Quirky and lovable - Burton just about carries it off this time

Rating: 7/10 (2 February 2004)

One of the quirkiest and lost lovable of films, Big Fish is about a grandfather who has perfected the art of telling bedtime stories. His stories are all made up, all feature fictionalised episodes from his own past life, and polished to a degree that make them in demand to children and adults alike (except to his own grown-up children, who have heard them once too often). The second most difficult thing about grandfather Ed Bloom is that he is constantly telling these stories. The most difficult thing is that, when it comes to his own life, he tells nothing else.
Most of the film is devoted to putting these stories into pictures, just as he tells them. Fantastical, endlessly inventive and incredibly entertaining, they would be enough for a film itself if only aimed at children; but what makes Big Fish a joy for adults as well as kids is that Ed Bloom's life becomes more than that, it becomes an illustration of the fantastic within all of us and how valuable that it. He is a self-mythologizing man, a living example of the magic that can put a sparkle of wonder in a child's eye, and remind us that imagination is a wonderful thing, not just for storytelling, but to realise the greatness within each of us. It is also one of whimsical and visionary director Tim Burton's most rounded and mature films to date, and makes good use of a star studded cast that includes Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter and Steve Buscemi. A film to leave you smiling all the way home.