Every now and then in Hollywood, a book based on quality children's literature produces a quality movie. Because of Winn-Dixie touched my heart in a way few books have. Opal India Buloni is a kind-hearted young girl who is so very lonely. She is also quirky and quite intelligent. Her circumstances of being displaced from a home she knew, abandoned by her mother and ignored by a father, who hides behind his sermons rather than face his own pain, place Opal in the perfect situation to rescue a stray dog. Winn-Dixie could perhaps be a manifestation of the inner emotions of each of the characters. As a stray, Winn-Dixie has no roots, no stability, no purpose. So when he is first introduced, he is haphazardly running through the grocery store. He may be a bit frightened, undisciplined, aimless. Yet, when Opal claims him as hers, he quietly leaves with her, as if he really does belong to her. Opal knows the pain of being left behind. Her mother ran away and her father is emotionally distant, which kept the two from dealing with the absence of a mother and wife. Opal has no choice but to rescue this poor dog from his loneliness. Opal's act of saving Winn-Dixie from the lonliness is a catalyst for an unpredictable summer of events that will change the lives of an entire town. Thankfully, Walden Media never allowed this movie to stray too far from the path through which Kate DiCamillo led the readers. The characters created by DiCamillo were so well developed in her story that the cast seemed to simply step of the pages on to the screen. The setting presented in the movie adhered to the small town details found in the descriptions in the books, yet in both book and movie, it was simplistic enough to be Anytown, USA-identifiable to the average reader or movie-goer. Major plot points from the book were included in the movie. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal met the same colorful characters in both the movie and the book. However, the movie added a bumbling police officer, who must have been added for some comic relief. Although I did not find this necessary, it did not take away from the theme of the story. One aspect of the movie that I thought was a wonderful addition was Opal's drawing of the town. In the beginning of the movie, when Opal is alone, she sits beneath a towering tree and sketches the town in black and white. As Opal and Winn-Dixie develop friendships with the people of Naomi, Florida, she adds color to the picture just has her new friendships add color to her once black-and-white life. Most of all, Opal's relationship with her father has been improving throughout the story. The events that lead up to the final scene between Opal and the preacher, in which they both finally face the pain and begin to heal the hurt and fill the empty space left by her mother's absence, are slightly different in the movie, but create the same emotional effect. Family is more than blood relatives; family consists of those you love and those that love you back, which could be your father-the preacher, the eccentric woman living alone, the guitar playing ex-con who runs the pet shop, and even a scraggly, stray dog with a smile that can change a town. Teacher's Resource Guide Additional Resources for Because of Winn-Dixie
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