Synopsis

When Edward Bloom falls gravely ill, his estranged son Will returns home and tries to separate truth from the fantastic stories his father has always told about his life. As Will reconstructs Edward's past, legendary adventures, romances, and encounters gradually reveal a man whose storytelling may have been less about deception than about expressing love, identity, and the meaning he found in ordinary life.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film adapts Daniel Wallace's 1998 novel, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions. Screenwriter John August read the manuscript before publication and helped bring it to Columbia Pictures.

• Steven Spielberg was initially involved as a potential director, but left the project while concentrating on Catch Me If You Can. The production later came together with Tim Burton and producer Richard D. Zanuck.

• The story's father-son reconciliation had personal significance for Burton because his own father died in 2000, during the period when the film was being developed.

• Principal photography took place primarily in Alabama, using locations around Montgomery, Wetumpka, and nearby communities. The rural setting helped give the fantasy episodes a Southern Gothic atmosphere.

• The town of Spectre was built as a full production set on Jackson Lake Island. Several structures remained after filming and became a recognizable local attraction.

• Danny Elfman's score earned nominations at both the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards. Pearl Jam contributed the original closing-credits song "Man of the Hour," which also received a Golden Globe nomination.

• A large animatronic fish was prepared for a planned river sequence in which it would swim around Will Bloom. The difficult practical setup was ultimately not included in the finished film.

• A stage musical adaptation premiered in Chicago in 2013 before moving to Broadway.