Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his full-length film directing debut and starring Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman with supporting roles provided by Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger, and Judd Omen. Reubens also co-wrote the script with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol. Based on the 1948 Italian classic The Bicycle Thief, it is the tale of Pee-wee Herman embarking on a nationwide adventure in search for his stolen bicycle.
After the success of The Pee-wee Herman Show, Reubens began writing the script to Pee-wee's Big Adventure when he was hired by Warner Bros. Pictures. The producers and Reubens hired Burton to direct when they were impressed with his work on Vincent and Frankenweenie. Filming took place in both California and Texas.
The film was released on August 9, 1985, grossing over $40 million in North America. It eventually developed into a cult film and has since accumulated positive feedback. The film was nominated for a Young Artist Award and spawned two sequels, Big Top Pee-wee (1988) and Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016). Its financial success, followed by the equally successful Beetlejuice in 1988, prompted Warner Bros. to hire Burton as the director for the 1989 film Batman.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Plot
Pee-wee Herman is a puer aeternus with a heavily accessorized bicycle that he treasures and that his neighbor, Francis Buxton, covets. A bike shop employee, Dottie, has a crush on Pee-wee, but he does not reciprocate it. Pee-wee's bike is stolen while he is shopping at the mall. The police tell Pee-wee that they can't help him find his bike. Pee-wee tells the police that a lot of people wanted to take the bike and thinks Francis took it. He confronts Francis in his "bathtub", an indoor swimming pool, in an underwater brawl, Francis' father stops the brawl and tells Pee-wee that Francis didn't steal the bike and Pee-wee must apologize to Francis for the attack and shake his hand. Pee-wee then offers a $10,000 reward for his bike. Francis, who did indeed pay to have someone steal the bike, is frightened by Pee-wee's relentlessness and then pays to have it sent away. After holding a meeting, Pee-wee angrily rejects Dottie's offers of help, tells her off and says that he doesn't need anybody. Desperate, he visits "Madam Ruby", a phony psychic with an electric-powered "crystal ball". After sneaking a glance out the window at the shop across the street, Al and Moe's Bargain Basement, she tells Pee-wee that his bike is in the basement of the Alamo. Pee-wee hitchhikes to Texas, getting rides from a fugitive, Mickey, and from Large Marge (the ghost of a deceased truck driver).
At a truck stop, Pee-wee discovers his wallet is missing (stolen by Madam Ruby) and pays for his meal by washing dishes. He befriends Simone, a waitress who dreams of visiting Paris. As they watch the sun rise at a dinosaur museum, Pee-wee encourages her to follow her dreams, but Simone tells him about her jealous (and large!) boyfriend named Andy who doesn't want her to go to Paris. Meanwhile, Andy eavesdrops from outside and misconstrues their innocent conversation as sexual. ("I know you're right, but...", "Everyone I know has a big 'but'. C'mon Simone, let's talk about your big 'but'.") At sunrise, as Pee-wee and Simone leave the dinosaur, Andy tries to attack Pee-wee. Pee-wee escapes onto a moving train where he meets Hobo Jack, they have a sing along, but Jack's whiskey breath makes Pee-wee jump from the train, coincidentally going through San Antonio. He immediately heads over to the Alamo and joins a guided tour. At the end of the tour, he asks the guide, Tina, where the basement is. Tina laughs with the other tourists as she tells him that the Alamo has no basement, causing Pee-wee to flee in embarrassment. At a bus station, he runs into Simone, who tells him that she and Andy broke up and she's on her way to Paris. She tells Pee-wee not to give up finding his bike, before bidding him "au revoir". Pee-wee calls Dottie at the bike shop and apologizes for his behavior but when she says she wants to take Pee-wee to the drive-in, he fakes static, claims he can't hear her, and hangs up. Meanwhile, Andy shows up at the bus station trying to stop Simone from going to Paris but the ticket agent informs him that her bus left five minutes earlier. He spots Pee-wee and resumes his attack. Pee-wee evades Andy at a rodeo by disguising himself as a rodeo bull rider. Forced to ride for real, Pee-wee does surprisingly well but receives a concussion. Andy then tries to attack Pee-wee in the rodeo ring, but the bull that Pee-wee rode spots Andy's bright red shirt and chases him.
Pee-wee enters a biker bar to make a phone call, but the outlaw motorcycle club called "Satan's Helpers" who are regulars at the bar, tell Pee-wee that the bar is not open to the public and kicks Pee-wee out. Pee-wee accidentally knocks over their motorcycles, causing the bikers to drag him back into the bar and threaten to kill him. Pee-wee makes a last request, dancing to the song "Tequila". His dance wins over the bikers. They offer him a motorcycle to get home, and escort the ambulance to the hospital after Pee-wee gets into an accident. In the hospital , he has a surreal nightmare of clown doctors "operating" on his bicycle overseen by Francis (as the Devil). Pee-wee wakes up and sees a TV news report that a special bike is being used as a prop in a movie at Warner Bros. Studios and is shocked to learn that his bike is being used by a spoiled brat kid actor named Kevin Morton, Pee-wee sneaks into the studio by pretending to be part of Milton Berle's entourage. He finds the film set where Kevin Morton is playing "Rusty", a saintly orphan raised by nuns. However, Morton is rude and nasty to his co-stars and director. During a take, Pee-wee, disguised as an extra nun, ad-libs that Rusty has inspired "her" to start a paper route and takes off with the bike. Riding his bike, he is chased by security all over the studio lot and through several sets, including one for a Twisted Sister music video, before escaping the studio.
