Big Fish 2003

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Burton has not given his imagination such free rein since Edward Scissorhands, and this stands with that and the equally generous Ed Wood as one of his best movies. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Burton's fabled imagination runs wild with this material, and Big Fish often achieves a whimsical, poetic beauty. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Big Fish is so strange and so literary that audiences seeking conventional fare may get impatient with it. But it always takes effort to catch the big ones. This one is worth it. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: ... an amazing looking film. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Mostly confined to bed throughout the film, Finney pulls us to him with a flawless combination of theatrical skill and movie-star radiance. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The picture's images linger. Read more

Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times: Big fish often swim in small ponds, but in Tim Burton's wistful new film about a son, a father and the lies that come between them there are no small ponds -- just big, bright movie sets shimmering and bubbling with the director's imagination. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Burton shows the rivalry between father and son but not the rancor, which seems to fit with the film's calm lyricism. But the father-son conflict is meant as the dramatic crux, and a forceful actor would have given it some much-needed bite. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: An enchanting tale from Tim Burton that weaves together reality and myth so touchingly it hardly matters which is which. Read more

Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com: A compelling look at the relationships between fathers and sons, and the child coming to terms with the parent's mortality. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: A bountiful pleasure. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: A gently overstuffed cinematic pinata, crammed with tall tales -- with giants and circuses and fairy-tale woods, plus a huge squirmy catfish, all served up with a literal matter-of-fact fancy that is very pleasing. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: Offers its audience a long and winding road, with refreshing pauses. And it proves that mega-budgets have not spoiled Tim Burton's vision. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: The whole seems disjointed, incoherent and lacking in the startling originality of the other two Edwards (Scissorhands and Wood) who, half a career back, poured from Burton's distended outsider imagination. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Big Fish flounders largely because Burton leaves out the meaning of the story, which was about the seductive power of fiction. In offering no meaning besides pictures, Big Fish has no power at all. Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: Overall, the film feels like it issues from a place Burton doesn't inhabit. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Burton's best film since Edward Scissorhands. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: The movie has a great deal of charm and several good performances, but it is the son's judgmental doggedness that sets the story in motion and leads to its mawkish conclusion. It's a hurdle I couldn't get over. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Not only is Mr. Burton at the top of his form in endowing his tallest stories and wildest magical conceits with emotional conviction, but he is aided by a superb acting ensemble that never loses its footing in the treacherous swamps of make-believe. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: A load of tripe that no attempt on my part could make sound half as pretentious and conceited as it really is. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The most curious thing about this magical-realist fable ... is how thin and soft it is, how unpersuasive and ultimately forgettable even its most strenuous inventions turn out to be. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Herniated whimsy -- straining, as labored as those poor Brits who stuff their mouths with grits and try to talk like Southerners. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Big Fish is a clever, smart fantasy that targets the child inside every adult, without insulting the intelligence of either. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: There is no denying that Will has a point: The old man is a blowhard. There is a point at which his stories stop working as entertainment and segue into sadism. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: You'd think that Burton, whose movies can be so invigoratingly nasty or so hypnotically moody, would be able to pull off a gentle, mainstream crowd-pleaser without making it dull or preachy. But Big Fish is both. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A long-winded indulgence in tear-and-a-smile whimsy. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Burton, who has clung to the trappings of precocious genius well into his 40s, demonstrates a new emotional maturity. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: A change-up delivery from a director seeking relief from his artful image, the movie wants to catch our ears rather than our eyes, and it does so without completely reeling us in. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Big Fish makes a big push for transcendence, but the strain shows. It's like trying to push a daydream uphill. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: The film doesn't so much reject history as selectively rewrite it to its own reactionary, even offensive ends. This might perhaps be just about tolerable were the film funny, illuminating, insightful or moving. It is not. Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: Big Fish takes a while to get its bearings, but it gets better and better. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: The imaginatively illustrated but precariously precious film offers up a string of minor pleasures but never becomes more than moderately amusing or involving. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: The ideas keep percolating, but in the absence of any particular tension, the movie has its longueurs. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: Somewhat like Forrest Gump on a high colonic. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: A disappointingly dull thud of a fantasy. Read more