Animenter There are women in the film, but none has anything you could call a personality.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

snperera this is such an amazing movie and it is so sweet and it has such an amazing message! The actors in this are so great and they have such great chemistry together. This is a classic family film to me. The dog in this is so cute and so sweet and has such personality as well. The little girl in this is so sweet and this movie has such heart in it! Love this movie!

Tammilee68 Hello, We LOVE this movie, there are many things going on. AnnaSophia for this being her 1st movie did an AMAZING Job and considering how her career has gone since then, I see GREAT things for this young actress: that being said I would say she has NOTHING do with what you are going to read about next:but what really angered us was the commentary by jeff daniels. What a self righteous egotistical jerk!!! He talks about how HE provides all the comedic relief and how he had to basically teach AnnaSophia EVERYTHING!!! He doesn't not have that many lines and most of them are telling her what to do or not to do. at one in his commentary with (I think it is either the prouder or director) they made a comment about Gloria's ghost tree and how Opal's doesn't have any thing on it. and jeff say that is because "ANNASHOPIA (NOT OPAL) is Not an alcoholicYET". I live in MI and have met jeff daniels in the small town he is from and where his theatre is and I am grateful to him for try to get movies filmed here in our beautiful state but these comments about ASR just really annoyed me, it is almost like he was jealous that she out did him. one other thing he says "they ALWAYS CAST me to work with Kids because they know I would not be too easy on them." WHAT??? I can think of GREAT movies with out him as the dad, and have even won Oscars.Don't get me wrong I don't hate Jeff Daniels or anything I just feel his comments were WAY out of line especially for being on a children's moviethank you for reading my rambling. Hope you enjoyed the movie as much as we doTammi

refresh daemon One of the primary generic recipes for children's films is the animal movie. I have had the unfortunate experience of watching many of these films, primarily on international flights. Some of the tales of horror that I've seen in the past include: MVP 2: Most Vertical Primate, Air Bud, and Look Who's Talking Now. And on my most recent international flight, I had the "opportunity" to "enjoy" this film. Twice.That gave me plenty of opportunity to consider the film. First of all, I'll have to say that it is on a level better than other children's' animal films I've seen in the past. This is not Beethoven. I can honestly say that this film actually has some real drama in it, in the form of a broken family consisting of a preacher and his daughter (and eventually the titular Winn-Dixie).In fact, the film isn't about the dog, but the relationships that are formed "because" of the dog (hence, the title). And the cast of characters are all mildly endearing. These characters include a sad/lonely librarian, a sad/lonely/blind black woman, a sad/lonely/musical Dave Matthews, and you can guess how the characters go. They form relationships and learn to be less sad and lonely and in process, the movie tries to pull some "aww"'s from you.Tries.Actually, I can't say that I was affected by the film and the ending relies on you having a particular affection for the dog, but ultimately, you're more interested in the characters, so it detracts from the direction of the film. Also, the characters do show some depth, but ultimately the story is still generally a little weak.But in the end, the direction is competent, the acting is passable for a children's film, the animal isn't too annoying and generally the film is pleasant enough for a viewing. When I said that there are better ways than Mulan II to entertain kids, this is one of those ways.That said, the second time I was watching this film, I was wishing that the screen (for the projector) wasn't directly in my face. What's whimsical and cute the first time around becomes a little painful the second time. In the end, it's an okay film. I can't say that about all the other children's' animal films that I've noted. 6/10.P.S. General note: avoid sequels (especially direct-to-video) of children's' films, especially animal films. Think that because I gave a passing rating to Because of Winn-Dixie that I'll do the same for the sequel? You know the answer to that.

JoshtheGiant Because of Winn-Dixie is a horrible mess of a film, the story is extremely formulaic and cheesy, plus full of major plot holes. It just doesn't work at all. The performances are also horrible, particularly Annasophia Robb in the lead roll as the little girl the film circles around. Jeff Daniels and Eva Marie Saint are usually great actors but here they not only give their own worst performances, but some of the worst ever put on screen. The direction is sentimental and horrible, just awful. This guy should just stop making movies, I hope he never does does it again. The dog is just annoying, the effects horrible, the plot holes are many, it just stinks.