BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE
Year: 2004
USA: Twentieth Century Fox
UK: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Cast: Anna-Sophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, Dave Matthews, Eva Marie Saint, Courtney Jines, Nick Price, Luke Benward, Elle Fanning, Marca Price, Lenore Banks, B J Hopper, John McConnell, Harland Williams, William Arthur Pitts, Enid Trotiner, Charles A Daigle, Clarice H Gauthreaux, Guy G Gauthreaux, Julia LaShae, Darrell Jupiter Lara Grice, Becca Lish
Director: Wayne Wang
Country: USA
UK: 106 mins
USA Rated: PG for thematic elements and brief mild language
UK Certificate: U contains infrequent, mild bad language
USA Release Date: 18 February 2005
UK DVD Release Date: 13 February 2006
Synopsis
Experience a tale of pet perfection and find friendship, love and a belief in the joy of miracles with BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE. Starring Anna-Sophia Robb (CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) as Opal and Jeff Daniels (101 DALMATIANS) as her dad, 'the preacher', BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE is an enchanting, tender and uplifting family adventure.
Abandoned by her mother when she was just three, ten year-old Opal moves to a small town in Florida with her father where she finds that small town life for a ten year-old girl is very lonely. She visits the local supermarket while on an errand her for father and, by a twist of fate, finds herself taking home a stray dog! In danger of being sent to the pound by the hapless store manager, and with a lop-sided grin that melts her heart, Opal cannot help but fall in love with him instantly. Naming him Winn-Dixie after the store he was found in, her new best friend brings warmth and a sense of belonging that she has been searching for, having missed it for so long.
With her goofy pooch by her side, Opal goes into her new town no longer lonely or afraid. Helped along by Winn-Dixie's inquisitive and mischievous nature, Opal finds herself making friends and discovering that the townspeople are just as lonely, but as capable of loving, as she is. Meet Otis (Dave Matthews), the shy, mysterious man who runs the local pet shop and has an extraordinary gift with animals and music, and Miss Fanny (Eva Marie Saint), the town librarian whose love for books and stories enchants Opal. There's also Gloria Dump, a vibrant yet reclusive blind old lady, believed by many neighbourhood children to be a witch, who forces herself to remember the sins of her past.
Together, the new friends recreate a sense of community within the town that everyone thought had gone forever... and it's all because of Winn-Dixie. With the support of her new found friends, Opal also begins to re-build her relationship with her father. Haunted by the disappearance of his wife, the preacher cannot understand what has happened to him or overcome what he feels are his failures, but, with the help of Winn-Dixie, he learns how to love again.
Based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo of the same name. BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE is an endearing and charming family story which shows how your world can be changed forever with just a little bit of love and friendship.
With two exclusive DVD features and a gag reel that will leave you rolling with laughter, BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE is one adventure that both kids and mums will love.