Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American tragicomedy film directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (in their directorial debut) from a screenplay written by Michael Arndt. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, all of whom play members of a dysfunctional family taking the youngest (Breslin) to compete in a child beauty pageant. Breslin's breakout performance in the film earned her an Academy Award nomination. The road film tackles themes of family, depression, self-acceptance, and finding meaning in absurd conditions.