Josh Baskin would do anything to be big to hang out with his crush at the carnival. He finds a Zoltar machine, and he wishes to be big. After Zoltar tells him, "his wish is granted", Josh notices the machine is unplugged. He wakes up the next morning in an adult's body but he still has the same personality. With the help of his best friend, Billy, Josh learns how to act like a grown up. But as he gets a girlfriend and a fun job, he doesn't want to be a kid again. Will Josh stay big or become a 13 year old boy again?
The scenes in Josh's neighborhood were filmed in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. The amusement park scene in the beginning of the movie where the wish was made was filmed at Ross Dock Picnic Area on the Hudson in Fort Lee. It is not an amusement park but was set up as one. The George Washington Bridge can be seen clearly in some of the shots. The scene at the end where he finds the machine were filmed on the pier at Rye Playland, in New York's Westchester County. See more »
Goofs
When Josh and MacMillan are on the giant piano, the crowd behind them changes a lot between shots, e.g. a young girl in the background is seen to sit on her dad's lap twice. Also, the boy in the sweater disappears, then reappears in time to applaud at the end of the song. See more »
Quotes
MacMillan:
You can't keep a kid from growing up. All a 13-year-old boy wants is a 13-year-old girl. And I sure don't know how to build one of those.
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Alternate Versions
Some believe that a home video release of this movie in New Zealand included an alternate ending. The alternate ending allegedly shows young Josh sitting in his classroom at school when he turns around to notice a young female classmate of whom who he recognizes as Susan- who went back to the fairground machine and wished that she was Josh's age. Some claim that this version was also seen on Latin American television.
The Book of Lists, Canadian Edition, 2005 includes the following account: "During test screenings, an additional scene was included at the end, in which Josh is back at school, and a new girl named Susan arrives. The implication is that Susan used the same machine to make herself young to grow up with Josh. Due to audience feedback, this scene was cut, and so the movie ends when Josh goes back home." See more »
For some reason this movie makes me well up with tears of joy every single second I'm watching it. I think it's the concept of adults discovering the children inside themselves. The simple innocence and well-meaning intent of josh baskins in this movie is like a magic elixir that changes everyone and everything he comes in contact with.
This movie is amazing because I saw it when it came out, when I was 13 years old, the same age as josh baskins in the movie, and I loved it then. It speaks to you as a child because it's completely realistic, everything is just the way a kid would see it. Most of the time when adults try to simulate what it's like to be a child, they fail miserably (see all the 80's anti-drug propaganda ads as an example). It takes an immense amount of creativity and sensitivity to be able to write something like this. But then when I see this movie as an adult, it speaks to me on a completely different level. This film is a lesson to adults as well as children. Don't miss out on the fun and spirit of life! Don't get to wrapped up in your petty concerns of status and materialism, just try to enjoy every moment the most that you can, because you'll never get another chance to relive each moment of your life.
Any of these fools that didn't like this movie are just that, they've probably missed out completely on the message because they can't remember what it was like to be a kid, to see the world as one big optimistic toy you're lucky to be able to play with. Think about that and see this movie again if you don't remember how amazing it is...
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For some reason this movie makes me well up with tears of joy every single second I'm watching it. I think it's the concept of adults discovering the children inside themselves. The simple innocence and well-meaning intent of josh baskins in this movie is like a magic elixir that changes everyone and everything he comes in contact with.
This movie is amazing because I saw it when it came out, when I was 13 years old, the same age as josh baskins in the movie, and I loved it then. It speaks to you as a child because it's completely realistic, everything is just the way a kid would see it. Most of the time when adults try to simulate what it's like to be a child, they fail miserably (see all the 80's anti-drug propaganda ads as an example). It takes an immense amount of creativity and sensitivity to be able to write something like this. But then when I see this movie as an adult, it speaks to me on a completely different level. This film is a lesson to adults as well as children. Don't miss out on the fun and spirit of life! Don't get to wrapped up in your petty concerns of status and materialism, just try to enjoy every moment the most that you can, because you'll never get another chance to relive each moment of your life.
Any of these fools that didn't like this movie are just that, they've probably missed out completely on the message because they can't remember what it was like to be a kid, to see the world as one big optimistic toy you're lucky to be able to play with. Think about that and see this movie again if you don't remember how amazing it is...
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