Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Pee-wee's Big Adventure Image
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Metascore
47 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 25 Ratings

Your Score
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  • Starring: Elizabeth Daily, Paul Reubens
  • Summary: When Pee Wee's beloved bike is stolen, he goes on a cross-country trip to the Alamo because a "physic" tells him it's there. On the way, he finds himself in one oddball encounter after another, from posing as an escaped convict's alibi girlfriend to dancing his way out of a biker brawl in a bar to riding in a big-rig with cackling Large Marge (one year after her death). With so much going on, Pee Wee's adventure could be a Hollywood movie.… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 4 out of 13
  1. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    100
    Everything about Pee-wee's Big Adventure, from its toy-box colors to its superb, hyperanimated Danny Elfman score to the butch-waxed hairdo and wooden-puppet walk of its star and mastermind, Pee-wee Herman, is pure pleasure.
  2. Empire
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    80
    Burton's first feature revels in the weird, the unpredictable, the infantile and the absurd. A dazzling debut.
  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    60
    Children should love the film and adults will be dismayed by the light brushstrokes with which Paul Reubens (one of three credited screenwriters, but star-billed under his stage name, Pee-wee Herman) suggests touches of Buster Keaton and Eddie Cantor.
  4. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Vincent Canby
    10
    Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is the most barren comedy I've seen in years, maybe ever.

See all 13 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. sadpanda
    10
    I find it astonishing that this film, Tim Burton's directorial debut Pee-wee's Big Adventure, has such a low score here at Metacritic. Although I'm not the biggest fan of Burton's style and find his work to be mostly overrated, this movie is a masterpiece of camp that led to one of the greatest 'children's shows' of all-time, Pee-Wee's Playhouse. The deadpan humor never gets old..… Expand
  2. Zilcell
    8
    I find it so funny. This movie has a different style compared to most comedies. Overall, the story here is thin ice, but the humor is great.

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