Imaginative, heartwarming, fun, serendipitous, charming; this film just may swallow you hook, line and sinker.

Essentially, a reconciliation between a distanced father and son, "We're more like strangers who know each other extremely well." The film swims along on the big fish stories of a charming man who expected more out of life than comfortable surroundings and warm food on the table.

The stories are splendid, larger than life but only by a smidgen, with witches, giants, Siamese twins and the love of a woman that a world war couldn't lessen.

I enjoyed this film a great deal, despite a rather uncertain feeling about what just transpired. Was it real or not? Perhaps, that's how Tim Burton preferred me to leave the theater. Perhaps understanding is less important than what is in the heart.

It's a fun film with a warmth that rises from that murky water and bites you on the nose before the credits roll. Yeah, I was crying like a big baby.