Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special

"If you love Christmas then why don't you merry it?"

1988 0h 49m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 52

FamilyComedyTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Pee-wee Herman and pals are celebrating Christmas in the Playhouse in their own creative ways: Pee-wee makes a list for Santa Claus 1.5 miles long, teaches Little Richard how to ice skate, goes for a sleigh ride with Magic Johnson, enslaves Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello into making Christmas cards, receives a long phone call from Dinah Shore, even has more musical fun with k.d. lang, the Del Rubio Triplettes and Charo! Finally, Big Red arrives and announces that Pee-wee's Christmas list was so big, he didn't have enough presents for all the children of the world. Will Pee-wee follow his own advice and help others?

“If you love Christmas then why don't you merry it?”

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Cast

Paul Reubens
Pee-wee Herman
Kevin Carlson
Clocky / Conky / Floory (voice)
Laurence Fishburne
Cowboy Curtis
Aaron Fletcher
Santa Claus
Ric Heitzman
Cool Cat / Fish / Flower / Mr. Window (voice)
Suzanne Kent
Mrs. Rene
William Marshall
King of Cartoons
George McGrath
Countess / Fish / Flower / Globey (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Reubens
Writers: John Paragon, Paul Reubens
Languages: English
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

Tight 49-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul Reubens, shot by David Lewis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Van Dyke Parks. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Paul Reubens and Kevin Carlson and Laurence Fishburne carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "If you love Christmas then why don't you merry it?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0251640 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Reubens directs. David Lewis behind the camera. Van Dyke Parks scores. Billy Fox cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 49-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
238 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Paul Reubens, shot by David Lewis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Van Dyke Parks. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Billy Fox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Paul Reubens and Kevin Carlson and Laurence Fishburne carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "If you love Christmas then why don't you merry it?".
8IMDB entry: tt0251640 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 52 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.