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Holes
By Nell Minow,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Great movie respects its audience's intelligence.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Holes
Community Reviews
Based on 37 parent reviews
Amazing Film
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Kids repeat and emulate what they see
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What's the Story?
Adapted by Louis Sachar from his Newbery award-winning book, HOLES, this is the story of Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf). Stanley is wrongfully accused of stealing a very valuable pair of sneakers and sentenced to a juvenile facility in the desert. Each boy there is required to dig a five-foot-deep hole every day. They are told it is to help them develop character, but could it be that the Warden (Sigourney Weaver) is looking for something that just might be buried in the endless stretch of sand that once was Green Lake?
Is It Any Good?
Author Louis Sacher (who appears briefly as a man who is going bald) adapted his own story, and it retains all of the complexity and understated, offbeat charm of the book. The adult actors are excellent, especially Arquette and Dule Hill, but the kids are the center of the story, and they handle it beautifully. Khleo Thomas is wonderfully engaging as Zero. In sharp contrast to most movies directed at 10- to 15-year-olds (come to think of it, to most movies of any kind), Holes respects the intelligence of its audience. It is even willing to challenge them, and that makes it a movie for everyone in the family to treasure.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about its themes of fate and choice. What actions in Holes seem to have been decided by fate (or a curse) and what were decided by the characters?
How much of our present is influenced by or determined by the past?
There are even more connections between the three stories than you see at first. How many can you find?
If you pay close attention, there is something significant about when the boys use their real names and when they use their tough nicknames. What does that tell you?
Why doesn't Stanley tell the truth in his letter to his mother? How is Stanley different at the end of the movie?
Movie Details
- In theaters: April 18, 2003
- On DVD or streaming: September 23, 2003
- Cast: Patricia Arquette , Shia LaBeouf , Sigourney Weaver
- Director: Andrew Davis
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
- Genre: Family and Kids
- Topics: Book Characters
- Run time: 111 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- MPAA explanation: violence, mild language and some thematic elements.
- Last updated: February 18, 2023
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