Yup, you’re seeing that correctly. Our favorite wimp has returned to the blog!
So, you may remember when I reviewed the animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid film on Disney+. And I know I said at the end of my post ranking the next ten Diary of a Wimpy Kid books from worst to best that although I could review the sequels to that film, I wouldn’t do it unless you’re curious enough to the point that you really want me to. But I realized that I haven’t written a Diary of a Wimpy Kid post in a while, and while it’s good to give other characters a chance to shine, I figured that I need to cover the sequels sometime, especially considering that they seem to be piling up like the book series itself at this point.
So, I decided to write a series of posts covering each of the sequels that have been released, so that I’m fully caught up on the animated film series until at least the release of the upcoming adaptation of The Getaway (seriously though, we’re really just bouncing between books in the series at this point, aren’t we?). And of course, that first brings us to my review of the animated Rodrick Rules movie, which is going to be especially interesting considering that unlike its predecessor, which had to right the wrongs of the Long Haul film, this film is a remake of the best film in the live-action film series, giving it the much harder task of upholding its legacy. And how successfully did it do that, exactly?
I don’t know about you, but it’s time to rock and rule!
Development
In October 2021, Jeff Kinney confirmed that sequels to the animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid film were in development. In November 2021, Kinney posted a tweet on Disney+ Day announcing a sequel adaptation of Rodrick Rules for 2022. As I said in my post reviewing the first animated movie, this went against my idea to skip that book for a true Last Straw adaptation, though we did eventually get a direct adaptation of that book anyway. Still, considering what came of this movie, I can’t help but to wonder if a second adaptation of Rodrick Rules was necessary. In March 2022, John Paesano confirmed that he would return to score the film’s music, which wasn’t great considering my review of the first film’s soundtrack, but it is what it is, I guess.
In September 2022, the film’s December 2 release was announced, along with the reveal of a teaser poster. In October 2022, one of the film’s original songs “Can You Smell Us Now” was released on Spotify. It is written and produced by Jon Levine, with lyrics by Jeff Kinney, and it was performed by Jimmy Tatro. As I stated in my post ranking the next ten Diary of a Wimpy Kid books from worst to best, the song is also used in Diper Overlode, the 17th book in the series.
In October 2022, the first trailer for the film was released, and Luke Cormican was announced as the film’s director. Cormican has a smaller filmography than Swinton Scott, and what he has helped produce includes Teen Titans Go, Teen Titans GO! To the Movies and The Penguins of Madagascar. Teen Titans Go, of course, has a long history of negative to mixed reception, though Teen Titans GO! To the Movies has a stellar rating, while The Penguins of Madagascar received mixed to positive reception, so he was a bit of a risky choice, especially considering that the Rodrick Rules film marks his directorial debut. The film’s synopsis was also revealed, which was pretty much in line with the synopsis of the original book:
The riotous antics of angst-ridden, disaster-prone, middle school student Greg Heffley continue in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules,” focusing this time around on his complicated relationship with older brother Rodrick. A spikey-haired high school student, Rodrick is lazy and undisciplined and spends way too much time practicing with his rock band, Löded Diper. While he loves to torment Greg, he ultimately has a deep affection for his younger brother.
In November 2022, a reprint of the original book with a tie-in movie cover was released, much like the reprint of the first book with its tie-in movie cover. But how was the movie, anyway?
It’s Not a Diary, It’s an Okay Movie (Even If the Live Action Film Was Better)
Just like I did for The Grinch, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween and the first movie, I’m only going to give minor spoilers of the movie, as I mainly want to discuss the things about the film that worked and didn’t work, particularly the differences between the film, the original book and the second live action film. Now that the novelty of seeing these characters in 3D for the first time has worn off, and the first film already succeeded in rectifying the crimes of the Long Haul film, it was much easier to pay attention to the fact that this film was remaking the best film in the live-action film series. And that was naturally going to lead to this film being put up to much greater scrutiny. The film begins with Disney obnoxiously pointing out they own everything, seriously, STOP 2D animations of the books’ illustrations, which is great to keep seeing. The first thing I noticed was that Erica Cerra’s voice no longer sounds quieter and muffled, which is, of course, the result of the return to normalcy after the coronavirus pandemic allowing this production to be entirely done inside a recording studio.
