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You take a bad boy, make him dig holes all day long in the hot sun, it makes him a good boy. That's our philosophy here at Camp Green Lake. So says Mr. Sir, the overseer of a bizarre juvenile correction center that sits in the middle of the desert, surrounded by countless holes, each one 5 feet deep and 5 feet wide. It is the fate of the boys sentenced there to dig one hole a day, day after day; like Sisyphus, who was condemned to forever roll a rock to the top of a hill so that it could roll back down again, they are caught in a tragic loop.

"Holes," which tells their story, is a movie so strange that it escapes entirely from the family genre and moves into fantasy. Like " Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ," it has fearsome depths and secrets. Based on the much-honored young adult's novel by Louis Sachar , it has been given the top-shelf treatment: The director is Andrew Davis (" The Fugitive ") and the cast includes not only talented young stars but also weirdness from adults such as Jon Voight , Sigourney Weaver , Tim Blake Nelson and Patricia Arquette .

In a time when mainstream action is rigidly contained within formulas, maybe there's more freedom to be found in a young people's adventure. "Holes" jumps the rails, leaves all expectations behind, and tells a story that's not funny ha-ha but funny peculiar. I found it original and intriguing. It'll be a change after dumbed-down, one-level family stories, but a lot of kids in the upper grades will have read the book, and no doubt their younger brothers and sisters have had it explained to them. (If you doubt the novel's Harry Potter-like penetration into the youth culture, ask a seventh-grader who Armpit is.) The story involves Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBeouf) as a good kid who gets charged with a crime through no fault of his own, and is shipped off to Camp Green Lake, which is little more than a desert bunkhouse surrounded by holes. There he meets his fellow prisoners and the ominous supervisory staff: Mr. Sir (Jon Voight) and Mr. Pendanski ( Tim Blake Nelson) report to The Warden (Sigourney Weaver), and both men are thoroughly intimidated by her. All three adult actors take their work seriously; they don't relax because this is a family movie, but create characters of dark comic menace. Voight's work is especially detailed; watch him spit in his hand to slick back his hair.

"Holes" involves no less than two flashback stories. We learn that young Stanley comes from a long line of Yelnatses (all named Stanley, because it is the last name spelled backward). From his father ( Henry Winkler ) and grandfather ( Nathan Davis ), he learns of an ancient family curse, traced back many generations to an angry fortune teller ( Eartha Kitt ; yes, Eartha Kitt). The other flashback explains the real reason that the Warden wants the boys to dig holes; it involves the buried treasure of a legendary bandit queen named Kissin' Kate Barlow (Arquette).

There is a link between these two back-stories, supplied by Zero ( Khleo Thomas ), who becomes Stanley's best friend and shares a harrowing adventure with him. Zero runs away, despite Mr. Sir's warning that there is no water for miles around, and when Stanley joins him, they stumble upon ancient clues and modern astonishments.

LaBeouf and Khleo Thomas are both new to me, although LaBoeuf is the star of a cable series, "Even Stevens." They carry the movie with an unforced conviction, and successfully avoid playing cute. As they wander in the desert and discover the keys to their past and present destinies, they develop a partnership, which, despite the fantastical material, seems like the real thing.

The whole movie generates a surprising conviction. No wonder young readers have embraced it so eagerly: It doesn't condescend, and it founds its story on recognizable human nature. There are all sorts of undercurrents, such as the edgy tension between the Warden and Mr. Sir, that add depth and intrigue; Voight and Weaver don't simply play caricatures.

Davis has always been a director with a strong visual sense, and the look of "Holes" has a noble, dusty loneliness. We feel we are actually in a limitless desert. The cinematographer, Stephen St . John, thinks big, and frames his shots for an epic feel that adds weight to the story. I walked in expecting a movie for thirteensomethings, and walked out feeling challenged and satisfied. Curious, how much more grown up and sophisticated "Holes" is than " Anger Management ."

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Holes (2003)

Rated PG For Violence, Mild Language and Some Thematic Elements.

111 minutes

Sigourney Weaver as The Warden

Jon Voight as Mr. Sir

Patricia Arquette as Kissin' Kate

Shia LaBeouf as Stanley

Tim Blake as Dr. Pendanski

Khleo Thomas as Nelson Zero

Jake M. Smith as Squid

Byron Cotton as Armpit

Brenden Jefferson as X-Ray

Henry Winkler as Stanley's Father

Directed by

Andrew Davis
Louis Sachar

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Holes Reviews

Holes was one of the defining shows of my childhood – and is still a really thought-provoking watch 15 years later.

Full Review | Jul 14, 2023

Holes still rocks all these years later. It’s thorny, emotionally resonant young adult storytelling with a good filmmaker behind the wheel and a deep cast. We really didn’t know how good we used to have it.

Full Review | May 20, 2023

Smart, funny and truly original, it's a film capable of entertaining its young target audience as well as the parents who come along for the ride.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Nov 15, 2019

In the true Disney spirit, Holes is for the young and old alike. Substantive, well told, well executed. There is something here to satisfy the entire family...

Full Review | Nov 13, 2019

I think it's something that will make children think while still entertaining them and it'll teach them some good lessons.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Jun 28, 2019

This Burtonesque slice of Southern whimsy works much better on the page than it does on screen where its events transpire arbitrarily and seem less organic.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 5, 2018

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 30, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 6, 2005

Young viewers and old alike will be given powerful metaphors of servanthood and selflessness, humility and honor, courage and Christ-like kindness.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Dec 6, 2004

O roteiro leve e bem construdo, aliado s performances de um elenco carismtico, deu origem ao tipo de filme que certamente divertir toda a famlia.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 25, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Oct 7, 2004

Engaging, generous, and well-paced. Holes is inventively plotted and its coincidences and crazy mysticism pull you in the way the best children's fiction does.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 6, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 27, 2003

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 22, 2003

Unlike so many kids movies, Holes hasn't been dumbed down, loaded with bathroom humor

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 26, 2003

Funny, inspiring and just a little bit naughty, Holes is excellent family entertainment.

Full Review | Original Score: 77/100 | Sep 24, 2003

For all its faults, Holes has an overriding good humor and sense of fun that saves it from the usual drudge of children's pictures.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 21, 2003

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 20, 2003

Holes is a rarity among kids' movies: It's dark, complex, intelligent and well-acted.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 6, 2003

An honestly extraordinary maturation performance by Even Stevens' Shia LaBeouf proves Disney truly has monopoly over the most talented youth actors

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 17, 2003

'Holes' Review: Forced Labor Never Looked This Fun

As Collider looks back at classic films, a first-time watcher reviews ‘Holes,’ Disney’s wacky comedy starring Shia LaBeouf and Sigourney Weaver.

Based on the book of the same name by Louis Sachar , who also penned the script, Holes is a rare family movie with something for everyone. Mixing slapstick comedy with dark explorations of racism in the US, Andrew Davis ' cult movie is an unexpected story that’s part neo-Western, part prison break, and a whole lot of fun. In addition, one could think forced labor would be a touchy subject, but here is Holes , making a wacky family-friendly adventure out of it.

RELATED: The Best Children & Family Movies on Netflix Right Now

Disney has made strange movies in more than one hundred years of history. Still, Holes might take the prize for the wildest story ever coming from the House of the Mouse. This is a family film that opens with a suicide attempt. Less than five minutes later, we meet Henry Winkler playing a kooky inventor determined to find a cure for smelly feet. That's not the end of it, as we soon get a close shot at a mattress stained with teenage fluids. And let's not forget the entire movie is about a forced labor camp for teenagers. And that's just in one of the three intertwined storylines of Holes , which also finds a way to include ancient curses, arranged marriages, and Wild West thieves. To say this movie is weird would be an understatement. And yet, it works somehow.

While adapting a novel into a film is always challenging , Sachar knew the story inside out, being the author of the Holes novel. As a result, nothing goes to waste in Disney’s Holes , as every minor plot element will be tied up elegantly right before the credits roll. At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much in common between a fortune-teller in Latvia and the brutal prison system in Texas, but Sachar still creates meaningful connections essential to telling Holes ’ story.

