by Garene Tay

Created on: September 13, 2008

The theme of fantasy is Tim Burton's trademark that appears to be present in all his works. It is notable that all of his films feature fantastic storylines that provided his audience a temporary escape into the reality' that he had created. Some examples include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where the audience is drawn into the world of Charlie and seduced by the magic that the chocolate factory promises. In the films Big Fish and Edward Scissorhands, the theme of fantasy is the essence of both films. The visual stories are considered fantasy because of their deviations from reality. However, there is one similarity between Big Fish and Edward Scissorhands. The protagonists in the films have subconsciously created their own reality' as they are voluntarily or involuntarily detached from reality. The mise-en-scene and use of sound in both films is significant in portraying the reality' of the films as well as the fantasy' created by the main characters.

Big Fish, released in 2003, tells the story of Edward Bloom, a charming elderly man fond of telling his embellished life stories to anyone who would listen. Despite his popularity from people around him, Bloom fails to gain the acceptance of his son, William Bloom, a cynic who had grown tired of his father's tall tales despite his father's insistence that he stories he told were true. When Edward Bloom's health takes a turn for the worse due to cancer, Will decides to find out the truth behind all of Edward's tall tales and discovers that his impressions of his father had been inaccurate all along. Edward's tales told of events that were incredible but yet contain truth within the lies. One example is the tale of his encounter with a pair of twins joined at the hip. While the film eventually revealed that Edward had indeed met a pair of twins, they were ordinary and not conjoined at any body part. The film ends with Will telling a tale of his own in his father's last moments in order to complete his father's life by adding the last short tale about his father's death. Edward Bloom knew perfectly well the true version of his stories. However, he chose to embellish his tales because all his life, he believed that he was meant for greater things and his life had to be extraordinary. This belief motivated him to leave his humble hometown in search of greater ambitions. Hence, Edward Bloom had deliberately removed himself from reality by constantly repeating his tall tales because he would rather believe the

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