Big (1988 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Penny Marshall |
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| Music by | Howard Shore |
| Cinematography | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| Edited by | Barry Malkin |
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Production
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $151.7 million |
Big is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Penny Marshall, and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" and is then aged to adulthood overnight. The film also stars Elizabeth Perkins, David Moscow as small Josh, John Heard, and Robert Loggia, and was written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg.
Twelve-year-old Josh Baskin, who lives with his parents and infant sister in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, is told he is too short for a carnival ride called the Ring of Fire, while attempting to impress Cynthia Benson, an older girl. He puts a coin into an unusual antique arcade fortune teller machine called Zoltar Speaks, and makes a wish to be "big". It dispenses a card stating "Your wish is granted", but Josh is spooked to see it was unplugged the entire time.
The next morning, Josh has been transformed into a 30-year-old man. He tries to find the Zoltar machine, only to see an empty plaza, the carnival having moved on. Returning home, he tries to explain his predicament to his mother, who refuses to listen and then threatens him, thinking he is a stranger who kidnapped her son. Fleeing from her, he then finds his best friend, Billy Kopecki, and convinces him of his identity by singing a rap that only they know. With Billy's help, he learns that it will take a long time to find the machine, so Josh rents a flophouse room in New York City and gets a job as a data entry clerk at MacMillan Toy Company.
Josh runs into the company's owner, Mr. MacMillan, at FAO Schwarz, and impresses him with his insight into current toys and his childlike enthusiasm. They play a duet on a foot-operated electronic keyboard, performing "Heart and Soul" and "Chopsticks." This earns Josh a promotion to a dream job: getting paid to test toys as Vice President in Charge of Production. With his promotion, his larger salary enables him to move into a spacious luxury apartment, which he and Billy fill with toys, a rigged Pepsi vending machine dispensing free drinks, and a pinball machine. He soon attracts the attention of Susan Lawrence, a fellow MacMillan executive. A romance begins to develop, to the annoyance of her ruthless former boyfriend and coworker, Paul Davenport. Josh becomes increasingly entwined in his "adult" life by spending time with her, mingling with her friends, and being in a steady relationship. His ideas become valuable assets to MacMillan Toys; however, he begins to forget what it is like to be a child, and he never has time to hang out with his best friend Billy because of his busy schedule.
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