FAQ

It's true that Josh does display behaviour throughout the movie that may seem "idiotic". from other people's points of view, but that's because Josh is actually a 12-year-old in a adult's body (or an adult with the mental capacity and memories of someone who has only lived for 13 years, depending on how you look at it). This unusual situation, how it came about and how it affects his life, is pretty much the core premise of the whole film.

Second answer: Now, if in raising this question, it is being suggested that Josh's behaviour is simply "idiotic" even for the age of 12-13, then there are a few things to consider here: 1. This film is intended to first and foremost be a comedy, and as such exaggerations of people's words and actions are to be expected for comedic effect. 2. The film is written and directed by adults, who do perhaps not have the same perceptions on how kids that age behave as someone actually at that age might have. 3. For most of the film, the 12 year old is also being interpreted by an adult actor, which further calls for inevitable distortions, if not but for comedic effect and also due to that thing called "act your age". 4. This film is over 30 years old by now, times and views undoubtedly have changed in every aspect regarding to the question.

Arguably, yes! Since Josh is actually a 12-year-old in an adult's body (or an adult with the mental capacity and memories of someone who has only lived 12 years, depending on how you look at it), 28 year old Susan could technically go to jail for having slept with him on the grounds of statutory rape. That angle is, however, never addressed in the film. Instead, the whole scenario is played out pretty much for laughs, and then with Josh even depicted in all smiles the day after, perfectly pleased and happy about it all. Response: As Josh is in the body of an adult, works as a professional in a company, it would seem a valid legal defense that Susan did not know (or would be expected to believe) that Josh was 12 or 13. Of course magical aging or reversal though a fairground machine clearly sits in the realms of fantasy, so to ask the question is a bit like is Jessica and Roger Rabbit beastiality.

After being told that he is too short to go on a carnival ride, 12-year-old idiot preteen Joshua "Josh" Baskin (David Moscow) makes a wish on a "Zoltar Speaks" fortune-telling machine and asks to be big. Zoltan says that the wish will be granted and, to Josh's astonishment, the next morning he has grown into the body of a 30-year-old but still retains his 12-year-old mind. Now unrecognizable by his mother, grown-up Josh (Tom Hanks) is forced to strike out on his own. With the help of his best friend Billy Kopecky (Jared Rushton), he takes the bus to New York, gets a job at the MacMillan toy company, shares a romantic interlude with co-worker Susan (Elizabeth Perkins), and tries to find another Zoltar machine so that he can wish his 12-year-old body back. But is that what he really wants to do?

American screenwriters Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg wrote the screenplay for the movie.

First, they play "Heart and Soul" then "Chopsticks".

Though some believe it to be Colossal (Cave) Adventure or an early Sierra Game, no known game up to 1988 accepts the commands "melt ice wizard" or "throw thermal pod" (as used in the movie), therefore one can assume the game screen was simply created for the movie.

Josh walks out of the board meeting and catches a cab to Sea Point Park where the Zoltar machine is now set up. He puts in his quarter and wishes to be a kid again. Susan, who has followed him, catches up. Realizing that his wish has been granted and finally believing that he is really a kid, she asks how old he is. "Thirteen," he tells her, having just had a birthday. Susan offers to drive him home, but tells him to keep her phone number and: "Maybe in ten years...?" As they pull up in front of Josh's house, Josh bends over to kiss Susan goodbye, but she kisses his forehead instead. As he walks up the street to his house, his clothes start becoming baggy. Now back to being a 13-year-old, Josh turns to smile at Susan one last time, then runs into the house where his mother is overjoyed to see him home. In the final scene, Josh and Billy walk up the street together, pushing their bikes and chanting the words to their hand game.

The space goes down, down baby, down, down the roller coaster. Sweet, sweet baby, sweet, sweet, don't let me go. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock. I met a girlfriend - a triscuit. She said, a triscuit - a biscuit. Ice cream, soda pop, vanilla on the top. Ooh, Shelly's out, walking down the street, ten times a week. I read it. I said it. I stole my momma's credit. I'm cool. I'm hot. Sock me in the stomach three more times.

On DVD, an Extended Edition of this Tom Hanks' classic has been released that contains nearly 30 minutes of new footage, making the movie over 130 minutes long. The Extended Edition shows a more distinct development of certain characters. There are for example scenes of the younger Josh (David Moscow), that give a better understanding about his wish to acquire adulthood faster. There are also scenes about the "adult" Josh, wishing to become a kid again and there's even more. In the UK, the movie was cut in order to get the PG rating from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). A short scene in which you can hear the word "fuck" was left out.