IMDb > Big Fish (2003)
Big Fish
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Big Fish (2003) -- A son tries to get to know his dying father. Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney and Billy Crudup all take a wild ride through an old man’s imagination with the help of Tim Burton.
Big Fish (2003) -- A story about a son trying to learn more about his dying father by reliving stories and myths his father told him about himself.
Big Fish (2003) -- A story about a son trying to learn more about his dying father by reliving stories and myths his father told him about himself.
Big Fish (2003) -- Movieplayer.it - Italian Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 37% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Tim Burton
Writers (WGA):
Daniel Wallace (novel)
John August (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Big Fish on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
9 January 2004 (USA) more
Genre:
Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy more
Tagline:
An adventure as big as life itself.
Plot:
A story about a son trying to learn more about his dying father by reliving stories and myths his father told him about himself. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 32 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(87 articles)
Ken Ober, The 'New Moon' Red Carpet And Neil Patrick Harris In Today's Twitter-Wood
 (From MTV Movies Blog. 17 November 2009, 3:00 PM, PST)
Birthday Suits: Cougar Town
 (From FilmExperience. 16 November 2009, 5:30 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Tim Burton's Surprise Heartwarmer more (734 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Ewan McGregor ... Ed Bloom - Young

Albert Finney ... Ed Bloom - Senior

Billy Crudup ... Will Bloom

Jessica Lange ... Sandra Bloom

Helena Bonham Carter ... Jenny - Young / Jenny - Senior / The Witch

Alison Lohman ... Sandra Templeton Bloom

Robert Guillaume ... Dr. Bennett - Senior

Marion Cotillard ... Josephine
Matthew McGrory ... Karl the Giant

David Denman ... Don Price

Missi Pyle ... Mildred
Loudon Wainwright III ... Beamen (as Loudon Wainwright)

Ada Tai ... Ping

Arlene Tai ... Jing

Steve Buscemi ... Norther Winslow
more
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for a fight scene, some images of nudity and a suggestive reference.
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
125 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)
Certification:
Netherlands:MG6 | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Malaysia:U | Spain:T | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Germany:6 (f) | Sweden:11 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Norway:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | Iceland:L
Filming Locations:
Alabama, USA more
Company:
Columbia Pictures Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The town of Ashton, Alabama is actually Wetumpka, Alabama and Prattville, Alabama combined. more
Goofs:
Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Edward Bloom infiltrates the "North Korean" concert there are multiple languages being spoken (not just Korean). These languages include Mandarin, Cantonese, and Tagalog. However, this is done deliberately in order to obfuscate a reference to any country/war in which Ed might have been. Ed is old enough to be a veteran of WWII, but he is fighting the Chinese, who would have been allied with the US at the time. This is simply to let the audience know that the war is not WWII nor any specific war but is symbolic of all wars. Note: the translation book Edward reads on the plane in simply entitled "English to Asian". more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Young Ed Bloom: There are some fish that cannot be caught. It's not that they are faster or stronger than other fish, they're just touched by something extra.
more
Movie Connections:
References The Shining (1980) more
Soundtrack:
Dinah more

FAQ

How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
Is this movie based on a book?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
119 out of 144 people found the following comment useful.
Tim Burton's Surprise Heartwarmer, 16 February 2004
10/10
Author: ticdoulouroux from Virginia

I approach Tim Burton films with a certain trepidation. Will it be "Edward Scissorhands" or "Batman II?" With Burton you could get a quirky comedy, a dark thriller, or sweet morality tale. And there's always the possibility of Danny DeVito chomping down on a raw fish.

"Big Fish" combines Burton's unusual humor with a heart-wrenching story of a father-son deathbed reconciliation. Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor share the role of Ed Bloom, one of the big fish from the movie's title while an SUV-sized catfish plays the other. Bloom is a metaphorical and literal big fish in the small pond of Ashton, Alabama in this tale told mostly through flashback. Jessica Lange plays his wife and Billy Crudup plays the son, Will, estranged from his father for the past three years. Father and son are reunited as Finney lies dying of cancer.

Ed Bloom has spent his life spinning his personal history into mythological proportions: an early encounter with a very tall man becomes a battle with a house-sized giant; a rural village is depicted as heaven on earth; military service during the Korean War morphs into a behind-the-lines mission that would make Duke Nukem proud. Originally a true believer, Will now knows everything his father has told him was not just an exageration or even a tall tale but an outright lie. In his effort to understand the truth behind his father's stories he learns to love the man as well as the mythology. And Burton delivers a terrific punchline at the end of the film that left me both tickled and weeping, a truly weird emotional state.

Burton deals with mythic themes in "Big Fish." Besides the surface story of the generational tension between father and son he explores the metaphor of the big-fish-in-a-small-pond by examining the impact Ed Bloom has had on the lives he's touched in his workaday contacts with colleagues, customers (he's a traveling salesman), and people in the small towns across the South. Not exactly "It's A Wonderful Life," he still manages to show how all of us -- even the little fish -- have profound effects on the people around us. And of course love -- unrequited and reciprocated -- control almost all of Ed's many adventures.

The acting is wonderful. You will actually believe two Brits and a Scot (Finney, Helena Bonham Carter, and McGregor) are natives of small town Alabama. Lange brings dignity and brio to the role of the long "suffering" wife -- and she still looks great(!)-- you believe she has had a long and loving life with Finney/McGregor. DeVito is a delight in the role of a circus ringmaster. But the scene-stealer is Bonham Carter in the dual role of Jenny and the crone witch.

I rated this movie ten stars and when you see it you'll do the same.

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