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Big

  • 1988
  • PG
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
250K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,730
112
Tom Hanks in Big (1988)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:25
4 Videos
56 Photos
Body Swap ComedyComing-of-AgeHigh-Concept ComedyComedyDramaFantasyRomance

After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.

  • Director
    • Penny Marshall
  • Writers
    • Gary Ross
    • Anne Spielberg
  • Stars
    • Tom Hanks
    • Elizabeth Perkins
    • Robert Loggia
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    250K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,730
    112
    • Director
      • Penny Marshall
    • Writers
      • Gary Ross
      • Anne Spielberg
    • Stars
      • Tom Hanks
      • Elizabeth Perkins
      • Robert Loggia
    • 302User reviews
    • 107Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 11 wins & 14 nominations total

    Videos4

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:25
    Official Trailer
    Big
    Trailer 1:16
    Big
    Big
    Trailer 1:16
    Big
    'Big' 30th Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:01
    'Big' 30th Anniversary Mashup
    What Roles Has Tom Hanks Turned Down?
    Video 3:22
    What Roles Has Tom Hanks Turned Down?

    Photos56

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    Top cast67

    Edit
    Tom Hanks
    Tom Hanks
    • Josh
    Elizabeth Perkins
    Elizabeth Perkins
    • Susan
    Robert Loggia
    Robert Loggia
    • MacMillan
    John Heard
    John Heard
    • Paul
    Jared Rushton
    Jared Rushton
    • Billy
    David Moscow
    David Moscow
    • Young Josh
    Jon Lovitz
    Jon Lovitz
    • Scotty Brennen
    Mercedes Ruehl
    Mercedes Ruehl
    • Mrs. Baskin
    Josh Clark
    Josh Clark
    • Mr. Baskin
    Kimberlee M. Davis
    • Cynthia Benson
    Oliver Block
    • Freddie Benson
    Erika Katz
    Erika Katz
    • Cynthia's Friend
    Allan Wasserman
    • Gym Teacher
    Mark Ballou
    Mark Ballou
    • Derek
    Gary Howard Klar
    Gary Howard Klar
    • Ticket Taker
    • (as Gary Klar)
    Alec Von Sommer
    • First Brother
    Chris Dowden
    • Second Brother
    Rockets Redglare
    Rockets Redglare
    • Motel Clerk
    • Director
      • Penny Marshall
    • Writers
      • Gary Ross
      • Anne Spielberg
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews302

    7.3250.3K
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    Featured reviews

    ngorevic

    Special

    For some reason this movie makes me well up with tears of joy every single second I'm watching it. I think it's the concept of adults discovering the children inside themselves. The simple innocence and well-meaning intent of josh baskins in this movie is like a magic elixir that changes everyone and everything he comes in contact with.

    This movie is amazing because I saw it when it came out, when I was 13 years old, the same age as josh baskins in the movie, and I loved it then. It speaks to you as a child because it's completely realistic, everything is just the way a kid would see it. Most of the time when adults try to simulate what it's like to be a child, they fail miserably (see all the 80's anti-drug propaganda ads as an example). It takes an immense amount of creativity and sensitivity to be able to write something like this. But then when I see this movie as an adult, it speaks to me on a completely different level. This film is a lesson to adults as well as children. Don't miss out on the fun and spirit of life! Don't get to wrapped up in your petty concerns of status and materialism, just try to enjoy every moment the most that you can, because you'll never get another chance to relive each moment of your life.

    Any of these fools that didn't like this movie are just that, they've probably missed out completely on the message because they can't remember what it was like to be a kid, to see the world as one big optimistic toy you're lucky to be able to play with. Think about that and see this movie again if you don't remember how amazing it is...

    >
    8Andreas_N

    Growing up as a lesson of life

    This movie is great. I mean, really. That's what every boy dreams of - becoming an adult overnight! It's absolutely gorgeous to see Tom Hanks' performance - that's real acting, it requires a lot to play this part as genuinely and cordial as he did. The message is so clear and so honest. The nostalgic edge is of such profound significance to the story. It's about the differences between being a kid and being an adult. It's about two very different perceptions of the same world that surrounds us. It's just us and how we make the best out of every day of our lives, and all it needs is to see the world through the eyes of a kid. A kid perceives all the things differently, with much more native and modest simplicity - the keystone to imagination and magic, the keystone to cherish the daily miracles in our lives. This movie has a deep and very pervasive message. It has so much charm and vitality mingled with nostalgia and witchcraft. One of those movies I enjoyed watching when I was a kid. Recommended.
    Angel-77

    In "Big", it's the little things that count

    "Big" is a magnificent movie. Tom Hanks portrays a young boy trapped in the body of a grown man. Imagine one morning, to find yourself trapped in an unfamiliar body. Mr. Hanks creates a vivid character and plays a convincing role as a 13 year old boy who has to deal with the confusion of this sudden change. The child shines through the grown man throughout the movie, in classic scenes such as his first day on the job at the MacMillan Toy Company when he curls his legs underneath him to sit at his desk, and at the company cocktail party when the entire staff chuckles at his choice in tuxedo and his first reaction is to check the fly on his white-sequined pants. Also his nervousness and restlessness during a marketing meeting, and the way he holds up his hand and waits to be called on before making a comment, are all childlike actions. Such small details are what make the character so convincing and Tom Hanks pulls it off brilliantly.
    bppihl

    A terrific comedy/fantasy and great early role for Tom Hanks

    Tom Hanks earned his first Oscar nomination in the late 1980s with the Penny Marshall comedy/fantasy "Big." I saw it for the first time when I was about 9, and have loved it ever since. I like how it is aimed at both the kid and adult in all of us!

