Big Fish is a 2003 American fantasy drama film based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film was directed by Tim Burton and stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, and Marion Cotillard. Other roles are performed by Steve Buscemi, Helena Bonham Carter, Matthew McGrory, Alison Lohman, and Danny DeVito among others.
Screenwriter John August read a manuscript of the novel six months before it was published and convinced Columbia Pictures to acquire the rights. August began adapting the novel while producers negotiated with Steven Spielberg who planned to direct after finishing Minority Report (2002). Spielberg considered Jack Nicholson for the role of Edward Bloom, but eventually dropped the project to focus on Catch Me If You Can (2002). Tim Burton and Richard D. Zanuck took over after completing Planet of the Apes (2001) and brought McGregor and Albert Finney on board.
The film's theme of reconciliation between a dying father and his son had special significance for Burton, as his father had died in 2000 and his mother in 2002, a month before he signed on to direct. Big Fish was shot on location in Alabama in a series of fairy tale vignettes evoking the tone of a Southern Gothic fantasy. The film received award nominations in multiple film categories, including four Golden Globe Award nominations, seven nominations from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, two Saturn Award nominations, and an Oscar and a Grammy Award nomination for Danny Elfman's original score. The set for the town of Spectre still remains and can be found in Millbrook, Alabama.
Plot[]
At William Bloom's wedding party, his father Edward recalls the day Will was born, claiming he caught an enormous catfish using his wedding ring as bait. Will has heard his father's fanciful tales many times, and believes they are lies. Fed up by the stories, Will has a falling out with his father. Three years later, Edward is diagnosed with cancer, prompting Will and his pregnant wife Joséphine to spend time with him in Alabama.
Edward's life is chronicled through flashbacks, beginning with his boyhood encounter with a witch. She shows Edward how he will die, which does not faze him. As he reaches adulthood, he finds his home too confining, and sets out into the world. He meets a giant named Karl, and they begin traveling together. When they find a fork in the road, they take separate paths. Edward traverses a swamp and discovers the hidden town of Spectre, where he befriends the poet Norther Winslow and the mayor's daughter, Jenny. Not ready to settle down, Edward leaves Spectre, but makes a promise to Jenny that he will return.
At Joséphine's request, the bed-ridden Edward tells her how he met his wife, Sandra. In more flashbacks, Edward and Karl visit the Calloway Circus, where Edward falls in love with a beautiful woman. Edward and Karl get jobs in the circus, and the ringmaster Amos Calloway reveals to Edward one detail about the woman each month. Three years later, Edward discovers that Amos is a werewolf, but shows no ill will towards him. In gratitude, Amos reveals the woman's name as Sandra Templeton. Edward confesses his love to Sandra, but she rebuffs him despite his romantic gestures. Sandra's fiancé Don Price beats Edward up, which prompts Sandra to break off their engagement and marry Edward instead.
Shortly after, Edward is conscripted into the army and fights in the Korean War. He parachutes into the middle of a North Korean military show, steals important documents, and persuades the twins Ping and Jing to help him escape in exchange for making them celebrities. Upon returning home, Edward becomes a traveling salesman. In the present, Will investigates the truth behind his father's tales. He meets an older Jenny, who explains that Edward rescued Spectre from bankruptcy and rebuilt it with help from his circus friends. Jenny reveals that although she loved Edward, he remained loyal to Sandra.
Edward has a stroke and Will visits him at the hospital. Unable to speak much, he asks Will to narrate how his life ends. Will tells his father a fantastical tale of their daring escape from the hospital. They travel to a lake, where everyone from Edward's past is there to see him off. Will carries his father into the river, where he transforms into a giant catfish and swims away. Satisfied by Will's story, Edward dies peacefully. At the funeral, Will and Joséphine are surprised to see all the people from Edward's stories, although they appear slightly less fantastical. Later, Will passes on Edward's stories to his son.
Cast[]
- Ewan McGregor as Edward Bloom (young)
- Albert Finney as Edward Bloom (senior)
- Perry Walston as Edward Bloom (age 10)
- Billy Crudup as Will Bloom
- Grayson Stone as Will Bloom (age 6–8)
- Jessica Lange as Sandra Bloom (senior)
- Alison Lohman as Sandra Bloom (young), née Templeton
- Helena Bonham Carter as Jenny (young & senior) / The Witch
- Hailey Anne Nelson as Jenny (age 8)
- Robert Guillaume as Dr. Bennett (senior)
- Marion Cotillard as Joséphine
- Matthew McGrory as Karl the Giant
- David Denman as Don Price (age 18–22)
- John Lowell as Donald "Don" Price (age 12)
- Missi Pyle as Mildred
- Loudon Wainwright III as Beamen
- Ada Tai and Arlene Tai as Ping and Jing
- Steve Buscemi as Norther Winslow
- Danny DeVito as Amos Calloway
- Deep Roy as Mr. Soggybottom
- R. Keith Harris as Ed's Father
- Karla Droege as Ed's Mother
- Zachary Gardner as Zacky Price (age 10)
- Darrell Vanterpool as Wilbur (age 10)
- Miley Cyrus as Ruthie (age 8)
- Joseph Humphrey as Little Brave
- Billy Redden as Banjo Man
- Russell Hodgkinson as Some Farmer
- Daniel Wallace as Econ. Professor
- George McArthur as Colossus
- Bevin Kaye as River Woman