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Gravity Falls Pilot - TV Tropes

  • ️Wed Aug 03 2016

Gravity Falls Pilot Recap

In 2010, CalArts graduate Alex Hirsch made a 12-minute animated pilot for Disney called Gravity Falls, a pilot which never saw the light of day until months after the show was finished. The pilot was expanded and adapted into the first episode "Tourist Trapped", aired two years later.

As a prize for completing a notoriously hard jigsaw puzzle in the Alternate Reality Game "Cipher Hunt", Alex uploaded the pilot episode on August 3, 2016. However, the pilot was hidden behind one more puzzle, a username and a password. Later that day, the fans discovered that the username was "RETURNBACKWARDS" and the password was "TOTHEPASTAGAINTHREE".

The pilot can be seen here upon inputting that username and password. There's also a "next time" preview.

Tropes in the pilot:

  • Accidental Misnaming: Stan misnames the twins as "Dylan and Rowena".
  • As You Know: Stan begins his explanation of the Mystery Shack's attractions with the phrase "as you kids know".
  • Blatant Lies: When Stan calls for the twins, Dipper claims they're sleeping and Mabel claims they're dead.
  • Blush Sticker: Not only does Mabel have these, but so does Dipper, instead of the usual eye bags that he has in the series.
  • Both Sides Have a Point: When they have to solve the Gnome King's riddle, Dipper first refuses to believe Mabel as she was wrong about Norman, but Mabel points out that he was wrong too. This leads Dipper to give Mabel's answer to the riddle, and succeeding.
  • Brick Joke: When Dipper worries about Mabel's boyfriend, he is worried because of her previous romances, one being "the time she fell for the guy on the ten-dollar bill". Later, Mabel replaces his picture for Norman's on her nightstand.
  • The Cameo: The reel has a brief glimpse of a prototype Wendy using an Ouija Board with Dipper, but also early designs of Gideon and Bud Gleeful, the former pounding his fist on a picture of Dipper, Mabel and Stan.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Near the beginning of the episode, Dipper finds a popsicle stick with a joke on it that's missing the punchline: Dipper thinks the answer is "Cookies 'n Scream" while Mabel thinks it's "Boo Berry". Near the end of the episode, the Gnome King challenges Dipper and Mabel to answer that same joke as a "riddle".
  • The Chosen One: The Gnome King claims that Mabel was destined to become the Gnome Queen, as it is written by "the Prophecy of Shmiseldorf".
  • Creepy Twins: The extra footage reel features Dipper and Mabel meeting a pair of these.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness:
    • The animation is very different from the final series: it is made in Flash in a mixed media style akin to Fish Hooks (which Alex Hirsch previously worked on), all characters have Four-Fingered Hands, and the twins look more like young teenagers, unlike their final series' design where they become Pintsized Kids.
    • Instead of finding the third journal of a mysterious author (later revealed to be Stan's older brother (and thus his other great-uncle), Ford Pines, Dipper reads "Dr. Crackpot's Book of the Damned" he seems to have on his possession before going to Gravity Falls. Also, before realizing her boyfriend is a bunch of gnomes, Mabel seems oblivious to paranormal events around her, including one incident where she gained telekinetic powers.
    • Stan is in his late 70's-early 80’s instead of his late 50's-early 60’s and has trouble remembering the twins' names. Plus, he's a little more honest than in the series as one of his "attractions" is a model of the London Bridge with freezer pops.
    • Soos and Wendy don't appear at all. However, in the "next time" teaser at the end, a brunette that looks similar to Wendy appears. Also, Gideon looks slightly taller and Bud Gleeful looks thinner.
    • There’s also a Gnome King. In the main series’ canon, Jeff is their default leader, as the gnomes don’t have a formal one.
  • Gonk: As Stan is in his 80s in the pilot, he's even less in shape and he's balding. Also, he looks even more like a pig-pen than his final series counterpart.
  • Large Ham: Justin Roiland as the Gnome King.

    Gnome King: My Queen, the time has come to fulfill your destiny!

  • Mistaken for Undead:
    • Dipper first thinks Norman is a zombie, and many details can make viewers think the same despite evidence of the contrary (Dipper claims Norman never blinks while he does right before the vultures try to eat him, and his skin never fell off). This helps making the revelation that he's actually five gnomes doing a Totem Pole Trench more shocking.
    • Dipper and Mabel freak out when they find Grunkle Stan with red stuff around his mouth, lurching and moaning about "brains". He's not a zombie, he just ate a strawberry freeze-pop too fast and got a nasty Brain Freeze, which lead to him bumping his shin against the coffee table.
  • Noodle Incident: Dipper mentions a fishing trip that lead to an encounter with a lake monster (which would inspire the episode "Legend of the Gobblewonker") and an incident that lead to Mabel getting telekinetic powers (which may have inspired the episode "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel").
  • Old-Timey Cinema Countdown: There's "HEAD", "SOUND START", "PICTURE START", and a monochrome countdown from 8 to 3 (and 2 very shortly) before the show actually starts.
  • Prehensile Hair: The Gnome King boasts a prehensile beard that he can use to lift himself into the air.
  • Taken for Granite: The gnomes turn to stone after Dipper correctly guesses the answer to the king's riddle.
  • This Cannot Be!: The Gnome King's reaction to Dipper correctly answering his riddle.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Jeff disappeared after the Gnomes kidnap Mabel.
  • Wizard Beard: The Gnome King's beard is longer than his body, by a couple of yards.