# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/381 "2014-09-10T16:15:45Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I’m starting to root for the alternative ending being real, 'cause how cool would that be- to be so spectacularly wrong about something! Think about how **Mahaloth** would feel; first right for the wrong reason, then right for the wrong reason, and finally right for the wrong reason. 😉 ---
**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:** [September 10, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/382 "2014-09-10T16:52:38Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I’m starting to root for the alternative ending being real, 'cause how cool would that be- to be so spectacularly wrong about something! That makes at least two of us. I, for one, started in the camp of vaguely remembering her following him back to adolescence, and not only have I never seen the other movie, I’d never heard of it until this thread. I’m convinced it’s the genius of the writing and acting that makes us falsely craft and remember a wished-for resolution. And it’s further genius to have not pushed the film to that awkward and obvious ending. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/383 "2014-09-10T17:16:18Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > That makes at least two of us. > > I, for one, started in the camp of vaguely remembering her following him back to adolescence, and not only have I never seen the other movie, I’d never heard of it until this thread. > > I’m convinced it’s the genius of the writing and acting that makes us falsely craft and remember a wished-for resolution. And it’s further genius to have not pushed the film to that awkward and obvious ending. Personally, I would have found that ending beyond creepy. So, now Josh and (I forgot her name) are basically committed to each other for life at the age of 14? Can you imagine the conversation at 22- Gee, dear, I know you gave up your adult life for me, but we’ve just grown apart and I’ve met someone new? Ick. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/384 "2014-09-10T17:58:46Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I’m starting to root for the alternative ending being real, 'cause how cool would that be- to be so spectacularly wrong about something! I’d love it if we find out that the multiverse theory is correct. Somewhere in Universe B, there’s a version of **Killing Time** with a goatee, swearing up and down that the movie ended with Josh heading home in his grown-up clothes, while everyone else remembers it ending with Susan in the classroom. To be honest, I’m almost inclined to believe that this explains the Berenst **a** in/Berenst **e** in Bears issue mentioned upthread. When I read an obituary of one of the authors a few years ago, I thought, “Huh, they spelled the last name with an A by mistake.” Only to find that all the published books showed an A. I assumed that they must have changed the spelling on the newer books to better match the pronunciation, which I always knew as “stane.” I was floored to read about this and find out that tons of other people remember it being spelled with an E, as I did, but that all the old books have an A. Last night I called my parents and asked them to dig out my old books from the basement and let me know how the name is spelled. They had company over and couldn’t check right away, but I think I already know the answer. (Although my mom, who read all those books with me, said she remembers an E.) Now where’s my goatee? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/385 "2014-09-10T18:03:00Z")
Some reasons people belive they’ve seen the alternate ending: Already mentioned is that some peopled are prompted by the very question. It’s one thing to ask people to describe the ending of Big with no context to this question. It’s another if you start by asking them if they’ve seen the alternate ending, or describe the alternate ending and ask if they’ve seen it. Those are good ways to implant an unreliable memory in people. See below for why. As already is known there are other similar movies and at least one similar to the alleged alternate ending. Most people who have seen Big have seen one or several of these movies. Big is arguably the best of them and people may have pretty good memories about the ending while holding vague unidentifiable memories of the other movies. It’s very easy to associate the weaker memory with the clearer memory of a better movie. I have a vague memory of my own, a montage of clips from the various movies that use the theme of child/adult mind/body switches. Maybe it’s an unreliable memory of my own, but something like that could have played on TV and further muddied the images people have of the genre. Most movies of this nature involve the double switch, a child takes over an adult’s body while the adult ends up in the body of the child. We may be so conditioned to this theme, and the general concept of ending movies with a twist that people begin to form this concept at the time they are watching the movie. Big does end abruptly for a movie of this kind, we may all be unsatisfied that there was no such twist like this at the end. Still, the proposed alternate ending makes no sense in the context of the rest of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/386 "2014-09-10T18:05:21Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > Interesting that when it suits his purpose, another person in this thread claimed he can only “count a dozen” people who claim to have seen the ending, yet, when it suits _your_ purpose, you claim there are “many people” who claim to have seen it. > > So which is it, people? Do a lot of people claim to have seen it, or do only a small number of people claim to have seen it? Can’t be both. Both numbers are logically consistent. In reality, very few people claim to have seen this ending. “Dozens” is a fair approximation. If the ending did in fact exist, _thousands upon thousands_ of people would have seen it. > [@Killing\_Time](#): > > Frankly, I feel that I have been mercilessly attacked for that. I’ve been called a “truther”; I’ve been told that my memory “sucks” It is not an attack, personal or otherwise, to say that your memory sucks. Your memory does suck. So does mine. So does everybody’s. That’s the whole point that’s being made. **Human memory sucks.** EDIT: With the possible exception of those uber-memory freaks like that actress from Taxi. ---
