Because of Winn-Dixie
No, this movie was not sponsored by the Winn-Dixie supermarket. It was not even about the supermarket. Because of Winn-Dixie was about a lonely little girl who adopted an errant dog and named it, on the spur of the moment, when her eyes alighted on the sign-board of the supermarket she was in at that time.
As the movie progressed, it looked more like the dog had adopted the little girl instead. How so? Watch the movie to find out. Don’t forget to bring some tissues, too. Just in case.
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To find the canine star for the movie Because of Winn-Dixie, the producers really went the extra mile. Many, many extra miles, in fact, all the way across the Atlantic to France. And came back with not one, but five dogs which looked alike enough to take turns populating the movie with canine capers.
This movie was produced by Twentieth Century Fox Corporation in 2005 with director Wayne Wang at the helm, based on the novel, by Kate DiCamillo, which Joan Singleton adapted for the screen. First-time child actress, AnnaSopha Robb played the lead role as Opal with Jeff Matthews as her father.
The story was about a little girl who had just moved into a new town with her preacher father. Her mother had decided to go her own way seven years before that and it was a very lonely little girl indeed who had to deal with the trauma of integrating into the new neighborhood. Her father, known only as the Preacher, was there but not really all there because he was probably still suffering from self-recriminations related to his loss of spousal companionship.
Opal, the little girl, was not to be alone for too long. An errant dog, doing a very bad job of re-arranging the shelves in the local supermarket, was quickly adopted by her to save it from being sent to the pound. To prove her ownership, she had to call it by name and she said the first thing that her eyes alighted upon, which was the signboard of the supermarket. So, now Opal was the proud owner of Winn-Dixie.
Winn-Dixie is a Berger Picard. This breed, also known as the Picardy Shepherd, is from France and belonged to the herding group. It is a near extinct breed now which was exactly what the producers wanted to use to resemble the scruffy mutt on the original book’s cover.
The Berger Picard is not a very big dog but it is strong and, with long hair, does look a bit unkempt. Their one outstanding characteristic is the natural ability to smile. With the proper care and training, it would make a good family dog because it is very people-oriented and loyal.
In the movie, Winn-Dixie had a great time re-arranging the shelves in the supermarket and various other sundry locations, laughing all the time. It could even produce a wry grin when necessary. Like when Opal expressed disgust at it’s burping.
The movie was full of un-ordinary people from the guitar-playing pet shop worker to the near-blind woman who was called the town witch. Besides Winn-Dixie, there were many other animal actors, too. Like the parrot which landed on the dog’s head. Maybe the bird thought the dog’s top was bushy enough to build a nest in.
As the Because of Winn-Dixie movie progressed, Opal and Winn-Dixie found more and more friends in the small town. Her father remained as distant as ever and the little girl learnt more about life from her friends than from him. How could such a wonderful and colorful story come to an end?
See it for yourself to find out.
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