Big Fish - Wikipedia Big Fish This article is about the 2003 film. For other uses, see Big Fish ( disambiguation ). Big Fish Theatrical release poster Directed by Tim Burton Produced by Richard D. Zanuck Bruce Cohen Dan Jinks Screenplay by John August Based on Big Fish : A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace Starring Ewan McGregor Albert Finney Billy Crudup Jessica Lange Helena Bonham Carter Alison Lohman Robert Guillaume Marion Cotillard Steve Buscemi Danny DeVito Music by Danny Elfman Cinematography Philippe Rousselot Edited by Chris Lebenzon Production company Jinks / Cohen Company The Zanuck Company Distributed by Columbia Pictures Release date December 4, 2003 ( 2003 - 12 - 04 ) ( New York City ) December 10, 2003 ( 2003 - 12 - 10 ) ( United States ) Running time 125 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $70 million Box office $122.9 million Big Fish is a 2003 American fantasy comedy - 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, and Danny DeVito among others. Edward Bloom ( Finney ), a former traveling salesman in the Southern United States with a gift for storytelling, is now confined to his deathbed. Will ( Crudup ), his estranged son, attempts to mend their relationship as Bloom relates tall tales of his eventful life as a young adult ( portrayed by Ewan McGregor in the flashback scenes ). 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 Ewan 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. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Themes 4 Production 4.1 Development 4.2 Casting 4.3 Filming 4.4 Music 5 Release 5.1 Critical response 5.2 Home media 6 Accolades 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links Plot At Will 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, having heard these stories all his life, believes them to be lies and falls out with his father. Three years later, Edward is stricken with cancer, so Will and his pregnant French wife Joséphine return to his childhood home in Alabama to spend time with his father. Edward 's life is told through flashbacks, beginning with his encounter with a witch in his hometown, Ashton. She shows him his death but he reacts to it without fear. As he grows into adulthood, he finds his home too confining, and sets out into the world with a misunderstood giant, Karl, who has come to town with a traveling circus. Edward and Karl find a fork in the road and travel down separate paths. Edward follows a path through a swamp and discovers the secret town of Spectre, the cheery locals claiming he was expected. There, he befriends Ashton poet Norther Winslow and the mayor 's daughter Jenny. However, Edward leaves Spectre, unwilling to settle down but promises Jenny he will return. In the present day, Joséphine speaks to the bed - ridden Edward and asks him to tell her the story of how he met his wife Sandra, with Will listening outside the door. Returning to his reminisces, Edward reunites with Karl and they visit the Calloway Circus, where Edward falls in love with a beautiful woman. Karl and Edward get jobs in the circus where the ringmaster Amos Calloway reveals to Edward one detail about the woman at the end of every month. Three years later, Edward discovers that Amos is secretly a werewolf but shows no ill - will towards his employer. Amos, upon returning to normal, reveals the woman is Sandra, and she attends Auburn University. Edward confesses his love to Sandra, but she declines his wedding proposal despite numerous romantic gestures. He then learns she is already engaged to Don Price, a fellow Ashton citizen. Don beats Edward in a fight, prompting Sandra to break off their engagement and marry Edward. Shortly after, Edward is conscripted into the army and sent to fight in the Korean War. He parachutes into the middle of a North Korean military show, steals important documents, and convinces Siamese twins Ping and Jing to help him go home in exchange for making them celebrities. Upon returning home, Edward becomes a travelling salesman and crosses paths with Winslow, unwittingly helping him rob a failing bank, inspiring the poet to work on Wall Street. In the present, Will investigates the truth behind his father 's tales and travels to Spectre. He meets an older Jenny, who explains that Edward rescued the town from bankruptcy and rebuilt it with help from his friends from Calloway Circus. Will suggests that Jenny had an affair with his father, but she reveals while she loved Edward, he remained loyal to Sandra. Will returns home but learns Edward has had a stroke and stays with him at the hospital. Edward wakes up but, unable to speak much, asks Will to narrate how his life ends. Though struggling, Will tells his father of their imagined