For Katie’s birthday, we took the kids (plus 4 friends) to see the new release of Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Movie. The responses?
Having read the books, I thought they did a decent job with it. A small mix of animation, lots of live action; it stuck principally to the plot of the book with “movie adaptations.” (They introduced a new character that wasn’t in the books at all. That said, she helped moved the “lessons” along.) What did the kids think?
The two 11 year old boys didn’t think it was the greatest. Their biggest complaint was that they didn’t think the two main characters looked enough like the book versions. (I thought the actors did a pretty decent job!) Tough to look like cartoons.
The assorted 8-9 year old girls didn’t love it either. They didn’t dislike it but they weren’t enamored with it either. Same complaints about the kids (except Fregley!). One girl didn’t like the lack of detail you have in the book.
Overall, it wasn’t as funny as anticipated. There is just something that didn’t fully translate between the book w/cartoons and the live action.
It’s entertaining but I wouldn’t pay full price. (Rush hour specials rule!) I think the kids will probably enjoy watching it again on video. Go in with reasonable expectations and you’ll be fine!
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