Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)

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

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers:

Kate DiCamillo (novel), Joan Singleton (screenplay)

Stars:

AnnaSophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, Eva Marie Saint

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A girl named Opal move to a new home that is a trailer park. She has no friends and her dad is always doing something.Her dad told her to go to Winn Dixie to get some food. When she get there, something is going on. People were chasing something, then she see a dog. The dog was happy, he jumped on the manager, and the manager told his workers to call the pound. Opal did not want the dog to go to the pound, so she said the doog was hers. She named the dog Winn Dixie, the place where she found him. She goes home to ask her dad can she keep the dog. Opal dad lets her keep the dog she make a lot more friends that summer. She almost lost Winn Dixie in a thunderstorm at a party. Opal and Winn Dixie make friends with the kids at her church and old people smart and wise. Opal learns a lesson that you can't hold on to people who does not want to be held on to.

---

Plot Keywords:

girl | dog | supermarket | small town | dog movie | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements and brief mild language

Did You Know?

Trivia

To make sure both dogs got on well with AnnaSophia Robb, who played Opal, she was brought in early to get acquainted with the dogs and give them treats. By the time shooting started, they considered her a "safe" area.

---

Goofs

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!
[she hears a church bell and rushes to get to church on her bike]
Opal: [narrating] In the beginning, when we moved to Naomi, it was just the preacher and me. Only sometimes - most of the time, really - it seemed like it was me alone. And then, one morning, the preacher sent me to the store for a box of macaroni and cheese, some white rice and two tomatoes. And after that, everything changed. But I'm getting ahead of myself. It's a good story. Let me tell it right.

---

Connections

Referenced in Eva Marie Saint: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival (2014)

---

Soundtracks

String Quartet #17
("Hunt")
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Eder Quartet
Courtesy of Naxos
By Arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

Great family movie

This movie starts a little slow, I only went to see it because Dave Matthews is in it...it starts slow yes, but it has it's moments, good moments, funny moments. I think there are a lot of lessons in this movie and that makes it a great movie to go see with the kids...only one or two cuss words, not bad ones either!! I think if nothing else, the kids will enjoy the dog in this movie. I enjoyed seeing the dog because his actions reminded me of my own puppy. I can't wait to see other Annasohpia Robb movies.. she's a good little actress and adorable, very adorable...Dave was good too (I also liked him in "Where the Red FernGrows"). I've always enjoyed Jeff Daniels in movies and he didn't let me down in this one either.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 February 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Because of Winn-Dixie

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,208,431, 20 February 2005

Gross USA:

$32,647,042

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,589,427

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Walden Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1