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Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021 film)

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Promotional release poster
Directed bySwinton Scott
Screenplay byJeff Kinney
Based onDiary of a Wimpy Kid
by Jeff Kinney
Produced byJeff Kinney
Starring
Edited bySylvain Blais
Music byJohn Paesano
Production
companies
Distributed byDisney+
Release date
  • December 3, 2021 (2021-12-03)
Running time
58 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 2021 American computer-animated comedy film directed by Swinton Scott, from a script by Jeff Kinney and based on Kinney's 2007 book of the same name. Serving as a reboot and the fifth installment overall in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series, the film marks the first animated entry in the series. It features the voices of Brady Noon, Ethan William Childress, Chris Diamantopoulos, Erica Cerra, and Hunter Dillon.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Bardel Entertainment, the latter whom provided animation services, and was released on Disney+, as a Disney+ original film, on December 3, 2021. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. A sequel is in development.

Plot

Best friends Greg Heffley and Rowley Jefferson are about to enter middle school. Greg gets advice from his older brother Rodrick on how to "survive" (putting emphasis on avoiding the Cheese Touch, which supposedly makes one incredibly unpopular), scaring the former. Figuring that Rowley's childish tendencies will get them bullied, Greg then tries to urge his friend to grow up, almost telling him about The Cheese, but decides against it, not wanting to scare him too much. Before long, the first day of school arrives, and Greg tries to help Rowley adjust, though both end up shunned by the majority of the students, mostly due to Rowley's somewhat childish antics, which includes the use of the word "play" over "hang out." Nevertheless, they manage to avoid scraping the bottom of the school hierarchy.

On Halloween night, Greg and Rowley are forced to take the former's younger brother Manny with them. While at first annoyed, Greg realizes that Manny's adorable pirate costume allows them to acquire a large amount of candy. Eventually, Manny and Rowley become tired, but Greg insists that they continue on and take a shortcut through Snake Road, despite his mother Susan forbidding it. They encounter a trio of teenage boys who begin to mock and chase them with water balloons down the road. The younger boys manage to evade them by tricking them into driving their truck into a ditch and make it home right on time, only for their candy to get spoiled by Greg's father Frank, when he mistakes them for teenagers and dumps water on them. Manny then outs the Snake Road incident to Susan, and Greg is banned from playing video games for a week.

Later on, while playing "rumble trike", Greg accidentally breaks Rowley's arm. Susan discovers this, but chooses not to punish Greg any further. Instead, she insists that he do the right thing and be a good friend to Rowley. Greg instead tries to take advantage of Rowley's broken arm, only to get shunned further by the other students, who dote on Rowley and demonize Greg for breaking it in the first place. Greg attempts to take a different approach and become a cartoonist for the school paper; Rowley takes an interest in a scrapped idea of his, in which the punchline of every strip is "Zoo-Wee Mama!", but Greg insists on a new one he drew, urging Rowley to make his own comic instead of working together. Greg's entry gets him accepted as the new cartoonist, but the librarian butchers his comic, making his classmates mock him. After Greg resigns from his position, Rowley's comic, which features the stolen phrase, gets accepted, causing the boys to argue and break their friendship.

Rowley befriends a boy named Chirag Gupta and starts seeing him more often. In an attempt to get back at him, Greg decides to hang out with Fregley, an incredibly strange and unpopular boy. Greg has a sleepover at his house, but is immediately put off by his odd eccentricities. Fregley eats a candy bar from Greg's bag and becomes hyperactive, chasing him with a booger and forcing Greg to hide out in the bathroom for the remainder of the sleepover. The next day, Greg and Rowley confront each other and are urged to fight by the other kids, only for the trio of teenagers to return to get revenge on the boys. The teenagers force Rowley to eat a piece of the Cheese and are about to force Greg to do it, but are saved by the intervention of Mr. Underwood, the school's gym coach.

The other kids return to see what has transpired. To protect his friend, Greg claims that he was the one who ate the Cheese, causing everyone to run from him in terror. Greg and Rowley resume their friendship as the former quickly realizes that having the Cheese Touch is a blessing as it forces everyone to give him and Rowley space, as well as a personal lunch table to themselves.

