Paul Reubens for a full-length Pee-wee Herman film. Reubens' original idea was to do a remake of "Pollyanna", which Reubens claims is his favorite film. Halfway through writing the script, Reubens noticed everyone at Warner Bros. had a bike with them, which inspired Reubens to start on a new script with Phil Hartman. When Reubens and the producers of "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" saw Tim Burton's work on "Vincent" and "Frankenweenie", they chose Burton to be the film's director. The film tells the story of Pee-wee Herman embarking on nationwide adventure in search of his stolen bicycle. The movie went on to gross
Paul Reubens put it into syndication, which CBS revoked on July 29, 1991. Reubens released a statement denying the charges. On November 7, 1991, Reubens pleaded no contest. The plea kept the charge off Reubens' record and obligated him to spend 75 hours performing community service, where he made two anti-drug public service announcements that were self-produced and financed. One PSA had Pee-Wee explaining the dangers of cocaine, and a lesser known was with a claymation character called "Penny", which had been a staple of "Pee-Wee's Playhouse". Both PSAs were praised for showing the dangers of drugs in a manner kids could