# Anyone else remember the alternate ending to "Big"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 16, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864 "2002-04-16T02:03:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/181 "2014-02-21T17:09:33Z")
> [@DollyT](#): > > A home video release of this movie in New Zealand is rumored to have included the full version. It shows young Josh sitting in his classroom at school, when he turns around to notice a young female classmate of whom he recognises as Susan - who went back to the fairground machine and wished that she was Josh’s age. The US DVD release of this film was cut to exclude the word Fuck being said. It simply shows Josh and Billy walking up their street, then the credits roll in. The next scene was supposed to bring them to the classroom but it was cut. I heard the same story, but the hook was on his foot… ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/182 "2014-02-21T18:57:09Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Since no one appears to have ever followed up on this, although I am certain Unca Cece and any number of well-connected Dopers could do so easily… I have today written to Tom Hanks, Penny Marshall and Gary Ross to get a definitive answer to the question. I would expect at least staff replies from all three. Will post, of course. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/183 "2014-02-21T19:18:10Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Thank you. Oh, don’t thank me… yet. We could all turn out to be w… wr… w-w… wrrr… Stay tuned. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/184 "2014-02-21T19:27:11Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Thank you. And I thank you…but it won’t matter one bit. If someone isn’t going to read the thread before responding, it doesn’t matter _what_ the thread contains. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/185 "2014-02-21T19:28:52Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Oh, don’t thank me… yet. > > We could all turn out to be w… wr… w-w… wrrr… > > Stay tuned. I’d be perfectly happy to be wrong - I’d just like to have a definitive answer from someone in the know. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/186 "2014-02-21T19:37:54Z")
FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK Is this the rest of my life? I’m like, innocently reading the Dope when I should be working, and turn to Cafe Society, and this thread pops up? And I know how it will go. How will it go? Someone will say, “Yeah, I remember the alternate ending to Big. It showed in New Zealand. Once. In 1987. And today I saw Big again, and the ending was different! And I thought I’d bump this thread but not read it!” And wow! It turns out I was totally right. That was exactly what happened. Just like the other half dozen times this thread has been bumped. FUTURE PEOPLE OF THE FUTURE, HEED MY WARNING Yes, you, the one reading this in the future. Read the whole thread! Before you bump it! Yes, skip back and don’t just necropost. And now, to predict the future…I see…I see…I see a man…at a computer…years from now…he is ignoring my words…FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/187 "2014-02-21T20:35:05Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Unless you have a clip from this alleged NZ home video release you’re just repeating what has been said multiple times in this thread. There is a special New Zealand version but it was only seen by sheep and Hobbits. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/188 "2014-02-21T20:49:44Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And I thank you…but it won’t matter one bit. If someone isn’t going to read the thread before responding, it doesn’t matter _what_ the thread contains. Perhaps we can get a mod to sticky a SEE POST 195 insert at the beginning, once I make the post. But no. Someone will claim they watched it from the grassy knoll or something. ---
**Author:** ![chancetx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@chancetx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chancetx)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/189 "2014-02-21T21:36:11Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I heard the same story, but the hook was on his foot… It just doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/190 "2014-02-21T21:40:54Z")
“I understood that reference!” -Captain America ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/191 "2014-02-21T21:46:32Z")
You know what’s really interesting? When I looked at the SDMB in New Zealand, I couldn’t find this thread! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/192 "2014-02-21T22:07:49Z")
> [@chancetx](#): > > it just doesn’t matter. Yes, IT JUST DOESNT MATTER! ---
**Author:** ![Melchior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Melchior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melchior)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/193 "2014-02-21T22:13:07Z")
I saw \*Big \*in the theatre and on VHS and on TV and have never seen but the one ending where the kid is walking down the street. ---
**Author:** ![bowspearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/59ef9b/32.png) [@bowspearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bowspearer)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/194 "2014-02-21T22:18:55Z")
Actually at the risk of throwing gasoline on a fire, I actually remember a different alternate ending. The one I remember is of him going back home as normal, but then later that night, he’s outside his house and a 13 year old Susan shows up. The scene would have been 30 seconds in total. Maybe I’m thinking of another movie, but I’m almost dead certain I’m thinking of an alternate ending for Big. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/195 "2014-02-21T22:22:50Z")
> [@bowspearer](#): > > Actually at the risk of throwing gasoline on a fire, I actually remember a different alternate ending. The one I remember is of him going back home as normal, but then later that night, he’s outside his house and a 13 year old Susan shows up. The scene would have been 30 seconds in total. Maybe I’m thinking of another movie, but I’m almost dead certain I’m thinking of an alternate ending for Big. No. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/196 "2014-02-21T22:23:57Z")
You all realize that once this is settled, the argument will turn to the suppressed alternate beginning of “Little.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/197 "2014-02-21T22:29:18Z")
> [@bowspearer](#): > > Actually at the risk of throwing gasoline on a fire, I actually remember a different alternate ending. The one I remember is of him going back home as normal, but then later that night, he’s outside his house and a 13 year old Susan shows up. The scene would have been 30 seconds in total. Maybe I’m thinking of another movie, but I’m almost dead certain I’m thinking of an alternate ending for Big. Did you read through this thread before posting this? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/198 "2014-02-21T22:35:33Z")
> [@bowspearer](#): > > Actually at the risk of throwing gasoline on a fire, I actually remember a different alternate ending. The one I remember is of him going back home as normal, but then later that night, he’s outside his house and a 13 year old Susan shows up. The scene would have been 30 seconds in total. Maybe I’m thinking of another movie, but I’m almost dead certain I’m thinking of an alternate ending for Big. Yeaaaaah…no. Read the thread, for the love of Kate Upton in Zero Gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/199 "2014-02-21T22:40:10Z")
The real ending is when the much older Josh talks to his younger self on an old CB radio and tells him not to make the wish. Josh then grows up, is stranded on an island and dies of AIDS acquired from a dirty volleyball. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/200 "2014-02-21T22:40:35Z")
Surprise level upon seeing two “Join Date: Feb 2014” - zero. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Since no one appears to have ever followed up on this, although I am certain Unca Cece and any number of well-connected Dopers could do so easily… I have today written to Tom Hanks, Penny Marshall and Gary Ross to get a definitive answer to the question. I would expect at least staff replies from all three. Will post, of course. That is very cool of you! (And won’t do a lick of good, but will justify my fury at the future posters, so thanks for that!) > [@Czarcasm](#): > > No. And now I’m picturing **Czarcasm** as [Michael Caine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjkRw2GAxRo&t=0m15s). 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=11)