Voice cast

Production

Development

Following the release of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, the likelihood of a fourth live-action film was slim. In 2012, Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, had announced the possibility for an animated film to be based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever as the next installment. In an interview for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck, Kinney stated he was working with Fox on a half-hour special based on Cabin Fever, which was scheduled to air in late-2014.[3][4] The special was meant to be an animated production developed at 20th Century Fox Animation, and had begun development while Kinney worked in the live-action films. However, the project shifted from a special to an animated series during production.[5] CEO of 20th Century Fox Stacey Snider stated that an animated television series based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid was in development in 2018, after Kinney decided not to allow any more live action adaptations of the series following the film adaptation of The Long Haul.[6] In August 2019, after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the project was confirmed to be still in development exclusively for streaming on Disney+.[7]

In December 2020, the project was confirmed to have been redeveloped as an animated reboot feature film simply titled, Diary of a Wimpy Kid at the 2020 Disney Investor Day event. Alongside this announcement, it was revealed that production was underway with a tentative release date slated for mid-2021.[8] By September 2021, it was announced that the film would be an adaptation of the first book in the series; while the film was scheduled for a December 3, 2021 release date.[9][10] Swinton Scott was announced as director, with a script written by Kinney who also serves as producer. Brady Noon, Ethan William Childress, and Chris Diamantopoulos serve as the voice cast.[11] Though the project started development at 20th Century Studios as a 20th Century Animation film, it was moved to the Walt Disney Pictures banner during production.[12]

Animation

Animation services were provided by Bardel Entertainment[13][non-primary source needed] with offices in Vancouver and Kelowna composed by a team of 82 people all using the animation rendering software Arnold. Kinney chose to use CGI in spite of the book's hand-drawn-style drawing because he wanted the animation to "feel like the books had come to life".[12]

Music

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Original Soundtrack
File:Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2021 Soundtrack.jpg
Film score by
John Paesano
ReleasedDecember 17, 2021
Length37:12
LabelHollywood
John Paesano chronology
The Secrets We Keep
(2020) 		Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Original Soundtrack
(2021)

On September 23, 2021, it was revealed that John Paesano would be serving as composer.[14][15] The soundtrack was released on December 17, 2021.[16]

All music composed by John Paesano.[16]

No.TitleLength
1."Diary of a Wimpy Kid"4:23
2."Pep Talk"0:47
3."The Cheese Touch"0:52
4."Cut Him Loose"2:12
5."First Day of School"1:58
6."What Do We Do"1:20
7."What's Cool Now"1:19
8."Come Over and Play"0:51
9."Trick or Treat"2:00
10."Snake Road"1:49
11."Bully Chase"1:28
12."Do the Right Thing"1:46
13."New Cast at School"1:51
14."Cartooning"2:01
15."Zoo-We-Mama"2:14
16."If It Wasn't for Me"1:31
17."Fregly"3:23
18."Down and Out"0:51
19."Cheesy Revenge"1:54
20."Better Than Good"2:42
Total length:37:12

Marketing

The teaser poster was revealed on September 2, 2021 (the same day the release date was announced). The film was marketed under the Disney brand, similar to Disney+ original series produced by 20th Television, such as Turner & Hooch, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and Just Beyond. This led to speculations that Walt Disney Pictures was involved in the film, which turned out to be true when the film was released.[17] The first trailer was released on October 19, 2021 by Walt Disney Studios' YouTube channel (the YouTube channel for Walt Disney Pictures), further increasing speculations.[18][19][2] Additionally, the song "Bring Your Friends" by Sam Shrieve was heavily used in marketing campaigns, but was not featured in the film itself.

Additionally, a reprint of the original book featured a new Disney+ cover variant to serve as a tie-in release to the movie (this book featured a first-look at Rowley Jefferson in his CG-animated form). Like the original book, Amulet Books released the book, but this time, in association with Disney Enterprises, Inc. and 20th Century Studios. It was released on November 23, 2021.[20]

Release

The film was released on Disney+, on December 3, 2021.[21]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 69% of 13 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.20/10.[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[23]

Screen Rant's Sarah Bea Milner scored it at 1.5/5 stars, calling it "derivative" to the 2010 live-action film, noting Greg as an unlikable lead, and criticizing Kinney's writing.[24]