Of course, as this is adapting Rodrick Rules, Hunter Dillon gets FAR more of a chance to shine in this movie compared to its predecessor, giving him plenty of time to try to fill in the shoes Devon Bostick left behind. Rodrick cashes in some Mom Bucks he saved to get some snacks, unlike in the book where the beginning of the Mom Bucks program is shown and he instantly cashes in the first Mom Bucks he was given. The fact that he was able to save any Mom Bucks is incredible, sure, but at least that’s a scene that happens close to the beginning of the book and the second live action film.
That can’t be said for the next thing he does, in which he throws the party he throws in the middle in the book and the second live action film. I was kind of surprised they did this, as that was a pretty big part of the story to move so closely to the beginning. I did like how Greg not only used an older song to get everyone out of the house after the party, but he literally rickrolled them by dancing to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”, which was pretty funny. By the way, about Rodrick’s voice, I checked Dillon’s age, and yeah…I don’t think his voice is actually going to deepen like I thought it would in my review of the first movie, so I guess it’s just something that will take some getting used to. But I find it interesting that they keep recasting Greg (for obvious reasons) despite the voices not sounding terribly different from each other.
Frank and Susan send Greg and Rodrick to Leisure Towers after the moment Frank discovers the bathroom door no longer had a lock, rather than after the moment they find out about the party like in the book and the second live action film. As a result, they don’t send them to Leisure Towers because they couldn’t trust them in the house alone, which was a stronger beat. When we do get to Leisure Towers, however, we are introduced to Greg’s grandfather, who is played by none other than Ed Asner. He gives a great performance, and it was actually his final credited role following his death in August 2021, which makes me wonder if his character will return in any future films.
Rodrick finds a board game with counterfeit Mom Bucks at Leisure Towers (who was excited to visit so he could retrieve the game), which is similar to the second live action film, but unlike the book where Greg finds the board game at Rowley’s house. Crucially, the scene in which Greg is caught in the women’s bathroom happens during that same Leisure Towers visit, which is similar to the second live action film, but unlike the book in which it was a flashback that isn’t revealed until the end. Greg also doesn’t hide in the women’s bathroom so he can get rid of his diary in this version, which was a much better beat than trying to change his pants (which seemed to be a cross between being fully clothed in the book and being in his underwear in the second live action film).
Rodrick’s possession of the counterfeit Mom Bucks somewhat reverses the dynamic in which Rodrick has the leverage over Greg with the school assignment, which is also the “Do Plants Sneeze?” assignment at the end of the book instead of the “A 100 Years Ago” assignment. The second live action film didn’t adapt the entire Mom Bucks arc, so it was nice to see it leaned into more here, though keeping the “A 100 Years Ago” assignment would’ve been way better considering that the “Do Plants Sneeze?” assignment was the definitive bonding moment between Greg and Rodrick at the end of the book. Greg is entirely the reason Frank and Susan find out about the party in this version, which is actually more interesting than Susan sending Frank to pick up photos from Thanksgiving and coming back with a picture from Rodrick’s party like in the book, and it leans more heavily into Greg convincing Susan to not let Rodrick know she found out about the party in the second live action film.
Rodrick finds out about Greg’s incident at Leisure Towers by reading his diary at home, rather than watching it on television at Leisure Towers like in the book. This also happens after Frank and Susan find out about the party, rather than prior to the start of the book. However, unlike the second live action film, Rodrick actually does tell everyone about the incident at Leisure Towers, which was a great addition, though Rowley is the one who accidentally sends the message to Rodrick’s friends (Greg not ripping him to shreds is incredible). The incident itself gets messed up in a different way. Rather than Greg infiltrating the girls’ locker room at Crossland High School, he sneaks into a bingo game at Leisure Towers, winning the grand prize and parkouring his way out of the building while being chased by security guards. They probably felt that the original was too mean spirited, but this is Diary of a Wimpy Kid we’re talking about, and it could’ve been better to show the girls opposing Greg. I do think that it would’ve been WAY better if everyone found out about the incident after the talent show like in the book.
But the talent show is where all three versions of the story significantly diverge. In the book, Greg refuses to film Loded Diper’s performance, causing Susan to film it instead, but she fails to film it properly because she was dancing, which gets filmed by the school instead and infuriates Rodrick to the point of telling everyone about the incident at Leisure Towers. In the second live action film, Greg strikes a deal with Susan, offering to do the magic show with Rowley if she allowed Rodrick to perform, and although Susan still dances, and the school still films her instead, Greg uploads the video online which angers Rodrick, though he lacks the leverage he had to get back at Greg without the footage he filmed at Leisure Towers. This film is very different, and in a way that doesn’t hit as hard as either version.
