The casting for this movie was spot-on..
I watched the older version of this movie, and i have to say the actors in this one were much better.
The one that really stood out for me was the kid that played Eddie.
He played his role with amazing intensity, with comedic wit and timing for someone his age.
The kid who played Ben, (Haystack in the book), gave a great performance, mostly with subtlety, and almost ageless wisdom. He seemed even more comfortable with his morphology in the movie. Considering he was with a cast of mostly skinny kids.
The rest of the cast was very well-played.