Pee-Wee’s Playhouse that classic television show with a massive cult following is getting a 24 hour marathon on IFC this Thanksgiving. (WORD OF THE DAY: Banana’s). The announcement came via IFC’s twitter account and fans are going banana’s over the announcement. AHHHHHHH!!!!!! If you are unfamiliar with the show then you are for a sweet surprise. Pee-Wee’s Playhouse was a smash television hit that aired on Saturday mornings across the U.S. and even had a large fan base outside of the states. Paul Reubens who created and starred as the character Pee’Wee Herman originally created the persona as a fun loving adult kid for his adult focused stage show called the Pee-Wee Herman Show. It would later become a HBO Special and then turned into the show we now know and love called Pee-Wee’s Playhouse which was more geared to younger audiences.
The show ran for 5 season from 1986 to 1990 and also a Christmas Special which featured a star studded cast. The show itself had some major legendary actors and artists attached to it during its run as a series. The larger than life Phil Hartman played Captain Carl, the amazingly talented and brilliant Laurence Fishburne played Cowboy Curtis, and the unmistakably talented and inspiring actor Lynn Marie Stewart held the role of Miss Yvonne. Behind the scenes there were a number of amazingly talented artists who helped in redefining not only production design, but puppeting, and animation. The list is long for who contributed to this production but it should be noted that many of these artists come from stop motion backgrounds and even work in the animation field today. The show had so much magic in terms of design, puppetry and animation that it to this day brings joy to new audiences worldwide. The Dinosaur Family, Penny, and all the various animated intros, clips, and shorts that played during the show are some of the most classic stop motion pieces around.
The show has won numerous Emmy awards and Pee-Wee even had a number of movies featuring the character such as Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Big Top Pee-Wee, and Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday. These films brought a whole new meaning to cinema and featured some amazing talents such as Tim Burton, the Chiodo Brothers and included one of the greatest dance sequences every featuring the song Tequila. Though IFC is not airing the films the television show should be a major event for any household that wants to go bananas. AHHHHH!!!!!! The show will air on IFC at 6am Easter Standard Time Thanksgiving Day. To see the schedule and learn more about the show please visit IFC at https://www.ifc.com/shows/pee-wees-playhouse. Bananas! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Watch a clip of the intro to the show that features a lot of stop motion and clay animation.
