One of the most eccentric comedies of the 1980s, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is a pop-culture touchstone that helped make a manic oddball named Pee-wee Herman—the creation and alter ego of actor-comedian Paul Reubens—into an icon for outsiders of all ages. It also established the distinctive style of director Tim Burton, whose eye-popping visual sense is already on full display in this, his first feature film. Following the gleefully irreverent Pee-wee as he embarks on a road trip to recover his beloved stolen bicycle, the movie unfolds with the antic invention of a live-action cartoon, combining a gallery of memorably wacky characters, colorful, kitschy Americana, and surreal flights of fancy into a joyously uninhibited paean to creativity and the spirit of childhood.
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Supplements
- Audio commentary by Tim Burton and actor-cowriter Paul Reubens
- Audio commentary by composer Danny Elfman (over a music-only soundtrack to the film)
- New interview with Tim Burton and actor-filmmaker Richard Ayoade
- New interviews with cowriter Michael Varhol, editor Billy Weber, production designer David L. Snyder, and producer Richard Abramson, conducted by critic Mark Olsen
- Interview from 2005 with Paul Reubens
- Excerpts from the fortieth anniversary screening of the film presented by Nostalgic Nebula and hosted by comedian Dana Gould
- Deleted scenes
- Trailer
- An essay by radio and podcast host Jesse Thorn