Pee-wee Herman is now a small-town farmer with a fiancée, but when a traveling circus comes to town, he finds himself falling for the trapeze artist.Pee-wee Herman is now a small-town farmer with a fiancée, but when a traveling circus comes to town, he finds himself falling for the trapeze artist.Pee-wee Herman is now a small-town farmer with a fiancée, but when a traveling circus comes to town, he finds himself falling for the trapeze artist.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Pee-wee Herman
- (as Pee-wee Herman)
- Vance the Pig
- (voice)
- Joe - Blacksmith
- (as Leo V. Gordon)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilm debut of Benicio Del Toro.
- GoofsWhen PeeWee and Winnie are eating lunch, some of Winnie's egg salad sandwich falls on PeeWee's face and jacket. He wipes his face on her dress, but in the next shot it's not on her dress or his jacket.
- Quotes
Pee-wee: [shouts impatiently] All I wanted was a measly sandwich! I very nicely explained that I was starving. I'm starving! PLEASE!
Mr. Ryan: [defeatedly] Sorry, ladies. I guess you'll just have to wait. You remember, no one is as important in this community as Pee-wee Herman. All you other shoppers will just have to play second fiddle to Pee-wee. I guess that's just the way things are around here. My whole purpose in life is to serve Pee-wee Herman. And everything else comes second!
[finishes Pee-wee's sandwich]
Mr. Ryan: There's your sandwich. Is there anything else I can do for you, Pee-wee?
Pee-wee: Well, I would like a pickle if it's not too much trouble.
Mr. Ryan: No! No trouble at all, Pee-wee. Sorry, Otis. Sorry, Deke.
[opens a barrel, knocking over Otis and Deke's chess board; extracts a pickle and hands it to Pee-wee]
Mr. Ryan: Game's over. Pee-wee Herman wants a pickle. Here. Here's your darned pickle. Are you happy now?
Pee-wee: Mmm-hmm.
- Crazy creditsAfter the credits, a short cartoon plays featuring snacks singing about getting refreshments at the theater lobby.
- SoundtracksBarnyard Circus Parade
Written by Danny Elfman
One thing to note, I had not watched Pee Wee's Big Adventure when I first saw Big Top, so maybe my expectations were different. And I had to watch Big Top (and Big Adventure) a number of times in order to catch and appreciate all of the subtleties.
Here is a perspective that might help: Pee Wee's movies basically show things from the standpoint of a little kid describing his world once he grows up. For example, a child might imagine that he will have a bicycle that can fly and do all sorts of "cool" things that in reality are impossible, but he doesn't have the cognitive skills to think about whether things like this are possible. He just makes up his story the way he wants it to be. Pee Wee's movies bring those types of childhood dreams to "reality" on the screen, with a bunch of unique grown-up humor and some often strange but appropriate music mixed in. Taken from that perspective, these movies are absolutely brilliant.
- How long is Big Top Pee-wee?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Manege frei für Pee Wee
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $15,122,324
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,625,004
- Jul 24, 1988
- Gross worldwide
- $15,122,324
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1