Pee-wee's Big Adventure | |
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File:Peeweedvdcover.jpg | |
Directed by | Tim Burton |
Written by | Paul Reubens Phil Hartman Michael Varhol Tim Burton (uncredited)[1] |
Produced by | Richard Gilbert Abramson Robert Shapiro |
Starring | Paul Reubens Elizabeth Daily Mark Holton Diane Salinger |
Cinematography | Victor J. Kemper |
Edited by | Billy Weber |
Music by | Danny Elfman |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | August 9, 1985 |
Running time | 90 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $7 million |
Box office | $40,940,662 |
Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his full-length film debut. Paul Reubens, Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol wrote the script, starring Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton and Diane Salinger. The film tells the story of Pee-wee Herman embarking on nation-wide adventure in search of his stolen bicycle.
The success of The Pee-wee Herman Show prompted Warner Bros. to hire 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. Burton was hired as director once Reubens and the producers saw his work on Vincent and Frankenweenie. Pee-wee's Big Adventure was a financial and critical success and became a cult film.
Plot
Pee-wee Herman, a strange man who acts like a child, loves his bike more than anything else in the world, and refuses to sell it to nemesis Francis Buxton, a fellow man-child and neighborhood "rich kid". The bike is stolen after Pee-wee visits a magic shop, ensuing into a high-profile campaign to find it. To grip with his insanity of the missing bike, Pee-wee visits a false psychic who lies and tells him that the bike is hidden in the basement of the Alamo. Pee-wee hitches a ride with a man named Mickey, a fugitive on the run from the law because he cut off a "do not remove under the penalty of law" mattress tag. Mickey abandons Pee-wee after Pee-wee accidentally nearly killed the two of them.
Pee-wee is picked up by Large Marge, learning at a truck stop diner that Large Marge was actually a ghost. Pee-wee meets Simone, a friendly waitress with a yearning to see Paris. Her huge boyfriend Andy thinks Pee-wee and Simone were romantically linked, chasing Pee-wee and causing him to flee in a boxcar of a moving train. Making it to San Antonio he finds that the Alamo has no basement, realizing his whole trip was a sham and goes to the bus station to return home. On his journey he breaks the world record for bull-riding and runs afoul of a biker gang (after accidentally knocking over their motorcycles). Fearing they are trying to kill him, Pee-wee dances to "Tequila" and wins the respect of the bikers. The bikers give him a motorcycle, but Pee-wee quickly crashes it, being sent to the hospital. Pee-wee learns from the television that his bike now belongs to Kevin Morton, a spoiled child star who is currently filming a movie with the bike as a prominent prop.
Pee-wee sneaks into Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California and locates the set on which Kevin is acting. Pee-wee disguises himself as a nun in order to infiltrate the set and steal his bike back. In a wild chase scene, he flees from the Warner Bros. security staff through a variety of sets. Various actors and props, including a boat-shaped car, a Santa Claus sleigh, and a man in a Godzilla costume, get swept into the chase. He also interrupts the shooting of a Twisted Sister music video for "Burn in Hell" from Stay Hungry. Using the gadgets on his bike, Pee-wee manages to evade the guards and escape the studio. As he blissfully rides away, however, Pee-wee discovers a pet shop in flames. After heroically saving all the animals (even the snakes which creep him out), Pee-wee faints on the store's doorstep, just as the fire department and police arrive. When emergency medical technicians come to revive Pee-wee, a fireman gets in an argument with a policeman, because the firefighter considers Pee-wee a hero, but the police officer places Pee-wee under arrest.
Pee-wee is brought before a Warner Bros. studio executive who offers to buy Pee-wee's life rights in exchange for dropping all charges. Pee-wee agrees and attends the premiere at his local drive-in. All of the friends Pee-wee made during his trip come to see the film, and Pee-wee greets each of them. He ends with Dottie, having finally fulfilled her demands for a date at the drive-in. As a final act of vengeance, Pee-wee allows Francis to sit on his bike, who triggers the ejector seat and sends him flying. Pee-wee's movie turns out to be a cheesy James Bond-style action film involving James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild fighting ninjas. Pee-wee has a cameo appearance as a bellhop, but his voice is comically dubbed over. After watching for a few minutes, Pee-wee decides to leave, having already lived the real story. Rejoined with his bike, he rides away with best-friend Dottie, happily ever after.
Cast
- Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman: A strange man who acts like a child. He sports a tuxedo with a red bow tie and clean-cut hair. He's very obsessive over his bicycle, traveling across America in search of it.
