Fight Fighters

"Fight Fighters" is the tenth episode in Season 1 of Gravity Falls. It debuted on September 14, 2012.

Overview
After being challenged to a video game battle by Wendy's boyfriend Robbie, Dipper is shocked when his favorite playable fighter, Rumble McSkirmish, comes to life to defend him, but Dipper soon loses control over Rumble McSkirmish and has to find a way to stop him.

Synopsis
The episode begins with Soos showing Stan and Mabel the arcade and its games; he explains that he learned everything from them, and walks over to Old Man McGucket, who is seen playing a dance arcade game that is out of order. Stan inserts a token to a machine and wins, but realizes the game is a scam when it tells him to insert another token. Dipper and Wendy are then seen playing a game called Fight Fighters; Dipper wins the round, and Wendy playfully insists that he cheated. Robbie enters the room, showing Wendy a flier for his band. He then pushes Dipper out of the way and plays against Wendy himself. As the two are competing against each other in Fight Fighters, Wendy tells Robbie that she is going camping with her father, but Robbie doesn't listen due to the fact that he is too busy focusing on the game. He then puts his arm around Wendy and looks back at Dipper suspiciously.

While at home, Dipper, Dipper, Soos and Grunkle Stan are playing a card game. Mabel wins, and Stan angrily says she doesn't even know what they're playing. Then a loud noise is heard, which Soos thinks is a radio station inside his head but is actually Robbie, Dipper exclaims in disgust. Stan ask if he's the twerp who is always making goo goo eyes at Wendy, and Soos says he called him "Big Dude" and that it hurt his his feelings. Mabel then asks if Dipper wants her to send Waddles on him but Dipper tells her he'll handle it. Once outside Dipper says Wendy is camping to a surprised Robbie. Dipper then says he doesn't pay attention to her. Robbie gets angry and tells him that he knows that he likes Wendy, and calls her to tell her that. Dipper slaps the phone out of his hands, breaking it. He picks up Dipper and tells him, "He's not gonna get off that easily". Stan then opens the window to tell them to stay right there and that he knows a fight when he sees one. Robbie then throws Dipper on the ground saying to meet him at Circle Park at 3:00. Dipper gets scared and says he needs to hide but Stan says he can face him like a man or hide like a wimp, in which Dipper hides like a wimp at the Arcade.

Meanwhile at home Mabel and Waddles are watching a TV show called "Why You Ackin' So Cray-Cray?" Stan is fixing a jackalope and goes to get glue for it from a shelf but can't reach it. Mabel ask if she could get a ladder, but Stan gets worried and tells her that ladders are more dangerous than a loaded gun. Mabel realizes he has a fear of heights and tries to test him.

At the Arcade, Soos is playing a game call Nort which is a parody of Tron. He then thinks what it's like to go inside a real video game, so he unscrews an opening and climbs inside. Dipper is then seen playing Fight Fighters which he loses. His next quarter falls out of his hands and rolls next to the game. When goes to pick it up he notices a code "to unleash ultimate power". Dipper enters the code because "he likes things that are ultimate". The game shuts off, which he thought it didn't work but then a beam of light appears. The game says to pick a player, Dipper picks Rumble McSkirmish. Rumble then pops out of the video game, surprising Dipper. Rumble smashes a change machine and tells Dipper he needs power-ups.

At home, Mabel tries to figure out if Stan has a fear of heights by giving him high-heels. Stan tells her he doesn't have a fear but when he sees a sky diving show he realizes he does. In the kitchen, Dipper gives Rumble a half-eaten taco for a power-up. Rumble declares he must defeat the world's greatest Fight Fighters, then asks Dipper to take him to the Soviet-Union. Dipper says that going to the Soviet Union would be tough for a number of reasons, and instead suggests that he could fight Robbie, and lies when Rumble asks if Robbie killed his father.

Rumble and Dipper then walk through town when Rumble asks Dipper his opponent's special moves. Dipper replies he doesn't need to worry about that, because after he sees Rumble he's gonna wet his pants. Rumble then says that his wet pants will be no match for a pipe that he got from punching an oil drum. Dipper tells him just to give Robbie a good scare. Rumble pulls out a sword and says "Yes! With this!" Dipper then says that the street they are walking down has dangerous litter.

Mabel then ask Stan if he wants to go for a walk while wearing a blindfold, he agrees and she takes him to the top of the water tower. In the meantime, Dipper and Rumble approach Circle Park and see Robbie. Dipper tries to call the fight off but Robbie disagrees. Dipper then sends Rumble out. Rumble tries to kill Robbie, but when Dipper tells him to stop, he says he won't stop until Robbie is dead. Dipper then goes to Barrels and Crates, Inorporated. Robbie escapes Rumble, who still won't stop. Soos, with bits of the Nort game stuck on him, gives Dipper a ride.

At the water tower, Stan takes off his blind fold and immediately grabs the rail because he is scared. Robbie then climbs the water tower to get away from Rumble. Dipper tries to get Rumble to stop, but he doesn't listen and knocks Robbie of the water tower. He catches him and nearly kills, him but Dipper interrupts him and reveals he lied. Rumble believes Dipper is the bad guy he needs to fight. Dipper decides to be a man and enter the fight. Unfortunately, Rumble severely injures Dipper. Rumble gloats in victory, but is erased when the "Game Over" sign appears.

