Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Pee-wee's Big Adventure is playing at the State Theatre on Wednesday, August 12, as part of the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series. It's a 91-minute color DCP screening of the 1985 comedy, and if you've never seen it, it's the one that put Tim Burton on the map.

The story follows Pee-wee Herman, whose idyllic world is turned upside down when his fire-engine red bicycle is stolen. What follows is a manic cross-country odyssey to get it back. It was Burton's feature-film debut, and you can still see that early energy in how it's put together. The movie is 91 minutes long, so it's a relatively quick watch, and it's being shown in color from a digital cinema package.

The screening is part of the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series, which runs at the State Theatre. The State has been the home of the Paramount Theatre on Congress Avenue for more than a century, and it's a real anchor of the city's arts scene—it hosts red-carpet premieres and screenings during SXSW and AFF. If you're a Film Fan member, you get discounted admission and free popcorn.

Doors open at 2:30 PM and the show starts at 3:30 PM, so it's a mid-afternoon thing rather than a late-night one. Parking is $6 at the 600 Congress parking garage, which is just a short walk from the theater at 155 W 7th St in downtown Austin.