**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 10, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/387 "2014-09-10T18:17:50Z")
> [@LaurenIpsum](#): > > I’d love it if we find out that the multiverse theory is correct. The more I read this thread and the bit about the Berenstain bears, the more I feel like there’s either been a glitch in the matrix or whoever is running this universe experiment is just selectively fucking with us to see how we react. ---
**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 10, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/388 "2014-09-10T19:44:28Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Cop out? Here’s the relevent text: > I’m not sure how it could be more clear. I personally still own videos from the 80s. It’s funny how you guys attack unsourced internet blurbs when I post them, yet use them as gospel when it suits YOUR purpose. Do you think that blurb is proof that there are people in New Zealand with copies of the tape? The problem with your argument is not its _clarity_. It’s perfectly clear; I just think it’s invalid. You are essentially arguing that IF the scene ever existed, it MUST have been posted on YouTube. You cite the fact that you still own videos from the 80s. O.K., but that’s not the only thing to consider. There is also: 1. You would have to own THAT video. 2. You would have to be aware that the ending was changed (And if you owned a tape of it, why would you be aware of that? You would have only seen the version on your tape). 3. You would have to be aware of the controversy. (Despite all the emotion being displayed in this thread, it’s still just a handful of people on a message board that most of the world doesn’t read.) LET ME REMIND YOU THAT I WAS NOT EVEN AWARE THIS WAS A “THING” UNTIL LAST WEEK. 4. You would have to care one way or the other about the controversy. 5. The video would have to be from the right time period and the right market, and the vast majority of videos of the movie do not contain the alternate ending. So all that sort of decimates your “If it existed, it would be on YouTube” argument, does it not? > [@](#): > > Plus, my point was to refute the argument of why it was impossible for the clip to have shown up on Youtube. The point was that clip was on home release, so it’s not improbable that it could have ended up there. That was your argument I was responding to. Could we please take it easy with the strawman arguments? I NEVER, EVER, said it was “impossible” for the clip to be on YouTube. “Not improbable” and “Must be” are not the same thing. We are arguing about a conditional premise, which is, “IF THE ENDING EXISTS, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR IT NOT TO BE ON YOUTUBE”. You say no, and I say yes. > [@](#): > > Who said prove? You said inconsistent details (Bah!) meant nothing. I presented a scenario where it was meaningful. Don’t move the goal posts and blame me for missing them. Another strawman. Nice. I did NOT say inconsistent detail meant nothing. I said inconsistent details do not prove that an event is non-existent. I even cited an example of an event that DID happen, for which inconsistent details were rememberd. That’s ironclad logic. I’m not sure how you can deny it. ---
**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 10, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/389 "2014-09-10T19:47:41Z")
Damn. Another duplicate post. Sorry again. ---
**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 10, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/390 "2014-09-10T19:58:10Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > On the contrary, if it was something that existed on VHS tapes released anywhere in the 1980’s it would have shown up on Youtube by now. There are plenty of websites that track alternate endings, lost scenes, outtakes of old movies and for a major hit like this those would have been found, digitized, and uploaded. You seem to think this would be hard to achieve, but I’m not sure why. Far more obscure lost tapes have been found in far less time. I did not say uploading it would be hard to achieve. I said _finding_ it would be hard to achieve. You are assuming vast resources have been put into finding and posting this clip. I don’t see how that assumption is warranted. Here’s an example: There is another message board where somebody mentioned a TV commercial from the 1970s for Rally Car Wax featuring Batman and Robin, with stand-ins playing the parts of the superheroes. We happen to know for a fact that it existed, because another poster found a storyboard for the commercial with some still shots. But NOBODY has found the actual commercial. NOW, if it were really important to find it, I’m sure that if enough resources could be leveled at the problem, it COULD be found. It’s just that the threshold of caring is not high enough that anyone would do that. ---
**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 10, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/391 "2014-09-10T19:58:21Z")
ETA: I misread the quote I responded to, funnily enough. ---
