12-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) asks a carnival wishing machine to make him big, he awakens to find himself in a 30-year-old body. The suddenly adult Josh (Tom Hanks) winds up in New York City, where he lands a job at a major toy company. There his love and knowledge of toys and his ability to predict what kids will like is swiftly noticed by the company's top executive (Robert Loggia). It isn't long before he rises in rank and attracts the romantic attention of a sophisticated executive (Elizabeth Perkins). But the more Josh experiences being an adult, the more he longs for the simple joys of childhood. Tom Hanks earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance.