All story-makers start weaving their tales by asking the simple question, "What if?"

In this case, what if a young boy wished that he was "big," and what if that wish somehow came true? How would he survive? And would he ever be able to find his way back home?

Twelve-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) is the young boy who finds himself in this situation. A carnival worker turns him away from a ride because he doesn't meet the height requirement, and the guy loudly embarrasses the boy right in front of a beautiful girl. Devastated, Josh puts a quarter into a Zoltar Speaks fortune-telling machine and wishes he was big. The next morning, he wakes up as a 30-year-old man (Tom Hanks). Surprise! He hurries back to the carnival grounds, only to find it empty. Zoltar and everyone else has moved on. Now what?

Josh tries to reveal his new self to his mother (Mercedes Ruehl), but she sees him only as an intruder and/or a kidnapper. Fortunately, he has better luck with his next-door neighbor and longtime childhood buddy Billy Kopecki (Jared Rushton). Billy gets the bright idea for Josh to leave their suburban neighborhood in New Jersey and "hide out" across the Hudson River in New York City for a while. He can stay over there until they can at least somehow track down that Zoltar machine. Boy, is the city a scary and uncomfortable place for a guy who looks like an adult but who thinks and acts like a pre-teen boy.

When the boys figure out how to file the proper paperwork to track Zoltar -- remember, this story is set in those good old pre-Internet days -- they learn that the answer will take six weeks to reach them. What can Josh do in New York for six weeks? Get a job, maybe. He's good at computer games, so he gets a data-entry position at Macmillan Toys. Soon he's sitting in a cubicle next to Scott Brennen (Jon Lovitz), a low-achieving co-worker who gives him only the quirkiest of advice.

Josh's fortunes quickly change when he visits the F.A.O. Schwarz store on Fifth Avenue one Saturday and runs into his boss, Mr. Macmillan (Robert Loggia). "Mac" appreciates Josh's knowledge and candor about the toys they see on the shelves. The next thing you know, Josh is vice president in charge of product development, and he has his own office where he can test and play with toys. Are you kidding me? But the core business of the company is not all fun and games. Competitive colleagues Paul (John Heard) and Susan (Elizabeth Perkins) see Josh as a threat to their own advancement plans. Then Susan begins to see him as something else entirely.

By the way, be sure you catch character actress Debra Jo Rupp in the role of Josh's secretary, Miss Patterson. You're sure to recognize her when you see her.

As the story progresses, we viewers may find ourselves in a quandary. Do we want Josh to go back to childhood, somehow? Or should he continue with this new adult life? And what does Josh even want? Would he be willing to leave the corporate culture and Susan behind?

It sure is fun to see the younger Hanks in action and at a much earlier time in his lengthy career. His keyboard-on-the-floor dance with Loggia has become a cinema classic. It is said that the two actors stepped out "Heart & Soul" and "Chopsticks" on their own, without the aid of stand-ins or stunt men. Wonderful!

Big is an amusing, entertaining and moving movie that can appeal to the widest of audiences. If you don't get teary-eyed at least once, you must not be paying close enough attention. Watching it is sure to make you think of your own childhood. And you may also wonder what you would do in Josh's place. Would you stay in the new life or would you go back to the old? And of course, we still have that common yet sage advice: Be careful what you wish for.