Of course, something always gets lost in translations, and the constant dives back to the past hurt the movie’s pacing. That’s even more true because some of these flashbacks won’t be important to the main plot until we reach the final half-hour of Holes . As such, viewers might wonder why we are making detours through stories that seem unrelated to the labor camp where the main plot unfolds. Even so, we are pattern-seeking animals, and it just feels good watching all the pieces fall into place to form a beautiful figure with absolutely nothing missing. It’s curious that the movie is called Holes because the narrative structure is all about how different storylines can fill the gaps of each other, showing how we are all connected by fate, fortune, and family affairs.

While Sachar’s script is a wonder without plot holes or unused elements, Holes still works after two decades because this is one of the best-acted family films ever. Even though most of the cast comprises teenagers with little acting experience, everyone is on top of their game. Each convict in Green Lake Camp has their own story, and it’s fantastic that Holes gives them enough time to tell them, adding emotional layers and singularities to what would otherwise be a bland and uniform group. Of course, the stars of the show Shia LaBeouf ’s Stanley and Khleo Thomas ’ Hector, whose journey exposes the failures of a prison system based on punishment and dissent to reintegrate individuals who committed crimes. Instead, Stanley and Hector will learn how mutual support is the only way to find true freedom.

There’s some praise to be given to the adult cast too. As always, Sigourney Weaver turns everything she touches into gold. And in the case of Weavers’ malicious Warden, she manages to let the woman’s desperation slip through the cracks of her hard shell, proving that even the most despicable villains are also victims of the circumstances. This philosophy pervades every second of Holes , which turns out to be a lot more complex than one could imagine. While family-friendly movies tend to give heroes and villains clear moral compasses pointing in opposite directions, Holes is concerned with fleshing out every single character, exposing their flaws, and showing that what makes people good is how they decide to deal with their own mistakes.

It’s been twenty years since Holes hit theaters, but it was ahead of its time. Every scene of Holes is risky since it avoids easy answers and exposes some uncomfortable truths about the justice system. So, it’s easy to understand why executives might be scared to try out something so bold in the current political climate. Still, the fact that Holes managed to do everything it does while still appealing to children proves we shouldn’t underestimate the younger members of the family, even more since complex stories can also catch adults’ attention.

Holes is currently available on Disney+.

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Movie Review: 'Holes'

Bob Mondello

Literature aimed at adolescents is difficult to translate to film. Yet, a buzz builds around the film version of a Newbery Award-winning novel. Like the book, the movie is called Holes . NPR's Bob Mondello says it has a shot at being as big a hit on screen as it is at bookstores.

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FILM REVIEW

FILM REVIEW; Not Just for Children, a Suspenseful Allegory of Greed, Fate and Racism

By A. O. Scott

April 18, 2003

Louis Sachar's 1998 novel ''Holes,'' which among other prizes has won a Newbery Medal and a National Book Award, has also, and more important, attracted a fanatical following among children in the middle grades. Since these tend to be the most passionate and also the pickiest members of the reading public, their fierce regard for Mr. Sachar's book should not be taken lightly.

Any adult who has read ''Holes'' -- and I suspect there are quite a few, not all of them the parents or teachers of sixth graders -- will immediately see the sources of its appeal. There is a clear moral scheme balanced by morally complex characters, irreverent humor combined with earnest emotion and, most of all, enough plot to satisfy the addiction to narrative that affects so many of our youth today.

The central story -- of a boy named Stanley Yelnats, unjustly sent to a camp for delinquents for stealing a pair of baseball cleats -- sprouts wild tendrils of invention that reach from the Old Country (in this case, Latvia) to the Old West. Their elegant, suspenseful resolution makes this novel a masterpiece of juvenile magic realism.

As abundant as its pleasures are, ''Holes'' is equally notable for what it lacks: the icky sentiment and cynical condescension that mark too many efforts to turn the intelligence and curiosity of young people into a source of profit. Since Hollywood often specializes in sentimentality and cynicism (to say nothing of profit), the movie of ''Holes,'' which opens nationwide today, might be met with apprehension by some of the book's fans. Not to worry. Mr. Sachar, who wrote the screenplay, has betrayed neither his own imagination nor that of his audience. The director, Andrew Davis (''The Fugitive''), has turned the book's spare, gritty allegory into a shaggy-dog saga that is sometimes hectic but always surprising and never easy, predictable or false.

