A prehistoric beast snatches Mabel's pig Waddles and the Pines family must undertake a dangerous journey to save him.
Tropes in this episode:
- Accidental Misnaming: Stan calls Waddles "Woggles" at one point.
- Accidental Murder: The montage of Soos' clumsiness ends with him accidentally swatting and killing a fairy, mistaking it for an insect.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Inverted. Despite refusing to believe in any of the other supernatural phenomena of Gravity Falls, Stan immediately believes that the pterodactyl that took Waddles is real. When Dipper questions this, Stan argues that dinosaurs are just "big lizards" and therefore don't count as supernatural.
- Artistic License – Paleontology: The episode is ridden with stereotypical paleontogical inaccuracies (a Pterodactyl, featherless raptor and ornithomimid, Brachiosaurus with elephantine feet, and even a Stegosaurus with a low-hanging tail). Additionally, every character continually misidentifies the pterosaur as a dinosaur, and even the book provides no corrections.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Interruption: "Well, sometimes you just gotta..." (realizes the pterodactyl is climbing back up) "...look out!"
- Berserk Button:
- Don't mock Soos' shirt size.
- Do not mess with Waddles. Mabel will ignore you forever and Stan will punch a pterodactyl in the face until the pig is safe and sound.
- Big Damn Heroes: Soos. Twice. And Stan, after Taking a Level in Badass.
- Bros Before Hoes: Bowdlerized into "bros before dinos", which Soos states repeatedly.
- The Cameo: Justin Roiland as the infomercial announcer.
- Coincidental Broadcast: Yes, the Huggy Wuvvy Tummy Bundle does work for pigs.
- Comically Missing the Point:
Mabel: Is somebody speaking? Because I can't hear anything!
Old Man McGucket: Oh, no! She's gone deaf with fear!
- Company Cross References: Old Man McGucket's raccoon-based Spaghetti Kiss is one to Lady and the Tramp.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Stan, who's shown no real physical ability up to this point, does a decent number on the pterodactyl. Still, he gets trumped by Old Man McGucket, who... well, see Extreme Omnivore below.
- Dead Hat Shot: The pterodactyl dropping Stan's fez into the nest is played like one, and while the audience knows he's alive, the other characters don't.
- Eaten Alive: Old Man McGucket is Swallowed Whole by a pterodactyl.
- The End... Or Is It?: Subverted. At the end Dipper asks if they have to worry about the rest of the dinosaurs. Cut to the church with creepy music... then Old Man McGucket pops out.
- Extreme Omnivore: Old Man McGucket has eaten some strange things before, but never a live pterodactyl.
- Eye Poke: The pterodactyl does it to Grunkle Stan in his story.
- Eye Scream: At the climax of the episode, Stan climbs onto the adult pterodactyl's neck and begins furiously punching it in the eye to bring it down.
- Feud Episode: Becomes one in the third act, with Mabel vs. Stan and Dipper vs. Soos.
- Fungus Humongous: Some truly massive shelf-like mushrooms make up a good bit of the flora of the Lost World the pterodactyl lives in.
- Getting Eaten Is Harmless: Old Man McGucket gets out unscathed from the baby pterodactyl's stomach.
- Good News, Bad News: How Stan intended to break the news to Mabel of Waddles of being taken away.
Stan: Um- uh-The good news is, you're getting a puppy!
- Go Through Me: Stan delivers this line while defending Waddles from the pterodactyl (for real this time).
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Played for Laughs. Stan shows one group of tourists "The most hideous creatures known to man" and unveils a mirror. The tour group snicker at the cliché.
- Hypocritical Humor: When the pterodactyl appears in the mines, Old Man McGucket warns the others not to make any sudden movements or loud noises... then immediately begins jumping up and down, hollering with glee about them managing to find a real-life pterodactyl.
- Inconvenient Darkroom Illumination: After setting up three cameras around a steak in order to get a picture of whatever's been stealing sheep and trashing cars in the area, Dipper proceeds to develop the photos (revealing a pterodactyl). Then Soos barges into the room with a bowl of "victory nachos" - so long, evidence! Of course, it's rendered moot when the beastie zooms by after grabbing Waddles.
- Irony: Mabel says it's too dangerous for Waddles to be put outside due to the threat of predators and barbecuers. The group ends up aided on their rescue mission by McGucket, who spent much of "Carpet Diem" trying to devour Soos when he was trapped inside Waddles' body.
