Tim Burton’s Big Fish Remains Free to Stream on Tubi and YouTube

Discussions of Tim Burton’s best movies often return to the same titles: Beetlejuice, his Batman movies, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. The Nightmare Before Christmas usually comes up too, although Henry Selick directed it.

Less often mentioned is Big Fish, Burton’s 2003 fantasy about a father whose life sounds too extraordinary to believe. It ranks among his best work and is available to stream for free on YouTube and Tubi.

Big Fish follows Will Bloom (Billy Crudup), who is trying to reconnect with his dying, semi-estranged father, Edward (Albert Finney). Edward has spent his life telling stories about his younger self, played by Ewan McGregor in a series of elaborate flashbacks. His adventures feature an 11-foot-tall giant, conjoined twin singers, and a seven-foot-long catfish. Will has heard them all before. While there is still time, he wants to meet the man behind the tall tales.

That tension gives the film its emotional weight, but its immediate appeal is its charm. Much of it comes from the two actors playing Edward. McGregor and Finney don’t look particularly alike, yet they are convincing as the same man at opposite ends of his life.

McGregor’s Edward is a kind, talkative dreamer with seemingly endless confidence. He’s handsome and knows how to hold an audience without seeming especially cocky or self-important. It’s easy to see why people gravitate toward him and would follow him into an adventure. The role arrived between the latter two Star Wars prequels and two years after Moulin Rouge!, making excellent use of McGregor’s movie-star charisma.

Finney brings a different quality to the older Edward. He has the appeal of a favorite uncle who always has another story to tell, even if you’ve heard it before and suspect he’s embellishing. His timing can be inappropriate, and his need to entertain everyone can be exhausting, especially for his son. Still, the young man McGregor plays is visible beneath the years of practiced storytelling.

Both versions are good company, and the film moves easily between them. Edward’s adventures give Burton room for fanciful detours. Did Edward really help rob a bank? Did he actually work in a circus? The stories are easy to get swept up in, even as Will’s frustration becomes more understandable.

The soundtrack adds to the pleasure. Elvis Presley’s “All Shook Up,” Buddy Holly’s “Everyday,” and Canned Heat’s “Let’s Work Together” help carry Edward through his improbable life. The songs bring some of the jukebox exuberance associated with James Gunn’s movies, filtered through Burton’s fairy-tale sensibility.

Big Fish doesn’t feel like a Tim Burton movie

For long stretches of Big Fish, it’s easy to forget who directed it. That may help explain why the film is overlooked in discussions of Burton’s work. His whimsy is unmistakable, but bright colors and sunny Southern landscapes largely replace the looming shadows and crooked architecture of his signature style.

Edward is a striking departure, too. He isn’t a misunderstood outsider hiding in a decrepit mansion. He’s outgoing, handsome, and popular, with an ability to win over almost anyone he meets. In another Burton movie, someone like him might be the smug rival making the hero’s life miserable. Here, his confidence helps make the fantasy inviting.

The film also occupies an odd place in Burton’s career, between his divisive Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory adaptations. Without a familiar franchise or an instantly recognizable gothic hero to keep it in the conversation, Big Fish can slip through the cracks.

It deserves better. For all the film’s visual imagination, its greatest achievement is making Edward and Will’s difficult relationship feel worth untangling. You can enjoy the father’s stories and still understand why his son needs something more from him.

The conflict builds to a life-affirming ending that changes how you see everything that came before. Without spoiling the details, it may leave you thinking about the storyteller in your own family and what they’ve been trying to tell you over the years. It certainly did for me.

Big Fish is streaming for free on Tubi and YouTube.

Source: Polygon