47
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100SalonStephanie ZacharekSalonStephanie ZacharekEverything 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.
- 88TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineInspired lunacy, Pee-wee's big adventure is one of the most inventive films in recent memory. This clever and wholly original work incorporates a wide variety of cinematic tools with a fresh and unique sense of style.
- 80EmpireEmpireBurton's first feature revels in the weird, the unpredictable, the infantile and the absurd. A dazzling debut.
- 75Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrPee- wee's Big Adventure is a shrewdly observed, deftly executed looney tune. [9 Aug 1985, p.42]
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesPee-wee's Big Adventure goes up and down the hills of Pee-wee shtick, without much concern for things like cohesiveness and consistency. What makes it wear so well is the balance achieved between Pee-wee's nitwit nervousness and his pathetic optimism. [12 Aug 1985, p.35]
- 75San Francisco ChroniclePeter StackSan Francisco ChroniclePeter StackI'm completely unsure what else Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is about. I can tell you that 70 percent of moviegoers in their 20s and 30s will likely find this crazy production to be a barrel of fun, and frequently a barrel of laughs. A certain intelligence peeks through it all. [9 Aug 1985, p.68]
- 70Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrWith all these safety features built in, this 1985 film is too well padded to qualify as genuinely radical wit, but in an even-toned, TV sort of way it's mildly amusing and inventive throughout.
- 60VarietyVarietyChildren 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.
- 10The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyPee-Wee's Big Adventure is the most barren comedy I've seen in years, maybe ever.
- 0Chicago TribuneGene SiskelChicago TribuneGene SiskelNothing, absolutely nothing, at either location is the slightest bit funny. [13 Sep 1985, p.C]