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Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985)
IMDb Rating 6.7
Front Cover Actor Back Cover
Paul Reubens Pee-Wee Herman
Elizabeth Daily Dottie
Mark Holton Francis
Diane Salinger Simone
Judd Omen Mickey
Jon Harris Andy
Carmen Filpi Hobo Jack
Tony Bill Terry Hawthorne
James Brolin "P.W."
Morgan Fairchild "Dottie"
Irving Hellman Neighbor
Monte Landis Mario
Damon Martin Chip
Plot
Co-written by Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman, Pee Wee's Big Adventure marks the debut of director Tim Burton, who stamps the entire film with his quirky trademark style. The premise: Pee Wee (Reubens), an overgrown pre-pubescent boy sporting a molded Princeton cut, blush, lipstick, and a shrunken gray flannel suit, lives an idyllic life in his bizarre home (some have compared the remarkable set design to the expressionistic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) until someone nabs his most prized possession: a fire engine-red customized bicycle. He then embarks on an epic cross-country search to find his lost love, not to mention more than a little adventure. Along the way, he makes friends with various oddball characters, visits the Alamo, endures various hallucinatory nightmares, and has a supernatural run-in with a spectral trucker. In this reprisal of his popular stand-up routine, Reubens is wonderful as the nerdy manchild; he plays it silly, yet he manages to imbue the role with some sensitivity without ever seeming maudlin. The score by Danny Elfman is terrific — as is the case in nearly every film Burton has directed — and the script is fresh and inventive. Some of the most memorable moments: the opening sequence involving Pee Wee's morning activities is a stroke of genius (note the bunny slippers and talking breakfast), as are the scenes at the truck stop, and the "Hollywood" version of Pee Wee's story at the end (starring James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild in surprise cameos). In all, Pee Wee's Big Adventure is a delightful film, enjoyable for children as well as adults. — Jeremy Beday
Movie Details
Genre Adventure; Family; Comedy
Director Tim Burton
Producer Richard Gilbert Abramson; Robert Shapiro
Writer Phil Hartman; Paul Reubens
Studio Warner Bros.
Country USA
Language English
Audience Rating PG
Running Time 92 mins
Movie Release Date 8/9/1985
Color Color
Personal Details
Format DVD
Seen It No
Index 327
Collection Status In Collection
Purchase Date 10/26/2004
Product Details
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Layers Single Side, Dual Layer
UPC (Barcode) 085391715627
Chapters 28
Release Date 5/2/2000
Subtitles English; French
Packaging Snap Case
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Mono
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Extra Features
Feature-Length Audio Commentary By Paul Reubens and Director Tim Buron
Music-Only Track with Commentary by Composer Danny Elfman
Interactive Menus
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Scene Access
Links
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