Big Fish

"An adventure as big as life itself."

2003 2h 5m EN

🙌

7.7

BANGER

🍅

76%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★7.7TMDB · 7,977🍅76%Rotten Tomatoes●58Metacritic★8IMDB · 476,443

AdventureFantasyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures.

“An adventure as big as life itself.”

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Cast

Ewan McGregor
Ed Bloom (young)
Albert Finney
Ed Bloom (senior)
Billy Crudup
Will Bloom
Jessica Lange
Sandra Bloom (senior)
Helena Bonham Carter
Jenny (young & senior) / The Witch
Alison Lohman
Sandra Bloom (young)
Robert Guillaume
Dr. Bennett (senior)
Marion Cotillard
Josephine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tim Burton
Writers: John August, Chris Baker
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

271+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tim Burton, shot by Philippe Rousselot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chris Lebenzon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney and Billy Crudup carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "An adventure as big as life itself.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tim Burton directs. Philippe Rousselot behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Chris Lebenzon cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 23 years ago.
3271+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Tim Burton, shot by Philippe Rousselot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Chris Lebenzon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney and Billy Crudup carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "An adventure as big as life itself.".
9IMDB entry: tt0319061 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 16 themes, including "witch", "fish", "love of one's life", "parent child relationship".
11Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot
Original score: Danny Elfman
Editing: Chris Lebenzon
Production design: Dennis Gassner
Costume design: Colleen Atwood
Makeup / hair: Jean Ann Black
VFX supervisor: Kevin Scott Mack
Stunt coordinator: Charles Croughwell
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $70,000,000
Box office: $123,200,000
Return: 176% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Big Fish (2003)
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 58/100
IMDB rating: 8/10 · 476,443 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 69 nominations total

Also by

Tim Burton

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522021-05-14
★ 9/10
First time seeing this since probably 2003 in theaters and it's absolutely heartfelt and charming, probably one of Tim Burton's best films, or at least one of my personal favorites of his. Great performances all around but especially Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney. Really well done. 4.5/5
CinemaSerf2025-05-30
★ 7/10
I must admit I did struggle a little to wonder how Ewan McGregor could ever age into Albert Finley, but then as the whole principle of this story is to stretch the truth, then I suppose why not! It’s those very far-fetched sort of scenarios that caused this family’s problems in the first place as the young “Will” (Bully Crudup) has to return home after a three year estrangement from dad “Ed” (Finney) when the latter man is diagnosed with terminal cancer. A sort of uneasy truce breaks out between them as we realise that extent of their issues is more that the young lad actually believed some of the fantastic fables he was being spun by his enthusiastic younger dad (McGregor) and so feels that somehow he has been betrayed and lied to all these years. The most preposterous of those sees an early witchery outing for Helena Bonham Carter as the neighbour whose glass eye will espy the impending death of the startlingly naive young “Will”. The only solution here seems to be that dad acknowledges his failings to his profoundly disappointed son and maybe some form of reconciliation might emerge from these truths. “Edward” isn’t the apologising type, though, and so a bit of a Mexican stand-off seems destined to thwart any possibility of a rapprochement. Then again, could there be some truth to the old man’s stories after all? The inventive use of flashback and two really quite engaging efforts from McGregor and a sparingly used but effective Finney give this a certain poignancy as the ridiculousness of the initial premise of their falling out gives way to more serious and profound issues about truth. What might that actually be, and need it be the same truth for everyone? Maybe, just maybe, the young “Will” needs to take things a little less on face value? As the film progresses, the story becomes increasingly more touching and for that, the equally on-form Crudup can take much credit as this character study advances in the face of one tragedy, certainly, but hopefully not two. The switching around of the timelines works well and allows the production to indulge itself in two totally different eras with all of the creative benefits that offers. It’s quirky, quite funny and well worth a couple of hours.