Not ever being a fan of "Pee Wee Herman" (Paul Reubens),I found myself very surprised that I enjoyed this movie when it first came out on VHS and several viewings since (including on DVD.)

Despite Pee Wee's stupid character he's still a likable guy and the movie is outrageously funny, a tribute in part to the visuals of director Tim Burton. This is one of his earliest films and his first "hit." It began to stamp him as someone who could make stylish films with a good sense of the absurd.

It took four viewings until I finally got sick of Pee Wee's stupid laugh, which he overdoes and finally made me reduce the rating of the film from '9' to '7." This is another one of these films for kids and adults.

Once Pee Wee gets on the road looking for his missing bicycle, the films gets rolling and has some memorable stops on the way (large dinosaurs, his famous "Tequila" dance, "Large Marge" and other assorted strange scenes, all of which are very entertaining.)

While I am the first to admit that a little Pee Wee Herman goes a VERY LONG WAY, I must admit that I enjoyed this film. That's because the movie is fun and silly from start to finish. Plus, there are enough separate episodes that the movie does not rely completely on Paul Rubens' mugging--and that is definitely the problem with the followup film, BIG TOP PEE WEE. Instead, a wonderful and creative script pull you into a strange world of adventure. Considering just how weird and fun this surrealistic world is, it certainly should not come as any surprise that the movie was directed by Tim Burton in one of his earliest films.

The plot of the film is pretty irrelevant, as it's just a silly excuse to travel America in search of strange friends and bizarre adventures. The film is all about Pee Wee looking everywhere for his stolen bicycle--and that's really it! But the journey is so odd and funny that the thread-bare plot is just fine! You get to see Pee Wee in drag, meet and befriend a motorcycle gang, see Twisted Sister, hitchhike a ride from a ghost, and many other strange things. Each of these adventures is handled in a very tongue-in-cheek manner and the fun is infectious. The only thing is, after an entire movie of the asexual and creepy Pee Wee, I think I was finished and had no desire for more.

Paul Reubens' humour mayn't be to everyone's tastes but I for one found him delightful and very funny in this movie as Pee Wee Hermann. He is well supported by a great cast, including Elizabeth Daily. The film looks great as well, with great locations and cinematography and Danny Elfman's score is brilliant. Tim Burton directs wonderfully too, and the script is very funny while the story is charming and has plenty of fun moments(too many to list actually) and the film moves briskly with very few dull moments. Pee Wee's Big Adventure is not my favourite of Tim Burton's movies, but I am very fond of it and would definitely see many more times. 9/10 Bethany Cox