Future

File:Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules (2022) logo.jpg
Official logo for the sequel

On October 23, 2021, ahead of the first film's release, Jeff Kinney revealed that sequels are already in development.[25][26] For Disney+ Day, Kinney revealed that the sequel, based on Rodrick Rules, is set to be released in 2022, though it's currently unknown if 20th Century Animation is involved in the film.[27] Kinney stated that he intends to adapt all his books into animated features for Disney+.[28]

References

  1. ^ Howard, Courtney (December 3, 2021). "'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Review: Animated Reboot Delivers Plenty of Familiar Charms". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2021. A Disney Plus release of a Bardel Entertainment Production
  2. ^ a b c d Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Official Trailer - IGN Video, retrieved October 19, 2021
  3. ^ "Hard Luck and Big Dreams: SLJ Chats with "Wimpy Kid" Creator Jeff Kinney". School Library Journal. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  4. ^ Minzesheimer, Bob (August 8, 2013). "Narrator hits 'Hard Luck' in eighth Wimpy Kid book". USA Today. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  5. ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Author Jeff Kinney Talks About the New Disney+ Movie - Exclusive Interview". December 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Paz, Maggie Dela (August 10, 2018). "Fox Developing Wimpy Kid, Ice Age, and Night at the Museum TV Shows". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  7. ^ "Disney Plans To Reboot HOME ALONE, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, and DIARY OF A WIMPY KID". GeekTyrant.
  8. ^ Pedersen, Erik (December 11, 2020). "Disney+ Programming: Here's What Was Announced Or Confirmed For Streamer During Disney Investor Day". Deadline. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  9. ^ @Disney (September 2, 2021). "New school. Old cheese. 🧀 The all-new animated adventure Diary of a #WimpyKid is streaming December 3 on…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' animated film coming to Disney+ in December". United Press International.
  11. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (September 2, 2021). "Animated 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Movie Hits Disney+ in December".
  12. ^ a b "INTERVIEW: Getting Animated with "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"'s Jeff Kinney – Animation Scoop".
  13. ^ "Login • Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved January 4, 2022. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  14. ^ Shuler, Skyler (September 23, 2021). "'The Maze Runner' Composer John Paesano Scoring Disney+ 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid'". The Disinsider. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  15. ^ "John Paesano Scoring Disney+'s 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Animated Movie". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Palmer, Roger (December 17, 2021). ""Diary of A Wimpy Kid" Soundtrack Out Now". What's On Disney Plus. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  17. ^ "More Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Animated Movies By 20th Century Animation Coming To Disney+ According To Jeff Kinney A New Animated Franchise". Walt Disney Television Animation News. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  18. ^ "Disney+ Original "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid" Trailer Released | What's On Disney Plus". October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  19. ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Official Trailer - Disney+". Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved November 4, 2021 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "DIARY OF A WIMPY KID (SPECIAL DISNEY+ COVER EDITION)". WimpyKid.com. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  21. ^ Bastos, Margarida (September 2, 2021). "'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Poster Reveals New Animated Film Coming to Disney+". Collider. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  22. ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  23. ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  24. ^ Sarah Bea Milner (December 3, 2021). "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Review: Structure Issues & Awful Lead Derail Weak Story". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  25. ^ Kozelsky, Holly (October 23, 2021). "Local boys interview 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' author Jeff Kinney". Martinsville Bulletin. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  26. ^ Palmer, Roger (October 26, 2021). "More Animated 'Diary Of A Wimpy Kid' Movies Coming To Disney+". What's On Disney Plus. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  27. ^ @disneyplus (November 12, 2021). "Our very own @WimpyKid, Jeff Kinney, has a special #DisneyPlusDay message for you" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Murphy, Charles (December 3, 2021). "EXCLUSIVE: 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Author Hopes to Adapt the Entire Series into Disney + Films". Murphy's Multiverse. Retrieved December 3, 2021.

Notes

  1. ^ The film was originally in development at 20th Century Studios as a 20th Century Animation film, but was changed to a Walt Disney Pictures release before completion. Additionally, while Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Studios nor 20th Century Animation are never explicitly credited, the Walt Disney Pictures production logo appears at the beginning of the film.

Template:Disney+ films

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