When I first saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure as a young boy back in 1985, it was truly a sight to behold. With a cast of colorful characters and a carefree road-trip mentality, it was simply an adventure like no other. It was also one of director Tim Burton's first major efforts, and a fine one at that. Although Paul Reubens (the infamous alter ego of Pee-Wee) had performed as the character years before, his first film adventure served as a lauch-pad into massive popularity. One year later, the beloved television series Pee-Wee's Playhouse first aired, further cementing Pee-Wee Herman as a bonafide cultural icon.

Eventually, a second movie was made, although it wasn't met with the same enthusiasm as the first. Big Top Pee-Wee (1988) was a completely different kind of movie than Big Adventure: with a smaller scope and completely different cast, many fans turned away in disgust (myself included). Although the film certainly wasn't terrible, it just couldn't live up to the magic of the original. In fact, the only scene I remembered involved an egg salad sandwich floating down a river.

Here's the basic rundown: Pee-Wee Herman lives on a farm, and goes about his daily routine as usual: cooking pancake breakfasts for the animals and even conducting botanical experiments with his talking pig, Vance. After a fierce storm comes to town, a circus headed by Mace Montana (Kris Kristofferson, Blade) literally lands in Pee-Wee's backyard! Unfortunately, the local townsfolk don't share his enthusiasm, and pretty much send the performers packing. Meanwhile, Pee-Wee falls for one of the young ladies in the circus, Gina (Valieria Golino, Rain Main), much to the disgust of his fiancée Winnie (Penelope Ann Miller, Carlito's Way). With a cast of bizarre characters including the world's smallest woman, trapeze artists, clowns, and even "Duke the Dog-Faced Boy" (the first film role of Benicio Del Toro, seen below), Big Top Pee-Wee has plenty of charm to keep things entertaining.

Of course, it's still not as fun as the first, but it's better than I remembered. The cast is stronger this time around, and the smaller scope of the film gives it a much different feel altogether. Overall, director Randal Kleiser (who had just directed Flight of the Navigator two years earlier) has done an excellent job of keeping the magic alive, in this reviewer's opinion. Sure, it's no Best Picture nominee, but it's better than most fans originally gave it credit for. This is a movie that has aged surprisingly well, as its charm still shines after more than 15 years.

Still, the film is not without a few faults. For one, the lack of continuity between the first and second movies is a little bothersome. While this film is purely based in fantasy, an explanation of where the original characters went might have tied things together more neatly. Of course, suspension of disbelief must always be practiced when watching a movie featuring a talking pig, but it never hurts to throw your viewers a bone. On top of this, Big Top Pee-Wee occasionally suffers from bad pacing: while Big Adventure kept things moving along briskly, the smaller scope of this second film has a tendancy to spread everything a little thin. All things considered, Big Top Pee-Wee has enough going for it to be considered a moderately successful follow-up to the first.

Finally arriving on DVD, Big Top Pee-Wee comes to us from Paramount Pictures. The $14.95 price tag is a welcome guest, but don't expect a feature-packed disc like MGM's excellent Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Although the first film boasted a nice spread of bonus material, this disc is about as bare-bones as it gets. Thankfully, Paramount has delivered an excellent technical presentation, as Big Top Pee-Wee has never looked or sounded better. With that said, let's see how this one stacks up:

Regardless of your opinion on the movie, there's no argument that Paramount has given Big Top Pee-Wee a terrific technical presentation on DVD. The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks great, from the vivid color palette to the solid black levels. There's a surprisingly small amount of dirt and grain present, but I was really impressed with the quality overall (especially for a film over 15 years old). The audio is presented in 2.0 Stereo Surround or 5.1 Surround, and both offer excellent clarity and detail. The 5.1 mix was especially good, as there were many instances of directional effects and overall ambience. It's no demo disc, but Big Top Pee-Wee really sounds excellent, rounding out the overall presentation nicely. English and Spanish subtitles have also been provided.

Unfortunately, things are less impressive from here on out, as the menus are non-animated with very basic navigation. The 88-minute film was divided into 15 chapters, and a layer change was detected right around the 60-minute mark. Packaging was also very straightforward (keepcase with no insert), but at least it didn't come in a snapper like Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Overall, this department could have been much stronger, but it still gets the job done.

Another disappointment with this release was the complete lack of bonus features, even a theatrical trailer. While Pee Wee's Big Adventure wasn't exactly a special edition, at least it had a few supplements (including an audio commentary). While it's no secret that Big Top Pee-Wee was far less successful than its predecessor---commercially and critically---it's a shame that Paramount couldn't have made an effort to including something in this DVD release.

While this film falls short of the original outing, I'd still encourage fans of Pee Wee's Big Adventure to give this one another chance. Big Top Pee-Wee is a much less madcap adventure, but it has a certain charm that really makes it hard to hate. The technical presentation for this DVD is excellent, and it's really hard to complain about the price. It's not going to be a shining beacon in your DVD collection, but there's enough to like about Big Top Pee-Wee to make it worth a look. If nothing else, it's worth it to see where Benicio Del Toro got his big break. Recommended.

Other Links of Interest

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Pee Wee's Big Adventure DVD Review (DVD Verdict)
Flight of the Navigator DVD Review (Written by yours truly)
Chunky Egg Salad Recipe (Serves 4)