Young Stanley (Shia LaBeouf), is plucked from his family's chaotic apartment, where his father (Henry Winkler) is trying to invent an antidote for foot odor, and sent off to Camp Green Lake. Under the sinister eye of Mr. Sir (Jon Voight) and the two-faced tutelage of a staff member, Dr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson), whom the boys sarcastically call Mom, the young inmates are assigned the task of digging holes, one after another, in the desert. The stated goal of this backbreaking Sisyphean labor is to build character, but it also seems that the warden (Sigourney Weaver) is using the boys to find some mysterious, precious treasure that she believes is buried in the sand.

The tough, prickly camaraderie among the boys and their solidarity in the face of adult cruelty give the picture its heart and also its pedigree, which includes movies like ''Stalag 17,'' ''The Great Escape,'' ''Cool Hand Luke'' and, more recently, ''Chicken Run.'' The weaselly Mr. Nelson, the growly, strutting Mr. Voight and the chilly, feline Ms. Weaver form a fine menagerie of grown-up corruption.

The younger actors are appropriately boisterous and appealing. Mr. LaBeouf, with his soft face and curly hair, rises to the challenge of depicting a coddled, sensitive young man who must prove his toughness without sacrificing his decency. Both qualities are tested by the other boys and also by Stanley's growing friendship with an especially troubled camp mate, a feral, runty child with the nickname Zero.

To offset the dusty bleakness of Camp Green Lake, a place beset by rattlesnakes and poisonous lizards, ''Holes'' conjures up storybook landscapes and subplots, which at first glance seem weirdly digressive. There is the matter of the Yelnats family curse, which has dogged four generations of Stanleys after being applied, back in Latvia, by Madame Zeroni (Eartha Kitt).

Then there is the legend of Kate Barlow (Patricia Arquette), a 19th-century kissing bandit who harassed travelers near the present-day site of the camp. The connections between past and present emerge slowly; as the campers dig their literal holes, the movie quietly fills in the narrative holes and along the way uncovers some hard, substantial themes like greed, fate and the legacy of racism.

And it deals with these themes more honestly and with more respect for the audience's intelligence than most movies aimed at supposed grown-ups. The interracial romance that is, along with the Yelnats curse, the kernel of all that follows is treated with neither the skittishness nor the sensationalism that still characterize so many studio pictures. Perhaps the current generation of 10-year-olds has outgrown the hypocrisy and squeamishness of its forebears.

In any case, Mr. Sachar's young devotees will be gratified that ''Holes'' shows such fidelity to its source. But unlike, say, the ''Harry Potter'' films, Mr. Davis's movie has a brash, confident identity of its own. You spend much of it in a state of flashlight-under-the-covers breathlessness, wondering what on earth will happen next and what Stanley's unhappy predicament has to do with an ancient curse or the sad fate of a late-19th-century Texas onion peddler (Dulé Hill).

''Holes'' is one of the few recent movies I have seen that plunged me into that rare, giddy state of pleasurable confusion, of not knowing what would happen next, which I associate with the reading and moviegoing experiences of my own childhood. But there is no reason that children should have a monopoly on this primal, wonderful experience.

Yes, ''Holes'' is certainly the thing that schoolchildren will drag their parents to see on spring-break afternoons, but the parents who are dragged will find themselves watching the best film released by a major American studio so far this year.

''Holes'' is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). It has some violent scenes and very mild profanity.

Directed by Andrew Davis; written by Louis Sachar, based on his novel; produced by Mike Medavoy, Teresa Tucker-Davies and Lowell Blank and Mr. Davis; Stephen St. John, director of photography; edited by Tom Nordberg and Jeffrey Wolf; music by Joel McNeely; Maher Ahmad, production designer. Released by Walt Disney Pictures. Running time: 117 minutes. This film is rated PG.

WITH: Sigourney Weaver (the Warden), Jon Voight (Mr. Sir), Tim Blake Nelson (Dr. Pendanski), Shia LaBeouf (Stanley), Siobhan Fallon Hogan (Stanley's Mother), Henry Winkler (Stanley's Father), Eartha Kitt (Madame Zeroni), Dulé Hill (Sam), Khleo Thomas (Zero) and Patricia Arquette (Kate Barlow).

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DVD & Streaming
Drama , Kids

Content Caution

In Theaters

Shia LaBeouf as Stanley Yelnats IV; Jon Voight as Mr. Sir; Tim Blake Nelson as Dr. Pendanski; Sigourney Weaver as The Warden; Khleo Thomas as Zero; Patricia Arquette as Kate; Dulé Hill as Sam; Brenden Jefferson as X-Ray; Byron Cotton as Armpit; Max Kasch as Zig-Zag; Miguel Castro as Magnet; Jake M. Smith as Squid; Henry Winkler as Stanley Yelnats III; Nathan Davis as Stanley Yelnats II

Home Release Date

Andrew Davis

Distributor

Walt Disney

Movie Review

Five feet by five feet. These are the dimensions of Stanley Yelnats’ days. Every 24 hours he digs a hole that’s five feet in diameter and five feet deep in the barren, sun-scorched earth of Camp Green Lake, a “getaway” for juvenile delinquents. His pedantic counselor Dr. Pendanski and the sunflower seed-spitting enforcer Mr. Sir both tell him he’s digging holes to build his character. But Stanley doesn’t particularly need to have his character built since he was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. (Not surprising considering the Yelnats family’s century-old run of bad luck that began when a fortuneteller cursed Stanley’s no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.) So it’s understandable that he’s a bit skeptical about his overseers�� desire to make him a better member of society through manual labor. He and his fellow inmates—the aptly nicknamed X-Ray, Armpit, Zig-Zag, Magnet, Squid and Zero—are told that they’ll get a day off from work if they find something “interesting” while they’re digging. Something interesting enough to please the tough-as-nails Warden, that is.

It should be noted at this point that the powers-that-be at Camp Green Lake don’t really care about character. They’re looking for something and using their charges to find it. As time passes and Stanley ponders the mystery of what everyone’s searching for, a greater enigma begins to unfold. And that enigma is buried in a hole, coated in dust. It hasn’t rained for over 100 years at Camp Green Lake, not since a terrible atrocity turned Kissin’ Kate Barlow into an outlaw. …

positive elements: Buried in Holes is a hefty cache of worthwhile themes, but most of them are handled descriptively rather than overtly. Bullying gets denounced when Stanley is seen being poked, prodded, pushed and scorned by his “friends” at Camp Green Lake. True friendship is lauded when Stanley takes the universally avoided Zero under his wing, teaching the socially unengaged half-pint to read and ultimately saving his life. Irrational prejudice is decried when the film shows a violent social upheaval that boils up after Kate Barlow shares a kiss with Sam, an African-American onion dealer. The nature of real justice is displayed by showing its opposite in the sanctimonious yet hypocritical Pendanski, the cruel Mr. Sir and the dictatorial Warden. The love of family, insufficiency of surface beauty, need for perseverance, all-consuming nature of greed and necessity of getting a good education receive equally positive and subtle emphasis. A note to parents: While subtlety sometimes makes for engaging viewing, it also make it easier to wrongly interpret or miss the point entirely. Consider a pre- and post- Holes family chat if you choose to indulge.

spiritual content: A couple of Biblical allusions pop up (mainly a reference to the Flood and a landmark called God’s Thumb). But its the nebulous concept of “destiny” provides the film’s spiritual framework. Stanley’s grandfather, also named Stanley (Stanley is “Yelnats” backwards), claims that the men in his family are hexed “always and forever” because Stanley’s great-great-grandfather broke a promise he made to a fortuneteller. The claim isn’t entirely true since (without giving too much away) the so-called curse doesn’t last “always and forever.” What viewers learn is that an impersonal force is seeking to right wrongs and rectify injustices in the Yelnats family and elsewhere. If Holes had substituted God for Destiny, it wouldn’t be problematic. As it stands, the spirituality of the movie is misleading, but not heavy-handed. It may serve as a platform for parents to remind their children that the self-existent and very personal Yahweh is the one who sets the outcome of human lives, not fate or destiny (read Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:11, Job 42:2).

