# 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:** 16
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/301 "2014-09-09T02:15:17Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > Even the director’s word might not be enough to convince you? If it’s a from a convincing source, it would be pretty strong evidence. But what’s your point? You don’t have the director’s word, so the point is moot. You’re asking me to hypothetically evaluate a piece of evidence that doesn’t exist. How could I do that? ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/302 "2014-09-09T02:19:26Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Bring us _any evidence_ besides your memories. We have lots of reasons to believe that no such ending was ever filmed, let alone released. So far you’ve presented bubkis for the other side. But we are each claiming to have seen a different ending for the movie. I am not claiming that YOUR ending doesn’t exist, yet you ARE claiming that my ending doesn’t exist. Therefore, the burden of proof is stronger for YOUR claim. I am saying A and B both exist, whereas YOU are saying B absolutely does not exist. So far, the most evidence anyone has come up with is “It’s not on YouTube”, “A second hand source claims an actress who wouldn’t even have been in the scene, claims it wasn’t filmed.”, and “There’s another movie that has a similar scene (which I never saw)” Not really convincing. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/303 "2014-09-09T02:21:21Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > If it’s a from a convincing source, it would be pretty strong evidence. But what’s your point? You don’t have the director’s word, so the point is moot. You’re asking me to hypothetically evaluate a piece of evidence that doesn’t exist. How could I do that? My point is, do you think Kevin Bacon was in Footloose? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/304 "2014-09-09T02:22:31Z")
1. Vaccines cause autism. 2. Fan Death. 3. The alternate ending to Big. Things that don’t exist in the real world, but people continue to insist they could be real. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/305 "2014-09-09T02:25:41Z")
This thread is compelling, at least to me, because of the sheer stubbornness of those who claim to have seen an alternative ending. Of course what Elizabeth Perkins said isn’t definitive, but she was one of the stars of the movie. She was aware of the rumor. She wasn’t speaking as an interested third party. There were script meetings, screenings, press junkets and interviews. There were cast parties, wrap parties, gossip, idle talk, group dinners etc… Of course she didn’t have to be there for the actual filming of the mythical alternative ending, but it’s almost certain she would have known about it. Penny Marshall, where are you? ---
**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:** [September 9, 2014, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/306 "2014-09-09T03:15:14Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > If it’s a from a convincing source, it would be pretty strong evidence. But what’s your point? You don’t have the director’s word, so the point is moot. You’re asking me to hypothetically evaluate a piece of evidence that doesn’t exist. How could I do that? Why the hell should we go through the trouble of getting her to say it was never filmed if afterwards you’re just going to say that her word just isn’t good enough? Tell us right now what the payoff is going to be for us jumping through your stupid hoop, or it just ain’t gonna happen. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/307 "2014-09-09T03:25:42Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > I graduated in 1978. The rumor was discussed to death all three years of high school. Dude, you went to one boring high school. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/308 "2014-09-09T04:39:04Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > But we are each claiming to have seen a different ending for the movie. I am not claiming that YOUR ending doesn’t exist, yet you ARE claiming that my ending doesn’t exist. Therefore, the burden of proof is stronger for YOUR claim. I am saying A and B both exist, whereas YOU are saying B absolutely does not exist. So far, the most evidence anyone has come up with is “It’s not on YouTube”, “A second hand source claims an actress who wouldn’t even have been in the scene, claims it wasn’t filmed.”, and “There’s another movie that has a similar scene (which I never saw)” Not really convincing. Here’s the problem: you’re not saying this scene _could_ exist somewhere, you’re saying you saw it. That means it was a released ending. Is it possible a scene could have been shot with just the kids and left on the cutting room floor? Sure, even though there’s some evidence against it. You’re saying that the movie was originally released with a SIGNIFICANTLY different ending that nobody can find a copy of and that at least one main actor in the movie states wasn’t even filmed. Despite it being a popular, well-known, emotionally resonant film. And that this ending (which, I might add, doesn’t sound particularly fitting with the general emotional tone of the film) was subsequently cut from home releases (not unheard of, but not hugely common and almost always later restored in future releases) and never released in an official capacity despite other deleted content being made available. There’s only ONE thing supporting its existence: your personal memory of something you remember seeing over twenty-five years ago. The burden of proof definitely _is_ on you, here. