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| Edward Bloom |
I
particularly enjoyed the juxtaposition between the sunny Edward Bloom and the
somewhat darker character inhabiting Big
Fish. The commonalities that the characters Edward Bloom ran into was that
they were all rather misunderstood. Most people run away in disgust or ignorant
fear; however, Bloom is not afraid (after all he knows how he is going to die)
and takes the time to get to know the darker creatures. For example, the young
boys run from the scary looking witch but Bloom stays and talks to her. Another
example would be the giant who seems frightening at first but is simply a kind
and misunderstood creature. Edward Bloom is such a sunny character because of
his wide-eyed optimism towards life and people. He says during the werewolf
scene that, “most things that you consider evil or wicked are simply lonely”
(1:06:45). This understanding for outcasts and those who are misunderstood
merges any creature with Bloom despite any personality differences. Edward
himself likes them because they are so much greater than life, like him. He
also has a compassionate heart that enjoys helping those in need. Bloom
displays this by helping the giant find a home and saving Spectre free of
charge.
However, a good heart is not enough
to link together Bloom with such dark creatures. Another important factor is
Edward Bloom’s grander-than-life personality. One would expect no ordinary
creature in his fantasies. This personality matches directly with Burton’s
real-life father who Burton has said was, “a real fairy-tale character.”
Although Bloom is an average man, he was a great fairy-tale character through
his fantasies and in his mind’s eye. I think that Burton took on Big Fish as a sort of homage to his
father. Burton always loves tying in his personal life and emotions into his
work, which I think can clearly be seen by the final mutual understanding
between father and son. Perhaps Burton wished that he had the opportunity to
reach this mutual understanding with his own father before he passed. Burton’s
love for his father combined with his admiration for the strange and unusual, like
Edward Bloom’s fantasies, can be seen through his work in the heart-wrenching
film Big Fish.
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| Tim Burton Quote on Big Fish |