nudity and sexual content: Stanley briefly appears in his underwear while changing into his Camp Green Lake regulation jumpsuit. A scoundrel leers at a woman who makes spiced fruit, commenting that he enjoys “peaches.” Stanley becomes nervous about showering once he discovers that the Warden has miniature cameras hidden all over the camp (a number of boys make crude jokes about the spying). After seeing the words “Mary Lou” emblazoned on a boat, Stanley jokes that she must have looked great in a bikini (an ironic comment since Mary Lou is a donkey).

violence and gore: The opening scene shows a “camper” allowing himself to be bitten by a rattlesnake in order to escape (the bite is masked by a succession of quick camera cuts). Stanley gets knocked to the ground by a pair of shoes that fall from the sky. He’s regularly shoved and bullied by his fellow campers. Gunplay is integral to the Kissin’ Kate Barlow mythos, but clever camera work and editing shield viewers from explicit violence. Elsewhere, a man is shot, but he’s seen from a great distance. Stanley’s hands blister and bleed as he digs his first hole. Mr. Sir blasts a virulent yellow-spotted lizard with his revolver and audiences catch a quick glimpse of its corpse. An insane woman allows one of the toxic critters to bite her (she’d rather die than tell a secret to a rifle-wielding thug). Campers find themselves trapped in a hole by scores of the lethal beasties. The film’s most intense moment comes when the angry Warden scratches Mr. Sir on the face after applying a fresh coat of venom-infused fingernail polish. The poison causes him to writhe on the ground in agony and leaves his face puffy and discolored. Zero hits a mocking Dr. Pendanski in the face with a shovel. Later he cuts his hands while helping Stanley up a cliff. A violent mob storms through a town and sets a schoolhouse on fire. Stanley drives a truck into a hole.

crude or profane language: Unfortunately, God’s name is abused almost 10 times. About half a dozen mild profanities (“d–n” and “h—“) crop up. Crudities and put-downs such as “schmuck,” “jacka–,” “cow turd,” “fart” and “Neanderthal” turn up, “crap” being the most common.

drug and alcohol content: A recovering nicotine addict, Mr. Sir eats sunflower seeds to keep from smoking (by the end of the movie he’s reverted to the old habit). A number of unsavory characters drink. A fortuneteller puffs on a pipe.

other negative elements: Stanley sleeps on a stained cot (its previous occupant was nicknamed Barf Bag). Armpit suffers from horrible body odor and flatulence. After eating fermented food in order to stay alive in the desert, Zero vomits. Stanley lies in his letters about the great time he’s having at camp so that his mother won’t worry. He also lies to keep other campers from getting in trouble when they steal Mr. Sir’s sunflower seeds. Stanley steals a truck to go save Zero when he’s stranded in the desert.

conclusion: With its striking cinematography, vivid character development, complex plot and deft treatment of universal human themes, Holes is a much deeper film than its “ Home Alone 6: Danger in the Desert ” promotional campaign indicates. Originally a novel, the story won a Newberry Award in 1999 for excellence in children’s literature. And unlike many book-to-film conversions, this movie maintains the book’s distinction. It didn’t hurt that author Louis Sachar penned the screenplay.

Every family considering diving into Holes will have to grapple with whether or not the film’s occasional crudity, violent scenes and misuses of the Lord’s name push it out of bounds. But this movie presents another dilemma of sorts. Holes doesn’t quickly fill in all the questions it unearths. Was the curse on the Yelnats family genuine or merely a quirk of fate? Should we sympathize with the heartbroken Kissin’ Kate Barlow or decry her murderous thievery? How much does the perseverance of Stanley’s dad contribute to his success as an inventor and how much of it is the machinations of destiny? This descriptive film offers such forthright commentary only occasionally, letting viewers work to make the various ethical connections. “I never set out to teach a lesson,” says Sachar. “My goal [has] always [been] to write a fun, entertaining and thought-provoking story. Any messages, and I think there are many in [the] book, come naturally out of the story.” The same holds true for the movie and that’s good or bad depending on how you look at it. Those who want a neat and tidy moral lesson free of loose ends will be frustrated by the movie’s seeming lack of clarity. Parents looking for a well-crafted cinematic tale with lots to talk about afterwards will consider it a treasure trove.

