anais, Nicole and Larry transforming whenever Richard accelerates his scooter in The Amazing World of Gumball episode "The Job."
• One of the monsters from the Nightmare Realm resembles Cthulhu from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, seen as Gideon is freed from prison.

Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality

• Soos describes Mabel's world as "shining, shimmering, splendid." This is a lyric from the song, "A Whole New World" from the movie Aladdin.
• The scene where Mabel is napping in her tower references the scene in the Disney animated film, Sleeping Beauty. Mabel's tower and bed are very similar to those in the film, and Mabel holds a rose while sleeping, referencing the iconic scene where Briar Rose is brought back to life by the prince
• While driving their car, Xyler and Craz briefly have their heads tilted back as they pass a shimmering rainbow-esque backdrop, referencing the Fabulous Secret Powers video by Slackcircus Studios.
• Dippy Fresh's design is based off of Burger King Kids Club's Vid Kid.
• Mabel's bubble resembles the setting of an iconic episode of the anime Madoka Magica; they both deal with an apparently nice and candy world turning into a bloody nightmare.
• During the end credits, Xyler and Craz reference the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and his existential philosophy.

Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls

• When Mabel points out that Pacifica is wearing a potato sack, it aligns with the story of "The Paper Bag Princess".
• When Rumble disappears, he holds up a thumbs up and disappears similar to how the Terminator sinks into the molten metal at the end of Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
• Bill sings a verse of the song, "We'll Meet Again," most famous for its use at the end of Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, after unfreezing Ford.
• The song playing in the background when Gideon is dancing in his cage is Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer."
• Bill mentioning the idiom "Achilles' heel" refers to Greek mythology where an immortal warrior named Achilles is killed when his heel, the only place where he could be hurt, is struck by an arrow.
• Bill's story of coming from a "flat world with flat minds and flat ideas" is a reference to Edwin Abbott Abbott's novel, Flatland, about a two-dimensional world. In an AMA in April of the previous year, Bill stated that "EDWIN ABBOTT ABBOTT HAS A DECENT IDEA [about Bill's origin]."
• Mrs. Valentino requesting the sawed-off shotgun in order to kill zombies is a reference to the Evil Dead franchise, because one of Ashley William's signature weapons is a double-barreled shotgun which he uses to kill the undead.
• The "mermaid" that Soos holds up during the party, saying it is a monkey's body sewn to a fish, is a reference to the "Fiji Mermaid", a creature once thought to be real, but was determined to be a hoax.
• The water tower's roar is the same as Bowser's from Mario Kart 64.
• Quentin Trembley is shown riding a horse backwards, much like Dudley Do-Right from Rocky & Bullwinkle.
• Dipper's line "Ready to head into the unknown?" is a possible a reference to Over The Garden Wall, whose creator, Patrick McHale, is a close friend of Alex Hirsch.
• When the teens say "One of Us!" after Dipper and Mabel blow out the candles, it references to Freaks.
• Dippers line in his ending monologue "It's not on any maps, and most people have never heard of it" is similar to a line from Herman Melville's novel, Moby Dick: "It is not down on any map; true places never are."