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.
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 likely named after Joe Pitt, one of the directors of the series.
Opening
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.
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.
In the ending, it shows a photo with the logo on it, and if you look on the top right corner, you see 2 flying saucers, and the position is an allusion to the fake photo of two saucers over the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Mabel says, "wree, wree, wree!" while swinging the ax. This is a reference to the musical score The Murder played during the shower scene in the film Psycho.
The nickname "Mabelangelo" is a clear reference to the famous sculptor and painter Michelangelo.
Groucho sans cigar
Wax Sherlock Holmes falling off the Mystery Shack to his death while dueling Dipper may be an allusion to Holmes's original death in the Arthur Conan Doyle book series; falling of the Reichenbach Falls while dueling his nemesis, Professor Moriarty.
Wax Groucho Marx asks "Why is there nothing in my hand?" Groucho Marx is known for holding his iconic cigar; however by television content regulations, US children's shows cannot have tobacco products unless it is integral to the plot (such as a "Drug Free" special).
The machine Manly Dan is arm wrestling with, "Bicepticus," is a reference to Kirk Douglas in 1960's film Spartacus.
The name of the episode "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel" is a play on words of a 1992 movie title, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. It could also be an allusion of the somewhat commonly said phrase "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."
Dipper says that Gideon's tent is a Bizarro version of the Mystery Shack. Bizarro is a flawed clone of Superman who lives on a world where people are the opposite of their Earth counterparts.
Mabel "bezazzles" her face; a reference to the real product, the Bedazzler.
Mabel being possessed by a ghost is a reference to Regan being possessed by a demon in The Exorcist, in particular the scene where Mabel twists her head 180 degrees.
When Wendy told Dipper that he was "surprisingly mature for his age", he replied "Yes, yes I am", it may be an allusion of the "Too Young Line" gag of the animated television show Phineas and Ferb.
The candy "Smile Dip" is a reference to "Fun Dip".
When Mabel "runs sideways" on the ground after she went over the fence, it's similar to what Curly Howard does in The Three Stooges.
When the ghost lifts everything on the ceiling, music plays that sounds similar to the famous Ghostbusters theme.
The Manotaurs are a reference to the mythological creature Minotaur.
The Manotaur "Chutzpar" references Orthodox Judaism is multiple ways. Unlike the other Manotaurs, he wears a head covering akin to a Kippah (i.e. yarmulke) and has hair similar to payot (sidecurls). Moreover, his name is a portmanteau of the Hebrew words חוצפה "Chutzpah" (heb: חוצפה, also loaned to Yiddish) and "Par" (heb: פר), which means "bull".
The jerky that Dipper is eating while in the forest has a picture of a man on the front of the bag who references Hulk Hogan.
Pacifica Northwest's name is a pun on the U.S. region "Pacific Northwest", the region containing Oregon state.
Paper-Jam Dipper (and much of the rest of the episode's plot) may be a reference to the plot of the film Multiplicity, where a man creates a series of clones of himself and the 4th is very badly disabled.
The cracker packs are an allusion to Handi-Snacks.
The scene where Dipper copies his arm and it crawls towards him and Mabel is a reference to the 1981 horror film, The Hand.
The tall man Dipper called "Stretch" does a dance which is an allusion to Michael Jackson's famous Moon Walk.
The Tapeman is a reference to the SonyWalkman, a portable audio cassette player.
Steps 19 and 20 on Dipper's "Wendy's Plan" mention displaying "monstermon" knowledge. Monstermon may be an allusion to Pokemon.
The corncornos Mabel and Dipper are eating at the start of the episode are similar to Doritos.
This may also be an allusion to the "First president conspiracy" that holds there was a president before George Washington, who was erased from history as he was not a member of the free masons.
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.
The title of the episode and the arcade game Fight Fighters is an allusion to the Street Fighter series.
The character "Beastor" appears to be similar to Blanka from the Street Fight series.
Rumble McSkirmish is an amalgamation of Ken Masters, Ryu, and Sagat from the Street Fighter series.
Rumble's catchphrase "Winners don't lose" is likely a reference to the slogan "Winners Don't Use Drugs".
Dipper chases Rumble McSkirmish and Robbie to "Barrel and Crates Incorporated," a reference to the classic Donkey Kong games.
Rumble's pipe that he got "from punching an oil drum" is a reference to the Final Fight or Streets Of Rage game series.
Bonus Round
Rumble McSkirmish punching the car in the "bonus round" is a reference to an identical bonus level in Street Fighter 2 and Final Fight.
Nerd Punch and Frog Time
Ghost Maze
Nort and Pizza Time
When Rumble does the uppercut at the all you can eat buffet, he shouts, "ALL YOU CAN EAT!" The way he shouts it and the way he does the move is a reference to the uppercut move used by Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter.
Rumble uses a move similar to E. Honda's Hundred Hand Slap move to destroy the car.
When Rumble McSkirmish knocks Robbie off the water tower and grabs him, an announcer says "Finish him!", a direct reference to the Mortal Kombat series.
Rumble's pose when he defeats Dipper is an allusion to Akuma of Street Fighter fame.
