Review #1257: Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
Cast:
Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman), Elizabeth Daily (Dottie), Mark Holton (Francis Buxton), Diane Salinger (Simone), Judd Omen (Mickey Morelli), Alice Nunn (Large Marge), Phil Hartman (Reporter), John Harris (Andy), Daryl Keith Roach (Chuck), Carmen Filpi (Jack), and Jan Hooks (Tina) Directed by Tim Burton (#040 - Batman, #107 - Beetlejuice, #132 - Alice in Wonderland, #196 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, #262 - Corpse Bride, #316 - Batman Returns, and #969 - Planet of the Apes (2001))
Review:
It certainly proves interesting to wonder how a film gets itself into creation, whether through the efforts of its director or its main star, particularly with a film that features interesting cases for both categories. This was the theatrical debut of Tim Burton, who prior to this film had worked a few years at Walt Disney Productions under the animation department after his work in shorts at the California Institute of the Arts such as Stalk of the Celery Monster (1979). He made two short animated films with the studio in Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984) before being fired by the studio for making work too dark and scary for children to see. However, it was the style shown by Burton in his shorts that inspired Reubens to have Burton direct the film. Reubens had previously spent time with the sketch comedy club The Groundlings, with one of his friends being Phil Hartman, who helped co-write the film (alongside Michael Varhol and Reubens). He started a show with the character of Pee-wee Herman (a character he had developed in 1977 with the original idea being "a really bad comic, somebody you would look at and go, 'This guy's never going to make it.') after being rejected by Saturday Night Live for the doomed 1980-81 season (doing so through borrowed money and the help of people such as Hartman); the show proved to be a success, moving from being a midnight show to being shown at Los Angeles' Roxy Theatre - one of his showings there was subsequently taped and later shown by HBO in 1981. Reubens and the writers shifted the film's focus from being a re-telling of Pollyanna (1960) to one about a cross-country trek to find a bike due to seeing everyone of the Warner Bros set using bikes to get around (insert 1985 reference here, naturally). With a run-time of 91 minutes, what could one expect from something as offbeat as this? Honestly, I really didn't know what to think could happen with this one, especially with this being the first of many Burton films, which can be very creative with their main subjects with mostly positive results. This proves true with his initial film effort, which is a quirky yet endearing piece of entertainment that is generated from its main character in charge. Reubens plays off this oddball with a playful charm that doesn't come off as too over-the top or annoying without some sort of levity to go around. We have fun seeing him going through the country without being impatient to see it really end, particularly when it gets interesting for its climatic moments in the Warner Bros studio, which probably ranks as the key highlight. The other members of the cast do fine with their segments on screen beside Reubens, which certainly are scattered well throughout. It shines with its music by Danny Elfman that is as playful as the style wants to be, being interesting for both the children and adult kind of audience sensibility that likes to go across the room with silliness like a live-action cartoon that balances with a sturdy enough plot to make it worth it. It is an interesting curiosity to start Tim Burton's run of theatrical work, standing just as well with certain films of his without hesitation that will prove for some fun for those whose seek it.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
