A fateful meeting with a mysterious stranger inspires Pee-wee to take his first-ever holiday. Pee-wee decides to leave his hometown of Fairville and go to New York to celebrate Joe's birthday party, before getting caught up in wacky hijinks and trouble across the country.
By its nature, this latest Pee-wee film retreads some of the same material, though in the most respectful way. That said, it does the best possible job rekindling the spirit that made Pee-wee's Big Adventure a timeless delight.
Aside from being as funny as it is elementary, it will remind you of how this masterpiece character transcends age, and instill hope that he'll have more adventures before he can no longer leave his playhouse.
The adventure which ensues has as much nuttiness as you would expect, even if it lacks the innovative governing vision that Burton brought to the original.
I laughed long and hard at Pee-wee's corny puns and throwback sensibilities, a satirical reflection of times when innuendo wasn't always intentional, but was all the funnier for it.
It's like one of the so-so "Muppets" movies, where you're happy to see the characters back on screen again, yet slightly impatient that they've forgotten to bring enough jokes.
