Big Fish: A Detailed Comparison and Contrast of Book and Movie

This essay provides a comprehensive comparison and contrast of Daniel Wallace's novel 'Big Fish' and its film adaptation. It highlights the key similarities, such as the storytelling structure that switches between present and past, and the central character Edward Bloom, portrayed by different actors in the movie. The essay also explores the differences, including the movie's more detailed exploration of supporting characters like Sandra Bloom and Jenny, and the portrayal of Edward Bloom as more selfless in the film. The analysis examines how both the book and the movie evoke similar emotions in their audience and readers, such as adventure, love, mystery, sacrifice, and horror. The conclusion emphasizes that the cinematic adaptation successfully captures the central theme of the book, making it an equally captivating experience for viewers, maintaining the essence of the book's imaginative storytelling.

ENGLISH
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF THE MOVIE AND THE BOOK: BIG FISH

The movie “Big Fish” is based on a short novel of same name authored by Daniel
Wallace which was written back in the year 1998. Following is an attempt to compare and
contrast the book and the movie, which includes the highlighting of the differences and the
similarities between the two from various perspectives.
The book is comprised of short episodes or short stories highlighting the various
aspects of life of the central character Edward Bloom, and that much of the story is left for
the readers to imagine. The stories are narrated by the son of Bloom, William; who also gets
to know his father with the help of these stories. The story drifts back and forth between the
present and the past times, and demands focus from the readers. The episodes are not in exact
chronological order as must have been expected by a reader. There are several parts in the
book that push the readers to think beyond and be influenced by the chapters, which are
simple and told like tales of children. One such influential chapter is when the central
character crosses through Underworld, and comes across a dog who becomes the path guide
for him. The character pushes the readers to think beyond the failures of their lives and sets a
motivational pitch to the work. The father son connection has also been beautifully brought in
various instances in the book where Edward saves his son life purely based on his intuitions
that latter needed help. As the son grows, he feels agitated by the length of the stories of
father and believes them to be mask for his father to hide behind the same. This aspect again
encourages the readers to think and relate the incident with real life experiences, that how one
tends to gain individual thoughts as one grows and questions the thoughts of the elders. The
relationship and love of the father son duo has been brought in a simple yet loving manner in
the book by the author. The simplicity of relationships is further brought in highlighting the
behavior of the neighbors. Overall the book highlights leads a reader to the old times that
possessed traditional relationships full of love and respect for each other.
The key similarity between the novel and the book is the fashion of storytelling that is
switching between the present times and the old times. The central character has been played
by two actors for young and older versions by Ewan McGregor and Tim Burton respectively,
who have equally brought the life to the character Edward Bloom, as was needed by the story
line. The contrasting feature of the cinematic adaptation of the book is that some features are
explored much in detail than they were originally done in the book. For instance, the
characters of Sandra Bloom, the mother of William, Jenny & The Witch played by Helena
Bonham Carter, Amos Calloway played by Danny DeVito and others have been explored in
length in the movie and it turns out these characters have a significant role to play for the

furtherance of the story. Thus, at times it feels like the story is shifting from the episodes of
Edward Bloom, the protagonist. In addition, while the book depicts the central character as
more of human who is prone to commit mistakes, the movie shows him completely selfless
and larger than life. However, as the story progresses it is observed that the each of the actors
preserved the central theme of the book well, and acted with much needed simplicity and
traditional virtues. The yet again similar part between the movie and the book is that the
readers and audiences feel the same mixture of emotions full of adventure, love mystery,
sacrifice, and horror. It would be wrong to state that the changes made in the movie lacked in
maintain the pace and emotions of story line. Overall the cinematic presentation held on to
the central theme of the movie and can be regarded as an equally wonderful watch.
On the comparison and contrast of the movie Big Fish, it can be concluded that the
adaptation of the book in form of movie is equally tempting and entertaining and does not
falls short on tickling the imagination of the audiences, like book did with readers.