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/309 "2014-09-09T05:09:42Z")
I’ll admit I’ve spent years following this thread secretly hoping that someone would produce evidence of the alternate ending. Sadly, it seems this thread has accomplished nothing but propagate the myth further by luring its believers here through Google searches. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/310 "2014-09-09T05:42:33Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > I’ll admit I’ve spent years following this thread secretly hoping that someone would produce evidence of the alternate ending. Sadly, it seems this thread has accomplished nothing but propagate the myth further by luring its believers here through Google searches. In a nutshell you’ve captured the problem with the modern SDMB. It’s too late probably, but whoever runs the SD should have hired a decent social media guru ages ago. Cecil should have been tweeting from jump street. They should have copied redd it and added a forum for AMA’s. All that kind of stuff, and evolving. This would have been the perfect place for it. Sorry for the tangent, but if we were red dit, Penny Marshall would be doing an AMA tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/311 "2014-09-09T05:47:13Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > You’re saying that the movie was originally released with a SIGNIFICANTLY different ending No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying that I saw it with a different ending. Whether that was the “original” release or not, I couldn’t tell you. > [@](#): > > that nobody can find a copy of How do you know nobody can find a copy of it? Because it’s not on YouTube? Who has looked? What exhaustive research was done that convinces you “nobody can find a copy” of it? > [@](#): > > and that at least one main actor in the movie states wasn’t even filmed. O.K., let me ask you a question. How would she know it wasn’t filmed, when she wouldn’t have been in that scene? Don’t you find it a bit odd that she would say that, with no explanation of how she knew it? If Penny told her, wouldn’t she say, “Penny told me she didn’t shoot that scene”? Why haven’t the other actors said anything? Why hasn’t the director said anything? Why haven’t the writers said anything? I just don’t find it very convincing evidence when you can’t even answer these questions. > [@](#): > > Despite it being a popular, well-known, emotionally resonant film. And that this ending (which, I might add, doesn’t sound particularly fitting with the general emotional tone of the film) was subsequently cut from home releases How is it not emotionally fitting? Did you _see_ the movie? Did you understand that Susan had become an emotionally ugly person, and that Josh allowed her to rediscover her innocence? I can think of nothing more emotionally fitting. Please explain how you don’t think so. A possible reason (and I’m just guessing here since we don’t have any evidence) could be that the scene didn’t make sense logically. Where would Susan live? Who would take care of her? Perhaps they thought it would raise too many questions and leave viewers feeling unsure about the outcome of the movie. > [@](#): > > (not unheard of, but not hugely common and almost always later restored in future releases) and never released in an official capacity despite other deleted content being made available. Well this is the second time that claim has been made. Do you have a cite for it? > [@](#): > > There’s only ONE thing supporting its existence: your personal memory of something you remember seeing over twenty-five years ago. It’s not just MY memory; it’s a lot of people. > [@](#): > > The burden of proof definitely _is_ on you, here. I disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/312 "2014-09-09T05:51:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Why the hell should we go through the trouble of getting her to say it was never filmed if afterwards you’re just going to say that her word just isn’t good enough? Tell us right now what the payoff is going to be for us jumping through your stupid hoop, or it just ain’t gonna happen. Ha ha. Yeah, like that’s the _only_ thing stopping you from posting a link to a video of Penny Marshall stating there was no ending where Susan becomes a child again, not the fact that you can’t _find_ any such video. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/313 "2014-09-09T06:38:45Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > 1. Vaccines cause autism. > > 2. Fan Death. > > 3. The alternate ending to Big. > > Things that don’t exist in the real world, but people continue to insist they could be real. Typical. When logic fails, people resort to ad hominem and faulty comparisons. Lots of emotions here, but not a lot of links to actual believable evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/314 "2014-09-09T07:47:07Z")
