Skip's friendly personality helps Willie make friends with a pretty girl and some local toughs who had bullied him. The dog is Willie's comfort when his local hero, Dink, goes off to war only to return in shame, branded a coward. Skip also provides a gentle link between Willie and his stern but kind father. Director Jay Russell, who is known for his documentary work, does a good job creating the look of a small Mississippi town in 1942, evoking a time that was simpler but not necessarily better. In Yazoo, Willie's family and other white people live in houses with wide front porches, green lawns, towering shade trees and neat sidewalks.
Black families reside across town in crude wooden homes beside dirt roads.
And at the local movie house, discrimination is blatant. The film's sets and costumes are right for the period, but everything looks a mite too perfect. Even the people. The plot is reminiscent of a Disney TV special. The cute dog runs into trouble with the bad guys, and the worried boy holds a vigil by his side.