- Elizabeth Daily as Dottie: She has a major crush on Pee-wee, though Pee-wee declines to be her boyfriend. Pee-wee thinks of himself as "a loner, a rebel". Dottie helps run a bike shop.
- Mark Holton as Francis Buxton: A fellow man-child like Pee-wee. He's obese and very spoiled. He offers to buy Pee-wee's bike for a large amount of money, but Pee-wee refuses. Francis hires someone to steal the bike before it's purchased by Warner Brothers.
- Diane Salinger as Simone: A waitress that Pee-wee meets in Texas. She develops an attraction towards Pee-wee and yearns to live in France. Her violent boyfriend Andy flunked French in High School, and therefore dislikes France. At the end of the film, Simone is dating a French man instead of Andy.
- Judd Omen as Mickey Morelli: A convict Pee-wee meets on his way to Texas. Mickey is a fugitive on the run from the law because he cut off a "do not remove under the penalty of law" mattress tag. He also has a bad temper and abandons Pee-wee in the desert. However, Pee-wee ends up inviting Mickey to his movie.
Writers Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol cameo as a reporter and photographer. Cassandra Peterson appears as "Biker Mama". James Brolin portrays Pee-wee Herman and Morgan Fairchild is Dottie for the scene when Warner Bros. turns Pee-wee's life in a full-length film. Dee Snider and Milton Berle cameo as themselves.
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. Ruebens claims that Pollyanna is his favorite film. Half-way through writing the script, Reubens noticed everyone at Warner Bros. had a bike with them, which inspired Reubens to start on a new script.[1]
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 Ruebens and the producers of Pee-wee's Big Adventure saw Burton's work on Vincent and Frankenweenie, they decided Burton would be an excellent director for their film.[2] Burton felt he connected with Ruebens's personality and the humor of Pee-wee's Playhouse.[3] After hiring Burton to direct, Ruebens, Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol reworked the script again.[4]
Filming locations included Glendale, California, Pomona, Santa Monica, Burbank, Cabazon and the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, Texas.[5] Burton and Ruebens had tensions with Warner Bros. studio executives over the shooting schedule.[6] Burton hired CalArts classmate Rick Heinrichs for scenes involving stop-motion animation.[7] To compose the film score, Burton brought in Danny Elfman, who hadn't composed a film before.[8] Elfman already had the main title theme written before he signed on.[9] At the time, Elfman was the lead singer of Oingo Boingo, but the working relationship between Burton and Elfman would continue for most of Burton's films.[10][8]
Reaction
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, recouping five times of its $7 million budget, making it a financial success.[11] At the time of release in 1985, the film received mixed reviews. The film eventually developed into a cult film.[12] Based on 23 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Pee-wee's Big Adventure received a highly rare 100% overall approval rating.[13] By comparison Metacritic calculated an average score of 47 from 13 reviews collected.[14] The film was nominated with a Young Artist Award for Best Family Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical).[15]
Christopher Null gave positive feedback, calling it "Burton's strangest film".[16] Variety compared Paul Ruebens to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton,[17] while Empire called the film "a one-comic masterpiece" and "a dazzling debut" for Burton.[18] Stephanie Zacharek of Salon 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."[19] Burton had no interest in directing Big Top Pee-wee,[20] and the financial success of the film prompted Warner Bros. to hire him to direct Batman.[21]
Notes
- ^ a b Paul Reubens, Tim Burton, audio commentary, 2000, Warner Bros.
- ^ Salisbury & Burton 2006, p. 42
- ^ Salisbury & Burton 2006, pp. 43–44
- ^ Salisbury & Burton 2006, p. 47
- ^ "Filming Locations of Pee-wee's Big Adventure". Platial. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ Salisbury & Burton 2006, p. 49
- ^ Salisbury & Burton 2006, p. 45
- ^ a b Salisbury & Burton 2006, p. 48
- ^ Danny Elfman, audio commentary, 2000, Warner Bros.
- ^ excluding Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
- ^ "Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ Salisbury & Burton 2006, p. 50
- ^ "Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "PAwards for Pee-wee's Big Adventure". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ Christopher Null (2005-06-13). "Pee-wee's Big Adventure". FilmCritic.com. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Pee-wee's Big Adventure". Variety. 1985-01-01. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
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(help) - ^ "Pee-wee's Big Adventure". Empire. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ Stephanie Zacharek. "Pee-wee's Big Adventure". Salon. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ Salisbury & Burton 2006, p. 52
- ^ Batman (1989) Audio Commentary by Director Tim Burton. Warner Bros. 2005.
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References
- Salisbury, Mark; Burton, Tim (2006), Burton on Burton, ???: Faber and Faber, ISBN 0-571-22926-3