Big Top Pee-wee

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Big Top Pee-wee

PG,

1988,

1h 26m,

Kids & Family/

Comedy

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Watchlist

30%

87 Reviews

Tomatometer

30%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

30%

Tomatometer

87 Reviews

30%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Playful Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) operates a fantastical farm with talking animals and hot-dog trees. One day, after a giant tornado hits, Pee-wee finds a circus has landed in his yard. He befriends the manager, Mace Montana (Kris Kristofferson), and develops a crush on a trapeze performer (Valeria Golino), even though he already has a fiancée (Penelope Ann Miller). Pee-wee tries to excite the town about the new circus, but most of the residents want it gone and harass Pee-wee because of it.

Critics Consensus

Its endearingly oddball lead character gives it his all, but Big Top Pee-wee simply lacks the whimsical magic of its predecessor.

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Ellen Futterman

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Dec 14, 2025

Unfortunately, director Randal Kleiser fails to move his characters in any imaginative directions.

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Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

Dec 13, 2025

3/4

Big Top Pee-wee is a three-ring circus of a movie with roughly two worth watching.

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Lynn Darling

Newsday

Dec 13, 2025

2.5/4

For all the movie's attempt at winsome charm, director Randal Kleiser doesn't do much to exploit the lovely tawdry magic inherent in a circus.

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Jack E. Wilkinson

United Press International

Jun 12, 2026

Kris Kristofferson, as the circus boss, looks amused by all the goofiness.

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David Crumpler

Florida Times-Union

Feb 3, 2026

2/5

There are probably four jokes in the movie that appeal to age groups older than 10.

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Jon Garelick

Boston Phoenix

Dec 15, 2025

For a couple of minutes, under the big top, it's almost as much fun as the Playhouse. Except that by then the movie is over.

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Anakin L

Feb 7, 2019

A storm blows Cabrini Circus onto agricultural scientist Pee-Wee Herman's (Paul Reubens) farmland and Pee-Wee must help ringmaster Mace Montana (Kris Kristofferson) and the gang overcome the prejudice of the local townsfolk to put on a great show. Circuses have always provided great cinematic fodder, ever since the days of Charlie Chaplin getting caught in a lion's cage sixty years earlier. Unfortunately, placing your characters in the context of a circus doesn't always produce a guaranteed winner. Pee-Wee's character is much more abrasive in this sequel, particularly when dealing with two old ladies while trying to acquire a cheese sandwich. He's also a bit of a pervert this time around as well. Seriously, he's jumping on his fiancee Winnie (Penelope Ann Miller) every chance he gets and what's with his fetishistic attraction to hair? Even when properly meeting Gina Piccolapupula (Valeria Golino) for the first time, he ogles her cleavage until he passes out! This is not the Pee-Wee I remember from the original motion picture. "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" was one crazy set-up after another with very little downtime. "Big Top Pee-Wee" has long stretches where I caught myself glancing at my watch and wondering when the next moderate chuckle would arrive. So much of this film simply falls flat on its face. Vance, the talking pig, didn't seem like a good idea to me when I was young and the movie was newly released - now he's downright intolerable. Jokes about bulimia and sexual intercourse feel out of place in a Pee-Wee film. It's nice to hear Danny Elfman's returning score, but Tim Burton's creativity and outlandish style are sorely missed in the directorial chair. Randal Kleiser certainly wasn't up to the task of filling Burton's boots. Reubens' childlike innocence in "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" struck audiences as if it were a magical lightning bolt. I guess it's true what they say: lightning never strikes the same place twice.

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Han L

Nov 29, 2018

I love Paul Rueben's character of Pee Wee so much, but this film is just awful. Sorry Pee Wee! :-(

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Randal Kleiser

Director

Paul Reubens

Pee-wee Herman

Kris Kristofferson

Mace Montana

Valeria Golino

Gina Piccolapupula

Penelope Ann Miller

Winnie

Susan Tyrrell

Midge Montana

Big Top Pee-wee: Official Clip - Pee-Wee Gets His Way

1:12

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Big Top Pee-wee: Official Clip - Big Top Big Finale

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Big Top Pee-wee: Official Clip - Gina Takes Pee Wee's Breath Away

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Big Top Pee-wee: Official Clip - Picnic With Winnie

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Big Top Pee-wee: Official Clip - A Long Kiss

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Big Top Pee-wee: Official Clip - Agriculture 101

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Big Top Pee-wee: Official Clip - Pee-Wee's Introduction

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Synopsis

Playful Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) operates a fantastical farm with talking animals and hot-dog trees. One day, after a giant tornado hits, Pee-wee finds a circus has landed in his yard. He befriends the manager, Mace Montana (Kris Kristofferson), and develops a crush on a trapeze performer (Valeria Golino), even though he already has a fiancée (Penelope Ann Miller). Pee-wee tries to excite the town about the new circus, but most of the residents want it gone and harass Pee-wee because of it.

Director: Randal Kleiser
Producer: Debra Hill, Paul Reubens
Screenwriter: Paul Reubens, George McGrath
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 22, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.9M
Runtime: 1h 26m
Sound Mix: Surround

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