Big Fish is a 2003 fantasy movie directed by Tim Burton, that is based on the novel “Big Fish: A novel of Mythic Proportions” by Daniel Wallace. The movie stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Danny DeVito, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Billy Crudup, Alison Lohman, Hailey Anne Nelson, Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard. Having recently lost both his parents, Burton found the script to be a touching and relevant project to his state of mind at the time and noted that the story itself was the most unique he had read since his work on 1988’s Beetlejuice.
At the end of this article, you will find tp interesting 10 facts about Big Fish.
Big Fish was a huge financial success upon its initial release, but it also received Golden Globe, BAFTA, Saturn, and Oscar nominations (Budget: $70,000,000; Box Office Gross: $122,920,000).
Many people have argued that Big Fish is one of Tim Burton’s best movies. There is a lot of free-wheeling fun but it also has the same emotional appeal as Edward Scissorhands. The central conflict of the film is the relationship between a father and his son.
Please be aware that the remainder of this article may contain spoilers. So be warned: don’t read any further if you haven’t seen Big Fish and want to watch it without spoilers.
Synopsis
We first meet the main character, Edward Bloom (Albert Finney), when he is an elderly man who enchants everyone except his son, Will (Billy Crudup), with his bizarre stories. Then we flash back to Ed as a young man (Ewan McGregor) catching the title’s uncatchable fish. Then, as the story progresses, we see his unforgettable birth (literally popping out of his mother’s womb) and childhood. An early encounter with an old witch (Helena Bonham Carter) who can see how people die through her glass eye is classic Burton – creepy and fun. The film alternates between Ed’s fantastical exaggerations and naturalistic, real-world scenes featuring the older, dying Bloom and his estranged son, but the contrast is striking. The characters Ed meets, ranging from giants to bank robber poets to circus performers to werewolves, are all fascinating creations.
“There’s a time when a man needs to fight, and a time when he needs to accept that his destiny is lost, the ship has sailed and only a fool would continue. Truth is I’ve always been a fool.” – Edward Bloom
10 Things you probably didn’t know about the movie Big Fish
1. Producers cast Ewan McGregor as Young Ed Bloom after noticing a striking resemblance between him and images of a young Albert Finney, who plays Senior Ed Bloom.
2. The elephant pooping while Edward daydreams was an unscripted joke. The film crew thought it was hilarious and quickly zoomed out to capture the entire thing.
3. When Norther Winslow shows Edward his half-completed poem (Grass so green / Skies so blue / Spectre is really great!) the handwriting is that of director Tim Burton.
4. Despite the fact that Young Edward lands in Korea, the ventriloquist and his puppet speak Tagalog (the Philippine language), while the Siamese twins and Edward speak Cantonese (a Chinese dialect). The soldiers who remove the ventriloquist from the stage, speak Mandarin Chinese (the language of mainland China and Taiwan), while the other soldiers speak Korean.
5.When young Edward Bloom sings in church and his voice breaks, we hear a single note that is actually Ewan McGregor.
6. Steven Spielberg was attached to this project and wanted Jack Nicholson to star, but due to his full schedule, he dropped out, and Tim Burton quickly signed on.
7. Helena Bonham Carter was pregnant at the time of filming.
8. As one of the fishing lures rotates, the image of a skull can be seen. This is evident at the beginning of the film when Ewan McGregor, the narrator, discusses how some fish cannot be caught.
9. Daniel Wallace, the original book’s author, appears as Sandra’s Auburn economics professor.
10. Tim Burton makes a cameo as one of the clowns sitting near Mr. Calloway’s trailer who flees when the wolf jumps from it.