Stan finally gets over his fear of heights and confirms it with a cocky dance, however Mabel now has a fear of heights. Dipper allows Robbie to beat him up, but Robbie decides not to. Wendy, who has returned from camping, asks the two if they were fighting. Dipper tells her that they were trying to stop two other people from fighting, and Wendy affectionately calls them "her boys". Dipper and Robbie then agree to hate each other in secret.

In the credits scene, and 8-Bit version of Gravity Falls is shown, and the player can select Dipper ("I have short pants and determination!"), Mabel ("It's-a me, Mabel!"), Grunkle Stan ("I'm slower, but I jump higher"), or Wendy ("Pick me or whatever"). Soos's head, enlarged to the size of the others, then appears and eats all the characters. Soos then wakes up from dreaming, then goes back to sleep.

Allusions

 * The title of the episode is an allusion to Street Fighter 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 do 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 game series.
 * Rumble McSkirmish punching the car in the "bonus round" is a reference to an identical bonus level in Street Fighter 2 and Final Fight.
 * 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 Shoryuken move from Street Fighter.
 * When Rumble McSkirmish knocks Robbie off the water tower and grabs him, an announcer says "Finish him!" which is a direct reference to Mortal Kombat
 * 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 to the 1980 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 mentions gold rings which is a reference to the Sonic the Hedgehog series where Sonic collects gold rings in his video games.
 * Games in the Arcade:
 * Nort, the backwards spelling of 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.
 * At the very beginning, when they first walk into the arcade, a person is seen playing a game with an 8-bit Eye of Providence (from the theme song) on it.
 * A game at the beginning that could be a reference to Mario games (similar character design, and blocks with "!" on them)
 * The end credits contains several references:
 * Mabel's video game character says "It's a me, a Mabel", like the video game character Mario.
 * 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 "Sorry Mario, but your Princess is in another castle."
 * 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 "Sorry Mario, but your Princess is in another castle."

Errors

 * When Wendy and Robbie were playing the game they were moving the joy stick and pressing the buttons, but in the next scene nothing was happening.
 * When Rumble McSkirmish came out of the video game he slammed his fist down causing cracks in the ground, but in the next scene they were gone.
 * When Mabel wins the crackers in the card game, nobody else had any. However, in the next scene, Dipper and Grunkle Stan both have more crackers.
 * When Robbie pushes Dipper down and then walks away, the trash cans and Dipper's hat disappear. They then reappear when Grunkle Stan comes out.
 * Also when Robbie walks away, his cellphone and amp are gone.
 * When Mabel puts on her 'scout's honor' sweater, her skirt and headband turn blue.
 * When Robbie was on the Water Tower, Rumble looked up at him to see where he was, but when Dipper was on top of a tree, Rumble said he didn't have a look up animation even though he looked up at Robbie a few scenes back.
 * Rumble said that he couldn't stay still, but when Mabel meets him, she hands him the paper with words for him to say, and he stays perfectly still and constantly stays still when talking to Dipper.
 * When Dipper is following the instructions "to unleash ultimate power", he doesn't do all of the code.
 * When Grunkle Stan falls backwards away from the TV, he falls on the floor. However, there is usually a wall behind the dinosaur skull.
 * When Dipper is at the arcade and looks at the posters of Robbie, his watch disappears but then later reappears.
 * When Rumble is on the floor his eye patch keeps changing eyes.
 * When Dipper was fighting Rumble, he shot a blue orb. In the scene right after, it's red.
 * In some scenes Robbie has five fingers while in others he has four.
 * When Rumble and Robbie are fighting, a poster for Robbie's band appears on the tree behind Dipper and Rumble after Rumble wins.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Zach Paez
 * Alex Hirsch
 * Directed by:
 * John Aoshima
 * Storyboards by:
 * Erik Fountain
 * Mark Garcia


 * With the Voice Talents of:
 * Kristen Schaal - Mabel Pines
 * Jason Ritter - Dipper Pines
 * Alex Hirsch - Grunkle Stan and Soos
 * Brian Bloom - Rumble McSkirmish
 * Linda Cardellini - Wendy
 * TJ Miller - Robbie


 * Additional Voices:
 * Dee Bradley Baker - Waddles
 * Kimberly Brooks
 * Linda Cardellini
 * Matt Chapman
 * John DiMaggio
 * Alex Hirsch - Old Man McGucket
 * Daryl Sabara

Trivia

 * Viewership: This episode was watched by 2.94 million viewers.
 * The pixel sprites were animated by Paul Robertson, who also designed the sprites for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game.
 * The code Dipper uses to unleash Rumble McSkirmish differs from the code written on the side of the arcade machine. Dipper's code goes as follows: back, back, hold, forward, back, forward, down, hold, quarter circle, forward, triple punch.
 * The Barbeque that Rumble attacks oddly contains pizza.
 * When Soos is showing Grunkle Stan and Mabel the arcade, someone is seen playing a game with the recurring pyramid character resembling the Eye of Providence in it.

Cryptogram

 * During the end credits of this episode, there was a cryptogram that read "HLIIB, WRKKVI, YFG BLFI DVMWB RH RM ZMLGSVI XZHGOV." Once decoded, it reads "SORRY, DIPPER, BUT YOUR WENDY IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE".