It was almost as if he’d never been gone.
Pee-Wee Herman returned to the spotlight in a big way with the world premiere of his new Netflix movie, “Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday,” at South by Southwest on Thursday evening.
Hundred of diehard Pee-Wee fans — many of them sporting paper versions of the character’s trademark bow tie — were on hand at Austin’s baroque Paramount Theatre to welcome actor Paul Reubens‘ theatrical return to the character with open arms.
“You cannot even be as excited as I am because I know how good it is,” the comedian, 63, told the packed house before the movie screened.
And he was right, judging by the nearly solid run of raucous applause and cheers that accompanied the film, the first Pee-Wee Herman movie in nearly three decades.
During both the introduction and Q&A following the screening, Reubens was joined by the film’s producer Judd Apatow, co-writer Paul Rust and director John Lee, all of whom he credited with supporting him throughout the entire process of making the movie a reality.
“I could not love these people more,” he said. “I’m going to cry if I keep talking about this.”
As gracious as the actor may have been, Apatow said they were the lucky ones.
“It was an honor for us to get to work with you, Paul,” said the “Trainwreck” producer, who had recounted meeting the comedian when he was 16. “It’s been a dream.”
Following the screening, Apatow hosted a stand-up showcase that saw him performing along with comedians Robert Klein, Nate Bargatze and Hannibal Buress, who has become somewhat of a SXSW fixture — something the host poked fun at when he pointed out that the Comedy Central star “just happened to be in town.”
“Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday” is available now to stream on Netflix.