# Anyone else remember the alternate ending to "Big"?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864
**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:** 5
### Author:  [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/81 "2013-02-21T21:43:27Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> ETA never mind it was a fan page.
Discovered that past the edit window. I hate FB pages that are fanwank avatars of the real person.
ETA I am confident enough of the conclusions not to need an answer, but if there’s a Doper with the right connections… one authoritative answer from Hanks, Marshall, Ross or even Moscow would be nice to have.
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### Author:  [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/82 "2013-02-21T23:55:51Z")
> [@Bricker](#):
>
> On the other hand…
>
> …for some years, the wise denizens of the SDMB insisted that conflated memory was in play when people insisted they remembered some ditzy girl answering, “In the butt,” when Bob Eubanks asked her, on The Newlywed Game, “What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever had to urge to make whoopee?” Never happened, they said, pointing out that Bob Eubanks himself denied it ever happened and offered to give $10,000 to anyone who could prove him wrong.
>
> It was just faulty memory, said they.
>
> I agreed they were probably right.
>
> But then… I changed my mind, when the clip was found.
The actual event wasn’t terribly similar to the event that everyone had strong memories of - for one thing the word “butt” wasn’t used. ['Up the Butt, Bob' | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/newlywed.asp)
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### Author:  [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/83 "2013-02-22T01:21:59Z")
> [@Bricker](#):
>
> On the other hand…
>
> …for some years, the wise denizens of the SDMB insisted that conflated memory was in play when people insisted they remembered some ditzy girl answering, “In the butt,” when Bob Eubanks asked her, on The Newlywed Game, “What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever had to urge to make whoopee?” Never happened, they said, pointing out that Bob Eubanks himself denied it ever happened and offered to give $10,000 to anyone who could prove him wrong.
>
> It was just faulty memory, said they.
>
> I agreed they were probably right.
>
> But then… I changed my mind, when the clip was found.
And I’d change my mind here if a clip was actually found. But considering there’s _no_ evidence of this (other than people claiming to remember it) - in an age where you can find the most obscure videos ever on Youtube - I feel safe saying the alternate ending never happened.
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### Author:  [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/84 "2013-02-23T17:01:22Z")
> [@Bricker](#):
>
> On the other hand…
>
> …for some years, the wise denizens of the SDMB insisted that conflated memory was in play when people insisted they remembered some ditzy girl answering, “In the butt,” when Bob Eubanks asked her, on The Newlywed Game, “What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever had to urge to make whoopee?” Never happened, they said, pointing out that Bob Eubanks himself denied it ever happened and offered to give $10,000 to anyone who could prove him wrong.
>
> It was just faulty memory, said they.
>
> I agreed they were probably right.
>
> But then… I changed my mind, when the clip was found.
First of all, it was true that no one ever saw an episode of _The Newlywed Game_ where a contestant answered “In the butt, Bob.” In the clip that was found, the woman answered “Is it in the ass?” with the last few words being bleeped out for broadcast. So while it seems very likely this episode was the inspiration for the legend, specific details that people swore they remembered seeing do not match the clip. Their memories _were_ faulty.
Second, in this case a clip has also been found. The end of _14 Going On 30_ closely matches the description of the mysterious alternate ending of _Big_ that people swear they remember seeing, it’s just not from the movie that people remembered it as being from.
In the absence of any solid evidence that an alternate ending to _Big_ existed, what seems more likely – that some people saw the ending of _14 Going On 30_ and are misremembering the details, or that there really is an alternate ending of _Big_ that was seen by many people on television but that no one managed to catch it on VHS, it was not included in the DVD release, and has never been confirmed by anyone involved with the production of the film? Sure, if the alleged alternate ending of _Big_ does ever come to light then I’ll become a believer, but right now it looks vastly more likely that the former explanation is correct and that people are simply mixing up two similar movies.
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### Author:  [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)
#### Post date: [February 23, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/85 "2013-02-23T20:07:02Z")
> [@Dan\_Norder](#):
>
> There has been at least one other thread on this topic after the original (presuming this is the original original), and we have discussed how false memories are formed there and in other threads on this board. This is _exactly_ the kind of situation where people misremember things. For the people who claim they are sure their memories are correct because they remember it, gosh-darn-it: sorry, that’s just not how memories work. There’s no such thing as a pure memory. Every time you revisit a memory you rewrite it. Go read up on Elizabeth Loftus’ studies on memory if you are unconvinced.
Exactly.
People who distinctly and specifically member the alternate ending: I completely empathize. I had the clearest, most (ahem) detailed memory of Eric Northman being totally naked in book 4 of the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Like, I not only remember the idea, but I swore I could remember reading the words on the page. Until I went back and read the chapter to prove I was right to some doubter. [I was wrong](http://skepticalmothering.com/2012/01/09/memories-of-naked-alexander-skarsgard/).
It’s how our brains work. No assumptions of dumbness or insanity required. Your mind could easily manufacture a very clear memory of actors from movie A doing a scene from movie B, with a few variances thrown in by your own thoughts and feelings.
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### Author:  [@cyren\_hatton\_1993](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cyren_hatton_1993)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/86 "2013-02-28T03:31:12Z")
Christmas 2011 in the uk I watched big for the first time on national television and I can assure you the ending scene was the little girl in a classroom with josh. I have just watched this film on sky movies on demand and was very confused why there was an alternative ending where they was walking up the road with the bike, I even fastforwarded past the credits expecting to find an extra scene at the end. This is proof there is an alternative ending becauase I have not watched any of the conflicting films mentioned in the thread and I am only 19 and would not have watched the movie when it was first released. I have just asked my mom and brother who saw the film on christmas and they both remember an alternative ending in the classroom.
