Because of Winn-Dixie (Book/Movie Comparison #2)



I am always up for a good sentimental "dog" movie or book.  Because of Winn-Dixie ranks way up there with Old Yeller for me.  The book was written by Kate DiCamillo in 2000 and was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2001.   The book was then made into a movie in 2005.  The story is about a young girl, Opal, who moves to Naomi, Florida with her father when he gets a new preaching job there.  Her mother left her when she was toddler.  Opal's father is very wrapped up in his job as a pastor and has difficulty relating to her and raising her.  Opal finds her first friend in the new town when she meets a stray dog in Winn-Dixie (grocery store) that she adopts and names Winn-Dixie. That summer Opal and Winn-Dixie make friends with an interesting group of people.  Winn-Dixie also helps to strengthen the relationship between Opal and her father.

I was glad to see that the movie did not stray away from the plot of the movie, which is very rare in a movie based on a book.  Even a lot of the dialogue from the book was present in the movie.  The difference that was the easiest to detect was Opal's father's personality.  In the book, he was portrayed as a loving father who seemed to have trouble relating to his daughter.  In the movie, he was very gruff and harsh.  Opal had an extremely hard time persuading him to allow her to keep Winn-Dixie in the movie; however, in the book he was more easily persuaded.  Winn-Dixie goes missing in the movie and book.  Her father shows up to help her look for Winn-Dixie in the book, but she has to find her dad to help her search for him in the movie.  At least they kept his character consistent, I suppose.  Another difference, although very insignificant, is the type of dog Winn-Dixie was.  In the book, he was a labrador-like dog.  The movie portrayed him as a terrier-like dog. 
I truly enjoyed both the book and the movie!