![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/5/23754711/1748188.jpg)
Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin) is the star of this movie. It has always been her dream of becoming Little Miss Sunshine. One day she gets the call that she has the opportunity to become Little Miss Sunshine in California. Olive is so young and naive that she does notice the troubles that are in her family. Despite the conflicts that arise between the family she makes it to the auditions in California.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/5/23754711/1685527.jpg)
Sheryl Hoover (Toni Collette) is the rock in the family. While the family is breaking down, she remains calm and keeps the family together. She provides the family with an optimistic attitude while encountering several adversities on the trip to California. She reassures her family that everything will be okay and in the end they have each other for support.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/5/23754711/4149674.jpg)
Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear) is a father and motivational speaker who is under a lot of tension. As he stresses the release of his motivational book, he soon finds out his book will not be released. Money is slowly becoming an issue in the household, and Richard does not agree with the trip to California for the audition of Little Miss Sunshine. To make matters worse Richard is having marriage problems with his wife Sheryl. Through all the mayhem they encounter on the trip we see Richard's emotional side when tells his father he loves him.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/5/23754711/8572448.jpg)
Frank Ginsberg (Steve Carell) was recently released from the hospital due to a failed suicide attempt. Frank is homosexual and attempts to kill himself because his relationship did not work out. We first see Frank as a very sad man but as the story develops he becomes happier. He realizes that family is the important thing there is in the world and because he was surrounded by his family it made him happy.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/5/23754711/2189115.jpg)
Dwayne Hoover (Paul Dano) is an anti-social teen. We quickly learn he makes a promise to his family that he will not speak until he is in the Air Force. As Dwayne continues with his vow of silence he notices the destruction of his family. He sees the tension between his parents, the drug abuse of his grandpa, and he now is sharing rooms with his suicidal uncle. Dwayne seems the one who is sane throughout the movie. During the trip Dwayne realizes he is color blind and he cannot go to the Air Force. Sheryl reassures him everything will be okay because he has his family to support him. In the end, he realizes family is important.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/5/23754711/3567184.jpg)
Last but not least we have Grandpa Edwin Hoover (Alan Arkin) who is a World War II veteran. He recently moved in with Richard and Sheryl because of his eviction in the retirement home he was living in. Grandpa Hoover has a heroin addiction and he passes away later on in the movie. As foul-mouthed he may be, he gives advice to the family in attempt for them to live better lives. Grandpa Hoover has a big impact on the families life. He reassures Olive she is a beautiful young girl, he tells his son he loves him, and he gives Dwayne advice that he should enjoy his life while he has it.
The characters played a big role in the movie because each characters was confronted with their own problem. Sheryl was struggling to keep the family together. Richard was pressuring the contract of his book and program. Not only that he was under a lot of stress due to monetary issues. Dwayne despised his family and took a vow of silence. He is later confronted with the problem that he cannot attend the Air Force Academy. Olive is having self-esteem issues because of her dad. He told her that models or beauty pageants are not fat and they don't eat ice cream. Grandpa Edwin has a heroin addiction which is why he was evicted from retirement home. Frank had suicidal thoughts due to his past relationship where it cost him his job. All these characters have personal problems but one way or another they all help each other. They support each other. When Dwayne discovered he was color blind, Olive hugged him and that give him the reassurance to return to the van. When Richard put Olive down for eating ice cream everyone ate from Olive's ice cream and she gained the confidence to eat the ice cream again. Sheryl told Richard and Dwayne to let Olive be and if she wanted to go perform then let her. Dwayne helped Frank just by being next to him. Dwayne provided a different outlook on the family and he saw the conflicts.