daring escape from the hospital to the nearby lake, where everyone from Edward 's past is there to see him off. Will takes Edward into the river, where he transforms into the giant catfish and swims away. A satisfied Edward dies, knowing Will finally understands his love for storytelling. At the funeral, Will and Joséphine are surprised when all the people from Edward 's stories come to the service, though each one is a slightly less fantastical version than described. Will, finally understanding his father 's love for life, passes on Edward 's stories to his own son. Cast Albert Finney as old Edward Bloom Ewan McGregor as young Edward Bloom Perry Walston as 10 - year old Edward Bloom Billy Crudup as Will Bloom Grayson Stone as 6 -- 8 - year old Will Bloom Jessica Lange as Sandra K. Bloom Alison Lohman as the young Sandra, née Templeton Marion Cotillard as Joséphine Bloom Helena Bonham Carter as Jenny Hill Hailey Anne Nelson as 8 - year - old Jenny Hill Robert Guillaume as Dr. Bennett Karlos Walkes as young Dr. Bennett Matthew McGrory as Karl Steve Buscemi as Norther Winslow Danny DeVito as Amos Calloway Loudon Wainwright III as Beamen Missi Pyle as Mildred Ada Tai and Arlene Tai as Ping and Jing David Denman as Don Price John Lowell as 12 - year old Don Price Bevin Kaye as River Woman ( Fish ) Destiny Cyrus as 8 - year - old Ruthie Daniel Wallace as Economics teacher Deep Roy as Mr. Soggybottom George McArthur as Colossus Themes `` Big Fish is about what 's real and what 's fantastic, what 's true and what 's not true, what 's partially true and how, in the end, it 's all true. '' Tim Burton The reconciliation of the father - son relationship between Edward and William is the key theme in Big Fish. Novelist Daniel Wallace 's interest in the theme of the father - son relationship began with his own family. Wallace found the `` charming '' character of Edward Bloom similar to his father, who used charm to keep his distance from other people. In the film, Will believes Edward has never been honest with him because Edward creates extravagant myths about his past to hide himself, using storytelling as an avoidance mechanism. Edward 's stories are filled with fairy tale characters ( a witch, mermaid, giant, and werewolf ) and places ( the circus, small towns, the mythological city of Spectre ), all of which are classic images and archetypes. The quest motif propels both Edward 's story and Will 's attempt to get to the bottom of it. Wallace explains : `` The father 's quest is to be a big fish in a big pond, and the son 's quest is to see through his tall tales. '' Screenwriter John August identified with Will 's character and adapted it after himself. In college, August 's father died, and like Will, August had attempted to get to know him before his death, but found it difficult. Like Will, August had studied journalism and was 28 years old. In the film, Will says of Edward, `` I did n't see anything of myself in my father, and I do n't think he saw anything of himself in me. We were like strangers who knew each other very well. '' Will 's description of his relationship with Edward closely resembled August 's own relationship with his father. Burton also used the film to confront his thoughts and emotions concerning the death of his father in 2000 : `` My father had been ill for a while... I tried to get in touch with him, to have, like in this film, some sort of resolution, but it was impossible. '' Religion and film scholar Kent L. Brintnall observes how the father - son relationship resolves itself at the end of the film. As Edward dies, Will finally lets go of his anger and begins to understand his father for the first time : In a final gesture of love and comprehension, after a lifetime of despising his father 's stories and his father as story - teller, Will finishes the story his father has begun, pulling together the themes, images and characters of his father 's storied life to blend reality and fantasy in act of communion and care. By unselfishly releasing the anger he has held about his father 's stories, Will gains the understanding that all we are our stories and that his father 's stories gave him a reality and substance and a dimension that was as real, genuine, and deep as the day - to - day experiences that Will sought out. Will comes to understand, then, that his father -- and the rest of us -- are our stories and that the deeper reality of our lives may, in fact, not be our truest self. Production Development About six months before it was published, screenwriter John August read a manuscript of Big Fish : A Novel of Mythic Proportions ( 1998 ) by author Daniel Wallace. August read the unpublished novel following the death of his father. In September 1998, August convinced Columbia Pictures to acquire the film rights on his behalf. August worked hard to make the episodic book into a cohesive screenplay, deciding on several narrators for the script. In August 2000, producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks began discussions for Steven Spielberg to direct. Spielberg planned to have DreamWorks co-finance and distribute Big Fish with Columbia, and planned to have filming start in late 2001, after completing Minority Report ( 2002 ). Spielberg courted Jack Nicholson for the role of Edward Bloom, Sr. and towards this end, had August compose two additional drafts for Nicholson 's part. August recalls : `` There was this thought that there was n't enough for Jack Nicholson to do in the movie so we built new sequences. Pieces got moved around, but it was n't a lot of new stuff being created. It ended up being a really good intellectual exercise in my explaining and defending and reanalyzing pieces of the story. '' Spielberg eventually left Big Fish when he became distracted with Catch Me If You Can ( 2002 ), and DreamWorks also backed out of the film. With Spielberg no closer to committing, August, working with Jinks and Cohen, considered Stephen Daldry as a potential director. `` Once Steven decided he was n't going to do it, we put the script back to the way it was, '' recalls Jinks. `` Steven even said, ' I think I made a mistake with a couple of things I asked you guys to try. ' '' August took his favorite elements from the previous drafts, coming up with what he called `` a best - of Big Fish script. `` By the time we approached Tim Burton, the script was in the best shape it had ever been. '' `` My father had recently died and, although I was n't really close to him, it was a heavy time, and it made me start thinking and going back to the past. It was something that was very difficult for me to discuss, but then this script came along and it actually dealt with those same issues, and so it was an amazing catharsis to do this film -- because you 're able to work through those feelings without having to talk to a therapist about it. '' Tim Burton Burton had never been particularly close to his parents, but his father 's death in October 2000 and his mother 's in March 2002 affected him deeply. Following the production of Planet of the Apes ( 2001 ), the director wanted to get back to making a smaller film. Burton enjoyed the script, feeling that it was the first unique story he was offered since Beetlejuice ( 1988 ). Burton also found appeal in the story 's combination of an emotional drama with exaggerated tall tales, which allowed him to tell various stories of different genres. He signed to direct in April 2002, which prompted Richard D. Zanuck, who worked with Burton on Planet of the Apes, to join Big Fish as a producer. Zanuck also had a difficult relationship with his own father, Darryl F. Zanuck, who once fired him as head of production at 20th Century Fox. Casting For the role of Edward Bloom, Burton spoke with Jack Nicholson, Spielberg 's initial choice for the role. Burton had previously worked with Nicholson on Batman ( 1989 ) and Mars Attacks ! ( 1996 ). In order to depict Nicholson as the young Bloom, Burton intended to use a combination of computer - generated imagery and prosthetic makeup. The director then decided to cast around for the two actors in question. Jinks and Cohen, who were then working with Ewan McGregor on Down with Love ( 2003 ), suggested that Burton cast both McGregor and Albert Finney for Edward. Burton later compared McGregor 's acting style to regular colleague Johnny Depp. Viewing Finney 's performance in Tom Jones ( 1963 ), Burton found him similar to McGregor, and coincidentally found a People magazine article comparing the two. McGregor, being Scottish, found it easier performing with a Southern American English accent. `` It 's a much easier accent to do than a standard American accent because you can really hear it. You can get your teeth into it. Standard American is much harder because it 's more lyrical. '' The same dual casting applied to the role of Bloom 's wife, Sandra, who would be played by Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman. Burton commented that he was impressed with Lohman 's performance in White Oleander ( 2002 ). Burton 's girlfriend, Helena Bonham Carter, was also cast in two roles. Her prosthetic makeup for The Witch took five hours to apply. `` I was pregnant throughout filming, so it was weird being a pregnant witch, '' the actress reflected. `` I had morning sickness, so all those fumes and the make - up and the rubber... it was hideous. '' Burton personalized the film with several cameos. While filming in Alabama, the crew tracked down Billy Redden, one of the original banjo players from Deliverance ( 1972 ). Redden was working as a part - owner of a restaurant in Clayton, Georgia, and he agreed to reprise his role in the Spectre vignette. As Edward Bloom first enters the town, Redden can be seen on a porch plucking a few notes from `` Dueling Banjos ''. Burton was pleased with the result : `` If you 're watching the film and do n't recognise the solitary, enigmatic figure on the porch, that 's fine. But if you do -- well, it just makes me so happy to see him and I think other people will feel the same way. '' Original Big Fish author Daniel Wallace makes a brief appearance as Sandra 's economics teacher in the `` Courtship of Sandra Templeton '' scene. Filming Burton focused on the story and limited the use of digital effects. Costume designer Colleen Atwood created special dresses for identical twins Ada and Arlene Tai. One set of dresses created the effect of fused twins on camera, while another set enhanced the added CGI of conjoined twins. Burton planned to start filming in October 2002, but principal photography in Alabama did not begin until January 13, 2003. Apart from filming in Paris for one week in May, Big Fish was entirely shot in Alabama, mostly in Wetumpka and Montgomery ( such as the Cloverdale neighborhood ). Brief filming also took place in Tallassee and on the campus of Huntingdon College. Scenes for the town of Spectre were filmed on a custom set located on an island in Lake Jackson between Montgomery and Millbrook, Alabama, adjacent to the Alabama River. Principal photography for Big Fish in Alabama continued until the first week of April. and is estimated to have generated as much as $25 million for the local economy. Burton filmed all the dramatic hospital scenes and most of those involving Finney first, before moving on to the McGregor section of Bloom 's life. Although McGregor was on set from the beginning of filming, Burton chose to shoot all Finney 's scenes first. Location filming in Alabama was delayed by inclement weather ; during the Calloway circus scenes filming, a tornado watch was issued and flooding on the set interrupted filming for several weeks. Despite the delays, Burton delivered the film on budget and on schedule. The director attempted to limit the use of digital effects. However, because he wanted to evoke a Southern Gothic fantasy tone for Big Fish, color grading techniques were applied by Sony Pictures Imageworks. Stan Winston Studios, with whom Burton worked with on Edward Scissorhands ( 1990 ) and Batman Returns ( 1992 ), designed Helena Bonham Carter 's prosthetic makeup and created the animatronics. Scenes with Karl the Giant were commissioned using forced perspective filmmaking. Music Main article : Big Fish ( soundtrack ) The soundtrack was composed by regular Burton collaborator Danny Elfman. Burton approached Pearl Jam during post-production to request an original song for the soundtrack and closing credits. After screening an early print of the film, Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder wrote `` Man of the Hour '', completing the demo by the next day. It was recorded by the band four days later. Guitarist Mike McCready stated, `` We were so blown away by the movie... Eddie and I were standing around talking about it afterwards and were teary - eyed. We were so emotionally charged and moved by the imagination and humanity that we felt because of the movie. '' Release Columbia Pictures planned to wide release Big Fish in the United States on November 26, 2003 before pushing it back to December 10 for a limited release. The film premiered on December 4, 2003 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. The domestic wide release in the US came on January 9, 2004, with the film appearing in 2,406 theaters and earning $13.81 million in its opening weekend. The film eventually grossed $66.81 million in U.S. totals and $56.11 million in foreign countries, with a total of $122.92 million worldwide. Critical response Big Fish received positive reviews from film critics. Based on 212 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 77 % of the critics positively reviewed Big Fish, for an average score of 7.2 / 10. Metacritic calculated an average score of 58 / 100, based on 43 reviews. Observations modeled the film after Forrest Gump ( 1994 ). `` Big Fish turns into a wide - eyed Southern Gothic picaresque in which each lunatic twist of a development is more enchanting than the last, '' Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote. `` It 's like Forrest Gump without the bogus theme - park politics. '' Peter Travers from Rolling Stone magazine praised Burton 's direction, feeling it was a celebration of the art of storytelling and