# 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:** 27
**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:** [December 23, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/521 "2016-12-23T15:00:31Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > It is interesting, although depressing, to see that people still believe there was a Sinbad genie movie even though Sinbad himself says he never made such a movie. Maybe we should ask him about Big… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/522 "2016-12-23T15:22:04Z")
Wow, this thread is quite a read! I don’t have any false memories about Big, but do have false memories about scenes from all three of the original Star Wars movies (such as an X-wing exploding against the shield around the 2nd Death Star, the “two tries with the grappling hook”, some of the training with Yoda, some of the Luke in the rancor pit) that were never in the movies but were in the novelizations. Others have similar false memories, and some have a similar depth of denial of the memories being false as some of the posters on this tread. (For instance, [this discussion](http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Extended-original-cut-of-first-film-released-way-back/id/9945/page/2) I just googled up has a remarkably similar tone.) ---
**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:** [December 23, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/523 "2016-12-23T17:12:55Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Wow, this thread is quite a read! > > I don’t have any false memories about Big, but do have false memories about scenes from all three of the original Star Wars movies (such as an X-wing exploding against the shield around the 2nd Death Star, the “two tries with the grappling hook”, some of the training with Yoda, some of the Luke in the rancor pit) that were never in the movies but were in the novelizations. Not to mention the ridiculous notion that “Han shot first.” I don’t know how these things even get started. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2016, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/524 "2016-12-24T09:10:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t know about movies, but there have been interesting studies on the accuracy of memories with experiments like [the Challenger Study](http://whywereason.com/tag/the-challenger-study/). In this one, the professor asked his class the day after the explosion and then two and a half years later the details of what they were doing, where they were, etc., when they found out. Even with such an important moment that should be seared into one’s memory and with only a 2 1/2 year difference in time from the actual event to recall, 25% of the students had significantly different memories. Only 10% had all the details right, and the rest fell somewhere in the middle in terms of errors. I thought I read about a similar thing, but instead of a questionnaire the teacher actually had a video of the class watching the disaster on the TV to prove their memories were different. I can’t seem to find the details of this now though. Am I the latest victim? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2016, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/525 "2016-12-24T10:04:48Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Not to mention the ridiculous notion that “Han shot first.” I don’t know how these things even get started. > > 😉 Yeah: shooting “first” implies someone else shot second, and nobody else shot in that scene. Anyway, all of this makes me wonder: Who the Hell thought it was a good idea to name a movie “_14_ Going On 30”? It wasn’t like they had “13 Going On 30” to contend with: Their movie came out _first_ by a wide margin. No wonder even people who saw it have trouble remembering it as a distinct entity. It’s an insult. ---
**Author:** ![lingling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@lingling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingling)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/526 "2017-02-24T22:00:31Z")
I live in the UK & remember the ending with Susan Perkins returning to school as a teenager , much to the surprise of Tom Hanks, in his classroom at school. It is definitely not any other film & my memory is perfectly clear on this point. ---
**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 24, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/527 "2017-02-24T22:15:22Z")
> [@lingling](#): > > I live in the UK & remember the ending with Susan Perkins returning to school as a teenager , much to the surprise of Tom Hanks, in his classroom at school. It is definitely not any other film & my memory is perfectly clear on this point. Dear Lord, it’s BAAAAAAAACK!!! And just for the record, you’re mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/528 "2017-02-24T22:18:12Z")
> [@lingling](#): > > {…} my memory is perfectly clear on this point. Yeah, about that “perfectly clear memory”… > [@lingling](#): > > {…} Susan Perkins {…} Tom Hanks {…} CMC fnord! 'Course the Susan Perkins version of \*Big \*is the superior version of _Big_! ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/529 "2017-02-24T23:35:22Z")
> [@smilelio](#): > > There are two endings out there, and the US version is clearly the only one of anyone has any real evidence of. I don’t know why they won’t release the alternate ending on the DVD. It’s a real shame - it was a very sweet ending. They won’t release it because then:::_they’d have to KILL you:::_ ---
**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 24, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/530 "2017-02-24T23:50:48Z")
Noooooooo ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/531 "2017-02-25T00:17:14Z")
Starring Sinbad, right? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/532 "2017-02-25T01:18:28Z")
… This thread is going to outlive us all, isn’t it? ---
**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:** [February 25, 2017, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/533 "2017-02-25T01:44:24Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > … This thread is going to outlive us all, isn’t it? I was 23 when I started it. I’m 38 now. Yeesh. ---
**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 25, 2017, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/534 "2017-02-25T01:46:20Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I was 23 when I started it. I’m 38 now. Yeesh. That’s the scariest thing I’ve read in a long time. I hope it never gets closed, though ---
**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:** [February 25, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/535 "2017-02-25T02:56:52Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I was 23 when I started it. I’m 38 now. Yeesh. If only there were a way for you to go back to the age you were then … ---
**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:** [February 25, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/536 "2017-02-25T04:18:48Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > If only there were a way for you to go back to the age you were then … I do love that I find myself reflecting on time and age in a thread about a movie about time…and age. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/537 "2017-02-25T04:58:16Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I was 23 when I started it. I’m 38 now. Yeesh. Holy crap, that’s almost half your life! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/538 "2017-02-25T05:21:45Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > If only there were a way for you to go back to the age you were then … [Try this](http://www.zoltar.org/images/standard%20zoltar%20close%20up.jpg). ---
**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:** [February 25, 2017, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/539 "2017-02-25T10:16:09Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > If only there were a way for you to go back to the age you were then … Thread win. (And this ain’t no ordinary thread!) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2017, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/540 "2017-02-25T14:09:19Z")
> [@lingling](#): > > I live in the UK & remember the ending with Susan Perkins returning to school as a teenager , > much to the surprise of Tom Hanks, in his classroom at school. It is definitely not any other film & my memory is perfectly clear on this point. Um. “Perfect”??? Odd definition of “perfect” there. First “Susan Perkins”??? The actress is Elizabeth Perkins. The character is Susan. Tom Hanks would _not_ have been in the classroom. David Moscow maybe. If they had actually written the scene, filmed it, and released a version with him in it. And Penny Marshall on down have attested none of which ever happened. And then there’s the mystery of who played the young Susan? It would be a plum entry for anyone’s IMDb listing. Yet somehow no one has ever come forward to get it added. I guess this is because all actors are afraid of publicity and don’t want to brag about their experience. (Despite people with uncredited roles getting their names added all over the place.) But go right ahead. Trust your “perfect” memory over actual facts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=28)