* BreakthroughHit: This was Creator/TimBurton's directorial feature debut. He had previously directed some short films.
* CaliforniaDoubling: Most of the "Texas" scenes are shot in California. The Dinosaur Park is a locally famous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabazon_Dinosaurs landmark in Cabazon]], while the rodeo scenes were shot at the L.A. County Fairgrounds. Scenes done inside The Alamo were shot at [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Fernando The Mission San Fernando Rey de España]] in Los Angeles but the shots of Pee-wee entering and exiting The Alamo are of the real [=McCoy=].
* DeletedScene: The Amazing Larry moment and the Boomerang Bowtie were both explained in cut footage that can be found on the DVD:
** Amazing Larry's brief, odd appearance was supposed to be a BrickJoke, but the setup was cut out, leaving it an OrphanedReference. Earlier in the movie, Larry ran into Pee-wee at the strip mall and asked for advice on a new hairstyle to help liven up his stage magic act. The payoff of him settling on a ridiculous Mohawk is the only part that ended up in the finished film.
** Conversely, the Boomeraning Bowtie bit leaves in the setup but cuts out the payoff: it was to be used by Pee-wee to escape a Western movie set by tossing it into one window and having it fly back out through another, with Pee-wee using the distraction to sneak away from the studio security team.
* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny: Creator/JanHooks improvised the dialogue for her scenes as the Alamo tour guide.
* HeyItsThatSound: The ''Series/FamilyFeud'' "clang" is heard when Pee-wee's breakfast is done.
* InspirationForTheWork: Halfway through writing the script, Creator/PaulReubens noticed everyone at Creator/WarnerBros had a bike to get around the backlot, and so he requested one of his own.
* MethodActing: Pee-wee's snake phobia was ''not'' acting. Paul Reubens' screams of terror as he's forced to save them from the burning pet shop were completely real.
* RealitySubtext:
** During the scene when Pee-wee is wheeled out of the bike shop on a gurney, actress Elizabeth Daily's face went completely white. After filming the scene, Reubens asked her what was wrong and she replied to him that the scene had brought back painful memories of seeing her then-boyfriend, Jon-Erik Hexum, being wheeled off of a set on a gurney after accidentally and fatally shooting himself.
** The scene immediately before that, where Pee-wee returns to the bike shop after finding out his bike's been stolen, was filmed while Paul Reubens was sick with the flu. This is why he honks his bike horn as he falls down and knocks over the row of bikes -- he was originally supposed to scream, but he was too weak to do so.
* StarMakingRole: This was the movie that catapulted Pee-wee Herman (and by extension Creator/PaulReubens) into becoming a household name.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** This was originally pitched as a loose remake of Creator/PaulReubens' favorite film, ''Film/{{Pollyanna|1960}}''. While writing the original draft, he noticed how everyone at Creator/WarnerBros was getting around by bicycle and requested his own. He received a spiffy, heavily-accessorized one, inspiring him to overhaul the original plot and write a new story around the bike (which would eventually become a loose remake of a different film, ''Film/BicycleThieves''). Meanwhile, the ''Pollyanna'' influence would be revisited in the indirect sequel ''Film/BigTopPeeWee''.
** In exchange for Elvira playing the Biker Mama, Reubens was supposed to have repaid the favor by appearing on her weekly syndicated horror show, ''Movie Macabre''. Coincidentally, John Paragon (the actor who played Jambi the Genie on ''Series/PeeWeesPlayhouse'') was also a regular on ''Movie Macabre'', in which he played "The Breather," a disembodied voice who'd call Elvira during intermission and would tell bad jokes.
** Among the actresses who were considered for the role of Dottie before it ultimately went to Creator/ElizabethDaily were Creator/LauraDern, Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh, Lori Loughlin and Creator/LeaThompson.
** Creator/CoreyFeldman was originally offered the role of Francis Buxton but turned the role down due to scheduling conflicts with ''Film/TheGoonies''.
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