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Diary of a Wimpy Kid, written by Jeff Kinney has become a staple in many schools and households in the early 2000s. The books were a massive success with a much younger audience. Many discarded this series as another kids’ series with dumb humor, but everything changed when the movies came out.
In 2010, at the height of Diary of a Wimpy Kid’s popularity, a movie based on the first book was created. The actors they chose for this movie are insanely accurate to the books. Not only did producers do an amazing job at matching the looks of the characters, but the accuracy of their personalities was also spot on.
The gags from the books were translated perfectly into the movie. Although the book had been a massive success for years, the movies put the franchise into the spotlight. These films were funny and quirky, the characters were flawed in the most hilarious ways possible, and the characters were relatable.
The jokes in the books were made into genuinely funny scenes in the movie. A prime example of this is during Greg’s school play auditions. Although this scene was funny in the book, nothing matches how it was filmed for the movie. They stayed true to the book by keeping in the scene, while still being able to add new hilarious content of the students singing.
Changing the source material of a movie is usually seen as a negative decision, but Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the exception. In some of the movies they take out gags to add in new ones that would make for a better movie, and boy do they do this well. One of the most iconic scenes that was altered was Rodrick singing at Heather’s sweet 16. Although this scene was included in the book, it never specified what song he was singing. With the movie being released in 2010, a.k.a the peak of pop music, they made a very iconic decision on Rodrick’s song choice. None other than Justin Beiber’s debut song Baby was used in this scene. The way Rodrick butchers the melody and lyrics made a very hilarious and chaotic few minutes.
Aria Anderson has always loved both books and movies, she says, “I’m a huge fan of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies. I’ve rewatched them so many times (except for the horrific newest live-action one). The series fills me with a sense of nostalgia and they’re just so funny and well-casted altogether. 100% would recommend it!”
Although the books are a work of fiction, the movie helps bring the characters to life through relatable moments. The Heffleys perfectly represent a slightly dysfunctional middle-class family. They go through ups and downs that can be seen as extremely relatable to many viewers young and old. Although they acted the same way in the books, many younger readers may not have noticed, instead paying attention to the gags. But in the movie, the representation of their strange family unit is very noticeable.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is such a memorable movie and book series because the characters are flawed. Instead of a happy-go-lucky family and protagonist, Diary of a Wimpy Kid takes a more realistic approach by representing Greg as a pessimistic and sarcastic preteen.
Allison Rosperski, another fan of the franchise states, “I’ve always loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid because of the comedy and it’s just really nostalgic. I grew up reading books and I love the movies. I also really like the casting choices for the movie, the art style of the books is fun. The illustrations from the books aren’t that detailed, which I like because the style being more simple makes the story feel more realistic. It has the feeling that a teenager wrote and drew in them.”
Diary of a Wimpy Kid will always be an iconic book series for anyone of any age. Many still love and enjoy the movies due to the nostalgic feeling they have for them. To this day books are still being released, and they still sell millions of copies. Diary of a Wimpy Kid will always be one of those franchises that won’t be dying down for a while.