The 2005 film served as an early showcase for several young actors who grew into major Hollywood mainstays. Chief among them was Elle Fanning, who appeared as Sweetie Pie Thomas, the five-year-old girl obsessed with pink who yearns for a dog of her own. Fanning was only six years old during production. She has since earned Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG nominations for her work in Hulu’s The Great, while anchoring blockbusters like Maleficent.
Luke Benward played the shaved-headed neighborhood troublemaker Stevie Dewberry, who routinely teased Opal about Gloria Dump being a witch. Benward became a staple of Disney Channel productions throughout the late 2000s and 2010s before transitioning to adult roles in films like Dumplin' and independent dramas. Courtney Jines portrayed Amanda Wilkinson, the pinched-faced girl whose haughty attitude masked the tragedy of her younger brother Carson’s accidental drowning. Jines, who previously starred in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, eventually transitioned behind the camera, working in screenwriting and independent producing.
