Pee-wee's Big Adventure

Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tim Burton
Written by	Phil Hartman; Paul Reubens; Michael Varhol;
Produced by	Robert Shapiro; Richard Gilbert Abramson;
Starring	Paul Reubens; E.G. Daily; Mark Holton; Diane Salinger; Judd Omen;
Cinematography	Victor J. Kemper
Edited by	Billy Weber
Music by	Danny Elfman
Production; company	Aspen Film Society
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	August 9, 1985;
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7 million
Box office	$40.9 million (domestic)

Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his feature-film directing debut. It is the first installment of the Pee-wee Herman trilogy. Starring Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol, along with E.G. Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger, and Judd Omen. Described as a "parody" or "farce version" of the 1948 Italian classic Bicycle Thieves,^[4]^[5] it tells the story of Pee-wee's nationwide search for his stolen bicycle.

After the success of The Pee-wee Herman Show, Reubens began writing the script for Pee-wee's Big Adventure when he was hired by the Warner Bros. film studio. Impressed with Burton's work on the short films Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984), the producers and Reubens hired him to direct. Filming took place in California and Texas.

The film was released on August 9, 1985, grossing over $40 million in North America. It became a cult film and continued to accumulate positive feedback. It was nominated for a Young Artist Award and was followed by two standalone sequels, Big Top Pee-wee (1988) and Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016). Its financial success, followed by the equally successful Beetlejuice in 1988, prompted Warner Bros. to hire Burton to direct the 1989 film Batman.

^ "Pee-wee's Big Adventure (U)". British Board of Film Classification. April 14, 1987. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
^ "Pee Wee's Big Adventure". The Numbers. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
^ "Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
^ Snyder, Stephen; Curle, Howard (May 18, 2018). Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802083814. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2018 – via Google Books.
^ Wilmington, Michael (May 21, 2000). ""Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" (Tim Burton, 1985) at 5:15 p.m..." Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.

[1] "Pee-wee's Big Adventure (U)". British Board of Film Classification. April 14, 1987. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.

[2] "Pee Wee's Big Adventure". The Numbers. Retrieved August 3, 2023.

[auto-3] "Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2008.

[4] Snyder, Stephen; Curle, Howard (May 18, 2018). Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802083814. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2018 – via Google Books.

[Wilmington-5] Wilmington, Michael (May 21, 2000). ""Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" (Tim Burton, 1985) at 5:15 p.m..." Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.

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