Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers (WGA):

Kate DiCamillo (novel)
Joan Singleton (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 February 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family

Tagline:

Discover what happens when you go looking for a miracle and a miracle comes looking for you.

Plot:

A mischievous dog befriends a lonely young girl in a new town and helps her make new friends.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Small Town | Preacher | Candy | Library

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

AnnaSophia Robb	...	Opal
Jeff Daniels	...	Preacher
Cicely Tyson	...	Gloria
Dave Matthews	...	Otis
Eva Marie Saint	...	Miss Franny
Courtney Jines	...	Amanda Wilkinson
Nick Price	...	Dunlap Dewberry
Luke Benward	...	Stevie Dewberry
Elle Fanning	...	Sweetie Pie Thomas
Marca Price	...	Mrs. Dewberry
Lenore Banks	...	Mrs. Detweller
B.J. Hopper	...	Mr. Alfred
John McConnell	...	Store Manager
Harland Williams	...	Policeman
William Arthur Pitts	...	Churchgoer 1

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements and brief mild language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | South Korea:All | Australia:PG | UK:U | USA:PG (certificate #41140) | Ireland:PG

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Director Wayne Wang wanted to use Picardy Shepherds because he thought they looked similar to the depiction of Winn-Dixie on the book cover and would appear familiar to its readers. Dogs were brought from France when none were available in the U.S. (08:55 in the DVD commentary).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: During the scene where the animals get loose, the same event is used twice. When Opal picks up the black and white rabbit to place in its pen, it is shown once as a close up of her [at 33:41 from behind] and once from a distance [at 33:58 frontal]. (This can be clearly seen in the full frame version, but not in the wide screen version at 33:41 where the wide screen cropping of the spherical 35 mm frames crop out the body of the rabbit. Consequently, it is a goof in re-mastering the full frame version from the spherical 35 mm negatives rather than a goof in the wide screen film. Of course, it could be argued that the rabbit got out again and needed to be put into the pen a second time.)

Quotes:

[first lines]
Opal: Safe!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Sentinel (2006)

Soundtrack:

Amazing Grace

A dog story that will make you smile

Opal (AnnaSophia Robb), is a 10-year-old girl who has just moved to a small town in Florida with her preacher father (Jeff Daniels). The move has caused Opal to lose all her friends, and now she must start all over again. Life has been a little tough for Opal, since her mother abandoned them when she was three. Opal's father asks her to pick up a few items for dinner at the Winn-Dixie supermarket. While in the store, a big dog is running loose in the store with clerks chasing after him. The store manager wants to call the dog pound, but Opal says that the dog is hers, and his name is Winn-Dixie. Opal take the dog home, and must convince her father to keep the dog. He agrees to keep the dog temporarily, until a new owner can be found. They go around town putting up posters of the dog, and later in the day Opal goes around and takes the posters down, because she secretly wants to keep the dog. Opal discovers that Winn-Dixie is able to make friends with everyone he meets, and now Opal has some new friends, because of Winn-Dixie. This is a good heartfelt story of the bond between a little girl and her dog. The story shows that a dog can bring happiness to a lonely girl and open up hearts of the people in town. I don't know how they did it, but the dog can actually smile. You can take your children to see this touching story. (20th Century Fox, Run time 1:46, Rated PG) (7/10)