Little Miss Sunshine is a delightful dark comedy. The ironic thing for me was that throughout the movie, I never once got the feeling of darkness. I realized this was because of the bright and pastel colors used. However, in the very beginning of the film when the characters are being introduced, the colors used are very neutral. Once the movie gets going and we learn how dysfunctional the family is, then the colors brighten. Which is a little backwards, typically the colors/mood match the subject matter in the film. Frank, who is the darkest character, is introduced with the family while he is wearing all white. Through out the movie his clothing is kept in the pastel color palette. I noticed there was a color that was used over and over again, the color yellow. The most obvious was the Volkswagen; the motel sign that the family stayed in had a yellow sign.
The yellow Volkswagen in the film symbolizes irony with regards to the overall mood of the film. When one thinks of the color yellow, he or she usually attaches it to something happy, whether that is a memory or an actual person, place or thing. Also the color yellow is a warm color. It is ironic how the film uses this vehicle, color and model, to represent exactly the opposite of what it should symbolize. For example, during this era, that specific car stood as a symbol for freedom, peace, and happiness; However, the intriguing twist is that not one character in that film is completely happy, not even the little girl, she struggles with body issues. The audience discovers this in the diner scene when she is debating whether or not she should have the waffles alamode. The father thinks everyone is a loser, yet he is the biggest loser of all. The brother wants to be a pilot and yet mid movie he discovers he’s color blind while riding in the yellow Volkswagen. Frank tried to kill himself over a love gone wrong with a student and ends up getting fired. The grandfather in his old age has become a hedonist,...