Credit: LooperThe Walt Disney Company has been celebrating its 100th anniversary as an entertainment institution this year. They have a century’s worth of cinematic content that has impacted and inspired countless generations of artists and art lovers. However, for every classic like, The Lion King and Mary Poppins, they have turned out some hot messes such as The Lone Ranger and Cars 2. Disney also has hidden gems that were underappreciated upon release. Movies like Christopher Robin, Meet the Robinsons, and Holes were true diamonds in the rough. 2003’s Holes was not a tremendous success by Disney standards, but still built a devoted following over the years. Twenty years later, the cast, including Shia LaBeouf, have reunited to commemorate this treasured classic.
Holes was directed by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) who faithfully adapted the award-winning novel by Louis Sachar. The story centered around a mischievous teen, Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) who was falsely accused of stealing and sentenced to a juvenile detention facility in the desert. Each of the orange jumpsuited youths are required to dig a five-foot-deep hole every day as part of their rehabilitation.
A heat-exhausted Stanley learned that their character-building manual labor has really been a plot by the Warden (Sigourney Weaver) to find buried treasure. Yelnats and the other boys, Zero (Khleo Thomas), X-Ray (Brenden Jefferson), Armpit (Byron Cotton), Magnet (Miguel Castro), Squid (Jake M. Smith), Twitch (Noah Poletiek) and Zigzag (Max Kasch) team up to find the fortune themselves and break free of their prison.
A big part of its longevity with fans was not only because it was a well-written and directed story, but the chemistry between the young actors brought their characters to life. They were funny, sympathetic kids that bonded over their trauma. That chemistry resurfaced as most of the cast reunited for the 20th anniversary screening in Los Angeles at the Gene Autry Museum.
While the spotlight was heavily put on movie star, Shia LaBeouf, other notable interactions were between him and his former co-star, Khleo Thomas (Zero) and legendary actor, Jon Voight, who played Mr. Sir, the Warden’s cruel right-hand. Each guest that attended not only watched the exclusive screening of the movie, but were greeted and joined by the cast who took pictures with some fans. All attendees also received a special-edition copy of the movie.
The irony of this film’s popularity is that Disney’s lack of faith in its success allowed for no studio interference. Davis was able to make the film he wanted and relied on a compelling story that was character-driven. The Disney Vault has a boundless amount of content to “dig” through that a movie like Holes could easily slip through the cracks. If anyone has not seen this movie or does not remember when they last viewed it, it is truly one of Disney’s cinematic treasures.
Holes is streaming exclusively on Disney+.