When Soos asks Dipper if he needs a sidekick with a pickup truck, this may be a reference to the 1989 movie "The Wizard", a film about video games where one of the characters is a sidekick with a pickup truck.
When Dipper is talking about power-ups to Rumble, he references a few video games:
Turkey legs, which might be a reference to the Meat powerup in the Castlevania series
Mabel's video game character says "It's a me, a Mabel!", like Nintendo's famous video game character Mario.
Stan says he jumps higher, which was Luigi's special quality in the Mario games.
Soos is shown as a large head eating the characters, a reference to Pac-Man.
Most of the credits scene is a reference to the classic game Super Mario Bros. 2, including Soos sleeping.
The cryptogram reads "Sorry Dipper, but your Wendy is in another castle". This is a reference to Super Mario Bros, where Toad would tell you "Thank you Mario, but our Princess is in another castle."
The title of the episode refers to the constellation Ursa Minor, often referred to as the Little Dipper.
The book Gideon has in his room is titled "In the Art of War" which is a reference to The Art of War.
The crystal that grows or shrinks things when a beam of light passes through it may be a reference to The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin, where a similar crystal was a key tool for the heroes.
Gummy Koalas are a spoof of Gummy Bears.
As Mabel turned on and held the flashlight, her pose was similar to a Jedi pose from the famous Star Wars franchise.
Mabel shouts into the closet "Expecto Wizarium!", a reference to the Harry Potter spell "Expecto Patronum!"
Dipper says oh!, a reference to Cartoon Network's Regular Show. Coincidentally, Alex Hirsch, the creator, was friends with Regular Show's creator, J.G. Quintel, at Cal Arts.
The "Maze of Mirrors" and the way Gideon smashes the mirrors is a reference to the Bruce Lee movie, Enter the Dragon.
In the scene where the boy pair shows Grunkle Stan a video of a kitten about to sleep but unexpectedly changes into a demon screaming, it resembles Regan's demon face from The Exorcist, which got infamous from Scary Maze Game and unusual pranks from YouTube videos (commonly referred to as "screamers"), and many other tricks.
When Waddles jumps out of Grunkle Stan's stomach, it 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.
When Grunkle Stan is unable to scare the fearless pair of boys, they tell him they're not scared. Stan replies, "You will be. You, will, be", alluding to a similar scene between Luke Skywalker and Yoda in Star Wars.
The Summerween Trickster's first form and the overall events are a reference to the movie Trick 'r Treat, where people are killed by a small monster if they do not respect Halloween's traditions.
At the end of the episode, the pictures of Waddles with humorous captions are a reference to the well-known I Can Haz Cheezburger meme pictures.
The sword and shield that Dipper fights the Summerween Trickster with is a reference to the Master Sword and Hylian Shield that Link uses in various games from The Legend of Zelda. The shield has the Eye of Providence on it as well.
Dipper sliding between the Summerween Tricksters legs.
Dipper sliding between the Summerween Trickster's legs and attacking his back is a reference to the final boss in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where one of the (more difficult) ways to attack his weak spot is to have Link roll between Ganondorf's legs and attack his tail.
A candy called Blorch makes several cameos. This sweet shares the same name as a planet in Nickelodeon's Invader Zim, a planet is home to slaughtering rat people.
The horror movie that Stan was watching at the end of the episode, is a parody of "Invasion of the Saucer Men".
In Soos' story, when a ball is rolling after the miniaturized Dipper, Mabel, and Soos it is possibly a reference to Indiana Jones being chased by a rolling boulder during one of his adventures.
Ballway Games, the pinball table's maker, is an allusion to Bally-Midway, a pinball manufacturer.
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.
Soos makes an allusion to Tetris when explaining how he fits in his break room.
The Electron Carpet's designation as "Experiment 78" is a possible reference to the SCP Foundation.
When Grenda is banging the floor, it is similar to Wreck-It-Ralph; it could be possible that Joe Pitt and/or Andre Medina did this as they both worked on the movie Wreck-It-Ralph and this episode of Gravity Falls.
Calling All Boys: Preteen Edition is an allusion to such games as "Girl Talk" and "Dream Phone," where players can talk to male characters on electronic phones like Kevin did in this episode.
Several of Mabel's dance moves during her "Pig Dance Party" is a reference to the famous montage scene in The Breakfast Club.
Soos' saying, "Bros before dinos" is a take off of a popular phrase.
As a potential new theme park site, Stan nearly says the obvious name Jurassic Park, but instead calls it "Jurassic Sap Hole."
Bobby Renzobbi is a parody of Billy Mays, who was a television direct-response advertisement salesperson in real life.
The mosquito stuck in the tree sap could be a reference to Jurassic Park where they get the dinosaurs' DNA from mosquitoes stuck in tree sap.
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
When Bill says he knows lots of things, a number of images flash in him. Some are conspiracies-related references to the following, in order of appearance:
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 Theme Song has been muted and 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 our ears 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 Into the Night, sung by Julee Cruise.
Once Twin Peaks had been cancelled, Lynch wrote the finale to be the most dramatic and disturbing cliffhanger possible. When the frantic
