Paul Reubens the ethics of reciprocity. Reubens believed that children liked the "Playhouse" because it was fast-paced, colorful and "never talked them down"; while parents liked the "Playhouse" because it reminded them of the past. In 1986, Reubens (billed as Paul Mall) was the voice of the ship's computer in "Flight of the Navigator". In 1987, Reubens provided the voice of REX, the main robot in the George Lucas produced Disneyland attraction, Star Tours, and reprised the role of Pee-wee Herman in cameo appearances in the film "Back to the Beach" and TV show "Sesame Street", the latter of which made a
Paul Reubens $40,940,662 domestically, recouping almost six times its $7 million budget. At the time of release in 1985, the film received mixed reviews, but "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" developed into a cult film. After seeing the success of "Pee-wee's Big Adventure", the CBS network approached Reubens with an ill-received cartoon series proposal. In 1986, CBS agreed to sign Reubens to act, produce, and direct his live-action children's program, "Pee-wee's Playhouse", with a budget of $325,000 per episode, the same price as a prime-time sitcom, and no creative interference from CBS; although CBS did request a few minor changes throughout the years. After