Credit: Netflx

One of the best things about Little Miss Sunshine is that it never really left our minds and hearts. After this Indie came out in 2006, many movies followed it. And we are talking good ones. These films won many hearts and few awards and got everyone talking about them for a year or two, but then… Poof, they disappeared. But that wasn’t the case with Little Miss Sunshine.

Nearly twenty years later, people still talk about Little Miss Sunshine with the affection you have for that soft toy that you have had since you were six.

Don’t believe us? Mention it to anyone who loves films and watch what happens. Nobody starts banging on about Oscar nominations or box office numbers. Instead, they remember moments. Ahh, those heart-melting moments! They remember that knackered yellow van that never worked properly. They remember Alan Arkin being absolutely hilarious… But also, his words of wisdom. They remember Olive walking towards that beauty pageant stage, and the rest is history.

That’s probably why seeing it back on Netflix feels so nice. Not because it’s been impossible to watch, but because every new generation deserves the chance to watch this masterpiece. We are living in an age where every other film is desperate to be the biggest thing in the room. But Little Miss Sunshine, oh, it really is a ray of sunshine.

The film starts with a simple story: a family heads off on a road trip so young Olive can compete in a beauty pageant. That’s all. That is literally all. But what’s important is althat ong the way, it ends up saying more about life, disappointment, ambition, family and acceptance than films with ten times the budget.

The real magic happens inside that van. You’ve got Richard Hoover, played by Greg Kinnear, trying to sell success to other people while his own life is hanging by a thread. Toni Collette’s Sheryl is doing her best to keep everyone together despite the fact that her family’s basically one minor inconvenience away from complete chaos. Steve Carell is brilliant as Frank, who is trying to put himself back together after hitting rock bottom, while Paul Dano’s Dwayne spends most of the film communicating through a notepad because he’s taken a vow of silence.

What makes it all work is that none of them feel like characters. They feel like people. Real people. People who are trying their best while carrying all sorts of baggage around with them. Everyone’s struggling with something, and everyone’s trying to figure things out as they go along.

And then there’s Olive. Abigail Breslin was only ten when the film came out, but she made sure that she became the heart of the whole thing because whenever someone mentions Little Miss Sunshine to you, don’t you immediately see a little girl with big glasses? Her character is not obsessed with winning or becoming famous. She just wants to take part, have a laugh and feel included. While all the adults are worrying about success and failure, Olive is the only one who seems to understand what’s actually important.

And that’s why people still love Little Miss Sunshine. It’s a film about choosing the people you care about over expectations and all the other nonsense that gets in the way. Nearly twenty years on, it still feels just as warm as ever.