Dear Mr. Reubens

Dear Mr Reubens

To say that Big Adventure is just about a guy looking for his bike is like saying that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is just a book about a kid riding a raft down the Mississippi river! Right? The themes found in Big Adventure are so distinct and poignant, it would be impossible to ignore them.

This brings me to my next question. Many of my fellow Big Adventure scholars say that you can tell a novice Big Adventure fan by the fact that he brings up how you can see the chain coming up from underneath the side compartment when PW is locking up his bike, or that you can see the tracks that the crazy signs are moving on when PW is driving with Mickey. It is the signs that are moving, not the car. People, they seem to remember these two things about the movie. People who notice these two things, they seem to think they are in on some secret, they seem to think that they see the movie in a way that most kids didn't when they were watching it. These are the kind of people who give Big Adventure scholars such as myself a bad name. Because of this, people in the field don't like to even talk about these two instances, known in the community as "the chain blunder" and "the sign blunder", titles which absolutely infuriate me.

You see, I think (and I hope that you agree with me) that calling these things "blunders" is a hugely insulting misnomer. They seem to be completely missing the point. Big Adventure is a post-modern meta-movie! Right? Hello! Are my fellow "scholars" too dumb to realize that it is a movie within a movie, and possibly a movie within that? Do they not notice that in the end, PW is watching a movie recap of what has just happened in the movie, while trying to slip Mickey a "foot-long" (wink!)?

What better way to reinforce the meta-movie theme than with reminders of the limitations of the movie genre itlsef. While most movies aim for suspension of disbelief, what you have done is actually ENCOURAGED disbelief in a graceful as well as absolutely hilarious way. Such genius! Such deep, sinister irony! So consistent with the American sense of wit! Right?

Whether or not these two instances were intentional or not, the fact that they remain (so presently!) in the film is a true testament to its liveliness. Blunders? Hardly! Calling those scenes blunders is like calling facial asymmetry ugly! (and in both facial asymmetry and the aforementioned "blunders," a little truly does go a long way). I am sorry that the world of Big Adventure scholars is plagued with such fools and amateurs. Surely you must now know how it felt when Einstein saw his theory of relativity used to bomb Hiroshima, or when George Michael first heard his song Faith covered by Limp Bizkit.

America has been plagued with the ailment of "taking things the wrong way," and unfortunately, beautiful things (and truly American works of art) like Big Adventure and blues music are not exempt from this cultural illness. As I have said before, the country that brought you up in beauty has condemned you. But not just you, your masterpiece.

Or wait, should I be addressing these questions/comments to Tim Burton? Please advise.

I'm Sorry For How Stupid Some People Are,

-Amazing Larry