( CNN ) -- The movie `` Big '' is celebrating its 25th anniversary , but the 1988 blockbuster almost did n't become the movie beloved by audiences today . For starters , Tom Hanks originally turned down the lead , writers were seriously considering the title `` When I Grow Up , '' and producers had trouble attaching a director to the picture . `` Tom Hanks was my first choice but he said 'no , ' `` director Penny Marshall told CNN , `` and so did everyone else because there were other movies with the same premise . So I decided to go with someone who 's a behavioral actor -- Bob DeNiro . '' The tale of a boy whose diminutive stature prevents him from enjoying what he perceives to be the spoils of maturity makes a wish to be `` big '' at a carnival , only to wake up the next day as a 30-year-old man . It 's hard to imagine Robert DeNiro in the man-child role of Josh Baskin , but DeNiro was , in fact , attached to the role prior to backing out in negotiations . DeNiro 's interest in the film validated the project for Marshall . It was only her second directorial effort , and she soon found A-listers vying for the part of Josh . Marshall knew Hanks from their days as sitcom stars on the Paramount lot . The former `` Laverne and Shirley '' actress thought the former `` Bosom Buddies '' star 's `` sweet , innocent face '' would be a good fit . But there was big trouble for Marshall , whose career as a director was at stake . Not only were three other body-switching movies currently in production ( `` Vice Versa , '' `` Like Father , Like Son , '' and `` 18 Again '' ) , but `` Big '' was the last one out of the gate that year because the crew had to wait for Hanks to become available . Despite those odds , `` Big '' garnered Hanks his first Best Actor Oscar nomination and the movie earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay . It was one of 1988 's top-grossing hits , and the first movie directed by a woman to break the $ 100 million box office mark . Actor David Moscow , who played young Josh , told CNN that he originally auditioned for the role of Josh 's best friend , Billy . It was the child actor 's second audition ever . Months later , when Hanks came aboard , Moscow got a callback . Moscow 's hair was dyed slightly darker and he wore green contacts in order to better resemble Hanks . `` In the first week of shooting I lost a tooth , '' said Moscow . `` I was very late in losing my teeth , and I remember production lost their minds . They built what they call a 'flipper ' -- a band attached to the tooth that I had to wear in my mouth during scenes ; but I could pop it in and out of my mouth if I wanted to . '' Marshall recalled demanding that Moscow , a fellow Bronx , New York native , `` stop flipping '' multiple times on-set . Moscow and Hanks , of course , could not be in any of the same scenes , but Hanks ' nice guy reputation was already filmdom lore . `` The producers were nervous for him [ Hanks ] because he refused to take a limo to the set and said he would just take the subway , '' said Moscow . `` He showed up with a backpack and a hat on and he was just really down to earth . '' For the sake of authenticity , Marshall built the Josh character around the real-life Moscow . Josh 's bedroom resembled Moscow 's . `` The Giants poster on the wall , the Yankees game , that was me , '' he said . Marshall recorded home movies of Moscow and his friends interacting so Hanks could study their movements : how kids acted , ran , talked , and joked around with one another . The role required that Hanks un-learn the societal disciplines of being an adult . Moscow even read many of Hanks ' lines as a guideline to ensure a truly childlike delivery of lines that was n't over-the-top . Moscow was n't the only child to contribute to the production end of things . The song Josh sang to prove his identity to Billy ( `` Shimmy , shimmy , cocoa pop . Shimmy , shimmy , rock ... `` ) was taught to Hanks by his then 10-year-old son , Colin , who learned the little ditty at summer camp . Hanks still knows it by heart ( and soul ) . The FAO Schwarz sequence arguably stands out as the film 's most iconic . The piano scene was key for many reasons , but primarily it was instrumental in getting Josh and his boss to bond . Because Silly String , pizza and loft apartments do n't pay for themselves . Marshall recalled preparing for the piano scene months in advance . The director approached the inventor of what is now the tourist attraction known as the Big Piano and asked for a practical instrument that the actors could play `` Heart and Soul '' and `` Chopsticks '' on . Cardboard mockups of the piano were created for Hanks and actor Robert Loggia to practice on at home . Dance doubles were hired for close-up insert shots of the actors ' feet , but in the end the footage was never used -- Hanks and Loggia were just that good . As a nod to the scene , when the front cover of Fox Home Entertainment 's new 25th anniversary edition Blu-ray/DVD is opened , `` Heart and Soul '' plays via an internal sound chip . Moscow believes `` Big '' still resonates with audiences because `` anybody can watch it . All ages . There 's no violence in it . There 's no gratuitous sex in it . It 's something that 's safe . But there are also these moments of pure magic . '' Fans of `` Big '' have their own personal magic moments from the film , whether they 're reminiscing about the excitement of one 's first paycheck ( $ 187 ! ) ; or watching Tom Hanks in a white-sequined tuxedo lick cream cheese out of a celery stick , put it back , eat baby corn as if its on-the-cob and then proceed to dry heave after sampling Beluga caviar ; or remembering the days of being uninhibited enough to jump on a trampoline in a skirt . For others , perhaps it 's the simple sweetness of Josh giving his colleague and soon-to-be girlfriend , Susan ( played by Elizabeth Perkins ) `` a glow-in-the-dark compass ring . So you do n't get lost . '' The writers agonized over whether it was even appropriate for the Josh character to enter into a sexual relationship with a grown woman . They eventually defaulted to Judaic law and made him 13 -- he was originally supposed to be 12 -- meaning he 'd already been bar-mitzvahed and thus undergone the rite of passage into manhood . Of course ( spoiler alert ! ) Josh misses his family , tracks down the Zoltar machine , and everyone ( except maybe Susan ) lives happily ever after . Moscow said the scene in which he walks away from Elizabeth Perkins , swimming in the Tom Hanks-sized suit was particularly memorable . He kept looking at the wrong place as he said his lines . `` Sometimes the camera is the actor and you have to act to it even if the actor is standing four feet away , '' he said . `` In the scene where I was wearing the big suit , gazing at Elizabeth , I was looking at the real Elizabeth instead of at the camera and Penny would be like , 'Cut ! ' `` Marshall hopes audiences continue to come away from the film with the notion that while everybody has to grow up , it 's important not to lose the child inside . That life will never be that simple again , and it 's important to retain that innocence . `` Everyone says , 'When I 'm big I 'm gon na ... ' , '' Marshall told CNN . `` That 's the message I held onto during 'Big . ' `` Tom Hanks spoke about the wonder of childhood in an interview on the DVD extras . `` We go through periods of our lives where we 're able to fall asleep in the back of the car while Dad drives home , '' said Hanks , `` and later on we find ourselves being Dad who has to stay awake and drive while everybody 's asleep in the back of the car . When you grow up it 's all over with . ''
The movie ` ` Big '' was released in 1973 and remains a classic . Robert DeNiro was originally cast in the Tom Cruise role . ` ` Big '' went on to receive Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay .