A Lovely, Heartwarming, Mystical Fantasy

Rating: 9/10 (16 May 2004)

This was the surprise of the year for me. Although I have admired and respected Tim Burton for being able to bring his "visions" to the screen, I have felt disconnected from his movies due to characters (other than Edward Scissorhands) that were either uninteresting or unbelievable. With "Big Fish" you get it all. Wonderful storytelling by an artful director, and wonderful fleshed out characters brought to life by some fabulous actors.
From the start of the movie, you pretty much can figure out how the movie will end. Think of a combination of "The Wizard of Oz", and "I Never Sang For My Father". Dying father, disconnected son. Son feels he doesn't really know his father. Son is tired of hearing father's tall tales. Mother caught in the middle. You know what's going to happen, but it's the trip on the way to the end of the movie, that makes the movie so rewarding.
So many heartwarming but never smarmy moments. The fairytale is told in a truly lyrical style. The effects and visual feel of the movie is magical. Burton and his crew have created a feast for the eyes (not to mention a ton of tongue in cheek references to other Burton films).
Finney, Lange, McGregor and De Vito are all excellent.
I wish this film would have done better in winning more awards at the end of the year. It deserved them. 9 out of 10