"Because of Winn-Dixie," based on the popular young people's novel by Kate DiCamillo, can't decide what it wants to be when it grows up. Despite director Wayne Wang's flair for vehicles about characters seeking to fill a void in their lives ("The Joy Luck Club," "Smoke"), he never achieves the right balance here, struggling throughout with an episodic script by first-time screenwriter and former Warner Bros. executive Joan Singleton. In print ads, they've even cut the young female protagonist off above her sneakers so as not to discourage the potential boy-and-his-dog demo.

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