PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE
Directed by Tim Burton; with Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger, and Judd Omen.
1985

Dottie: Pee Wee? Where are you calling from?
Pee Wee: Texas!
Dottie: Huh?
Pee Wee: Honest! I'll prove it! [singing] The stars at night are big and bright...
Passersby [singing and clapping]: ...deep in the heart of Texas!

The search for Pee Wee's stolen bike doesn't take place solely in Texas, but the sequences filmed in San Antonio are so memorable that it deserves to make the cut. After Madame Ruby predicts his beloved bike is being held in the basement of a famous Texas landmark, Pee Wee sets off on an adventure that crosses paths with a motley assortment of over-the-top characters. The live-action cartoon is sure to help non-Texan fans to never forget the Alamo, and at the same time remember it doesn't have a basement. Hilariously scripted by Paul Reubens and the late Phil Hartman, Pee Wee's Big Adventure shouldn't be tossed-off as a low-brow comedy -- I recently came across the theory that the film is director Tim Burton's tribute to the Italian classic The Bicycle Thief.

Paris, Texas

Pee Wee's Big Adventure

A Perfect World