Big Top Pee-wee, 1988's sequel, was less successful than its predecessor.
Reubens says that there is no specific source for "Pee-wee" but rather a collection of ideas.
Pee-wee's voice originated in 1970 when Reubens appeared in a production of Life with Father, where he was cast as one of the most obnoxious characters in the play, for which Reubens adopted a cartoon-like way of speaking that would become Pee-wee's.
The arrest set off a chain reaction of national media attention that changed the general public's view of Reubens and Pee-wee.
The arrest postponed Reubens' involvement in major projects until 1999 when he appeared in several big-budget projects including Mystery Men and Blow and started giving interviews as himself rather than as Pee-wee.
During the mid-1980s, Reubens traveled the United States with a whole new The Pee-wee Herman Show, playing notably at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Caroline's in New York City and, in 1984, in front of a full Carnegie Hall.
The success of The Pee-wee Herman Show prompted Warner Bros.
to hire Reubens to write a script for a full-length Pee-wee Herman film.
Reubens' original idea was to do a remake of Pollyanna, which Reubens claims is his favorite film.
The film tells the story of Pee-wee Herman embarking on nationwide adventure in search of his stolen bicycle.
The movie went on to gross $40,940,662 domestically, recouping almost six times its $7 million budget.
Halfway through writing the script, Reubens noticed everyone at Warner Bros.