Outside, Pee-wee discovers a burning pet shop. He heroically rescues the animals (leaving a tank full of snakes for last). He collapses on the sidewalk, just as police and fire department arrive. Even though the firefighters declare Pee-wee a hero, the police arrest him for what he did at the studio. Pee-wee is taken back to the studio, where he meets the president of Warner Bros, Terry Hawthorne. Pee-wee explains how his bike was stolen and how much time he spent trying to get it back. Mr. Hawthorne decides to drop the charges and make a special movie about Pee-wee and his bike. The bike is returned to Pee-wee, accompanied by Dottie.
Later at the drive-in, Pee-wee and Dottie attend the movie premiere of his biopic, an action movie starring James Brolin as "P.W. Herman" (who introduces himself as "Herman, P.W. Herman") and Morgan Fairchild as Dottie. After ninjas attack the couple and steal an important sport bike called the X-1, P.W. gets a phone call from the unseen President of the United States, who explains that the X-1 has an important microfilm concealed in it, which the Soviets must not be allowed to discover. Pee-wee has a cameo appearance as a hotel bellhop (unconsciously mouthing "P.W.'s" lines as Brolin speaks them). Back at the movie, Pee-wee gives refreshments to all the people he met along his journey, including Mickey (who has been recaptured and furloughed in a prison bus to see the film). Pee-wee also encounters Francis, who claims to be Pee-wee's best friend who taught him how to ride, and brags about how knowledgeable he is about Pee-wee's bike, but accidentally catapults himself into the air using one of the bicycle's gadgets. Pee-wee tells Dottie that he is leaving. Dottie wonders why he is not staying for the rest of the movie. Pee-wee answers, "I don't have to see the movie. I lived it."
San Antonio Pet Shop Video
Cast
- Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman (billed "Pee-wee Herman as himself"). He sports a gray flannel suit with a red bow tie and close-cropped hair.
- Elizabeth Daily as Dottie
- Mark Holton as Francis Buxton
- Diane Salinger as Simone
- Lynne Marie as "Mother Superior" in Kevin Morton's film
- John Paragon as Man in Red Armor
- Judd Omen as Mickey Morelli
- Alice Nunn as Large Marge, the ghost of a truck driver who describes her own death in a traffic accident. The fabrication and animation for Large Marge's transformation was provided by The Chiodo Brothers.
- Phil Hartman as Reporter
- Jon Harris as Andy
- Carmen Filpi as Jack
- Jan Hooks as Tina, a tour guide at the Alamo.
- Jason Hervey as Kevin Morton
- Tony Bill as Terry Hawthorne, an executive at Warner Bros.
- Cleve Hall as Godzilla, also cameos as a Satan's Helpers Biker Gang member.
Michael Varhol who co-wrote the script with Reubens and Hartman cameos as a photographer. Director Tim Burton has an uncredited cameo as the street thug who confronts Pee-wee in a rainy back-alley. Other minor roles include Ed Herlihy as Mr. Buxton and Cassandra Peterson (a.k.a. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) as the Biker Mama of Satan's Helpers. James Brolin portrays "P.W. Herman" and Morgan Fairchild is Dottie in the in-movie production about Pee-wee's life. Dee Snider and Twisted Sister, and veteran comedy star Milton Berle cameo as themselves.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure contains numerous "conceptual continuity" links to other Tim Burton films and other productions:
- Several cast members from The Pee-wee Herman Show (who would go on to appear in Pee-wee's Playhouse) have cameo roles in the film. John Moody (Mailman Mike in The Pee-wee Herman Show) appears as the bus clerk, in the movie studio sequence, Lynne Marie Stewart (Miss Yvonne) plays the Mother Superior, John Paragon (Jambi the Genie) plays the high-voiced studio extra in red armor from whom Pee-wee asks directions and the reporter interviewing Francis in the final scene at the drive-in is played by Phil Hartman (Cap'n Carl).
- Jan Hooks (who played Tina) was a fellow member of The Groundlings comedy troupe with Reubens, Hartman and Paragon, and went on to co-star in Saturday Night Live with Hartman. She also had a cameo role as a publicist in Burton's Batman Returns.
- Paul Reubens and Diane Salinger (Simone) were reunited in the opening sequence of Burton's Batman Returns, in which they portrayed the parents of the Penguin. They would reunite again in Pee Wee's Big Holiday.
- Supporting actors Monte Landis (Mario) and Lou Cutell (Amazing Larry), who appeared together in a deleted scene in Mario's Magic Shop, had both appeared as extras in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.
