'' is a
1988 comedy
Film that tells the story of a teenaged boy who is aged to adulthood by a magical fortune-telling machine. It stars
Tom Hanks ,
Elizabeth Perkins ,
Robert Loggia ,
John Heard ,
Jared Rushton ,
David Moscow ,
Jon Lovitz and
Mercedes Ruehl . The movie was written by
Gary Ross and
Anne Spielberg , and directed by
Penny Marshall .
The movie takes place partially at
Rye Playland Amusement Park in
Rye, New York , in the
United States .
The main characters are:
- Josh Baskin - ( Tom Hanks and David Moscow ) a 12-year-old boy who magically becomes an adult overnight, although he retains his boyish charm and inexperience. As an adult, he gets a job at MacMillan's toy company.
- Susan Lawrence - ( Elizabeth Perkins ) Josh's beautiful and intelligent coworker at the toy company.
- Mac MacMillan - ( Robert Loggia ) Josh's boss at the toy company.
- Paul Davenport - ( John Heard ) Josh's bitter rival at the toy company who tries to win the respect of MacMillan and be better than Josh.
- Billy Kopecki - ( Jared Rushton ) Josh's 13-year-old best friend who keeps Josh company in New York City and ultimately finds the Zoltar Speaks machine for Josh.
After being humiliated while trying to impress an older girl at a carnival, Josh goes to a wish/fortune-telling machine, called Zoltar Speaks, in the shape of a gypsy and wishes that he were "big." The next morning, Josh wakes up to a reflection in the mirror he does not recognize: a full grown man's reflection. He leaves his family, rents an apartment in
Manhattan , and gets a job at the MacMillan Toy Company. With his boyish charms and insight into what would sell to kids, he quickly rises up the ranks of the toy company. As he does so, a romance with one of his fellow employees, Susan Lawrence, begins to develop. As Josh sees his friendship with his 13-year-old best friend, Billy Kopecki, start to fade as his relationship with Susan begins to grow, he is faced with a choice: return to his old life with his family and friends, or stay as an adult with Susan. Ultimately, he rejoins his best friend and together they find the Zoltar machine and wish him little again.
One of the film's most famous scenes features Josh and his boss, MacMillan, playing a duet on a giant foot-operated piano in the
FAO Schwartz toy store, playing ''
Chopsticks '' and ''
Heart And Soul ''.
''Big'' was received with almost unanimous critical acclaim.[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/big/] It was (and still is) generally considered the gold standard when it comes to movies in which a child is trapped in an adult's body.[http://www.imdb.com/keyword/child-as-adult/] Many critics praised Tom Hanks for his "believable" and "adorable" performance.[http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?title1=&title2=BIG%20%28MOVIE%29&reviewer=Janet%20Maslin&v_id=5343&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes]
''Big'' was nominated for
Academy Awards for
Best Actor In A Leading Role (Tom Hanks) and
Best Writing, Original Screenplay .
In
1996 , ''Big'' was musicalized for the
Broadway stage. It featured music by
David Shire , lyrics by
Richard Maltby Jr. , and a book by
John Weidman . Directed by
Mike Ockrent , and choreographed by
Susan Stroman , it opened on
April 28 ,
1996 . It was nominated for five
Tony Awards (Best Book, Best Original Score, Best Choreography, Best Actress in a musical (
Crista Moore ), and Best Featured Actor in a musical (
Brett Tabiesel ). It closed after 193 performances on
October 13 ,
1996 , and is generally considered an unsuccessful production.
