Tim Burton’s 2003 film Big Fish is based on a novel by which author?

Tim Burton’s 2003 film Big Fish is based on a novel by Daniel Wallace.

Wallace wrote Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions, which was published in 1998. The book follows a son trying to understand his father through the exaggerated stories the older man tells about his life.

Burton’s film preserves that structure by moving between the father Edward Bloom’s deathbed conversations and vivid versions of his memories. These stories include giant figures, unusual towns, a witch, and other elements that blur the boundary between biography and folklore.

The film stars Ewan McGregor as the young Edward Bloom and Albert Finney as the older Edward. A common mix-up is to credit the story to Burton because of its distinctive visual style, but the source novel was written by Wallace, who also appears briefly in the film as a train passenger.