- Jerkass Ball: Soos, instead of acknowledging and taking responsibility for his incompetence, retaliates in offense when Dipper indirectly (and more likely unintentionally without a second thought) makes a jab at his weight while venting his frustration towards him.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Mabel's and Dipper's reactions to Stan's and Soos' Nice Job Breaking It, Hero moves are kind of harsh, they're correct that Stan's dislike of Waddles placed him in unnecessary danger (and led them to put themselves in danger to rescue him), and Soos' interference with their mission is only making things worse.
- Stan has a point himself, though. An animal that is going to go around the house chewing on things (a habit Mabel actually encourages) really should be kept outside, at least until it's better trained.
- Liar Revealed: Stan lies about how Waddles got captured, knowing Mabel told her to not let him outside. When Mabel finds out the truth, she's absolutely furious at him.
- The Load: Old Man McGucket does nothing to contribute other than fixing the lantern - which is then broken again five seconds later when the pterodactyl arrives.
- Lost World: The gang from the Mystery Shack finds one in the caves beneath Gravity Falls.
- The Millstone: Dipper doesn't want Soos to come because he's this. Subverted when Soos ends up being a Big Damn Hero. Twice.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging:
- When Dipper is about to tell Soos to stay out of the rescue mission due to being The Millstone, as noted above, Soos' matching "Pterodactyl Bros." t-shirts and overall enthusiasm discourage him from doing so.
- Stan gets very uncomfortable when Mabel hugs him for trying to save Waddles.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Stan gives one before he attacks the pterodactyl in his story. He gives a much better one when he's defending Waddles for real.
- Rage Breaking Point: Dipper has had to deal with Soos' clumsiness on occasion, even while he's annoyed by it. However, once Soos gets the gang lost by wrapping the ball of yarn and breaks the lantern, Dipper has finally had enough and tells the handyman that he never wanted to bring him along. This, of course, starts an argument between them.
- Raptor Attack: One of the sap-encased dinosaurs is a featherless, two-fingered dromaeosaurid even bigger than a Utahraptor.
- Right Behind You: When planning out his idea to turn the dinosaur-filled sap caves into an attraction, Stan remarks that he should have put Mabel's pig outside a long time again. The camera then pans across to reveal Mabel standing right behind him, and understandably quite upset to learn that Stan lied to her.
- Self-Serving Memory: When Stan tells Mabel how the pterodactyl managed to steal Waddles, the details were somewhat off.
- Shout-Out:
- Silent Treatment: Mabel gives this to Stan once she finds out he let the pterodactyl take Waddles after he put the pig outside and lied to her.
- Sleep Cute: Mabel, Stan and Waddles get a particularly adorable one
◊ near the end. - Spaghetti Kiss: According to Old Man McGucket's weird personal story, he shared one with a raccoon over a slab of meat they were fighting over.
- Sticky Situation: Dipper and Soos get stuck together with sap early on. Near the end, the same thing happens to Mabel and Grunkle Stan.
- Tempting Fate: Soos declares "nothing can go wrong!" with his and Dipper's plan to capture a monster on film... then he high-fives Dipper with a hand covered in tree sap.
- Took a Level in Badass: Stan, when he attacks and rides the pterodactyl for real, having earlier lied about doing so.
- Took a Level in Jerkass:
- Mabel is blinded with rage upon learning Stan deliberately left Waddles outside against her request and starts giving him the Silent Treatment, to the extent that she completely disregards her safety after spotting Waddles in the pterodactyl nest.
- Dipper goes against Mabel's advice to break it to Soos easy, and harangues Soos for being nothing but trouble this whole time when he makes a mess of things. Dipper makes an indirect jab at his weight when noting Soos' shirt he made for Dipper is not in his size.
- Wrestler of Beasts: Grunkle Stan lies to Mabel about fighting a pterodactyl that captured Waddles under his watch (in reality, Stan set the pig outside so he wouldn't disrupt his business). Eventually, while searching for Waddles, the truth comes out and a very angry Mabel gives her uncle the Silent Treatment indefinitely. Thankfully, her respect for him is restored when Stan ends up having to do this for real in the climax.
- "You!" Exclamation: Stan gives one to Waddles after he ruins one of Stan's tours by eating the Corn-icorn.
