This week the Free Movie In The Park will be “Under The Boardwalk” on June 10th.
Join us for “Moonlight Movies” in Town Center Park. Make a magical memory under a beautiful Ocean Isle Beach night sky with your entire crew! Bring a comfy chair or blanket and enjoy your favorite family-friendly films projected onto a 16ft screen on the Amphitheater stage. No matter where you are, every spot has a great view! A variety of food vendors will also be on site with yummy snacks and treats for purchase. Moonlight Movies is a great way to relax with your friends and family in an inviting outdoor setting.
The Plot:
A community of land hermit crabs living beneath a New Jersey beach boardwalk often plays host to a group of sea hermit crabs who come onto land for vacation, even though the two species cannot stand each other. Armen, a timid land crab, is reluctant to go out and socialize afraid of the water due to the way his parents died in a storm when he was a child. His rotting shell, inhabited by a fun-loving organism named Anemone, is the only reminder of them.
Three muscular crabs, Armen’s friends Bobby, Manny, and Jimmy, take him to a club owned by his uncle Bruno. There, the crabs get into a fight with an arrogant sea crab named Mako when Armen inadvertently bumps into Ramona, a tourist sea crab he had developed a crush on earlier. The land crabs are evicted as a result, and a frustrated Armen leaves on his own.
While sulking by the seashore, Armen is confronted by Mako and his goons, who hassle him and steal his shell. Ramona intervenes, but she and Armen are swept away by a high tide that devastates the land crab civilization.
Armen ends up at the far end of the beach above the boardwalk, where he is captured by a human collector and given an artificial shell to be sold as a pet. While in captivity he reunites with Ramona, and together they escape and look for a way to work their way back home. During their journey while enjoying the attractions at the pier, they share their insecurities: Armen’s fear of doing anything beyond staying in his shell, and Ramona’s desire to escape her overbearing mother, Val, who expects perfection from her.
Armen and Ramona’s disappearances intensify the rivalry between the land and sea crabs, largely because Mako fabricates a story claiming Armen tried to steal Ramona from him. Bobby begins second-guessing his tendency to use physical force against his enemies and while searching for Armen he encounters and befriends Ramona’s deaf sister, Shelly, who is in turn searching for Ramona. When Bobby walks her home, Val misunderstanding his presence angrily sends him away. Later, when he tries to break up a violent fight between his friends and Mako’s gang he accidentally snaps off Mako’s right arm.
Mako vows revenge and falsely claims that Armen is dead, presenting Armen’s shell and a shell-shocked Anemone as proof. The land and sea crabs declare war
As Armen and Ramona fall in love, two crabs they met at the pier begin judging their relationship, making Armen hesitant about his feelings, much to Ramona’s distress. Eventually, Ramona begins to dehydrate and collapses. Armen carries her toward the water, pushing past the fighting land and sea crabs, who stop battling when they see Armen risking everything to save her.
Armen conquers his fear of water and submerges Ramona into the sea. She awakens, kisses Armen and together they return to the surface now a couple, much to the delight of his friends. Armen is praised for his heroism, Mako is exposed as a liar, and the land and sea crabs work past their differences.
Mako gives Bobby a new shell as a peace offering, and Armen gives his own shell to an older crab named Curly who needs it more, finally letting go of his past. The film ends with the two crabs playing in the surf amidst their happy joint communities while fireworks light up the Jersey sky, wishing summer would never end.
From May 20 through August 19, enjoy free family friendly movie nights under the stars on a 16 foot screen at the park’s amphitheater stage. Movies begin at dusk, around 7:15–7:30 PM. Food trucks open at 5:30 PM, and free parking is available.
Bring a chair or blanket, relax with friends and family, and enjoy food from food trucks. Face painting by @vickiepaints will also be available throughout the evening.
Please remember that smoking, vaping, alcohol, illegal drugs, and glass containers are not permitted.
VENUE DETAILS
Town Center Park – 11 E. 2nd Street
Admission is FREE
Parking is FREE
Food Vendors available
Movie begins after sunset
Pets, smoking, vaping, alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, and glass containers are prohibited on park grounds and in parking areas.
For additional Park Rules & Regulations, please refer to the Town Center Park page.
Here Is The Complete Summer 2026 Schedule Of Free Movies:
Movies begin as the sun sets at Town Center Park!