a touching father -- son drama. Mike Clark of USA Today commented that he was most fascinated by the casting choices. `` Equally delightful is the Alison Lohman character 's evolution into an older woman ( Jessica Lange ). It 's a metamorphosis to equal any in screen history. '' Internet reviewer James Berardinelli found the fairy tale approach reminiscent of The Princess Bride ( 1987 ) and the films of Terry Gilliam. `` Big Fish is a clever, smart fantasy that targets the child inside every adult, '' Berardinelli said, `` without insulting the intelligence of either. '' Roger Ebert, in a mixed review, wrote `` there is no denying that Will has a point : The old man is a blowhard. There is a point at which his stories stop working as entertainment and segue into sadism. '' Richard Corliss of Time magazine was disappointed, finding the father - son reconciliation storyline to be over-dramatically cliché. `` You recall The Boy Who Cried Wolf ? Edward Bloom is the man who cried fish. '' Big Fish was # 85 on Slant Magazine 's best films of the 2000s. Home media The Region 1 DVD was released on April 27, 2004, and Region 2 was released on June 7. The DVD features a Burton audio commentary track, seven featurettes and a trivia quiz. A special edition was released on November 1, 2005, with a 24 - page hardback book entitled Fairy Tale for a Grown Up. The film was released on Blu - ray Disc on March 20, 2007. Accolades Big Fish received four nominations at the 61st Golden Globe Awards ( but no winners ) for Best Motion Picture ( Musical or Comedy ), Best Supporting Actor ( Finney ), Best Original Score and Best Original Song ( Pearl Jam 's `` Man of the Hour '' ). At the 57th British Academy Film Awards, the film received seven nominations from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, including Best Film, Best Direction ( Tim Burton ), Best Adapted Screenplay ( John August ), Best Actor in a Supporting Role ( Albert Finney ), Best Production Design ( Dennis Gassner ), Best Visual Effects ( Kevin Scott Mack, Seth Maury, Lindsay MacGowan, Paddy Eason ) as well as Best Makeup and Hair ( Jean Ann Black and Paul LeBlanc ). Finney received another nomination for Best Actor at the 30th Saturn Awards, where the film was also nominated for Best Fantasy Film. At the 76th Academy Awards, Danny Elfman was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. In 2005, Elfman received a nomination at the 47th Grammy Awards for the Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture. References ^ Jump up to : `` Big Fish ( 2003 ) > Production Budget > Domestic Total Gross + Foreign ''. Box Office Mojo. IMDb. boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2012 - 08 - 31. Jump up ^ Gleiberman, Owen. ( December 19, 2003 ). Big Fish. Entertainment Weekly. Jump up ^ Hirschberg, Lynn ( 2003 - 11 - 09 ). `` Drawn to Narrative ''. The New York Times Magazine. p. 650. Jump up ^ Salisbury, Mark ; Tim Burton ( 2006 ). `` Introduction to the Revised Edition by Mark Salisbury ''. Burton on Burton. Faber and Faber. London. p. XX. ISBN 0 - 571 - 22926 - 3. Burton connected to its central theme of a son trying to reconcile with his dying father, and the script gave him a means to address his feelings about the death of his own father, who had died in 2000. ^ Jump up to : Fraga, Kristian, ed. ( 2005 ). Tim Burton : Interviews. Conversations with Filmmakers Series. University Press of Mississippi. p. XIX. ISBN 1 - 57806 - 759 - 6. ^ Jump up to : Lundberg, Jason Erik ( 2004 - 10 - 11 ). `` Interview : Daniel Wallace ''. Strange Horizons. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 28. Jump up ^ Kehr, Dave ( Nov -- Dec 2003 ). `` Tim Burton Comes Home with a Story about Tall Tales and Simple Truths ''. Film Comment. Film Society of Lincoln Center. 39 ( 6 ) : 14. ISSN 0015 - 119X. ^ Jump up to : Cohen, Bruce ; Burton, Tim ( 2004 ). Big Fish : A Fairytale World ( DVD commentary track ). Columbia Pictures. ^ Jump up to : August, John ; Daniel Wallace ( 2004 ). Big fish : The Shooting Script ( PDF ). Newmarket Press. ISBN 1 - 55704 - 626 - 3. Jump up ^ Brintnall, Kent L. ( April 2004 ). `` Big Fish ''. Journal of Religion & Film. University of Nebraska at Omaha. 8 ( 1 ). Jump up ^ August, John ( 2004 ). Big Fish : The Author 's Journey ( DVD commentary track ). Columbia Pictures. Event occurs at 1 : 23. Jump up ^ Fleming, Michael ( 1998 - 09 - 21 ). `` Col reels in Wallace 's ' Big Fish ' ''. Variety. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 20. ^ Jump up to : Salisbury, Mark ( February 2004 ). `` Of Myth & Men ''. Empire. access - date = requires url = ( help ) ^ Jump up to : Greg Dean Schmitz. `` Big Fish : Greg 's Preview ''. Yahoo ! Movies. Archived from the original on 2006 - 05 - 27. