It is as neat as Pee-wee's grey suit and red bowtie combo that Tim Burton's debut feature, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, is his first entry into the Criterion Collection. This special edition, with director-approved special features, can't help but encourage us to look back on 40 years of Burton's filmmaking. Packed with a treasury of references and jumping genres at the drop of a joke-sweet, the surreal and quirky comedy of Pee-wee's journey across America remains impressive and revealing.

Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) is happily chuckling his way through life in his gadget-filled home, but nothing pleases him more than heading into town on his highly accessorised, shiny red bike. Then one awful morning, after rebuffing the attempts of his neighbour and rival Francis Buxton (Mark Holton) to buy his prized possession, Pee-Wee's treasured two-wheeler is stolen. When law enforcement and his local community fail to realise the seriousness of the situation, a meeting with a phoney psychic sets the desperate amateur detective on a road trip across America to find his beloved bike.

Viewers discovering Pee-wee Herman (first screen appearance 1981) after Reuben's death will immediately notice traits shared with Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean (first appearance 1990)—they are two child-like characters who find themselves in ridiculous circumstances, after all. But Reubens' man-child is a wholly different fish. Constantly giggling and finding delight in the most minor things in life, his laugh is irritatingly infectious, and he's not afraid to speak when he needs to. He's naive and obsessed with amusing deceits, but his faults are equal to his curiosity and inner strength.

Over-ladelling the character of “ha ha” Herman? Not at all—Reuben's comic creation may not be everyone's cup of tea, but he's a finely tuned comic creation that wrings the most out of the film's outlandish skits. While Ruebens had meticulously honed his character on stage and TV before his big movie break, just as important was that he and the film's producers rejected Warner Bros.' choices for director and took a chance on Burton on the back of his horror comedy short Frankenweenie (1984).

It's clearly a meeting of minds with crisp and colourful frames stacked with details and glued together with fantasy and surrealism. The opening scene is a classic character set-up, with the impossible-joke wrapped vision of Pee-wee's morning routine telling us everything we need to know about our hero. That chaotic clash is also the first screen collaboration of Reubens, Burton and composer Danny Elfman—a perfect fusion. Seven years later, the three would reteam (albeit with a minor cameo from Reubens after his highly publicised fall from grace) in Warner Bros.'s blockbuster Batman Returns, something foreshadowed by the ‘60s Batmobile circling the studio lot in the climactic final chase. It's a joy to spot so much of Burton's screen future in these 91 minutes. Although we're still waiting for his full Kaiju era, Big Adventure features Batman, stop-motion segments, quaint picket-fenced settings, and, stretching it, even some Big Eyes.

The light plot puts Pee-wee's fish out of water through all manner of scrapes. Highlights include naively winding up a jealous boyfriend at a dinosaur park, winning over some bikers after they stop him from making a phone call, and painfully discovering that no, the Alamo doesn't have a basement. But Pee-wee always finds a way.

The adventure ends in an organised meta-mess: a showdown chase at the Warner Bros. Studio where Pee-wee reclaims his bike amid mass devastation. Of course, there's no punishment, but the chance for Pee-wee's Big Adventure to be made into a film. Finally making it to the drive-in with Dottie (Elizabeth Daily), a warmly unrequited relationship, the screening allows the chance to complete the stories of other characters, all while James Brolin plays P.W on screen.

It's the goofball, surreal, and eccentric brilliance of this fantasy comedy that earns it a valued place in the Criterion Collection. As Burton remarks in an illuminating half-hour chat with Richard Ayoade included on this Special Edition, for a big adventure, this was a quick shoot. As 2024's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice saw the return of Burton the improviser, Big Adventure could also signal the direction of Burton's later career.

Director Approved 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Special Edition Features

New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Tim Burton, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Audio commentary by Burton and actor-cowriter Paul Reubens
Audio commentary by composer Danny Elfman (over a music-only soundtrack to the film)
New interview with Burton and actor-filmmaker Richard Ayoade
New interviews with producer Richard Abramson, production designer David L. Snyder, cowriter Michael Varhol, and editor Billy Weber, conducted by critic Mark Olsen
Hollywood's Master Storytellers interview with Reubens from 2005
Excerpts from the fortieth-anniversary screening of the film presented by Nostalgic Nebula and hosted by comedian Dana Gould
Deleted scenes
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
An essay by podcast host and culture critic Jesse Thorn