Just found this: > **[Big](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Big)** > > Big is a 1988 fantasy-comedy film produced by James L. Brooks and directed by Penny Marshall, starring Tom Hanks as a 12-year-old boy in the body of a 30-something man. How did this happen? Well, Josh Baskin (David Moscow) was your average 12- … > [@](#): > > As mentioned in the “What Could Have Been” segment in the “Trivia” page, the original ending to this movie had Josh meet a new girl in school named Susan, who was actually the woman Josh met when he was an adult. Since that ending didn’t go over so well in America, it was changed to Josh turning back into a child and walking out of Susan’s life forever. In Germany and New Zealand, the “Susan follows Josh by becoming a child again” ending has been used. > > ``` > In the UK, confusingly, both endings have been used. > > ``` I found a clip of the Perkins interview, but unfortunately it cuts off before the segment in question. I find it odd that the commentary paraphrases her as “She said they never shot the alternate ending either, which would have been Perkins’ character shrunken down and turned into a child again.” Seems a strange way to word it. If you were referring to a rumor that never happened, it seems like you would say, “They never shot AN alternate ending” or “There never was an alternate ending”, not “They never shot THE alternate ending”. That would imply that there WAS a plan to have an alternate ending. I wish I could hear what she really said on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/315 "2014-09-09T08:27:08Z")
Wow. This is one of the most fascinating threads, only because it bogles the mind. Here is my take on “Big”. This movie came out in 1988, I was 17. I grew up in the U.S. I saw this movie twice in the theatres because I loved it so much. I consider it one of my all-time favorite films. Since then, probably saw it another 20 or more times. AT NO TIME did I ever see and ending at all different from Josh in the big grown-up clothes and Perkins driving away, depressed. Each time I’ve seen it, the movie crossfades to the next day or week. It’s Josh and friend walking through the neighborhood on a sunny day (why he’s allowed out of his house after being missing I’ll have no idea), fade to black. THE END. I work in Hollywood/Burbank in post production. We’ve talked about this ending in a few places I’ve worked. It is considered a movie urban legend. To all those saying movies film different endings, this is HIGHLY true for many films. [They are shown to a test audience and that’s where the producers vote on which ending they go with.](http://mentalfloss.com/article/58013/alternate-endings-20-famous-movies) Or the director/producer/actor etc. tells them no, and it’s changed. Since so many films do that, it is easy for people to believe that all movies have two or more endings. Thing is, when first reading page one of this thread (like two-hours ago) I almost jumped up in glee. It sounds like an amazingly perfect ending! Josh gets to remain a kid while Susan gets a second chance… for what?? Hold the horses, please. This alternate ending, even if it does exist in the U.S., is absolutely not plausible. A kid goes missing, he returns unharmed. A NYC toy company goes missing-- she doesn’t return. For a side character, it seems sooooo cheesy. And a little insulting. She’s a successful businesswoman, not an easy path to take in the 1980s (or even now). What’s wrong with that? Only thing that would be worse is if the whole toy company visits Zoltar with a shiny quarter and goes back to being a kid except for the asswipe who doesn’t like Josh to begin with. See, while Josh gets to be a kid again (what is necessary), Susan gets to remember to be young at heart again (also necessary). Her Yuppie days are over. Josh, being young, shows her that an impressive apartment in NYC isn’t all life’s cracked up to be. Maybe she goes into charity work. Maybe she moves to a small town. Maybe she goes and teaches kindergarten. But the point of the story isn’t Josh falling in love. That is a sometimes unfortunate side effect of growing up. Even if Susan DID become a child, Josh only thinks of her as a friend. Not a girlfriend, not a soul mate. Sure, maybe in the future that can happen, but it sounds so structured it doesn’t fly with me. ---