Loren Eaton

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Holes Review

24 Oct 2003

117 minutes

Louis Sachar's compelling children's classic is about as Disney as Freddy Krueger. It's got murder, racism, facial disfigurement and killer lizards.

Tightly plotted, it's a multi-layered, interlinking story that spans history to reveal Stanley's own heritage and the secret behind the holes. It races from Latvia's lush greenness to the pock-marked Camp Green Lake (hint: there's no lake and no green).

Disney's first success is re-creating the novel's environments so convincingly - the set design is superb and without gloss. The other plus is in the casting. Rising star Shia LaBeouf (Charlie's Angels 2, Project Greenlight) might not be the fat boy of the book, but his attitude is right and he's far from the usual clean-cut hero. The rest of the cast is filled out equally well, from Patricia Arquette as the Frontier school marm-turned-bank robber to Henry Winkler as Stanley's dad. The downside is the pop soundtrack - pure marketing department - and having the sentiment turned up to full volume at the end.

Movies | 20 02 2002

Being a parent has its advantages.

If I weren’t a parent, I probably would have skipped going to see Holes and I would have missed out on a real gem of a movie.

Stanley Yelnats IV ( Shia LaBeouf ) is cursed. Literally. His entire family has been cursed on the male side since his great-great-grandfather reneged on an agreement with a gypsy (Eartha Kitt) back in the old country. Nothing they do ever comes out right. Not his great-grandfather who made a fortune and was robbed by Kissing Kate Barlow (she only kissed the men she killed). Not his father ( Henry Winkler ), the inventor who has been trying to find a cure for foot odor for years and has only succeeded in getting them evicted for making an entire building smell like feet. And not Stanley. Especially not Stanley.

One day, a pair of shoes comes flying through the air, hits Stanley in the head and into the juvenile justice system. It appears the shoes he now held were donated by a baseball superstar and then stolen from a charity auction.

For the theft he didn’t commit Stanley is sentenced to eighteen months at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp in the middle of the desert where there is no green and no lake, and the motto is: “You take a bad boy, make him dig holes in the hot sun all day, and it turns him into a good boy.”

Every day, Stanley and his fellow delinquents must rise before dawn and go out into the dry lakebed that was once Green Lake and dig a hole five feet deep by five feet in diameter. They must contend with the occasional scorpion, rattlesnakes and the incredibly poisonous and feared Yellow Spotted Lizard.

The staff of Camp Green Lake is even more dangerous than the lizards, however. Mr. Sir (Jon Voight, being gloriously evil, wicked, mean and nasty) and Dr. Pendanski ( Tim Blake Nelson ) are the counselors that drive the boys to dig their holes and report if they find anything “interesting”. When asked what they’re looking for, Mr. Sir responds cryptically, “You’re not looking for anything. You’re building character.” They work for The Warden ( Sigourney Weaver ), a woman who paints her nails with rattlesnake venom and who it seems IS very much looking for something.

The casting of the kids from Camp Green Lake was tight, each one with a distinctive nickname, personality and quirks. From Armpit to X-Ray, they dig their holes and add to the story, but never cross the line into sappiness or comic relief. Zero (Khleo Thomas), a silent boy with exceptional digging skills, soon becomes Stanley’s best friend and helps him unravel the mystery in which they find themselves embroiled.

Holes , an adaptation of a book by Louis Sachar, tells three different stories: Stanley’s time at the camp, the story of his great-great grandfather and the curse, and the tragic interracial romance of Sam and Mary Lou (which makes the phrase “I can fix that” one of the most romantic things a man could say, right up there with “As you wish”). The stories move in and out, seeming at first to be completely unrelated until they come together in such a way ties up everything so completely that you’re almost shocked at how well it all fits together.

Normally, I would say that such a neat ending would be clichéd, but this movie does it in such away that it simply feels right, like a comfortable shoe.

I really can’t say much more about the plot because that would give away too much about this movie, and that would be a crime. The performances are incredible, especially Jon Voight who exudes menace through every pore, but still made me laugh out loud as many times as he made me wince with his casual cruelty towards the inmates. The story is tight and well told, drawing you in from the beginning and not letting you go until the very end when even the smallest detail figures into the total story.