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/87 "2013-02-28T03:56:05Z")
cyren hatton 1993, is this the ending scene you watched?:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6783tkwbZw0)
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### Author:  [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/88 "2013-02-28T05:23:48Z")
I honestly think this thread should be locked, because every few months someone is going to come along and explain their irrefutable memories of the alternate ending.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/89 "2013-02-28T12:52:17Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#):
>
> I honestly think this thread should be locked, because every few months someone is going to come along and explain their irrefutable memories of the alternate ending.
It’s taking longer than we thought.
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### Author:  [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/90 "2013-02-28T14:26:43Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#):
>
> I honestly think this thread should be locked, because every few months someone is going to come along and explain their irrefutable memories of the alternate ending.
Maybe, just maybe, they are correct. This is one of the more interesting on-going threads on this board and I for one would hate to see it locked on the small chance these guys might be right.
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### Author:  [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/91 "2013-02-28T14:49:52Z")
Tagged
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/92 "2013-02-28T15:06:00Z")
> [@nate](#):
>
> Maybe, just maybe, they are correct.
They’re not. You’d think the actors and directors might remember shooting those scenes if it actually happened?
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/93 "2013-02-28T15:07:38Z")
I thought I remembered that ending, too, but after watching the 14-Going-On-30 clip, I’m sure I was conflating the two movies. I don’t recall ever seeing that movie, but it lines up exactly with my memories. So I’m satisfied that’s the answer. Memory is a funny thing. I’ve found myself conflating memories of my childhood all the time, and I have no reason to believe this isn’t another instance of it.
In 2002, I would have still been a little skeptical, but in 2013, with all and sundry up on Youtube and Vimeo and other video hosting sites, I cannot believe that such a much-talked about and purportedly much-seen video has not shown up anywhere. Even Wikipedia states on the 14-Going-On-30 page that the ending to this movie is often confused for a lost alternate ending to Big. (And, yes, I know that hardly makes it definitive.)
Occam’s razor says conflated memory.
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### Author:  [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/94 "2013-02-28T15:21:17Z")
> [@Telemark](#):
>
> They’re not. You’d think the actors and directors might remember shooting those scenes if it actually happened?
Have we confirmed that they do not?
The wikipedia reference is probably based on this thread.
I am SURE I am not conflating Big with the 14-going-on-30 movie. That movie’s ending does not at all match my memories of the scene. I won’t deny the possibility I am confusing it with something else, but I guarantee it was not caused by 14-going-on-30, a movie I have never seen or heard of.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/95 "2013-02-28T15:47:54Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#):
>
> a movie I have never seen or heard of.
I would have said exactly the same thing before this thread.
But it is possible you’re conflating it with something else, too. I’m serious, in 2013, what is the likelihood that not one single person has found this alternate ending that so many people have purported to have seen?
ETA: I’ll be honest. I don’t remember the fade out ending to Big. What I have in my memory is the ending this thread is about. It just doesn’t make any sense to me that if my memories were correct, there is no evidence anywhere of it.
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### Author:  [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/96 "2013-02-28T15:53:38Z")
> [@Telemark](#):
>
> They’re not. You’d think the actors and directors might remember shooting those scenes if it actually happened?
Honest question - has any evidence been presented in this thread that the actors and/or Penny Marshall has been asked and said it doesn’t exist?
I might have missed it, or might have a faulty memory, but I don’t remember it.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/97 "2013-02-28T16:13:58Z")
> [@bup](#):
>
> I might have missed it, or might have a faulty memory, but I don’t remember it.
I believe the evidence has been presented in other threads or via links, but I can’t find it right now.
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### Author:  [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/98 "2013-02-28T16:14:14Z")
> [@cyren\_hatton\_1993](#):
>
> Christmas 2011 in the uk I watched big for the first time on national television and I can assure you the ending scene was the little girl in a classroom with josh. I have just watched this film on sky movies on demand and was very confused why there was an alternative ending where they was walking up the road with the bike, I even fastforwarded past the credits expecting to find an extra scene at the end. This is proof there is an alternative ending becauase I have not watched any of the conflicting films mentioned in the thread and I am only 19 and would not have watched the movie when it was first released. I have just asked my mom and brother who saw the film on christmas and they both remember an alternative ending in the classroom.
If they just showed the alternate ending in the UK in 2011, why can’t you show us the video clip anywhere? Why doesn’t anyone have any film of this thing? I mean, it was apparently just broadcast two years ago in a major market, where people have recording devices.
If this really was broadcast, you should be able to find a video clip of the alternate scene. I believe that the reason you can’t find a video clip of the alternate scene is that it doesn’t exist, there was a similar scene in a similar movie, and people conflated the scenes, and then talked about the conflated scene, so now even people who didn’t see the other movie have a memory of the conflated scene.
The fact that you report seeing the alternate scene is not proof that there is such an alternate scene. Finding the video clip and posting it to youtube would be proof.
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### Author:  [@smilelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smilelio)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/99 "2013-05-14T01:19:22Z")
The girl coming in to his class is DEFINITELY the alternate ending to Big. I grew up in Indonesia (near Australia/New Zealand so I guess that makes sense) and watched that movie ALL the time. Then, when we left all our Beta-Max there and got a VHS version of the movie in the US… I freaked out when I saw the “walking down the street” ending. There is no confusing two different movies going on here. 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.
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### Author:  [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/100 "2013-05-14T03:33:57Z")
It would appear that we’ve moved from _Big_ to _Groundhog’s Day._
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