Tim Burton has a style that is distinct in Hollywood for its whimsicality and somewhat macabre sensibility. This film creates a story of reality meeting the fantastic world through evocative imagery and a sense of the absurd. As in many of his films, Burton creates a narrative in Big Fish that makes us feel like little kids once again, as if we are sitting at our grandfather's feet by the fire as he tells us a tall tale.
Burton brings Edward's wild stories to life and then starkly contrasts them with images of the mundane and the everyday, the sobering reality of Will's adult relationship with his father. Whereas the imagery of Edward's stories is much brighter and more vibrant, the world of the present day looks much more realistic, with more muted tones and naturalistic set pieces. In this way, Burton uses an attention to visual detail to show the thematic centers of the film. For instance, in one moment we see a young Edward courting the love of his life, Sandra, by planting an inordinate amount of daffodils outside her window—a lush, fairytale image—and then in the next, we see a sickly Edward lying in bed.
Beyond the set design and lighting of the worlds, Burton attunes the viewer to the relationship between father and son, and aligns us with each characters' psychologies in order to make their story more complex. Over the course of the film, we watch as Will is changed by giving his father a second chance. Burton takes a complex and difficult story and translates it into a simple and relatable one about a child needing their parent. Burton's attention not only to the fantastical elements of his narrative, but also its emotional and thematic elements, give the film its charm and power. In an interview about the film at a press conference, Burton said of his supposed style, "I don't pay too much attention to that, because if you get your mind starting to think that way, you can get into trouble. You become more of a thing and less of a person. I don't actually overthink myself that way. I try to treat it more organic. So much is thought about pigeonholing people and even ourselves, so I just try not to do that too much."
