MUSIC AND THE FICTIVE DREAM: “The Winner Is”- Little Miss Sunshine

 

Introduction 

Little Miss Sunshine is one of my all time favourite films. I came across it a few years ago from a recommendation from a teammate and merely fell in love. The film always makes me feel better about life and family. It's such a comfort movie to me. The song I chose was "The Winner Is" from the film. It was written by DeVotchKa, a Denver based artist who also composed the rest of the music for the movie. I think it really is impactful to the plot and also all around the message of the movie.

 

Plot

Little Miss Sunshine was released in January of 2006 as a tragic comedy that followed a dysfunctional family’s journey to a children’s beauty pageant. The film was Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' directorial debut, and was written by Michael Arndt. The film was first released at the Sundanese Festival and later purchased by Fox, launching into mainstream culture. The film begins by introducing the audience to the motivations and personalities of the members of the family one at a time. Olive Hoover is a seven year old who’s dream is to become a beauty pageant queen, Dwayne is Olive's stepbrother who has taken a vow of silence until he becomes a jet pilot, Sheryl Hoover is their mother who is desperately trying to keep the family from imploding, Richard Hoover is the dad who is a motivational speaker who’s career is failing, Frank is Sheryl’s brother, a Proust scholar who resently attempted suicide and finally Grandpa Edwin is Sheryl’s substance addicted father who is Olives coach for pageants. The story follows them along a two day road trip to The Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant for Olive, in a lemon yellow VW bus. The bus that they ride breaks down very early in the story and without time to fix it they must physically push the bus to start it. This acts as a metaphor for one of the main themes of the story being that they can’t move forward without everyone. Through the story each character reaches their own rock bottom and shows how they overcome these challenges as a family, becoming closer because of this. The main meat of the movie is the family facing challenges to get to this pageant and all coming together for Olive, the metaphorical sunshine of the family. Once they finally make it to the pageant, they all realize that Olive is out matched and has no chance of winning. In the final act of the movie, the family unite to perform alongside in support of Olive so that she won’t feel like a loser. The construct of winning and losing is a huge theme of the movie, with Richard being obsessed with having a winner mindset and seeing losing as the greatest disappointment. By the end of the movie the definition of winner changes in the family’s eyes, they realize that you can be a winner in life alongside failure. 

Role of the Song

The song “The Winner Is” plays at the very beginning of the movie, it is the soundtrack that introduces the characters. The song plays as we see the different characters establishing their motivations. Olive wants to be a beauty queen and is seen watching Miss America on the tv. Dwayne is exercising and crossing out days until he can go to pilot school. Richard is trying to get his motivational book to sell to people. Grandpa is doing drugs in the bathroom. Sheryl is running around trying to keep her family going and together. Frank is the outlier is this scene coming at the ending of the song he is beginning the movie at rock bottom in a hospital due to his attempt on his life. The song has a bittersweet sort of melancholy swaying feeling that encapsulates the beginning of the movie very well.

Dynamics 

“The Winner Is” has subtle dynamics changes throughout the song. The beginning of the song is its most quiet, starting out with a few reverberating piano notes. It starts picking up with the addition of an accordion, violin high strings and brass. The dynamics of the song are repeated with softer and then loud dynamics throughout. My favourite dynamic in the song is how the violin contrasts the slow methodical tone of the song. The violin cuts through the noise and brings a feeling of life and happiness to the song. Without the dynamic change that the violin brings I don’t think I’d enjoy this song as much. 

Timbre

I think the timbre of the song introduces the audience to the overall feeling of the film. The timbre of the accordion throughout brings a warm grounding feeling to the song. The use of the piano throughout changes timbre with it sometimes being very plucky and bright but also having a melancholy sound in other parts. The timbre especially in this song being the introduction to the film is very important and I think it executes it well. The audience gets a feeling of bittersweet sadness as well as a comforting warmth. 

Social Commentary 

I think the movie holds very strong commentary on the idea that winning is above everything else and self expression. The song itself also holds this idea with the song being named “The Winner Is”. The name is so important because it plays as the characters are being introduced and seeing themselves in the positions of winners. As the story develops the family and especially Richard comes to realize how destructive that mind set can be especially to his kids. Winning and losing are such extremes they bring a finality with them but that kind of finality doesn’t exist in real life. Experiencing failure is not the end just as success is not permanent. I feel this is reflected in the ever changing dynamics of the song, meaning nothing is permanent. 

Personal Thoughts 

I really implore you to watch this movie. I barely scratch the surface of the messages and story. The song is so special it makes me feel calm and leaves me with the feeling of sarindipady. This song serves as a reminder that failure is not the end and that self expression is one of the most valuable qualities to have. One of my favourite things to do is to listen to this song in the car. It makes me feel like I'm flying and everything in the world is aligned. 

References 

SOFIA.“Little Miss Sunshine”. Spoiler Town, 16 Jan 2026, https://spoilertown.com/little-miss-sunshine-2006/#google_vignette . Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.

PEEPGRASS, JEFF. “Writing with Heart: A Little Miss Sunshine Analysis”. KinoLime blog, 23 Mar. 2025, https://blog.kinolime.com/articles/little-miss-sunshine-script-analysis. Accessed 8 April. 2026.