AllMovie

Written by the real-life identity of Pee Wee Herman (Paul Reubens), the silly slapstick comedy Big Top Pee Wee pales in comparison to the surreal comic fantasy of Pee Wee's Big Adventure. The problem partly comes from the lack of director Tim Burton, who excels at creating visually bizarre and fantastical worlds for eccentric characters to inhabit. Here, director Randal Kleiser shows little knack for creating the kind of comic book atmosphere necessary for a Pee Wee Herman movie. Also problematic is Pee Wee's supposed growth into adulthood. Where he remained naïvely asexual in the first movie, here he is engaged to be married, two-timing, and apparently loses his virginity. Especially in light of his real-world convictions of indecent exposure, these adult situations seem awkward and uncomfortable involving a character whose innocent delight in the world is what makes him so charming. The ludicrous plot and zany sight gags lose their humorous appeal in a film that literally poses Pee Wee as a circus freak.