Pee-wee's Big Adventure

This is one of the earliest films I can remember watching as a kid. I mean I was literally obsessed with Pee Wee Herman. HEck, I even dressed up like him for Halloween and I'll even admit I dressed up like him when I got back from school. I had the white church shoes and everything.

I even dress up like him nowadays from time to time... no no, just kidding... come back! I was only kidding.

Anyways, Paul Reubens created one of the funniest characters to grace the big and small screens and this Tim Burton film certainly had an impact on my life. I sincerely believe this film had a lot to do with my love of films today.

As funny as the film is, it's the look of it that probably drew me in at such a young age. I mean, there are tons of jokes that just fly right over your head at that age. The fact that this crazy guy in a red bow tie was going cross country to get back his gadget laden bicycle was really cool.

That bike, man... how I wanted one. And still do. :-) "Brush Brush Brush... Brush Brush Brush!"

The dream sequences are outstanding, especially the clown dream. Quite possibly why I hate clowns to this day. The visions of Pee Wee standing there while the surgeons hand surgical tools to one another in front of him is something disturbing. Not to mention the unveiling of the lead surgeon. I mean, these are some profoundly disturbing images... and let's not forget Large Marge! Sheesh!

The music by Danny Elfman remains one of his very best scores. And to think it was his first orchestral score! Brilliant!

The inclusion of Godzilla and Monster Zero was a real plus as I have always been a huge Godzilla fan. The chase through Warner Bros. back lot is really awesome!

I can't praise the film enough. Definitely one that is among my Top 20 films of all time.

Man-child Pee-wee Herman lives a magical life but has one possession that he treasures over all the others – his bicycle. The envy of the neighbourhood, his bike is his life and he is horrified when he finds it stolen. With the police unwilling to start a statewide search, Pee-wee sets out on an adventure to try and find his bike.

Pee-Wee Herman is a fairly acquired taste and won't please all audiences. I quite liked him here but couldn't have watched his show on a weekly basis. In this film though his `man-child' style and outlandish sense of humour really work out well. The plot is fairly pointless and just sparks off a road trip, which has a series of bizarre characters and adventures along the way.

Tim Burton's darkly comic imagination certainly helps and he gives the whole film an other-worldly feel to the whole thing, whether it be in the delivery of Herman's dreams or just the look of the film as a whole. Not all of it works of course, some of it misfires and isn't as funny as it would like to think that it is, however much of it is weirdly amusing and will be entertaining if you like Herman's style.

Herman can be annoying but here he stays on the right side of irritating and he is amusing in his delivery. He certainly suits the material and his OTT/hyper style helps the audience get into the very silly plot! Support is good and has lots of small roles that are weird and funny.

Overall this film is very much a matter of taste. If you like Herman then you should enjoy this film as it is very well done and is blessed with a real other-worldly touch by a great director in the making.

Pee-Wee is not part of my childhood but I've heard many internet people talk about him later. The funny weirdo character suits well together with the director Tim Burton's wild imaginative visions. Mostly it's colorful and cheerful but sometimes also darker vibes are thrown in, like a rainy street view that reminded me of the gothic style of his later Batman films.

It's a really funny adventure comedy film but you need to have a certain childlike attitude to enjoy it. If you're too serious you might find Pee-Wee's constant giggling a bit annoying. I personally liked the whole movie a lot.

Okay, so it loses a bit of steam in the final third, but that's true of most movies. It still rates a ten. The first film by Paul Ruebens, Tim Burton and the incomparable film composer Danny Elfman, it bubbles with the pure joy and exuberance of three talented people playing with a brand new toy. No film has ever been more fun to watch.

Reubens' media crucifixion in the early 90's was a crime against pop culture. America's snickering sanctimony stifled and virtually silenced one of the few original voices in the entertainment industry. I'm only thankful that Pee-wee lives on in video-land, so that my children and I can continue to enjoy his film and television work (the new DVD of "Big Adventure", by the way, is a treasure).

Pee-wee Herman, it's time to come back! Your loyal fans await your triumphant return. And to all those sicko name-callers out there, we have only one thing to say:

"I know you are, but what am I?"

I have to admit that I don't know too much about Pee-wee Herman outside from his real-life mishaps, so this is pretty much my only exposure to him. The plot of course has him looking for his bike and experiencing some weird situations along the way. That whole skit with the bikers was pretty cool. Tim Burton was clearly showing his skills as a director here.

All in all, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" is a movie that you're bound to like. Maybe it's not exactly a laugh a minute, but it's still quite neat. It makes you feel like a child all over again. Look for Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, James Brolin, Morgan Fairchild and Milton Berle in small roles.