# 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:** 23
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/441 "2014-11-07T22:13:37Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > And no one in the studio, distributor or trade press noticed, even though some large number of thousands of people apparently saw it? Seems vanishingly unlikely. > > It’s a straightforward memory fart, IMVHO. I just wish one of the principals would answer an inquiry about it… I am mystified at the wall o’silence on the matter. As already mentioned a year and a half ago, [one did](http://elizabeth-perkins.org/2931). > [@](#): > > Elizabeth also said when she was in the movie Big, with Tom Hanks, he almost wasn’t her costar. She said when she signed on for the movie Robert de Niro was going to be playing the role of Josh, the young boy who makes the wish to become big. She said they never shot the alternate ending either, which would have been Perkins’ character shrunken down and turned into a child again. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/442 "2014-11-07T22:21:43Z")
That’s good, but OTOH that scene would have been shot without her, so her knowledge of whether it was ever shot is not as conclusive as I’d like. What I would like is confirmation of not only the scene NOT being shot… but that it was ever scripted at all. It’s not inconceivable that Perkins is working from later (fan) discussions and so forth and misremembering what was actually in any working scripts. Especially this late in the game, the only people I’d trust to give an authoritative answer are Penny Marshall, the actor playing the young Josh and just maybe the scriptwriter. This is, I have to say, one of the most consistently intriguing questions on the board. There’s just enough hint of truth(s) to keep the essential claims alive, with no absolute answer yet found. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/443 "2014-11-07T22:47:35Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > And no one in the studio, distributor or trade press noticed, even though some large number of thousands of people apparently saw it? Seems vanishingly unlikely. If it was a prank by some minion working long hours to prepare the movie for distribution, that could explain why the “alternate ending” is claimed by some overseas audiences but not so much in America (noting also that movies used to be released overseas much later than in their country of origin.) Unless it doesn’t. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/444 "2014-11-07T22:52:31Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > If it was a prank by some minion working long hours to prepare the movie for distribution, that could explain why the “alternate ending” is claimed by some overseas audiences but not so much in America (noting also that movies used to be released overseas much later than in their country of origin.) Unless it doesn’t. And then this minion spent his life savings flying all over the place to break in and steal back all those altered copies so that not a one of them can be found today! What a dedicated prankster! ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/445 "2014-11-07T22:59:47Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And then this minion spent his life savings flying all over the place to break in and steal back all those altered copies so that not a one of them can be found today! What a dedicated prankster! (shrug) I dunno - I bet if someone tries to round up all the original Australian theater prints of _any_ movie from 1987 they will be out of luck. If that’s what happened, they could still be out there in wherever old film stock goes to die. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/446 "2014-11-08T02:59:31Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > This is, I have to say, one of the most consistently intriguing questions on the board. There’s just enough hint of truth(s) to keep the essential claims alive, with no absolute answer yet found. It’s one of the most pointlessly stupid questions on the board. There’s an absolute answer, but some people are just too ignorant and/or stubborn to accept it. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/447 "2014-11-08T04:35:38Z")
No… there is a very solid theory, countered by a large number of people who swear it’s wrong. There is no authoritative statement that the alternate ending does not exist, which is the only way this negative can ever be “proven.” ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/448 "2014-11-08T12:50:24Z")
What very solid theory are you referring to? ---
**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:** [November 8, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/449 "2014-11-08T14:21:57Z")
There is no solid theory, only faulty memories. [The movie 14 Going On 30 IS the alternate ending.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6783tkwbZw0#t=111) ---
**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:** [November 8, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/450 "2014-11-08T14:32:20Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > What very solid theory are you referring to? I believe the “solid theory” is that people are conflating memories. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/451 "2015-08-23T14:34:11Z")
I ran across Penny Marshall’s memoir “My Mother Was Nuts” the other day at the library; page 227 talks about Josh’s return home - Marshall reports some discussion of the idea of Susan staying with Josh after he returns home, but there’s no indication that this ever became part of the script [http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Was-Nuts-Penny-Marshall/dp/0547892624#reader\_0547892624](http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Was-Nuts-Penny-Marshall/dp/0547892624#reader_0547892624) ---
**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:** [August 23, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/452 "2015-08-23T16:49:00Z")
That might be part of why the story persists and viewers want there to be a happy ending for Josh and Susan. However (and this might be discussed somewhere upthread; this has gone on way past TL;WRR) - I think a huge part of what makes the movie work is that Josh makes the choice to leave all of his adult wonders behind, including Susan, and there’s no realistic way they can ever even see each other again. That bittersweet finish is far more sensible and meaningful than a candy-coated “Hi, Josh!” schoolroom scene. But I can see how some viewers don’t want it to end that way. ---
**Author:** ![Bubba3825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Bubba3825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bubba3825)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/453 "2016-04-03T02:59:43Z")
The movie 14 going on 40 is the movie ending most people mix up with the alternative ending for the movie BIG… ---
**Author:** ![Bubba3825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Bubba3825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bubba3825)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/454 "2016-04-03T03:03:13Z")
**14 going on 40** ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/455 "2016-04-03T03:27:51Z")
As was first mentioned in post #15 and then many other times in this thread. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2016, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/456 "2016-04-03T08:49:06Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > As was first mentioned in post #15 and then many other times in this thread. Post #14…fourteen years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/457 "2016-04-04T14:31:10Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Post #14…fourteen years ago. This thread is 14 going on 40. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/458 "2016-04-04T15:43:24Z")
Did anyone think that the ending might have actually been ‘14 Going on 30’? ---
**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:** [April 4, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/459 "2016-04-04T15:54:03Z")
Do people read threads anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/460 "2016-04-04T16:14:56Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Do people read threads anymore? I only read the OP, and comment. Then I move on, never to return, because other threads need my wit and keen observer’s eye, and there’s only so many hours a day. By the way, has anyone considered that they are confusing Big and 13 going on 30? That may be the answer. But I’m not going to research it or anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=24)