Release date of the classic episode: 4/25/2017
Release date of the remastered episode: 9/23/2023
Carl tries talking to Grace some more in an attempt to get to know her better, and ends up offering to look after her pet for the weekend while she is out of town visiting a cousin. In the classic episode, Grace's pet is a Pidgey named Steve, but in the remaster, he has been replaced by a Blitty named Cheese.
Tropes
Both versions
- Babysitting Episode: This episode focuses on Carl pet-sitting Grace's pet so that he can get closer to her.
- Bad Boss: Being Dedede's debut episode in Carl it's not surprising that he comes off as this, constantly belittling Talia for the smallest of reasons, and clearly not showing any concern for her well-being. The remastered version even has him go as far as to threaten Talia with calling her father.
- Burger Fool: Starting with this epsiode, Talia works at the local Goomburger, having been forced to get a job there by her controlling father. She has to endure many, many, types of humilliation, ranging from Dedede belittling her for everything she does, and Mary-Lynn insulting and throwing food at her for accidentally mixing up her order. Her dialogue in the remastered version makes special emphasis in showing how miserable she is being forced to work there.
- Tropey, Come Home: In both the classic and remastered versions, Grace's pet ends up running away from home because of Carrie and Sally, and is up to Carl to find him before Grace gets back. In the classic version, Steve evolves into a Pidgeotto and flies away, prompting Linda to buy a Pidgey that looks exactly the same (though it turns out this replacement pet is female), whereas in the remastered version, Cheese ends up finding his way back home at the end.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Carrie and Sally stealing the pet from Carl's bedroom in order to play with it, causing it to run away from home. They even get attacked by the pet in the process in the classic episode.
Classic version only
- Blatant Lies: When Steve spits on Carl's shoulder, the latter says that he believes that spit is a sign of affection with birds.
- Canon Discontinuity: With the arrival of the remastered 2023 version of the episode, not only is the classic 2017 version no longer canon to Carl, but neither is Steve, who has been replaced by Cheese.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- The mere fact that Grace owns a Pokémon as a pet, and that it evolves at the end of the episode, speaks for itself. Tellingly, the remaster replaces the Pidgey with a Blitty from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
- For some unexplained reason, Gooper is able to teleport. Of course, this is absent in the remastered version.
- It seems odd that Carl, being the Nice Guy that he is, is completely okay with replacing Steve with an identical Pidgey just so that Grace won't be mad at him, especially when taking into account his strong bond with his pet Piranha Plant Marvin. The remaster fixes this issue by having Carl plan to confess to Grace what happened to Cheese instead of replacing him, which thankfully is not necessary thanks to Calvin saving the day.
- Emergency Food Supply Animal: Dedede, who is the owner of Goomburger, uses the meat of Pidgeys for some of the Goomburger meals.
- Sarcasm Mode: When Carl first sees Steve, Grace decides to tease him.Carl: Hey, Grace! I take it that's the bird!
Grace: This thing? No, I think it's a dog or something. - Replacement Goldfish: Because Steve had evolved and flown away, Linda buys an identical Pidgey from the pet store so that Carl won't get in trouble with Grace. Unfortunately, she forgot to ask for the Pidgey's gender before buying it.
- This Is Gonna Suck: This is Carl's reaction when Steve evolves into a Pidgeotto. Surely enough, it ends up flying away.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Carl ends up throwing up after he is attacked by a swarm of Beedrill.
- Your Tomcat Is Pregnant: As it turns out, the replacement Pidgey Linda bought is female, though Grace simply believes that Steve was somehow able to change genders.
Remastered version only
- Animal Jingoism: Marvin shows hostility towards Cheese, and even attempts to eat him in one occasion. Later on, Cheese runs away from Carl's home after being startled by Cuddles and Kisses.
- Big Damn Heroes: Calvin coming at the end with Cheese, who is unharmed, ends up saving Carl from earning Grace's hatred, as well as Grace from learning about the potential death of a beloved pet. Carl gives Calvin a big hug for this.
- Adaptation Title Change: Because Grace's pet Pidgey Steve was replaced by a Blitty named Cheese, the title of the remastererd version is "Pet Peeves" rather than "Pidgey Problems".
- Adapted Out: With the removal of Pokémon from the FreezeFlame22 canon, Steve the Pidgey has been replaced with Cheese the Blitty.
- Cats Are Mean: Downplayed. Cheese spits on Carl when he first sees him, and Talia mentions that he clawed her when she tried to hold him, but outside these instances, Cheese is shown to be a well-behaved cat.
- Chekhov's Gun: When told that Cheese will try to run away if let out to the backyard, Carrie shrugs it off by saying that Blitties always come back home. Fast-forward to the end of the episode and Cheese does end up finding his way back to Carl's home after running away.
- Competition Freak: Tucker is normally a Nice Guy, but when it comes to sports, losing is not an option. Just ask Carl and his friends.
- Cute Kitten: Cheese is one adorable Blitty... and he comes with all pros and cons all cats have, as Carl finds out.
- Disproportionate Retribution: At Goomburger, Mary-Lynn throws her food at Talia and insults her by mocking her weight for accidentally putting cheese in her burger.
- Food Theme Naming: Grace named her blitty Cheese because of his yellow fur.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Because Carl found Cheese's collar next to a deepfryer in Goomburger, he thought that he had fallen inside and burnt alive. In reality, Cheese simply removed his collar and returned to Carl's home, where Calvin found him urinating on his helmet.
- Rescue Hug: Carl gives Calvin one of these after he safely returns Cheese to Grace, whom Carl thought had died.
- Running Gag: People getting Cheese mixed up with the food whenever Carl mentions him because of his name is a joke that gets milked (no pun intended) a lot in this episode.
- Say My Name: Carl screams out Cheese's name when he realizes he has gone missing on Sunday morning.
- Urine Trouble: Cheese has a bad habit of peeing everywhere, as shown by him doing so in Carl's bed and Calvin's helmet.
