Pee-wee's Big Adventure

1985
U
1h 31m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

60K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:23

Quest Quirky Comedy Road Trip Adventure Comedy Family

When eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman gets his beloved bike stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. on the adventure of his life.When eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman gets his beloved bike stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. on the adventure of his life.When eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman gets his beloved bike stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. on the adventure of his life.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

60K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

3,931

1,080

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 nominations

Pee-wee Herman
(as Pee-wee Herman)

Elizabeth Daily

Dottie

Mark Holton

Francis Buxton

Diane Salinger

Simone

Judd Omen

Mickey

Irving Hellman

Mr. Crowtray

Monte Landis

Mario

Damon Martin

Chip
(as Damon Landis)

David Glasser

BMX Kid

Gregory Brown

BMX Kid

Mark Everett

BMX Kid

Daryl Keith Roach

Chuck
(as Daryl Roach)

Bill Cable

Policeman #1

Peter Looney

Policeman #2

Starletta DuPois

Sgt. Hunter

Professor Toru Tanaka

Butler
(as prof. Toru Tanaka)

Ed Herlihy

Mr. Buxton

Ralph Seymour

Francis' Accomplice

Director
- Tim Burton
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

6.1

Pee-wee's Big Holiday

8.1

6.9

8.2

6.3

7.4

7.9

7.7

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

6.8

The Muppets Take Manhattan

7.3

Labyrinth

7.8

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

6.4

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Paul Reubens said that he, Phil Hartman, and Michael Varhol had never written a screenplay prior to this film. They purchased a book by Syd Field on how to write screenplays and did exactly what the book said. As a result, this movie is sometimes used in screenwriting classes because it fits the screenwriting paradigm perfectly - the film is 90 minutes long and the script is 90 pages long. The first act ends at Page 30 / 30-minute mark, the second act ends at Page 60 / 60-minute mark, etc.

Goofs
When Pee-wee and Simone watch the sunrise they enter a red T-Rex, but exit a green T-Rex, because it was being lit with a red spotlight.

Quotes
Pee-wee: There's a lotta things about me you don't know anything about, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand.
Dottie: I don't understand.
Pee-wee: You don't wanna get mixed up with a guy like me. I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel. So long, Dott.

Alternate versions
There are at least 2 fullscreen versions of the film. An open matte version that shows off more vertical picture than the theatrical widescreen (the earliest VHS releases are this way), and a pan-and-scan cropped version, cropped from the theatrical widescreen.

Connections
Featured in At the Movies: The Worst Films of 1985 (1986)

Soundtracks
Burn in Hell
Written by Dee Snider
Performed by Twisted Sister
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User reviews225

Review

Featured review

7/10

Recommended for people who like colorful visuals and absurd characters.

Not ever being a fan of "Pee Wee Herman" (Paul Reubens), I found myself very surprised that I enjoyed this movie when it first came out on VHS and several viewings since (including on DVD.)

Despite Pee Wee's stupid character he's still a likable guy and the movie is outrageously funny, a tribute in part to the visuals of director Tim Burton. This is one of his earliest films and his first "hit." It began to stamp him as someone who could make stylish films with a good sense of the absurd.

It took four viewings until I finally got sick of Pee Wee's stupid laugh, which he overdoes and finally made me reduce the rating of the film from '9' to '7." This is another one of these films for kids and adults.

Once Pee Wee gets on the road looking for his missing bicycle, the films gets rolling and has some memorable stops on the way (large dinosaurs, his famous "Tequila" dance, "Large Marge" and other assorted strange scenes, all of which are very entertaining.)