Greg’s grandfather joins the Heffleys to watch the talent show, which I actually kind of liked, especially since it gave Asner a bit more to do before his passing. However, Bill offers Greg to replace Rodrick as Loded Diper’s lead drummer, which Greg reluctantly accepts to get back at Rodrick for telling everyone about the incident at Leisure Towers, despite the fact that the secret didn’t end up being disastrous for Greg. It’s clear that they wanted to keep Bill antagonistic like he was in the second live action film, even though Bill remains close to Rodrick through Diper Overlode. But Greg and Rodrick simply decide to talk things out with one another, which isn’t bad, but it bonds the boys through words rather than action. At least the song “Can You Smell Us Now” is actually not that bad compared to “Exploded Diper” in the second live action film, and I could easily see both songs being part of the same album.
Unfortunately, I can’t say that this film was as good as the second live action movie, but the reason why is much more interesting. Kinney previously expressed his commitment to making this movie longer than the first film, and while it’s still shorter than the live-action films, I’m actually skeptical that the length is the problem. It’s true that there are multiple scenes from the book that were removed in this film, which would have absolutely made the movie better. I can forgive the scenes with the swim class, Rowley’s birthday party and the sleepover, though the Thanksgiving scene actually could’ve been a better way to show the relationship between Frank and Uncle Joe when Frank warns Susan that Greg and Rodrick could become like them. But removing the Invisible Chirag joke arc was criminal, especially given that Veda Maharaj was right there to reprise his role as Chirag and Rodrick Rules is the book he has the biggest role in. However, it probably would’ve been difficult to top or at least rival the excellent improvements the second live action film made to that arc. But I’m hoping that the length isn’t the problem because I’m skeptical that these movies will ever be as long as the live-action films. Rather, I’m willing to bet it’s another issue entirely that could change how these movies are perceived.
One thing I noticed when comparing this film to the book and the second live action film is that it retained a lot of the changes the second live action film made to the book. That’s understandable given how good that film was, but I think it also made this film more susceptible to comparisons with the second live action film. Bostick’s performance alone meant that trying to live up to the second live action film’s legacy would be almost impossible, even if I think Dillion did his best with what he was given. What I think this movie should have done instead (as well as its sequels, most of which won’t have the legacy of a live-action film to contend with) is to try to be more faithful to the book than to the previous movie. Because at least by doing that, fans would have at least appreciated this movie as the adaptation that tried to be truer to its source material. For example, rather than show the party at the beginning, it could’ve been great to see Greg telling the viewer about the secret Rodrick held over him, only revealing that the secret was an incident at Leisure Towers after Rodrick spills the beans. If they wanted to emphasize Greg trying to make Rodrick proud of him, the scene in which Greg helps him with the “Do Plants Sneeze?” assignment at the end of the book would’ve been the perfect way to do that. Those two changes alone wouldn’t have required the movie to be longer than it was.
Ultimately, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is a pretty okay movie that felt that it had to be like what came before. In doing so, it told a perfectly fine story, but it forgot to consider what it could have taken from its source material to try to figure how to be more different. New fans who haven’t seen the second live action film first will definitely like it, and some seasoned fans will like it as well, while others will definitely view it as untapped potential like the first movie, wondering what else could have been adapted from the book to make it better.
But none of this is to say that the movie is the worst thing ever. In fact, it was actually better than the first animated movie, and if anything, Kinney and Disney could use the movie as a lesson on how to better make these films. The first obvious takeaway from this film is to adapt books that don’t have a movie yet, which they thankfully went on to do with the Cabin Fever film. Even more impressive with choosing Cabin Fever next is the fact that I consider it to be the best book in the series, though that could actually present its own set of issues when adapting it. The second takeaway is to simply make films that are true to the book, which should be much easier to do with Cabin Fever without a prior film that they feel the need to emulate (my animated movie trailer concept notwithstanding). As they make more of these films, contending with the legacy of the live-action film series will be a much smaller problem, with the Last Straw movie being the last true film in the animated film series facing a similar problem as the Rodrick Rules movie. And although the upcoming adaptation of The Getaway is adapting a post-Old School book, beginning to cover those books are actually excellent opportunities to tell those stories better.
Of course, it will be interesting to see how they did with the Cabin Fever film when I cover it next, especially when comparing it to my movie trailer. Until we open up our diaries journals again, folks.
