In real life, the main character, Frank Abagnale, ran away from home and never saw his father again. However, Spielberg reunited them in the film. This helped him add drama by showing Frank’s need to please his dad and also his father’s pride after seeing Frank in his pilot uniform. Another difference between the actual story and the movie is the way Frank escapes on the flight back to the U.S. from France. Abagnale disappears from the back of the Boeing 737 and not through the bathroom like in the movie.