    Young Josh Baskin (David Moscow) goes with his family to a carnival one evening, and sees the girl of his dreams. When he finally works up the nerve to talk to her, her date appears with her. Then, he does not meet the height requirement for the roller coaster ride he wants to go on. So, off he goes to a deserted part of the carnival to the "Zoltar" machine, a devil's head encased in glass, to "make his wish." He wishes he "were big." Suffice it to say, Josh wakes up the next morning to discover he is an adult (Tom Hanks). Mom (Mercedes Ruehl) thinks he kidnapped her son, and calls the police. Josh eventually convinces best friend Billy (Jared Rushton) that he (Josh) is his true 13-year-old self trapped in a man's body. They take off to New York, where Josh manages to get a job as a product tester for a large toy company. He befriends the boss (Robert Loggia), who likes Josh's understanding of the toys kids really like. However, Josh finds himself at odds with Paul (John Heard), vice president of marketing, who perceives Josh's simplistic views as an invasion of Paul's more experienced, competitive ways. Never fear, as successful co-worker Susan Lawerence (Elizabeth Perkins) finds comfort in Josh's views and company, and falls in love with him. But the more Josh experiences the privileges and responsibilities of adulthood, the more he longs for his youth again. Should he stay with Susan or find the Zoltar machine and wish to be a kid again?

    An impressive film about growing up and making wishes. When you're a kid, you can't wait to grow up. But when you're an adult, you have to make sacrifices and accept responsibility, ideal and not-so-ideal. Also, be careful what you wish for, as you might get it! A Broadway musical version of "Big" opened in the mid-1990s. The piano dancing sequence is its trademark. I had the privilege to play the role of Paul (the John Heard character) in a summer musical production, and loved it! I highly recommend both the film and the musical!
    10toffeefan

    This movie captures the innocence of youth beautifully

    I saw this film again yesterday for what must now be the tenth or so time and it's a film that makes me stop whatever I'm doing and immerse myself in the unfolding story. Never mind the fact that I am by now familiar with the premise, which incidentally far exceeds similar ones of the genre released at this time - Vice Versa and 18 Again (the latter being truly dire).

    I think this is one of Hanks' finest hours and see it as the pinnacle of his early pre-90's career. His later performance in Philadelphia would eclipse this role, although this was obviously more serious in its message.

    It takes real talent to act the young boy in the body of a thirty something and Hanks' copes admirably, from the comical leaping around the bedroom when he is trying to put on the jeans of the child on discovering his transformation to the child-like reaction displayed on Perkins' advances toward him. He captures the essence of youthful innocence both in the company of his younger peers and older 'work' colleagues.

    Elizabeth Perkins complements the performance of Hanks' and it seems a shame that on searching the database that her career perhaps hasn't mirrored the success of Hanks' since making 'Big'.

    I don't know why, but I always shed a tear at the end of the film. Perhaps it is the longing in all of us to want to return to the days of our youth and that we cannot turn back the clock as one can in the imaginary world of film.

    As I grow older, and watch my children grow-up it makes me realise that time is a precious commodity and that life is a gift that should be cherished and nurtured carefully. This film somehow reinforces these feelings.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to Robert Loggia, on the day they filmed the famous Walking Piano scene at FAO Schwarz, he and Tom Hanks noticed that doubles dressed like them were on hand just in case they could not do the dance moves correctly. It became their goal to do the entire number without the aid of the doubles. They succeeded.
    • Goofs
      Before Josh and MacMillan play the Walking Piano at FAO Schwarz, Josh throws a bag down on the ground. When they leave he leaves it there and doesn't take it with him.
    • Quotes

      Josh: Will you please leave? I got a deadline to meet. Gosh.

      Billy: Who the fuck do you think you are ?

      Josh: *Hey*!

      Billy: You're Josh Baskin, remember? You broke your arm on my roof! You hid in *my* basement when Robert Dyson was about to rip your head off!

      Josh: You don't get it, do you? This is important!

      Billy: I'm your best friend. What's more important than that, huh?

      [Turns to leave]

      Billy: And I'm three months older than you are, *asshole*!

    • Alternate versions
      The Extended Edition is 130 minutes. It was released in 2007, and contains 26 minutes of previously deleted scenes, including Frances Fisher's role as Mrs. Kopecki.
    • Connections
      Edited into 5 Second Movies: Big (2008)
    • Soundtracks
      The Way We Were
      Written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Marvin Hamlisch

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    FAQ28

    • How long is Big?Powered by Alexa
    • Why is Josh acting like an 'idiot'?
    • Does this film really depict an incident of statutory rape in a lighthearted way?
    • What is 'Big' about?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 3, 1988 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Quisiera ser grande
    • Filming locations
      • Rye Playland, Rye, New York, USA(where Josh finds Zoltar at the end of the film)
    • Production companies
      • Twentieth Century Fox
      • Gracie Films
      • American Entertainment Partners II L.P.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $18,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $115,227,281
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $8,216,190
      • Jun 5, 1988
    • Gross worldwide
      • $151,927,281
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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