9 Underrated Kid's Movies You Didn't Realise Were Awesome

8. Dunston Checks In (1996)

Dunston Checks In is about two boys whose father is a manager for the foremost hotel in New York City. In the week before an important social event held at the hotel, a shady Brit checks in with his larcenous orangutan, Dunston, who escapes and meets up with the boys. The hotel is subsequently plunged into chaos. Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 6% Why It's Actually Awesome: This orangutan's performance is Oscar-worthy, in all seriousness. He's sassy, empathetic, funny, and emotionally compelling. To rate this movie at 6% is an insult to him. Watch the movie for his masterful performance, if for nothing else - his interaction with the boy who plays Kyle is also downright adorable. Rupert Everett plays the dodgy Lord Rutledge, Dunston's owner, who is revealed to be evil as he repeatedly threatens Dunston with violence in order to get him to obey. Though he is a caricature, Everett still manages to be absolutely terrifying. This film is also basically just Jason Alexander who plays the boys' father and the manager of the hotel, going slowly, hilariously insane as he tries to deal with everything going horribly wrong. The movie is slapstick comedy, but it's overflowing with clever, adult jokes, and the two are set blithely against each other. Plus, the fight scene between Alexander and Rupert Everett (which involves kitchen utensils) is one of the best moments of film you'll ever see. Dunston Checks In is filled with minor characters that all greatly enrich the movie with humor and panache, and it's genuinely a hilarious movie. It's arguably even more fun as an adult than as a kid, because the jokes just come one after another while everyone stumbles about wreaking havoc.