Pee-Wee's Big Adventure [Blu-ray]

Director: Tim Burton Tim Burton

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/04/2011
UPC:	0883929198641
Original Release:	1985
Rating:	PG
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	12,522

Special Features

Commentary by Paul Reubens and director Tim Burton ; Additional scenes; Production sketches and storyboards; Music-only track with commentary by Danny Elfman; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Paul Reubens	Pee-wee Herman
E.G. Daily	Dottie
Mark Holton	Francis
Diane Salinger	Simone
Judd Omen	Mickey
Jan Hooks	Tina
Jon Harris	Andy
Carmen Filpi	Hobo Jack
Monte Landis	Mario,Mario
Irving Hellman	Neighbor
Damon Martin	Chip
Daryl Roach	Chuck
Starletta DuPois	Sergeant Hunter
David Glasser	BMX Kid
Gregory Brown	BMX Kid
Mark Everett	BMX Kid
Bill Cable	Policeman
Peter Looney	Policeman
Toru Tanaka	Butler
Ed Herlihy	Mr. Buxton
Ralph Seymour	Francis' Accomplice
Lou Cutell	Amazing Larry
Raymond Martino	Gang Member
Erica Yohn	Mme. Ruby
Bill Richmond	Highway Patrolman
Alice Nunn	Large Marge
Ed Griffith	Trucker
Simmy Bow	Man in Diner
John Moody	Bus Clerk
John O'Neill	Cowboy
Alex Sharp	Cowboy
Chester Grimes	Biker
Luis Contreras	Biker
Lonnie Parkinson	Biker
Howard Hirdler	Biker
Cassandra Peterson	Biker Mama
Jason Hervey	Kevin Morton
Bob McClurg	Studio Guard
John Paragon	Movie Lot Actor
Susan Barnes	Movie Lot Actress
Zachary Hoffman	Director
Lynne Stewart	Mother Superior
George Sasaki	Japanese Director
Richard Brose	Tarzan
Drew Seward	Kid
Brett Fellman	Kid
Bob Drew	Fireman
John Gilgreen	Policeman at Pet Shop
Noreen Hennessy	Reporter
Phil Hartman	Reporter
Michael Varhol	Photographer
David Rothenberg	Hobo
Patrick Cranshaw	Hobo
Sunshine Parker	Hobo
Gilles Savard	Pierre
James Brolin	`P.W.'
Morgan Fairchild	`Dottie'
Tony Bill	Terry Hawthorne
Wallis Nicita	Actor
Bill W. Richmond	Highway Patrolman
Noreen Hennesey	Reporter
Milton Berle	Himself [uncredited]
Pee-Wee Herman	Actor
Danny Elfman	Musician,Composer

Technical Credits

Michael Varhol

Phil Hartman

Paul Reubens

Tim Burton	Director
Richard Gilbert Abramson	Producer
Paul Baxley	Stunts
Chuck Gaspar	Special Effects
William E. McEuen	Executive Producer,Producer
Robert Shapiro	Producer,Producer
Michael Varhol	Screenwriter
Phil Hartman	Screenwriter
Paul Reubens	Screenwriter
Charles Gaspar	Special Effects
Paul Baxley Jr.	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

Director Tim Burton's first feature film already displayed his distinctive visual style. The absurdist comedy has a look reminiscent of German expressionist movies of the 1920s, filtered through a pop-art sensibility of cartoons, horror serials, and Gothic fairy tales. The result is a surreal, mystical world, yet one very close to our own. Much like Burton's subsequent heroes, Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, Pee-Wee (Paul Reubens) travels through this dreamy world as an unabashedly quirky, innocent outsider. The character of Pee-Wee Herman was the creation of comedians Reubens and Phil Hartman, and it had been a staple of Reubens' nightclub act for years before the film. Reubens selected Burton to direct the Pee-Wee feature on the basis of his Disney-produced short Frankenweenie, which the studio had deemed unacceptable for kids. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure propelled Burton to many opportunities, including the first Batman, even as it predictably typecast Reubens.

All Movie Guide