**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 10, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/392 "2014-09-10T20:11:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Still, the proposed alternate ending makes no sense in the context of the rest of the movie. I find this an exceedingly weak argument. If you read comment from those who remember the ending, they thought it was a great ending. Who hasn’t at one time or another wished to be a kid again? How can you say that “makes no sense”? It makes PERFECT sense. If you’re looking at it from purely a logical standpoint, no, the entire movie makes no sense. In fact, there’s an amusing website that explores this: > **[5 Reasons 'Big' Had The Most Depressing Happy Ending Ever](https://www.cracked.com/article_18793_5-reasons-big-had-most-depressing-happy-ending-ever.html)** > > If they made a sequel it would be a precautionary tale. But it wasn’t conceived as a logical movie. You might as well go see Iron Man and point out all the things that don’t obey the laws of physics. ---
**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 10, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/393 "2014-09-10T20:14:22Z")
Let me put things this way: I might be willing to spend a couple bucks on a VHS tape if I thought it might have the ending on it. If there were a tape that I KNEW had the ending on it, I might pay 20 bucks or so for it. That’s the extent to which I would care to throw resources at the problem. ---
**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 10, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/394 "2014-09-10T20:20:27Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Personally, I would have found that ending beyond creepy. So, now Josh and (I forgot her name) are basically committed to each other for life at the age of 14? Can you imagine the conversation at 22- Gee, dear, I know you gave up your adult life for me, but we’ve just grown apart and I’ve met someone new? > > Ick. No, no, no. You’re looking at it from a cynical, adult viewpoint. She is a CHILD again. Penny Marshal specifically told them the kiss in the penultimate scene had to be on the forehead, not on the lips. As children, they are innocent again. But like I said, maybe the audiences reacted to the scene the way you do, so they pulled it. In fact, it’s entirely possible Penny is embarrassed by the failure of the scene in the U.S., and doesn’t even want to talk about it. ---
**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 10, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/395 "2014-09-10T20:25:12Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > No, no, no. You’re looking at it from a cynical, adult viewpoint. She is a CHILD again. Penny Marshal specifically told them the kiss in the penultimate scene had to be on the forehead, not on the lips. As children, they are innocent again. > > But like I said, maybe the audiences reacted to the scene the way you do, so they pulled it. In fact, it’s entirely possible Penny is embarrassed by the failure of the scene in the U.S., and doesn’t even want to talk about it. Would this be the excuse you would give not to believe her if she said that your version of the movie wasn’t made? ---
**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:** [September 10, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/396 "2014-09-10T20:26:25Z")
> [@Killing\_Time](#): > > No, no, no. You’re looking at it from a cynical, adult viewpoint. She is a CHILD again. Penny Marshal specifically told them the kiss in the penultimate scene had to be on the forehead, not on the lips. As children, they are innocent again. > > But like I said, maybe the audiences reacted to the scene the way you do, so they pulled it. In fact, it’s entirely possible Penny is embarrassed by the failure of the scene in the U.S., and doesn’t even want to talk about it. Right. that’s it- Penny Marshall is embarrassed. Thank goodness everyone involved or anyone who has those alleged tapes is keeping it a secret for her. ---
**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 10, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/397 "2014-09-10T20:27:14Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > No, not really. What you’ve failed to do is grasp the general tilt of the discussion here. Your posts fall into the category I call “high school debate”: instead of arguing the actual meat of whatever’s being discussed, you meticulously dissect the logic of each sentence and seem to think it’s a victory when you catch us in a generalization or a logical contradiction across several posts. That kind of argument isn’t well thought of - at least, not in “soft” discussions like this one - and it doesn’t really result in a win anywhere outside of debate or courtrooms. Harumph. If someone attacks what I’ve written, I’m going to defend it. Sorry you don’t like logic. I prefer it to insults and condescension, which seems to be all you bring to the table. > [@](#): > > But in years and years of having the question posed, re-posed and defended as you’re doing it, no one - not one person, no matter how motivated - has come up with definitive proof that there even is any alternate ending to this movie, much less this specific ending, or any absolute proof of it. For the umpteenth time, I understand the argument. I just think you’re WAY overestimating the motivation to find this clip. It’s one thing to bandy it about on the internet and do google searches. It’s another thing entirely to try to find a VHS tape from the 1980s that possibly only existed in one release, and maybe only in certain markets. I’m going to make it my life’s quest to find this tape? For what? To settle an argument? ---
**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 10, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/398 "2014-09-10T20:30:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Would this be the excuse you would give not to believe her if she said that your version of the movie wasn’t made? I don’t know why you’re being so hostile. Did I say something to offend you? ---
**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 10, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/399 "2014-09-10T20:31:48Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Right. that’s it- Penny Marshall is embarrassed. Thank goodness everyone involved or anyone who has those alleged tapes is keeping it a secret for her. Ditto to 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 10, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/400 "2014-09-10T20:32:10Z")
Let’s see-You’re all set to call Penny Marshall a liar. What about the other stars that would have been in that supposed scene? How many of them are you prepared to call liars? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=21)