History YMMV / Holes

* NarmCharm: "Dig It". On paper, the movie adaptation of a book like ''Holes'' having a ThemeTuneRap performed by its all-teen cast sounds like a TotallyRadical gimmick to attract the "fellow kids". In practice, however, the actors are clearly are musically capable enough to pull it off and the whole thing fits the story to a tee. On top of that, the beat is insanely catchy and the overall production rock solid, turning what could have been a phoned-in credits theme into arguably the most memorable addition to an already highly regarded soundtrack.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Linda Walker nee Miller, as well as her children with Trout, with at least one of them being Ms. Walker's parent given she and Trout have the same surname. During the twenty years that Kate doesn't see Trout, Linda goes from a pretty third-grader to a sunburnt blotchy-faced GoldDigger. Yet she doesn't say much about her relationship with Trout, only that they're desperate for money. Then there's the matter that Ms. Walker's parents had to dig holes all over the lake basin, and forced her to participate as well. After all, what kind of adult would leave their grandchild alone with a delusional old man that would make them dig every day, even on Christmas?

* LoveToHate: All the camp counselors to some degree, but especially Mr. Pendanski. It helps that there are multiple parts where they get comeuppance for their misdeeds, rather than just one specific scene, so it isn't like they're not suffering for their selfish acts.

* ValuesDissonance: A mild one which is only implied, but in the film Mr. Sir's real name is revealed to be Marion Sevillo. While using an alias is also due to the fact that he is a criminal on parole, the fact that it is two masculine pronouns, his frequent "this isn't a girl scout camp", and some of his other behavior imply he uses this as his alias because he is embarrassed to have a feminine name. Even for a criminal who is clearly one of the antagonists, the idea of a man being embarrassed to have a traditionally feminine name is less funny now than it was back when the film was made.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Granted, Creator/ShiaLaBeouf wasn't a complete unknown at the time, being the star of the Creator/DisneyChannel sitcom ''Series/EvenStevens'', but today he's typically more associated with his role as Sam Witwicky in the first three live-action ''Film/{{Transformers|Film Series}}'' movies than either Disney project.

** Zero smacking Mr. Pendanski in the face with a shovel after [[TheDogBitesBack one insults too many]].

* PeripheryDemographic: The book and film are aimed at kids, but thanks to the damned fine storytelling, memorable cast of characters, and (especially in the book) political commentary, there's a lot for older audiences to enjoy, too. A lot of people who first read the book or seen the movie in school have revisited it in later years, and been pleasantly surprised at how well it still holds up.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: While it's heavily implied to be the former, both in the book and the movie, at no point is it ever fully confirmed whether or not the curses on both the Yelnats family and Green Lake are just that, or simply runs of incredibly bad luck that ended at mightily convenient moments.

** This passage from the book when Stanley watches Zero sleep.

* HoYay: A slight bit between Stanley and Hector/Zero.

*** Mr. Sir (Mr. Pendanski in the film), when not only does he show an appalling lack of concern when he sees the lizards, but then has the nerve to taunt Stanley and say his lawyer proved him innocent, and gloat, "too bad you weren't there for it!" That's right, he has absolutely ''no remorse'' over the fact that he just put a completely innocent child who didn't deserve any form of punishment through all that torment, and all the blood, sweat, and tears involved with it. Granted it isn't terribly out of character, but still.