I don't think that it's too much of a stretch to say that most people (who live in a part of the world where they are readily available) like movies. How often do you meet someone who doesn't like movies? Now, I'm not saying that everyone is a film buff, but most people like to sit down and watch a flick every now and then. Having said that, not everyone likes every movie. I will never forget going to see Pee-Wee's Big Adventure with a group of friends. I loved the movie, but they wanted to leave half way through. I couldn't believe it then, and looking back at the movie, I can't believe it now. Hopefully, they are somewhere watching this newly released Blu-ray Disc right now, forming a new appreciation for the film.

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure introduces us to Pee-Wee Herman (who is played by Paul Reubens, but credited as simply "Pee-Wee Herman"), a man-child who lives in a house full of toys and a dog named Speck. Pee-Wee's most cherished possession is his bike. Dottie (Elizabeth Daily), who works at the bike shop, clearly has a crush on Pee-Wee, but he ignores her, focusing on his bike. Francis (Mark Holton), a spoiled-brat man-boy covets the bike, but Pee-Wee won't let him have it. Pee-Wee goes to run errands and is horrified when his bike is stolen. He involves the police and all of his friends lend their help, but the bike is gone. A bogus psychic assures Pee-Wee that the bike is in the basement of The Alamo, so he sets out on a cross-country trek to recover it. Along the way, he meets many interesting people and constantly finds trouble.

However, we can’t let the presence of these two geniuses draw us away from the fact that this is Pee-Wee’s show. With Pee-Wee, Reubens created a very unique character -- a man who dresses like he’s from the 1950s and acts like a little boy. And, he doesn’t seem to realize that he’s different from everyone around him. (One of the great messages of the film comes from the fact that these same people seem to embrace Pee-Wee, despite his obvious differences.) The movie’s humor is often quite bizarre and surreal, and yet, once you get past the oddities, it could be argued that much of the comedy comes from realistic situations, especially given the fact that Pee-Wee visits real places throughout America. The film was written by Reubens along with future Saturday Night Live star Phil Hartman (who appeared in The Pee-Wee Herman Show stage production) and it proves that comedy can be clever and outrageous without getting dirty or scatological.

The best part about Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is that it still holds up today. The movie has a distinct timeless quality and save for a few dated things (are there still BMX racing teams?), the movie has a modern feel. This is no doubt due to the mixture of Reubens’ nostalgia for the past combined with Burton’s cutting-edge sensibilities. The result is a silly, yet smart movie which fans who have loved the movie for years can share with their children.

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure shows that men can dance on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Warner Home Video. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 20 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing only a slight hint of grain and no defects from the source material. The first thing that you’ll notice about this transfer are the colors. They aren’t perfect, but they look very good, most notably the reds and greens. The image is never overly dark or bright. The picture shows a nice level of detail and the picture has an adequate amount of depth. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. Elfman’s score sounds very good and the various instruments are distinct. The stereo effects show good separation, as do the surround effects. Subwoofer effects are a bit weak.

The Pee-Wee's Big Adventure Blu-ray Disc contains only a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Director Tim Burton and Paul Reubens. There is also a Music-only audio track with commentary from Composer Danny Elfman. The Disc contains four DELETED SCENES which run about 11 minutes. It's always interesting to see what was cut out of a movie which you're seen many times over the years, but the scenes included here all fall under the "I can see why they cut that..." category. These would have hurt the pace of the film and there isn't anything particularly funny here. "Production Sketches and Storyboards" (11 minutes) gives us many examples of art from the planning stages of the film. These are accompanied by commentary from Production Designer David L. Snyder. The final extra is the THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film.