Tubi has dropped its full slate of new catalog additions for April, and it has some heavy hitters. Gremlins, The Mask, The Suicide Squad, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, and 2004’s Hellboy are among the new movies now streaming free. However, one movie towers over them all as one of the best films ever made, and in-turn, one of the funniest: Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure dropped in 1985 and served as the big coming-out party for both comedy icon Paul Reubens and legendary director Tim Burton. It’s all about a peculiar, whimsical guy (Reubens in-character as Pee-Wee Herman) who goes on an epic journey to find his prized possession: a bicycle. Along the way, he meets a series of colorful characters, like the crush-stricken bike shop employee Dottie (E.G. Daily) and the mysterious truck driver Large Marge (Alice Nunn). It’s goofy, it’s silly, and it’s just so fun. The neverending series of gags, paired with a reliable road-trip movie film structure and Burton-led craftmanship is just a joy to watch for viewers of all ages.
As with all movies on Tubi, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is streaming for free. While you will have to watch ads, the movie — written by Reubens, Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol — is well worth the commercial breaks.
Sadly, watching Pee Wee’s Big Adventure in 2024 is also a somewhat bittersweet experience. Reubens is no longer with us; he died of acute hypoxic respiratory failure on July 30, 2023, after privately dealing with cancer for years.
“I’ll never forget how Paul helped me at the beginning of my career,” Burton wrote on Instagram in response to the news. “It would not have happened without his support. He was a great artist. I’ll miss him.”