- In the Warner Bros. studio chase sequence, Pee-wee rides through a set where a Japanese crew are filming a Godzilla movie.
- The full chase sequence through Warner Bros Studios was originally longer than the version in the final cut of the film and showed much more of the WB backlot, including the vast storage yard where props and set pieces were stored. A full-scale prop of a Visitor shuttlecraft from the original TV miniseries V (1983) is clearly visible in the foreground in one shot. Another deleted scene in this section was filmed on the WB "Western town" set. Ennio Morricone's theme music from the score of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was to be used in that sequence.
Production
The success of The Pee-wee Herman Show prompted Warner Bros. to hire Paul Reubens to write a script for a full-length Pee-wee Herman film. Reubens' original idea was to do a remake of Pollyanna with Pee-wee Herman in the Hayley Mills role. Reubens claims that Pollyanna is his favorite film. Halfway through writing the script, Reubens noticed everyone at Warner Brothers had a bike to get around the backlot, and so he requested one of his own. This inspired Reubens to start on a new script.
Having left The Walt Disney Company and with Frankenweenie receiving positive reviews within film studios, Tim Burton was looking for a full-length film to direct. When Reubens and the producers of Pee-wee's Big Adventure saw Burton's work on Vincent and Frankenweenie, they decided to hire Burton for their film. Burton felt he connected with Reubens' personality and the humor of the Pee-wee Herman Show. After hiring Burton to direct, Reubens, Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol reworked the script again.
Filming locations included Glendale, Pomona, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica, Burbank, Cabazon (at the Cabazon Dinosaurs), Port Hueneme, California, and San Antonio, Texas. Burton and Reubens had tensions with Warner Bros. studio executives over the shooting schedule. Burton hired CalArts classmate Rick Heinrichs for scenes involving stop-motion animation.
Soundtrack
To compose the film score, Burton brought in Danny Elfman, who had previously composed the music for Forbidden Zone. He relished the opportunity to compose an orchestral score rather than a pop score and wanted to it to be taken as the work of a composer rather than the dabbling of a pop musician. Elfman already had the main title theme written before he signed on. At the time, Elfman was the lead singer of Oingo Boingo, but the working relationship between Burton and Elfman would overshadow his performing life and continue for most of Burton's films.
In 1986 Varese Sarabande released an album on record, cassette and compact disc featuring cues from the movie and 1986's Back to School, also scored by Elfman. While both films had their scores recorded in Hollywood, the album recording was made in London and performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by John Coleman. In 2010 many of the original tracks were subsequently released by Warner Bros. Records as part of The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box.
- "Overture" / "The Big Race" - 3:07
- "Breakfast Machine" - 2:36
- "Park Ride" - 1:14
- "Stolen Bike" - 1:44
- "Hitchhike" - 0:56
- "Dinosaur Dream" - 0:48
- "Simone's Theme" - 1:35
- "Clown Dream" - 1:58
- "Studio Chase" - 1:24
- "The Drive-In" - 2:02
- "Finale" - 3:12
"Clown Dream" is also used in the video game Grand Theft Auto V. It is also often used as the opening music during Primus concerts.
The film also features "Burn in Hell" by Twisted Sister and "Tequila" by The Champs.
Reception
Pee-wee's Big Adventure opened on August 9, 1985 in the United States in 829 theaters, accumulating $4,545,847 over its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $40,940,662 domestically.
Critical response
Pee-wee's Big Adventure received generally positive reviews at the time of the film's release, before eventually developing into a cult film. As of December 2015, Rotten Tomatoes reported that 88% of critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.8/10, based upon a sample of 43 reviews By comparison Metacritic calculated an average score of 47 from 13 reviews collected. The film was nominated with a Young Artist Award for Best Family Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical).
Christopher Null gave positive feedback, calling it "Burton's strangest film." Variety compared Paul Reubens to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, while Empire called the film "a one-comic masterpiece" and "a dazzling debut" for Burton. Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com explained "Everything about Pee-wee's Big Adventure, from its toy-box colors to its superb, hyper-animated Danny Elfman score to the butch-waxed hairdo and wooden-puppet walk of its star and mastermind is pure pleasure." Burton was offered the opportunity to direct Big Top Pee-wee, but had no interest and was already working on his own pet project, Beetlejuice. Positive reviews of Beetlejuice and the financial success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure prompted Warner Bros. to offer Burton the director's helm for Batman.
Roger Ebert never officially reviewed Pee-wee's Big Adventure but in 1987 it topped his list of Guilty Pleasures and he did mention it in his review of Big Top Pee-wee, saying the sequel was not as magical as the first. The second paragraph of that review contrasted the two films explaining what he liked in Big Adventure that he didn't like in Big Top. Gene Siskel, however, gave Pee-wee's Big Adventure a negative review and even called it one of the worst movies of 1985.
Warner Home Video released Pee-wee's Big Adventure on DVD in May 2000. The release included audio commentary by Tim Burton, Paul Reubens and Danny Elfman as well as deleted scenes.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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