Opal, the daughter of a preacher, is a girl with a mind of her own. When she meets Winn-Dixie, she has found a pal. Her father is a man that is in pain. He is trying to reconcile himself to his present circumstances. Arriving at the small southern town, he must do good work in order to attract a faithful congregation. He doesn't have much to fear, just leave it Opal to get everyone together in a place where people have grown apart.

The great book by Kate DiCamillo, is an excellent book for young adults. Joan Singleton adapted it for the screen and Wayne Wang directed a nice cast that produced a movie that, while some would think it's too sugary for their taste, it captured perfectly the essence of a small southern town.

The sweet AnnaSophia Robb plays the leading role. This young actress is a natural, or so it seems. Jeff Daniels, one of our best actors is seen as the preacher who can't forget his wife and who has to come to terms with himself. Cicely Tyson and Eva Maria Saint are perfect as two of the town's oldest citizens that are won over by Opal's goodness. Elle Fanning is seen as Sweetie Pie, a lovely girl. B. J. Hopper and Dave Mathews also contributed to the film.

This film was clearly targeted for young audiences. It has the right ingredients that prove to be a magical combination for family movies, a girl and a cute dog, a sure formula for appealing to audiences. Wayne Wang, an unlikely choice for director, brings all these elements together for a film that will not disappoint.

Opal Buloni (Anna Sophia Robb) moved with her preacher father (Jeff Daniels) to the small town of Naomi, Florida. Her mom had left them. He sends her to the local Winn Dixie grocery store where a dog is going wild. Opal pretends to the owner naming the dog Winn-Dixie. The dog is so rambunctious that her father calls the pound. She convinces him to keep the dog and gets a job working at the pet shop with Otis (Dave Matthews). She befriends blind hermit Gloria Dump (Cicely Tyson) with a tree and librarian Miss Franny Block (Eva Marie Saint) with a tall tale of an encounter with a bear.

Anna Sophia Robb is a terrific child actress. She has great charisma and has very good range. She's great as a tomboy as well as with the other girls. This is a movie about lost and regret. I love all of the characters and they are played by solid actors. Maybe Otis could be played by somebody more menacing but Dave Matthews does get the damaged part of the character. It's a nice story of people struggling to move on from their past and it's got a nice cast.

BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE succeeds as a credible view of the world through children's eyes because it remains honest and straightforward. Credit director Wayne Wang and Joan Singleton's screenplay adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's fine novel for keeping this story simple, direct, terse, and most important, not allowing it to fold into a saccharine tearjerker. As it stands it is quiet, true, and a worthwhile statement about how children view adults and their progress toward becoming one.

Opal (AnnaSophia Robb) was deserted by her mother at age three and comes to live in a small Florida town with her brittle preacher father (Jeff Daniels). She finds it difficult to adjust to the odd folk of the village until she adopts a terrific dog Winn-Dixie. Life blossoms for her until her dog is lost during a storm and she faces tragedy in her life once again. But this potential tragedy opens the door for her to relate to her father (and vice versa) and appreciate the disparate people who have befriended her.

The film is shot in a very small scale in keeping with the story. There are no pretensions here: the people Opal meets include such fine character actors as Cicely Tyson, Eva Marie Saint, Dave Matthews and the remainder of the cast is to be respected for the understated manner in which they draw their characters. Jeff Daniels (The Hours, The Squid and the Whale, Goodnight and Good Luck, The Goodbye Girl, Gods and Generals, etc) continues to prove that he is one of our finer actors on the screen and stage: when an actor of his stature takes on a film like this, one is almost guaranteed it is a worthwhile film to see. Not a great movie, but a very good one that provides a healthy breath of fresh air to the current choices of downer movies. Grady Harp