Big Fish (2003)

Most people think so. 77% of audiences gave it a thumbs up, by Google's archived audience score. Critics agree, scoring it 67%.

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. Wikipedia ↗

Big Fish is a 2003 American fantasy drama directed by Tim Burton, based on Daniel Wallace's 1998 novel. The film follows Will Bloom, played by Billy Crudup, an estranged son who returns home when his father Edward, played by Albert Finney in the present and Ewan McGregor in flashbacks, is dying of cancer. Edward has spent his life telling fantastical stories about his past — encountering a giant, discovering a hidden utopia, working in a circus, and wooing Will's mother through heroic gestures — that Will has dismissed as lies.

As Edward's death approaches, Will must reconcile his resentment over never knowing his father's real story with the possibility that the stories contain emotional truth even if their details are impossible. Tim Burton found his most emotionally mature and restrained film in Big Fish, telling a story about storytelling itself and the ways we mythologize our lives to make them meaningful. Ewan McGregor's young Edward was Burton's most charming protagonist — a man whose infectious optimism transforms everyone he encounters.

The film's final sequence, in which the fantastical characters from Edward's stories appear at his funeral, was one of the most moving moments in Burton's filmography. Big Fish earned $122 million worldwide on a $70 million budget.