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Because of Winn-Dixie
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.


7.9

based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 25 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements and brief mild language

Starring Annasophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, Dave Matthews, Eva Marie Saint, Courtney Jines, Nick Price, Luke Benward, and Elle Fanning

Based on the perennial best seller, Because of Winn Dixie tells the story of a lonely young girl who adopts an orphaned dog she names Winn-Dixie (for the supermarket where she found him). The bond between the girl and her special companion brings together the people in a small Florida town and heals her own troubled relationship with her father. (20th Century Fox)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama \| Family/Kids
WRITTEN BY:	Joan Singleton Kate DiCamillo (novel)
DIRECTED BY:	Wayne Wang
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: August 9, 2005 Video: August 9, 2005 Theatrical: February 18, 2005
RUNNING TIME:	105 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Heartland Award of Excellence, 2004 Heartland Film Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Premiere Peter Debruge

Most likely chosen for its shaggy-dog looks, Winn-Dixie is actually a great deal more special than you'd expect, a fitting analogy for a film no parent should be too quick to dismiss.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

To Winn-Dixie's great credit, both as a book and as a dandy, dignified movie, there's nothing condescendingly lesson-like in the wisdom India acquires.

USA Today Claudia Puig

A sweet, family-friendly retelling of a touching and funny Newbery Award-winning children's book.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

Matthews holds his own with his experienced co-stars, and his half- talking/half-singing explanation of his criminal past is the movie's best scene.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

In pace, sensibility, and big, beating heart, this is a child's first indie film, and it's the better for it.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The casting of Daniels, Tyson and Saint, all of whom underplay effortlessly, was shrewd.

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

Should satisfy its 8- to 12-year-old target demographic.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Robb is remarkably assured; there isn't a false note in her performance.

Dallas Observer Melissa Levine

Both screenwriter Joan Singleton and director Wang take the time to draw real people and feeling relationships.

Variety Lael Loewenstein

Uneven though it is, Because of Winn-Dixie, based on Kate Di Camillo's novel, is tough to dislike.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

A sweet film with no big action moments may be a hard sell to young male audiences, but it's nevertheless a quality story that the whole family can watch together.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

It's a methodical, friendly fairy tale in which everyone is good and the outcome is a given.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

Some might even find the leisurely pace a nice break from the rapid-fire approach favored by most kids' entertainment.

Village Voice Ben Kenigsberg

The story seems awkwardly positioned between coming-of-age realism and whimsical fantasy.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Limiting the potential overripeness of the material with tact and sincerity, he (Wang) generally makes the most of his resourceful cast; only the dog overacts.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Veterans Eva Marie Saint and Cicely Tyson make welcome appearances.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Sweet and warm-hearted, but there is another film with a similar story that is boundlessly better, and that is "My Dog Skip" (2000).

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Jeff Daniels is a compelling-enough actor to lift almost any film out of mediocrity, but even he has his work cut out for him.

The New York Times Anita Gates

A harmless, pleasant comic drama, but elements that may have seemed delightfully eccentric on the page take on unfortunate new tones when translated to film.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Bland, amiable, innocuous.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

Never quite works as a film. The failure to create appropriate cinematic metaphors reduces it to "happiness is a warm puppy" superficiality.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Thanks to director Wayne Wang ("The Joy Luck Club"), there are also artistic touches that keep this movie from sticking to the roof of the mouth the way peanut butter does to Opal's pet.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Only mildly diverting and way too long for a movie aimed at kids.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

Can't decide what it wants to be when it grows up.

Empire Anna Smith

It means well, but it's all just a bit too tired a formula - even by the standards of a kids film. Put this one in the top field to 'rest'.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The problem is that director Wayne Wang seems deaf to the tonal differences between coming-of-age, magic realism and children's comedy.

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

Tries hard to be sweet but plays like "Pollyanna" with fleas.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 25 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Eric W. gave it a10:
My daughters took to thid movie like no other they have watched, I guess it is the always yearning women feel about being the ones who control the situation around them, h(loss of wife--duh)ere is a movie thn in pure suffering.

Edgar G. gave it a10:
Good, wholesome. Read the book as well.

Stephanie K. gave it a10:
This is the best movie ever i like the moovie better than the book it is so much funnier.

Cindy g. gave it a10:
Very good. can't wait for the dvd. all of the actors are wonderful!!!

Vince H. gave it a4:
Not a terrible movie, but really too contrived and cliched for my taste. There was a similar film released a few years ago called "My Dog Skip", which was far superior. The movie skips uncomfortably between realistic coming-of-age father-daughter drama and a light, haughty, screwball comedy with animals actinng "wild and crazy!". You get the feeling that the screenwriters felt that since this was a children's book, they could be as simple-minded and earnest as they want, but this film is only mildly-diverting and far too predicitable. Dave Matthews is very good though.

P Fai gave it a9:
Loved it! It is a sweet, warm-hearted kind of movie, that has moments that ring true.

Fred H. gave it a2:
This film has a few cute moments, but it is a hodge-podge of preachy messages, incomplete characters, and bad writing. Combine that with weak story lines and you get this mess. If you are looking for a way to occupy the kids for a couple of hours, you could do worse, but not much. This movie is a stinker.

Because of Winn-Dixie Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.

Because of Winn-Dixie
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.