Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) on Netflix
PG19851h 31mAdventureComedyFamily
Pee-wee Herman cherishes his gadget-covered bicycle, and his rich neighbor Francis Buxton covets it. When the bike is stolen, a fortune teller points Pee-wee to the Alamo, in San Antonio.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb7.1/1064,117 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes87%
Trailer
Plot summary
Pee-wee Herman, a childlike man who wears a gray suit and a red bow tie, treasures a bicycle fitted with gadgets and accessories. His neighbor and rival Francis Buxton offers to buy it and Pee-wee turns him down. Dottie, who works at the bike shop, has a crush on Pee-wee that he does not return. While Pee-wee is out buying toys, the bicycle is stolen, and the police take little interest. Pee-wee blames Francis and confronts him, but Francis's father persuades him that his son had no part in the theft. Pee-wee offers a reward and gathers friends and neighbors to search for the bike, turning down Dottie's help. A fortune teller then tells him the bicycle is in the basement of the Alamo in San Antonio, and he hurries off without his wallet.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- After Warner Bros. approved a director that Reubens, his manager Bill McEuen and producer Richard Gilbert Abramson all disliked, Reubens, inspired by Sylvester Stallone's refusal to cede creative control, turned him down; the studio then gave Reubens a week to find someone "approvable, available, and affordable".
- Reubens's first idea for the film was a remake of Pollyanna (1960), his favorite movie, with Pee-wee Herman in the Hayley Mills role; while writing it he asked Warner Bros. for a bicycle to ride around the backlot, and that inspired him to start a completely new script.
- The filmmakers first wanted rising stand-up comedian Louie Anderson for the role of Francis; actor Mark Holton, who was cast instead, later guessed that his own shorter stature and lower cost influenced the decision.
- Diane Salinger, cast as the waitress Simone, almost rejected the role because the script had Pee-wee's dog, Spec, lick its behind and then Pee-wee's mouth; the scene was cut from the finished film.
- For Twisted Sister's cameo in the chase scene, frontman Dee Snider suggested the band's hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" or "I Wanna Rock", but Reubens specifically requested their song "Burn in Hell", to Snider's delight.
- The financial success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, along with positive reviews for Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, was what prompted Warner Bros. to hire Burton to direct Batman (1989).
SPOILER
The Alamo's exterior was real, but its interior scenes were shot at the Mission San Fernando Rey de España in Los Angeles; there was no basement at the Alamo during filming, though it now has two, and Reubens toured one in 2011 as a guest judge on Top Chef: Texas.- Fourteen vintage-style Schwinn DX bikes dating from 1946 to 1953 were commissioned and built for the film, customized to the specifications of Reubens, Tim Burton and production designer David Snyder, and rigged with special effects by prop master Steven Levine.
