Big Fish.

Big Fish is one of my all-time favorite movies.  The film is directed by the incredible Tim Burton, whose filmography includes Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Edward Scissor Hands, and my favorite movie ever Beetlejuice.  Burton is known for his weird and wacky settings, stories, and writing.  The term "Burtonesque" is sometimes used to describe movies that resemble a Tim Burton film.  The dark humor of his movies are probably what draws me to his work as an artist.

Big Fish is both different from other Burton films and the same.  The movie is not as dark and deathly as much of his other work but it has that same feel to it.  It was only recently, after having seen the movie for probably the sixth time, that I learned that Burton directed this movie.  That made it all the better!

The film was released in 2003, which was ten years ago by the way.  The film in no way feels outdated yet, because most of it is set in flashbacks and stories of when the main character Edward Bloom was a young man.  Edward Bloom, as an old man, is rehashing his life to his son Will through tall tales.  Edward senior is played by Albert Finney and Edward junior is played by Ewan McGregor.  Two talented men share the spotlight of playing the strange role of Edward Bloom.

Along with Finney and McGregor are plenty more big and talented names. Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, and Danny Devito to just name the big ones.  Jessica Lange stars in American Horror Story right now, an excellent show even though it was hard for me to get into.  Helena Bonham Carter is married to Tim Burton, has acted in many of his movies, and of course is well known for her role in the Harry Potter films as Bellatrix Lestrange.  Steve Buscemi has appeared in just about everything!  My favorite is The Wedding Singer but more recently he was in the movie Grown Ups.  Danny Devito is a big name and he currently stars in the comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

The favorite character from Big Fish is definitely Karl.  Karl is a misunderstood giant until young Edward Bloom talks to him, cleans him up, and helps him join a circus run by Devito's character.  Karl is played by the late and great Matthew McGrory who died in 2005.  McGrory was 7' 6" in real life but in Big Fish was meant to look over ten feet tall so a lot of camera tricks were used to make him look extra large.  There is so much trivia on this guy!  Apparently, he holds the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest shoe size not caused by Elephantiasis.  He wore a size 29 1/2.  He is also listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as "The Tallest Actor."  He was born fifteen pounds! Also, he was friends with Bam Margera and would hang out with his crew.  How cool is this guy?  HE WAS FRIENDS WITH BAM.

Also! Miley Cyrus has a very small role in the beginning of Big Fish.  I am not a fan of Miley but I still think it's cool that this was one of her first roles on the big screen.  She plays Ruthie, one of young Edwards friends who goes to see the witch.  It's very brief but she made a big enough impression on fans who realized it was her.  Check out the clip below of her cameo!

This movie is a tear-jerker, just to warn you if you have not yet seen it.  It's available to stream on Netflix right now, so make sure you watch while you have a chance.  It's so amazing.  Just the director and cast should be enough to make anyone want to watch this film.  The story is great, too!  All his life Edward Bloom told tall tales and in the end Edward became what he always was: a very big fish.  I want to cry just thinking about it.  The ending is so perfect.  If satisfying endings are important to you then you'll like this one.

"Did you ever think that you're not too big and that this town is just too small?"  Check out the first sighting of Karl below when he meets Edward for the first time.  What a gem this gentle giant is!

Now, "let's get out of here!"