Big (1988)

After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.

Director:

Penny Marshall

Writers:

Gary Ross, Anne Spielberg

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Josh
Elizabeth Perkins	...	Susan
Robert Loggia	...	MacMillan
John Heard	...	Paul
Jared Rushton	...	Billy
David Moscow	...	Young Josh
Jon Lovitz	...	Scotty Brennen
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Mrs. Baskin
Josh Clark	...	Mr. Baskin
Kimberlee M. Davis	...	Cynthia Benson
Oliver Block	...	Freddie Benson
Erika Katz	...	Cynthia's Friend
Allan Wasserman	...	Gym Teacher
Mark Ballou	...	Derek
Gary Howard Klar	...	Ticket Taker (as Gary Klar)

Storyline

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?

---

Plot Keywords:

chopsticks the song | wish | new york city | carnival | body switching | 

---

Taglines:

Yesterday Josh Wanted Everything In Life - Girls...Money...Cars... Today, All His Wildest Dreams Have Come True!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Romance

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big

Filming Locations:

Garden State News 666 Anderson Ave, Cliffside Park, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$114,968,774

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$151,668,774

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Entertainment Partners II L.P., Gracie Films, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 130 min (extended edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (Todd-AO/Glen Glenn Sound)

Color:

Color (DuArt)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

28 years later, Tom Hanks and Stephen Colbert parodied the film on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015). Which Hanks (As himself) finally finds the Zoltar machine (Colbert) in a storage room and Zoltar mistakes Hanks for Tim Allen and Hanks reminds Zoltar what happened in the film and Hanks wishes for Zoltar to make him 30 years old again and Zoltar gives Hank a film script he had written and Zoltar grants Hanks his wish.

---

Goofs

Susan's hand on Josh's chin when he's about to return home.

---

Quotes

Susan: All he said was he didn't get it.
Paul: [Mimicking Josh] "I don't get it." "I don't get it". "Let's make it a bug".

---

Alternate Versions

The Region 4 DVD release removes the use of the 'f' word. Approx 10 seconds is altered overall.

---

Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Characters Who Are Unqualified to Do their Jobs (2017)

---

Soundtracks

The Way We Were
Written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Marvin Hamlisch

User Reviews

Keeping Your Inner-Child

This charming, sweet, hilarious gem of a film works because Tom Hanks makes you believe he actually is a small boy in the body of an adult.

The interesting trick of what makes the story appealing is not so much the magic that the boy gets his wish to be "big." It's that once he is in an adult, he has to navigate the adult world with the mind of a child -- and ultimately realizes that he is missing something if he makes the leap from boy to man without going through all the fun and the struggle in between. There are several other films that have the boy-to-man switch, but none of them have the depth of understanding about human nature that this film portrays.

The story is wonderfully written and directed, and Tom Hanks is a star. The film made me laugh, and it made me cry. What more can you ask of one movie?