Big Top Pee-wee

"Hero. Lover. Legend."

1988 1h 26m EN

😐

5.0

MID

🥫

30%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.1

IMDB

★5.0TMDB · 155🥫30%Rotten Tomatoes●42Metacritic★5.1IMDB · 10,331

ComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Paul Reubens stars as Pee-wee Herman in his second full-length film about a farmer who joins the circus after a storm drops a big tent in his front yard. Pee-wee, along with an outlandish cast of animals and circus performers, puts on the best show ever.

“Hero. Lover. Legend.”

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Cast

Paul Reubens
Pee-wee Herman
Penelope Ann Miller
Winnie
Kris Kristofferson
Mace Montana
Valeria Golino
Gina Piccolapupula
Benicio del Toro
Duke the Dog-Faced Boy
Wayne White
Vance the Pig (voice)
Susan Tyrrell
Midge Montana
Albert Henderson
Mr. Ryan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Randal Kleiser
Writers: Paul Reubens, George McGrath
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 76% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Pee-wee's Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Randal Kleiser, shot by Steven Poster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jeff Gourson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Paul Reubens and Penelope Ann Miller and Kris Kristofferson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Randal Kleiser directs. Steven Poster behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Jeff Gourson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Earned back only 76% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
338 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Pee-wee's Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Randal Kleiser, shot by Steven Poster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Jeff Gourson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Paul Reubens and Penelope Ann Miller and Kris Kristofferson carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Hero. Lover. Legend.".
10IMDB entry: tt0094744 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Steven Poster
Original score: Danny Elfman
Editing: Jeff Gourson
Production design: Stephen Marsh
Costume design: Robert Turturice
Makeup / hair: Ve Neill
Sound: Donald O. Mitchell
Stunt coordinator: Bill Couch
Runtime: 86 min · 1h 26m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $15,122,000
Return: 76% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Big Top Pee-wee (1988)
Rotten Tomatoes: 30% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 42/100
IMDB rating: 5.1/10 · 10,331 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

1 nomination

Part of

Pee-wee's Collection

Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his full-length film directing debut and starring Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman with supporting roles provided by Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger and Judd Omen. Reubens also co-wrote the script with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol. It spawned two sequels, Big Top Pee-wee (1988) and Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016).