Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
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92% of critics liked it
(38 reviews) -
66% of users liked it
(103,997 ratings)
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… More 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 standup routine, Reubens is wonderful as the nerdy man child; 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, Rovi
- Directed By
- Tim Burton
- Written By
- Phil Hartman, Paul Reubens
- Genres
- Comedy, Kids & Family
- In Theaters
- Jul 26, 1985 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Reubens always lets us feel superior to his creation, and when his character slips, as it does more than once in this first feature outing, his own condescension shows through.
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, TIME Magazine
Fair warning: this movie could induce terminal boredom in adults and rot the minds of the young.
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Variety Staff, Variety
Children should love the film and adults will be dismayed by the light brushstrokes with which Paul Reubens (one of three credited screenwriters, but star-billed under his stage name, Pee-wee Herman) suggests touches of Buster Keaton and Eddie Cantor.
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, Time Out
Fed by comic tributaries perhaps, but Pee-Wee Herman comes over as a delightful original.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
You have been warned.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Paul Reubens
as Pee-Wee Herman
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Elizabeth Daily
as Dottie
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Mark Holton
as Francis
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Diane Salinger
as Simone
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Judd Omen
as Mickey
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Jon Harris
as Andy
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Carmen Filpi
as Hobo Jack
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Tony Bill
as Terry Hawthorne
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James Brolin
as "P.W."
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Morgan Fairchild
as "Dottie"
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Susan Barnes
as Movie Lot Actress
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Simmy Bow
as Man in Diner
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Luis Contreras
as Biker
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Lou Cutell
as Amazing Larry
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Bob Drew
as Fireman
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Starletta DuPois
as Sgt. Hunter
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Mark Everett
as BMX Kid
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Ed Griffith
as Trucker
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Irving Hellman
as Neighbor
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Ed Herlihy
as Mr. Buxton
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Jan Hooks
as Tina
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Monte Landis
as Mario
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Peter Looney
as Policeman
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Damon Martin
as Chip
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Bob McClurg
as Studio Guard
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Alice Nunn
as Large Marge
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Sunshine Parker
as Hobo
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Lonnie Parkinson
as Biker
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Daryl Roach
as Chuck
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Ralph Seymour
as Francis' Accomplice
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Lynne Marie Stewart
as Mother Superior
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Prof. Toru Tanaka
as Butler
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Twisted Sister
as Themselves
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Erica Yohn
as Madam Ruby
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Milton Berle
as Himself [uncredited]
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Phil Hartman
as Reporter
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Raymond Martino
as Gang Member
- Wallis Nicita
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John Paragon
as Movie Lot Actor
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Cassandra Peterson
as Biker Mama
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Bill Richmond
as Highway Patrolman
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Michael Varhol
as Photographer
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Noreen Hennesey
as Reporter
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Richard Brose
as Tarzan
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Bill Cable
as Policeman
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Patrick Cranshaw
as Hobo
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Brett Fellman
as Kid
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John Gilgreen
as Policeman at Pet Shop
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Chester Grimes
as Biker
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Jason Hervey
as Kevin Morton
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Howard Hirdler
as Biker
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Zachary Hoffman
as Director
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John Moody
as Bus Clerk
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John O'Neill
as Cowboy
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David Rothenberg
as Hobo
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George Sasaki
as Japanese Director
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Gilles Savard
as Pierre
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Drew Seward
as Kid
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Alex Sharp
as Cowboy
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David C. Glasser
as BMX Kid
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Gregory Brown
as BMX Kid



