Because of Winn-Dixie

Perfect for middle aged children. My 9 yr old daughter absolutely loved this story and movie

A feel good movie with a cute kid, cute dog, and other interesting characters.

had gotten the movie ,for granddaughter, after she read the book in School.like all movies, a lot was missing ,compared to book, witch gave her good advice ,read the book first.great for all ages.nice and heart warming

My students and I read the book and then we watched the movie. They loved it!

Great movie

Such a sweet movie. We read the book in my classroom. Watched the movie after. Students loved it.

It should be no secret by now that "Because of Winn-Dixie" is a children's film, its target audience of pre-teens are meant to be entranced by the title character and the many cute animals even if they have not read the book from which the film was adapted. This moderate budget ($20 Million) film made a lot of money by carefully targeting this audience with a fairy tale story where there are no really "bad" people.Being a children's film is not a fault or at least should not be a fault. But teenagers and adults should understand going in that "Because of Winn-Dixie" is not on the "family film" level of "Monkey Trouble" or "My Dog Skip". There is less here for older viewers unless they are willing to let themselves view the film from a child's eyes.That said there are some elements for more sophisticated viewers if they just look hard enough.Director Wayne Wang engages in a fair amount of self-parody. Although 10 year old Opal (the main human character) is played realistically, Dakota Fanning's little sister Elle's character is (intentionally) one of the most sugary in film history, appropriately named Sweetie Pie Thomas. John McConnell and Harland Williams play the crybaby grocery store manager and the goofy sheriff with a kind of homage to Barney Fife and Roscoe P. Coltraine.Jeff Daniels gives an excellent performance as Opal's somewhat distanced father. Daniels plays the character with a nice balance. The father-daughter scenes are very believable and by far the best part of the film. There were many ways that these scenes could have gone wrong but Daniels manages to dodge the traps and give us a conflicted character with whom to connect.Dave Matthews, Cecily Tyson, and Eva Marie Saint are interesting in supporting roles.Finally there is AnnaSophia Robb (Opal), who like Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird" provides voiceover narration to help flesh out the storyline. Unlike Sweetie Pie, Robb underplays her character nicely, and is "pleasingly cute" as a Tomboy with great big eyes and a young Jodie Foster/Lindsey Lohen style. This was her first feature but she quickly followed it up with a role in the new "Willy Wonka" movie, the two roles are polar opposites so it appears that Robb has a decent about of versatility. She should have quite a future as an actress.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This is a terrific little story that your children will love. Good pace with many, many interesting characters and little sub-plots to keep the watcher or young reader engaged in the story. Your youngster will enjoy the book as much as the movie. In fact, I recommend, read the book and then watch the film next. Hope you enjoy.

This 2005 film starts with 10-year-old India Opal Buloni [AnnaSophia Robb], abandoned by her mother at the age of three, who has just moved to a small town with her preacher father. She encounters a mischievous scruffy dog and, claiming the stray as her own names it Winn-Dixie after the local supermarket.The film follows India as she wanders aimlessly from one encounter to another, but because of the dogs antics, the young girl soon gets to make new friends with people in the community. Youngsters will see lots of animal antics that will make them laugh and parents will get a film where a young girl and her dog brings a fractured community together.The single disc is somewhat low volume and features are sparse. Language [basically English with subtitles on/off], scene selection [behind the scenes, gag reel, training winn Dixie, fox.co [realeases/self publicity]. The film itself is full of over the top sentimentalism, but AnnaSophia Robb portrays her role perfectly. This is classic Sunday afternoon viewing and definitely a film that grandparents can watch with the grandchildren without fear. A ***** feel-good family film.

This is a really well-made film with great performances and high production values. However, opinion will be divided by the story's message. In the face of a world that can be cold and heartless and in the midst of a life that can be painful and lonely, we are called to have the faith of a child to follow the lead of a free spirit (her dog) which is open to and genuinely interested in people. We see how by being valued, isolated or destructive individuals are transformed into a caring mini-community in which each has a place and everyone has a part to play. The message is faith and love is not just an alternative to cynicism and self-interest but the cure. I thoroughly recommend this film and keeping the faith.

If you are a fan of gentle dog films and enjoy the slow pace of small-town America, then you'll love this movie. Winn-Dixie (so-called because he is found in a supermarket, where he is causing havoc) is a scruffy dog who befriends a lonely girl (played by AnnaSophia Robb), the daughter of a preacher (played by Jeff Bridges). Although a little too saccharine at times, this film will melt the heart of all dog lovers (and lots of others too!).

I watched this film with my grandchildren aged 4 & 7, boy and girl.They were enraptured as was my little dog "Codie". The young actress who played the part of Opal was enchanting and the dog "Winn Dixie" captured our hearts. I haven't read the book but this film makes me want to buy and read this story. It has a wonderful charm and the characters are sometimes eccentric, odd, loveable and eventually pull at the heart strings. I recommend this film highly especially but not preferably as a family film and feel people of all ages will enjoy this feature. Please make more like this there's enough pain and heartbreak in the world without seeing it on celluloid.

This is a most heart warming film that will keep your interest right from the start. The stars are definitely India Opal (the little girl) and Winn Dixie (the dog). There are some lessons for adults in the film along with laughs and a few tears - a nice feel good film which will leave you taking away something from what you have watched. No violence, bad language or other non-requirements.