Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

1985 · Movie · 90 min. · United States

Comedy

Former animator Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Batman, Mars Attacks!) made his feature directorial debut with this delightful comedy, coscripted by the late Phil Hartman (who also appears briefly as a reporter). Wisely, they keep the story simple so as to concentrate on the characters: Pee-wee's most prized possession, his shiny new bicycle, is stolen, and he sets off on an obsessive cross-country journey, determined to recover it. Pee-wee's awkward and childish attempts to be cool and mature ("I meant to do that!!") are hysterical, as when he tells his girlfriend (Elizabeth Daly): "There's things about me you don't know, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand.... I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel." Look for Saturday Night Live vet Jan Hooks in a hilarious bit as a tour guide at the Alamo. And beware of Large Marge!

Direction Tim Burton

Cast Paul Reubens · Elizabeth Daily · Mark Holton · Diane Salinger · Judd Omen · Monte Landis · Damon Martin · Morgan Fairchild · James Brolin · Mark Everett · Daryl Roach · Peter Looney · Starletta DuPois · Toru Tanaka · Ed Herlihy · Ralph Seymour · Lou Cutell · Raymond Martino · Erica Yohn · Alice Nunn · Ed Griffith · Simmy Bow · Jon Harris · Carmen Filpi · Jan Hooks · John Moody · Alex Sharp · Luis Contreras · Lonnie Parkinson · Cassandra Peterson · Jason Hervey · Bob McClurg · John Paragon · Susan Barnes · Lynne Marie Stewart · Bob Drew · John Gilgreen · Phil Hartman · Michael Varhol · David Rothenberg · Patrick Cranshaw · Sunshine Parker · Gilles Savard · Tony Bill · Twisted Sister