In 1991 , Reubens was arrested for misbehaving in an adult movie theater ; this ended the Pee-Wee craze and forced Reubens to stop playing the character . In July 1991 , after deciding to take a few years ' sabbatical from Pee-wee , Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota , Florida . The arrest set off a chain reaction of national media attention that changed the general public 's view of Reubens and Pee-wee .