ⓘ Details

Movie TitleBig

Release DateJune 3, 1988 in the United States

TaglineHave you ever had a really big secret?

Runtime104 minutes / 1 hour 44 minutes

DirectorPenny Marshall

Screenplay Written ByGary Ross and Anne Spielberg

Based OnOriginal screenplay by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg

Is It a Remake?No. Big is an original fantasy comedy.

BudgetApproximately $18 million

Box OfficeApprox. $115.2 million domestic / approx. $151.7 million worldwide

↑ Return to Top

👥 Main Cast

Tom HanksJosh Baskin

Elizabeth PerkinsSusan Lawrence

Robert LoggiaMacMillan

John HeardPaul Davenport

Jared RushtonBilly Kopecki

David MoscowYoung Josh

Mercedes RuehlMrs. Baskin

Josh ClarkMr. Baskin

Kimberlee M. DavisCynthia Benson

Oliver BlockFreddie Benson

Erika KatzCynthia’s Friend

Allan WassermanGym Teacher

Mark BallouDerek

Jon LovitzScotty Brennen

Kevin MeaneyExecutive

↑ Return to Top

🏆 Awards

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Actor, Tom Hanks

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Original Screenplay, Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg

⭐ Golden Globe Winner — Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, Tom Hanks

⭐ Golden Globe Nominee — Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

⭐ Writers Guild of America Award Nominee — Best Original Screenplay

⭐ AFI Recognition — Ranked among the American Film Institute’s top fantasy films

⭐ Its long-term legacy is as one of Tom Hanks’ defining breakout roles and one of the most beloved high-concept comedies of the 1980s.

↑ Return to Top

📖 Short Plot Summary

Twelve-year-old Josh Baskin is embarrassed after being too short for a carnival ride and makes a wish to be “big” at a mysterious Zoltar machine. The next morning, he wakes up in the body of an adult and has to flee home with the help of his best friend Billy. While searching for a way to reverse the wish, Josh lands a job at a toy company, charms his boss with pure kid logic, and starts a relationship with coworker Susan. But the longer Josh lives as an adult, the more he realizes that growing up too fast is not the same thing as being ready.

↑ Return to Top

❝ Key Quotes

“I wish I were big.” — Josh Baskin

“I don’t get it.” — Josh Baskin

“There’s no way to explain this.” — Josh Baskin

“You’re a grown-up.” — Billy Kopecki

“What’s so special about Baskin?” — Paul Davenport

“I’m a child.” — Josh Baskin

↑ Return to Top

💡 Trivia

Director

Big was directed by Penny Marshall.
Marshall became the first woman to direct a film that grossed more than $100 million domestically.
The film balances broad wish-fulfillment comedy with a surprisingly gentle sadness about childhood, adulthood, and losing innocence.
Marshall’s direction keeps the fantasy grounded by focusing on Josh’s confusion, fear, curiosity, and emotional honesty.

Cast / Casting

Tom Hanks earned his first Academy Award nomination for playing adult Josh Baskin.
David Moscow plays young Josh, and Hanks reportedly studied Moscow’s performance to match his body language and behavior.
Elizabeth Perkins plays Susan, the adult coworker whose relationship with Josh becomes the film’s trickiest emotional territory.
Robert Loggia plays toy-company boss MacMillan and shares the famous FAO Schwarz piano scene with Hanks.
Jared Rushton plays Billy, Josh’s best friend and the only person who believes what really happened.

Soundtrack / Score

Howard Shore composed the film’s score.
The music supports the movie’s mix of magic, comedy, childhood fear, and adult-world wonder.
The FAO Schwarz floor-piano scene uses music as pure visual comedy and character bonding.
The score avoids turning the movie into a full fairy tale, keeping the emotional tone warm but slightly bittersweet.

Location

The story begins in suburban New Jersey before moving much of the action to New York City.
The famous floor-piano scene was filmed at FAO Schwarz in New York.
The carnival and Zoltar machine give the movie its magical trigger, while Josh’s New York apartment and toy-company office show the overwhelming adult world he has stumbled into.
The contrast between Josh’s childhood neighborhood and Manhattan helps sell the fantasy as both exciting and terrifying.

Behind-The-Scenes

The screenplay was written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg.
The film was produced by James L. Brooks and Robert Greenhut.
20th Century Fox released the movie in the United States on June 3, 1988.
Box Office Mojo lists the film’s domestic gross at $115,227,281.
The movie was the fourth-highest domestic grosser among 1988 releases, behind Rain Man, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Coming to America.

Nostalgia

Big is one of the definitive 1980s body-swap and wish-fulfillment comedies.
The Zoltar machine, bunk-bed apartment, toy testing, trampoline scene, and floor piano became instantly recognizable movie memories.
The film captures a pre-digital childhood world of carnivals, arcades, walkie-talkie friendship, toy stores, and handwritten clues.
Its central idea still works because nearly everyone has wished to be older, then eventually wished they could go back.

Easter Eggs

The Zoltar machine became one of the most famous fictional fortune-telling machines in movie history.
The FAO Schwarz piano sequence became so iconic that it is often referenced whenever the film is discussed.
The toy-company setting lets the movie turn adult business meetings into a child’s common-sense playground.
Josh’s repeated inability to understand adult corporate logic is one of the movie’s smartest running jokes.
The ending keeps the fantasy simple and emotional, returning Josh to childhood with the memory of adulthood but without making him cynical.

Misc.

Big is rated PG.
Tom Hanks won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.
The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.
The extended edition runs longer than the theatrical cut, but the theatrical runtime is commonly listed at 104 minutes.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists Big as Episode 60, with Don rating it 3.00, Ken rating it 4.00, Jon rating it 3.00, and an overall rating of 3.33.

↑ Return to Top