The soundtrack also struck me as especially energetic and easy on the ear, especially “Dig It” by D-Tent Boys and “Eyes Down” by Eels. I’m definitely adding it to my “must buy” list along with the original book and the DVD when it comes out.

It’s very rare that I go to a children’s movie and feel satisfied with what Hollywood is dishing out to my daughter. This time I can confidently say that she wasn’t spoken down to, patronized, or insulted. I’m unlikely to feel the same way after The Lizzy McGuire Movie next weekend, but that’s all part of being a parent I suppose.

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More swearing, bullying, and lying than i remember and poor role models, there's actually 2-4 suicide attempts but only one of them is lethal. only a fun family movie if your children are ready for it., touches on many important themes, violence, bullying.

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Details: 2003, USA, Cert PG, 117 mins

Direction: Andrew Davis

Genre: Children / Comedy / Drama

Summary: Based on the book by Louis Sachar - a troubled boy who is sent to a detention camp discovers why he is being forced to dig holes in the desert

With: Join Voight , Khleo Thomas , Patricia Arquette , Shia LaBeouf and Sigourney Weaver

Philip French

Philip French: In Andrew Davis's engaging, sometimes scary tale of good versus evil, it's the villains, led by Sigourney Weaver, who steal the show

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John Patterson judges Jon Voight on the strength of his performances, rather than his abilities as a father

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Holes Parent Guide

Bad luck has dogged Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBeouf) and his family ever since his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather (Damien Luvara) crossed a Latvian gypsy (Eartha Kitt) and brought a curse upon the male members of the clan.

Release date April 17, 2003

Run Time: 117 minutes

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

So it’s no surprise when a pair of stolen track shoes falls from the sky and hits Stanley squarely on the head. Despite his plea of innocence, he is quickly charged with pinching the famous sneakers and shipped off to Camp Green Lake, a detention destination where nothing green or lake-like exists for miles around. There, in the searing summer heat, the detainees build character by digging holes in a dried up lake bed, day after day after day.

In the morning, the young offenders head out to work under the watchful eye of Mr. Sir (Jon Voight), a cranky supervisor who makes their time in the dirt as miserable as possible. He does, however, promise the boys the possibility of an afternoon off and extra shower tokens if they find anything special while digging.

With that in mind, Stanley begins to question the character-building component of their excavation work when a small metal item found in one of the holes brings their elusive female Warden (Sigourney Weaver) rushing out of her air-conditioned house and into the hot sun. Piecing together bits of local legend, he soon discovers the real reason behind the endless pits.

Adapting his award-winning novel, Holes, to a screenplay offered Louis Sachar a chance to be intimately involved in bringing his characters to life and in keeping the plot true to the book. Intertwining the lives of several generations of Yelnats with the Old West figures of Kissin’ Kate Barlow (Patricia Arquette) and Sam, the onion man (Dule Hill), the author gives audiences an engaging story best suited for the 12 and up crowd.

Unless you’re familiar with the book, be warned there are several tense scenes involving poisonous reptiles and other moments of peril for the hero. As well, Kissin’ Kate, a rampaging outlaw with revenge on her mind, only plants her lip prints on her victims after she shoots them. The result is ample amounts of her screen time devoted to killings and lifeless bodies slumped over in coffins.

Although the ancestral curse thwarts Stanley and his dad (Henry Winkler) in every attempt at success, their never-give-up attitude grants them an innate ability to make the best of their constant misfortunes. It’s that knack of pulling diamonds out of dust bowls that makes Holes a gem of a movie worth digging around for.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Holes parents' guide.

Despite Stanley’s string of bad luck, what was his attitude? How did that affect his actions at Camp Green Lake and his relationship with the other boys? Did it have an effect on the Yelnats family luck?

Gypsy curses aside, can a person’s life decisions influence his/her family for generations to come?

Louis Sachar’s novel has been published in nearly 30 countries and may be worth a read before checking out the movie. Find out more about the author at www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-sachar-louis.asp .

The most recent home video release of Holes movie is September 22, 2003. Here are some details…

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