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 12. Jump up ^ Fleming, Michael ; Claude Brodesser ( 2000 - 08 - 10 ). `` Col ' Fish ' may hook Spielberg ''. Variety. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 20. ^ Jump up to : Harmon, Rick ( 2002 - 09 - 14 ). `` Movie 's director spotted ''. Montgomery Advertiser. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Tyrangiel, Josh ( 2003 - 12 - 01 ). `` Big Fish In His Own Pond ''. Time. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 21. Jump up ^ Dunkley, Cathy ( 2002 - 04 - 29 ). `` Helmer reels in ' Big Fish ' for Columbia ''. Variety. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 20. Jump up ^ Murray, Rebecca ( 2003 - 12 - 09 ). `` Ewan McGregor and Alison Lohman Pair Up on Screen in `` Big Fish '' ``. About.com. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 12. Jump up ^ Maynard, Kevin ( 2003 - 03 - 03 ). `` ' Fish ' tale brings Burton to fantasyland ''. Variety. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 20. Jump up ^ Murray, Rebecca ( 2003 - 12 - 09 ). `` '' Big Fish '' Makes a Big Impression on Its Cast ``. About.com. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 12. Jump up ^ Buncombe, Andrew ( 2003 - 11 - 16 ). `` Deliverance : Billy 's back with his banjo ''. The Independent. Burton, Tim ( 2004 ). Big Fish ( DVD commentary track ). Columbia Pictures. Event occurs at 30 : 47. Akron Beacon Journal. 2004 - 09 - 24. Jump up ^ Burton, Tim ( 2004 ). Big Fish ( DVD commentary track ). Columbia Pictures. Jump up ^ Molineaux, Sam ( January 13, 2004 ). `` Flights of Fancy ''. Variety. Reed Business Information. 282 ( 11 ) : A6 -- A11. ISSN 0011 - 5509. ^ Jump up to : Desowtiz, Bill ( 2003 - 12 - 10 ). `` Burton Applies Light CG Touch to Big Fish ''. VFX World. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 12. ^ Jump up to : Staff ( 2002 - 08 - 28 ). `` Area sites reel in ' Big Fish ' ''. Montgomery Advertiser. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Harmon, Rick ( 2002 - 01 - 10 ). `` ' Big Fish ' actors here already ''. Montgomery Advertiser. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Joo, Johnny ( July 8, 2015 ). `` The Abandoned Town of Spectre ''. Architectural Afterlife. Retrieved July 17, 2015. Jump up ^ Google ( 25 August 2015 ). `` Google Maps - `` Town of Spectre '' '' ( Map ). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 25 August 2015. Jump up ^ https://www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=32.44875&lon=-86.33664&datum=nad83&zoom=4&map=auto&coord=d&mode=zoomin&size=m Jump up ^ Harmon, Rick ( 2002 - 11 - 07 ). `` ' Big Fish ' will be filmed in the Montgomery area ''. Montgomery Advertiser. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Burton, Tim ( 2004 ). Big Fish ( DVD commentary track ). Columbia Pictures. Event occurs at 53 : 43. Jump up ^ Topel, Fred ( 2003 - 12 - 09 ). `` Tim Burton Reels in Big Fish ''. IGN. Archived from the original on May 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 21. Jump up ^ Topel, Fred ( 2003 - 12 - 10 ). `` An Interview with Ewan McGregor ''. IGN. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Lammers, Tim ( 2004 - 01 - 08 ). `` '' Man Of The Hour '' Up For BFCA, Golden Globe Awards ``. WDIV - TV. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ Snyder, Gabriel ( 2003 - 08 - 07 ). `` Inside Move : Col ' Fish ' story gets bigger ''. Variety. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 20. Jump up ^ Linder, Brian ( 2003 - 08 - 28 ). `` Burton 's Fish Story Shifted ''. IGN. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 21. Jump up ^ Mitchell - Marell, Gabrielle ( 2003 - 12 - 08 ). `` Big ' Fish ' fry for Gotham ''. Variety. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Big Fish ( 2003 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Big Fish ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Big Fish ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 11. ^ Jump up to : Travers, Peter ( 2003 - 11 - 20 ). `` Big Fish ''. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 13. ^ Jump up to : Clark, Mike ( 2003 - 12 - 24 ). `` Fanciful ' Big Fish ' swimming in visual delight ''. USA Today. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ Gleiberman, Owen ( 2003 - 12 - 03 ). `` Big Fish ''. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ Berardinelli, James. `` Big Fish ''. ReelViews. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 14. Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( 2003 - 12 - 24 ). `` Big Fish ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 16. Jump up ^ Corliss, Richard ( 2003 - 12 - 08 ). `` Seven Holiday Treats ''. Time. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Best of the Aughts : Film ''. Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2010. Jump up ^ Buchanan, Jason. `` Big Fish ( April 27, 2004 Columbia TriStar ) ''. Allmovie. Archived from the original ( Overview ) on December 10, 2009. Retrieved October 13, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Big Fish ( June 7, 2004 Columbia Tristar ) ''. Allmovie. Archived from the original ( Overview ) on 2012 - 06 - 05. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ Germain, David ( 2005 - 08 - 30 ). `` New on DVD ''. Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2006 - 01 - 06. See also : Kuebler, Monica S. ( May 2004 ). `` Big Fish ''. Exclaim !. Jump up ^ `` Big Fish ( Blu - ray ) ( Mar 20, 2007 Sony Pictures ) ''. Allmovie. Archived from the original ( Overview ) on 2012 - 06 - 05. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Big Fish ''. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved July 13, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Big Fish ''. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Past Saturn Awards ''. Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ Leopold, Todd ( 2003 - 03 - 24 ). `` ' Chicago ' triumphs at Oscars ''. CNN. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ Morris, Chris ( 2004 - 12 - 08 ). `` Grammy noms pointing West ''. The Hollywood Reporter. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Further reading August, John ( Jan -- Feb 2004 ). `` Big Fish ''. Script Magazine. Final Draft. 10 ( 1 ). McCarthy, Todd ( December 1, 2003 ). `` Big Fish ''. Variety. Reed Business Information. 293 ( 13 ) : 45. McMahan, Alison ( 2005 ). The Films of Tim Burton : Animating Live Action in Contemporary Hollywood. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0 - 8264 - 1567 - 9. Scott, A.O. ( December 10, 2003 ). `` Big Fish -- Film Review ; Hook, Line and Sinker : A Life of Telling Tall Tales ''. The New York Times. ( registration required ) Wilson, Barrie ( Spring 2008 ). `` Big Fish : Understanding Historical Narrative ''. Journal of Religion and Popular Culture. Department of Religious Studies and Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan. 18 ( 1 ). Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Big Fish Film portal 2000s portal Official website Big Fish on IMDb Big Fish at AllMovie Big Fish at Rotten Tomatoes Big Fish at Box Office Mojo Big Fish at the Wayback Machine ( archived May 23, 2006 ) at Montgomery Advertiser Tim Burton Filmography Frequent collaborators Unproduced projects Tim Burton Productions Directorial works Feature films Pee - wee 's Big Adventure ( 1985 ) Beetlejuice ( 1988 ) Batman ( 1989 ) Edward Scissorhands ( 1990 ) Batman Returns ( 1992 ) Ed Wood ( 1994 ) Mars Attacks ! ( 1996 ) Sleepy Hollow ( 1999 ) Planet of the Apes ( 2001 ) Big Fish ( 2003 ) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ( 2005 ) Corpse Bride ( 2005 ) Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ( 2007 ) Alice in Wonderland ( 2010 ) Dark Shadows ( 2012 ) Frankenweenie ( 2012 ) Big Eyes ( 2014 ) Miss Peregrine 's Home for Peculiar Children ( 2016 ) Dumbo ( 2019 ) Short films The Island of Doctor Agor ( 1971 ) Stalk of the Celery Monster ( 1979 ) Hansel and Gretel ( 1982 ) Vincent ( 1982 ) Frankenweenie ( 1984 ) Stainboy ( 2000 ) Music videos `` Bones '' `` Here with Me '' Produced only The Nightmare Before Christmas ( 1993 ) Cabin Boy ( 1994 ) Batman Forever ( 1995 ) James and the Giant Peach ( 1996 ) 9 ( 2009 ) Abraham Lincoln : Vampire Hunter ( 2012 ) Alice Through the Looking Glass ( 2016 ) Literature The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories ( 1997 ) Television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents ( `` The Jar '', 1986 ) Faerie Tale Theatre ( `` Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp '', 1986 ) Beetlejuice ( 1989 -- 91 ) Family Dog ( 1993 ) VIAF : 316752125 GND : 4781688 - 0 SUDOC : 179323563 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Fish&oldid=804517265 '' Categories : 2003 films English - language films 2000s fantasy films American drama films American films Columbia Pictures films Fiction with unreliable narrators Films based on American novels Films based on fantasy novels Films directed by Tim Burton Films set in Alabama Films set in Paris Films set in the 1940s Films set in the 1950s Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1970s Films set in the 1980s Films shot in Alabama Korean War films Magic realism films Werewolves in film Witchcraft in film Screenplays by John August Film scores by Danny Elfman Films produced by Richard D. 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Question: what is the theme of the book big fish
Answer: reconciliation of the father-son relationship