Big Fish is simply a magical catch.
Big Fish (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:203
Fresh:156
Rotten:47
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: A charming father-and-son tale filled with typical Tim Burton flourishes.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for a fight scene, some images of nudity and a suggestive reference
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:23-01-2004
Synopsis: In Tim Burton's family film BIG FISH, a gifted storyteller named Edward Bloom (Albert Finney), who lives in a small town in Alabama, recounts tall tales of his wild worldly adventures. These are... In Tim Burton's family film BIG FISH, a gifted storyteller named Edward Bloom (Albert Finney), who lives in a small town in Alabama, recounts tall tales of his wild worldly adventures. These are shown in flashback with Ewan McGregor playing the young Bloom. Wonderful special effects and vibrant colors that pop off the screen make this Burton film a much sunnier experience than his macabre gems EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and BEETLEJUICE. Yet his signature quirky artistry is unmistakable, and the movie benefits from crisp production values and a loveable, bizarre cast of characters. Told through a series of vignettes, Bloom's stories involve a witch, a giant, a haunted forest, and yes, a big fish. A self-described small-town hero, Bloom explains how he left home at 18 determined to experience anything and everything life could dish out. He worked for the circus, took on daring assignments as a WWII soldier, and rambled across the country as a zany traveling salesman. Utterly unbelievable yet magical and delightful, Bloom's stories just don't translate to his son Will (Billy Crudup) who wants to know his dad's "true" life story. But little by little--through increasingly outlandish tales at which Will cannot resist smirking--the two begin to understand each other, and Bloom weaves his stories into their genealogical fabric. [More]
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham-Carter, Robert Guillaume, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito, Marion Cotillard, Matthew McGrory, Loudon Wainwright
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: John August
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks
Composer: Danny Elfman
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for Big Fish
A well-meaning, visually boisterous film that tries so hard you can practically hear it huffing and puffing.
A perfect marriage of story and director, Tim Burton has achieved maturity as a filmmaker while keeping his ability to tell a larger-than-life story.
The stories are gloriously soaked in Americana and, as always in Burton films, are visually lush and immaculately detailed.
[I]t is a movie so desperate for your approval that it’s less like a fish than a yapping puppy that keeps soiling the rug.
Celebrates the whimsical spirit and imagination of a man whose only mode of relating to other people seems to be as props in the mythic narrative of his life.
You probably have to be stubborn and pragmatic to resist the film's quixotic appeals, but I'm in Crudup's camp. Better to imagine a giant than to meet one.
A compelling look at the relationships between fathers and sons, and the child coming to terms with the parent's mortality.
Big Fish moves you in inexplicable, joyful ways. It’s a beauty of a whopper.
A splendid reminder that Burton is quite possibly the most talented American filmmaker working today.
For all its surface eccentricities, this turns out to be one of Burton's most conventional works.
Big Fish is a three-ring circus of sometimes outlandish situations and characters, yet Burton makes it all seem so plausible . . . that some part of you aches to accept.
The tale it tells may be the tallest to hit screens in some time but there's no shortage of human truth in it.
Tim Burton's Big Adventure into resolving his family conflicts and defending his filmmaking. A director's statement has never been so entertaining.
[T]he film you feel [Burton’s] been leading up to all this time, both more and less metaphoric [than] his standard ‘agony of the outsider’ theme...
Unfailingly charming and flat-out interesting: You keep watching not just because of the many likable characters, but because you're dying to know what will happen next.
Latest News for Big Fish
May 11, 2007:
The Rock as Captain Marvel?
From the "strange but (possibly) true" department. Director Peter Segal looks like he'll be directing the "Shazam" movie ... and will he be casting Dwayne... More...
April 09, 2007:
"Captain Marvel" Screenwriter Shakes Up the Fanboys -- Shazam!
Gotta give it up for screenwriter John August. Not only is he entirely forthcoming about his upcoming "Shazam!" (aka "Captain Marvel") adaptation, but he's... More...
October 19, 2006:
Helena Bonham Carter Joins Tim Burton's New Project
It's a piece of casting news that'll please many, but shock no one: Helena Bonham Carter has been cast opposite Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's movie version of "Sweeney... More...
June 29, 2006:
New Line Greenlights "The Golden Compass" -- for $150 Million
Fans of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series have reason to rejoice this morning: New Line Cinema has given an official greenlight and production date to... More...
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