Why Paul Reubens Never Concerned Himself With Pee-Wee's Backstory
Comedian Patton Oswalt once staged an imaginary conversation between himself and filmmaker George Lucas prior to the release of "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace." The film, Oswalt complained, filled in the backstories of characters he never wanted to know the backstories for. "You like Darth Vader?" the imaginary 1998 Lucas said. Yes, Oswalt responded, he loves Darth Vader. "Well now you get to see him as a little kid," Lucas replied. Oswalt was nonplussed by this news. "I don't care about where the stuff I love comes from!" he yelled. "I just love the stuff I love!"
It's been aggressively de rigueur to explore pop figures' origins since at least the release of "Batman Begins" in 2005, and one needn't think too hard to cite myriad examples of insufferable cinematic "how they came to be" tales ever since ("Wonka," anyone?). This approach can be fun, of course, but it ignores a vital element of certain well-hewn characters: Their dramatic appeal comes from who they are now, not how they came to be that way. Who cares where James Bond was born? Isn't it more exciting that he's capable, suave, and sexy right now?
In this regard, Paul Reubens' famous character Pee-wee Herman has a lot in common with James Bond. A mincing man-child, Pee-wee is obsessed with magic tricks, toys, bicycles, and kooky kitsch. He may be about 35, but behaves like he's seven. He lives in a weird and wild universe of living furniture and magical creatures. Does it matter where he was born or how he got to his Playhouse?
In a 2016 interview with the AV Club, Reubens was asked about where Pee-wee might have come from, and he admitted that he hadn't given it any thought. Pee-wee was Pee-wee, and that's all we needed.
Pee-wee is just Pee-wee
The interview came right before the release of "Pee-wee's Big Holiday," the third feature film to star the character, and the first in 28 years. When "Big Top Pee-wee" was released in 1988, the world wasn't yet obsessed with filming the origins of pop culture figures. By 2016, it seems that a Pee-wee origin story was practically expected. When Reubens was asked if that element might be a part of his "Big Holiday" screenplay, he said in plain terms that he had no interest in looking in that direction. In his words:
"I feel like I'd be dead if I did that, and I think that's a trap. A lot of people, over the amount of years I tried to reboot the whole thing, people would say to me, 'Is it "Pee-wee: Origins?" You've been gone 30 years, are you going to explain that? Where has Pee-wee been?' I sort of feel like, who cares where Pee-wee's been? The thing that I loved about — that I still like about Pee-wee Herman — is that you look at Pee-wee Herman, you know who Pee-wee Herman is. You don't need a lot of backstory."
Pee-wee was created by Reubens while he was studying comedy at the famous Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles (the same theater, incidentally, where Elvira was conceived). The school of thought involved creating a wild and funny character who would comedically clash with whatever situation you put them in. The character was born of comedic immediacy, not careful character construction or emotional motivations. Pondering a character's origin is only something that occurs once a fan has, perhaps, spent a long time with them.
'Who cares?!'
Fans of Tim Burton's 1985 film "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" understand that Pee-wee entered the film fully formed. He was a curious man devoted to his interests. That was his appeal. He was odd, he liked odd things, and he projected agency into the souls of other legitimate oddballs who were also keen to follow their hearts and pursue their childish dreams. He was a wish-fulfillment fantasy for viewers who never wanted to grow up. A Peter Pan without the tragedy.
After 28 years without seeing Pee-wee, Reubens wanted the character to remain unchanged. He was a cartoon, wearing the same suit and making the same jokes. He said:
"It didn't require a lot originally, and I don't feel like that much has changed, really. It's sort of the same thing. I just have never been interested in that. I feel like when the movie started last night, people weren't lost. People weren't like, 'Wait, what is this? What's going on?' There's not that much backstory necessary, I think. And by a 'trap' I mean like there's a lot of things that get rebooted where there's like 20 minutes of exposition at the beginning and you're like, 'Who cares?!' You lift all that out and be better off."
It's easy to get one's bearings with only a little bit of suspension of disbelief. Once you start explaining things logically, a lot of the magic disappears. Reubens, a comedian with decades of experience and mastery of Pee-wee, understood this intrinsically. Pee-wee is forever.
Paul Reubens passed away on July 31, 2023. Rest in peace to a great talent.