And thus, an improbable and mythic journey begins. Many years and countless adventures later, Bloom (Albert Finney) is well known as a teller of tall tales about his colorful life as a less than ordinary young man (Ewan McGregor), when his wanderlust took him around the world and back again. His mythic exploits range from the delightful to the surreal, interweaving epic sagas about giants and werewolves, conjoined Korean lounge singers, a witch with a glass eye that can see the future – and of course, a big fish that refuses to be caught.
Bloom’s fabled stories charm everyone he encounters except his son Will (Billy Crudup), who has also left home but in this case to get out from under his father’s considerable shadow. When Edward becomes ill and his wife, Sandra (Jessica Lange), tries to reconcile them, Will embarks on his own personal journey trying to separate the myth from the reality of his father’s life and come to terms with the man’s giant feats and great failings.
The other travelers on this wondrous and moving voyage include Helena Bonham Carter as a woman who appears in different forms – including an enchanted witch. Alison Lohman portrays the young Sandra, the one true love of Edward’s life, and newcomer Marion Cotillard plays Will’s wife, Josephine. Steve Buscemi is the rueful poet turned bank robber turned Wall Street baron Norther Winslow and Danny DeVito plays Amos Calloway, the bamboozling owner and ringmaster of a traveling circus.
Big Fish
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Danny DeVito, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Hailey Anne Nelson, Ada Tai, Alison Lohman, Marion Cotillard
Screenplay by: John August
Production Design by: Dennis Gassner
Cinematography by: Philippe Rousselot
Film Editing by: Chris Lebenzon
Costume Design by: Colleen Atwood
Set Decoration by: Nancy Haigh
Music by: Danny Elfman
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for a fight scene, some images of nudity and a suggestive reference.
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: December 10, 2003