Big Fish

Big Fish is a 2003 movie directed by Tim Burton and written by John August, starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Matthew McGrory, Danny DeVito, Alison Lohman and Billy Crudup. It is based on a novel, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions, by Daniel Wallace. more...

The film follows the incredible life story of a young man named Edward Bloom (McGregor/Finney) and his relationship with his son, Will (Crudup). In the beginning of the film, Will hasn't talked to his father for years, following an incident that assured his belief that his father was a liar who couldn't care less about his family – only approaching him for the last time, after he learns that his father is dying.

The movie is portrayed through flashbacks, as Will tries to recall and piece together the stories his father used to tell him about his many adventures and how he lived his life, which he believes to be tall tales and impossible to believe. Bloom's stories contain fantasy elements: a witch, a giant, werewolf, and so on, showing him as a lucky hero with few personal flaws.

Will sets out to grasp the idea behind these stories and to discover the truth about the real Edward Bloom.

And in doing so he becomes a story teller.

With a likeable main character (the young Edward Bloom, played by McGregor) experiencing many humorous but improbable episodes, Big Fish is a true journey through the cliches and lesser knowns of old fairytales. The film included an appearance by former child actor Billy Redden, famous as the banjo playing mentally handicapped mountain boy named Lonny in the acclaimed 1972 film, Deliverance. In the December 23, 2003 issue of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution director Tim Burton was quoted as saying he wanted Redden in the film as a character sitting on a porch with a banjo because, "I never forgot that image."

The film is less gothic than some of Burton's other works such as Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow. The film received four Golden Globe nominations and one Oscar nomination.

Most of the story is set in and around the fictional town of Ashton, Alabama. Most of the landmarks of Ashton actually exist in Wetumpka, Alabama.

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