Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

UPC: 883929004157

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Mild Violence, Adult Situations, Suitable for Children]

Summary: 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. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi

Category: Comedy

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

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 11/04/2008

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 90 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
1. Credits [1:04]
2. Leader of the Pack [1:41]
3. Good Morning [5:33]
4. A Boy and His BIke [4:56]
5. Cool Stuff/Mario's [2:59]
6. Horn With Dottie [2:20]
7. Gone! [2:36]
8. Bath At Buxton's [4:28]
9. Evidence of Crime [4:27]
10. Mayhem Ruby [2:49]
11. Riding With Mickey [4:47]
12. Convertible [2:21]
13. Large Marge [6:15]
14. Dream in Dinosaur [2:40]
15. Dinosaur in Dream [:54]
16. Angry Andy [1:20]
17. Railcair Singalong [1:03]
18. What Alamo Lacks [2:35]
19. Simone/Dottie [4:07]
20. Fancy Riding [2:28]
21. Biker Bar Fun [4:54]
22. Devil Nightmare [2:28]
23. Invade Warner Bros. [3:12]
24. All Over the Lot [3:45]
25. Geronimo! [1:30]
26. Creature Rescue [3:25]
27. His Big Adventure [7:09]

Brendon Hanley

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. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Susan Barnes  Actor 
Mark Everett  Actor 
Monte Landis  Actor 
Daryl Roach  Actor 
Michael Varhol  Actor 
Gilles Savard  Actor 
Damon Martin  Actor 
Ralph Seymour  Actor 
Raymond Martino  Actor 
Richard Brose  Actor 
Howard Hirdler  Actor 
Alex Sharp  Actor 
Lou Cutell  Actor 
Irving Hellman  Actor 
Alice Nunn  Actor 
Prof. Toru Tanaka  Actor 
John Paragon  Actor 
Patrick Cranshaw  Actor 
John Moody  Actor 
Gregory Brown  Actor 
Bob Drew  Actor 
Sunshine Parker  Actor 
Erica Yohn  Actor 
John Gilgreen  Actor 
David Rothenberg  Actor 
Ed Herlihy  Actor 
Twisted Sister  Actor 
Cassandra Peterson  Actor 
Brett Fellman  Actor 
John O'Neill  Actor 
Starletta DuPois  Actor 
Jan Hooks  Actor 
Lonnie Parkinson  Actor 
Milton Berle  Actor 
Bill Richmond  Actor 
Chester Grimes  Actor 
George Sasaki  Actor 
Simmy Bow  Actor 
Peter Looney  Actor 
Phil Hartman  Actor 
Noreen Hennesey  Actor 
Jason Hervey  Actor 
Drew Seward  Actor 
Luis Contreras  Actor 
Ed Griffith  Actor 
Bob McClurg  Actor 
Lynne Stewart  Actor 
Wallis Nicita  Actor 
Bill Cable  Actor 
Zachary Hoffman  Actor 
David C. Glasser  Actor 
Richard Gilbert Abramson  Producer 
Tim Burton  Director 
Danny Elfman  Composer (Music Score) 
Phil Hartman  Screenwriter 
William E. McEuen  Executive Producer 
William E. McEuen  Producer 
Paul Reubens  Screenwriter 
Robert Shapiro  Producer 
Michael Varhol  Screenwriter 
Paul Reubens  Actor 
Elizabeth Daily  Actor 
Mark Holton  Actor 
Diane Salinger  Actor 
Judd Omen  Actor 
Jon Harris  Actor 
Carmen Filpi  Actor 
Tony Bill  Actor 
James Brolin  Actor 
Morgan Fairchild  Actor 

Country: USA