**Author:** ![Killing\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/76d3ee/32.png) [@Killing\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killing_Time)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/316 "2014-09-09T08:47:24Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > I work in Hollywood/Burbank in post production. We’ve talked about this ending in a few places I’ve worked. It is considered a movie urban legend. I don’t understand the significance. Are you saying the fact that you work in post production gives you some insider knowledge that the rest of us don’t have? What would that insider knowledge constitute, exactly? > [@](#): > > To all those saying movies film different endings, this is HIGHLY true for many films. [They are shown to a test audience and that’s where the producers vote on which ending they go with.](http://mentalfloss.com/article/58013/alternate-endings-20-famous-movies) Or the director/producer/actor etc. tells them no, and it’s changed. Since so many films do that, it is easy for people to believe that all movies have two or more endings. Right, so isn’t that evidence that it is at least _possible_ (and therefore not IMpossible) that a different ending could have been filmed? > [@](#): > > Thing is, when first reading page one of this thread (like two-hours ago) I almost jumped up in glee. It sounds like an amazingly perfect ending! Josh gets to remain a kid while Susan gets a second chance… for what?? Hold the horses, please. > > This alternate ending, even if it does exist in the U.S., is absolutely not plausible. A kid goes missing, he returns unharmed. A NYC toy company goes missing-- she doesn’t return. For a side character, it seems sooooo cheesy. And a little insulting. She’s a successful businesswoman, not an easy path to take in the 1980s (or even now). What’s wrong with that? Only thing that would be worse is if the whole toy company visits Zoltar with a shiny quarter and goes back to being a kid except for the asswipe who doesn’t like Josh to begin with. > > See, while Josh gets to be a kid again (what is necessary), Susan gets to remember to be young at heart again (also necessary). Her Yuppie days are over. Josh, being young, shows her that an impressive apartment in NYC isn’t all life’s cracked up to be. Maybe she goes into charity work. Maybe she moves to a small town. Maybe she goes and teaches kindergarten. But the point of the story isn’t Josh falling in love. That is a sometimes unfortunate side effect of growing up. Even if Susan DID become a child, Josh only thinks of her as a friend. Not a girlfriend, not a soul mate. Sure, maybe in the future that can happen, but it sounds so structured it doesn’t fly with me. Well my take on it is that I don’t understand how you could suspend disbelief enough to accept that a child can magically become an adult by wishing on a vending machine, and have the ability to become a successful executive in a large company, without any training and only a child’s education, but then nitpick the alternate ending for not being realistic. It wasn’t a realistic movie, period. Either you accept that or you don’t. I also think you missed the point of the movie. You ask what’s wrong with her being a successful businesswoman, but you miss the fact that she was an unscrupulous, self-centered, lonely, unhappy person before she met Josh. As I said before, the alt ending allows her to cast all that aside and live her life again, without making the choices that led her to be that undesirable person. To me it makes perfect sense as an ending. Having said that, I can see where you’re coming from, which leads me to ask you this: Can you not at least acknowledge the _possibility_ that the ending was released in certain markets, and was not well received, perhaps for the _very reasons_ you state, and therefore was cut from subsequent releases? If you can not acknowledge this is at least possible, please explain why. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/317 "2014-09-09T11:50:16Z")
I love that the people who are positive about the alternate ending don’t even agree on the details of the mythical ending. Paraphrasing: “I know it’s not 14 Going on 40, because in Big the little girl had red hair!” “In the ending I remember the girl had curly brown hair…” Etc. Doesn’t exist. Produce some evidence, already. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/318 "2014-09-09T11:54:41Z")
> [@nate](#): > > Ahh… so it’s just like the [Berenstain/Berenstein Bears alternate history theory](http://woodbetweenworlds.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-berenstein-bears-we-are-living-in.html)? I just asked my wife how she remembers the spelling of this. She said “with an A”! Oh my god, she’s one of _them_! I almost pointed at her and shouted “OOOHHH!!,” a la the Donald Sutherland character at the end of _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/319 "2014-09-09T12:07:03Z")
> [@nate](#): > > Ahh… so it’s just like the [Berenstain/Berenstein Bears alternate history theory](http://woodbetweenworlds.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-berenstein-bears-we-are-living-in.html)? That’s pretty cool. I, too, could have sworn it was the ‘e’ spelling. Memory indeed is an odd thing. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/320 "2014-09-09T12:10:46Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > Just found this: > > [Big (Film) - TV Tropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Big) What does it take to add info to the TV Tropes page? Is it checked at all? How do I find out who added it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=17)