A fanciful story explaining a life of fanciful stories, beautifully!

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2003)

'Big Fish' is an intriguing and beautiful fantasy from the imagination of Tim Burton. The entire cast is brilliant, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange and all the rest too. The movie is charming and lovely, spectacular but not overdone. It was surprisingly wholesome.
This type of movie has the same southern charm as 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'. It's a fairytale of the same breed as 'The Princess Bride' though it's more whimsical, less sarcastic. They let the magic flow, and don't squelch it by explaining it away. Although, the editing is tight, you don't feel confused at the end. Some of the special effects are so convincing, I thought they were real, even after a minute or two. Parts of it remind me of Alice In Wonderland, other parts are more like a classic hero movie from the 1940's.
There's love, fantastic creatures, slapstick, haunted woods, and paradises. The movie is about overcoming obstacles more than anything. It's mantra could be FDR's famous line "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." It's probably the best movie I've seen this year, and that's saying a lot.