Question: At the end, David (as Bud) leaves Pleasantville by using the remote control. Why didn't he do this in the first place when he realised that they were in Pleasantville? And where did the remote control come from?
Invader_Gir
4th Jan 2007
Pleasantville (1998)
Answer: The repairman is essentially the architect of the whole show. He doesn't allow them to leave at the beginning because he thought Tobi and Reece would be a good fit for those characters, it is never really explained why he wanted to change things because supposedly everything in Pleasantville stays the same, but who knows, little kid with a magnifying glass and a bunch of ants theory, maybe a god complex?
Answer: Because he didn't want to go back to his real life. By the end of the movie he's decided he wants to return.
He did want to leave at first, he even told the repair man to let them leave.
Answer: Upon first being sucked into Pleasantville, both David and Jennifer were angry this had happened and wanted to leave Pleasantville immediately. The repairman was taken aback by this as he stated he spent years looking for the right super fan and believed David would see it as an honor. As a result of this lack of appreciation, he was hurt and essentially left David and Jennifer in the show believing it would be good for them. In terms of where the remote came from, David always had it after being sucked into the TV. When Betty Parker came into the living room and saw David [as Bud] in front of the TV [trying to get back in touch with the repairman] David stuck the remote behind the leg of the sofa when he realised they were stuck there.
Invader_Gir