Since the year 2010, there have been five film adaptations of Jeff Kinney’s popular book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid – here’s a list of every movie, ranked from worst to best. With the recent Fox merger, Disney has acquired many Fox properties, and Disney is already rebooting some of Fox’s most beloved movie franchises, with Diary of a Wimpy Kid being one of the first the studio is tackling.
The history of Diary of a Wimpy Kid film adaptations has been an interesting one. In 2010, 20th Century Fox released their first film based on Jeff Kinney’s first book of his popular series, simply titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The film was a success at the box office and spawned two sequels based on two of Kinney’s other books in his Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Rodrick Rules and Dog Days. Since its young cast was growing up fast, Fox initially ended its series of film adaptations in 2012 with the release of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, and the property remained dormant for five years. In 2017, the first reboot of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films was released, titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, based on another of Jeff Kinney’s books, featuring an all-new cast from the original three live-action films. However, the reboot was met with disdain from both critics and audiences and performed poorly at the box office, and Fox once more abandoned the Diary of a Wimpy Kid property.
Only a couple of years later, Fox was bought out by Disney, and Disney gained access to all of Fox’s major properties. Among these properties that Disney acquired was Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Disney wasted no time in making an animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid reboot for Disney+, their streaming service. With the release of their animated reboot this weekend, here is a list of every Diary of a Wimpy Kid film adaptation, ranked worst to best.
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017)
Many have bashed Fox’s attempt at rebooting the Diary of a Wimpy Kid brand, and, for many reasons, it’s deserved. However, that being said, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul should at least get some credit for trying to keep in line with the tone of the first three films in the franchise, even if it doesn’t succeed. The recasting of Diary of a Wimpy Kid‘s Heffley family isn’t particularly strong, and the cast just doesn’t have the same chemistry as that of the original actors, which is what really holds this film back. The film doesn’t work overall, but credit must be given for at least trying to recreate that charm of the original trilogy.
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021)
Running at a measly 58 minutes, Disney’s first attempt at rebooting the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films is too slight to have any real impact and doesn’t have any of the edge or outrageous antics that made the original live-action trilogy of films so endearing. It’s a very safe (and consequently bland) retelling of the first book in Jeff Kinney’s series. The film is pretty harmless, but the beloved characters of Jeff Kinney’s original Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series are fairly flat and one-dimensional here, despite being animated in 3D, giving the audience no clear perspective to latch onto or care for. There’s some potential for greatness with its sequel, but as for this first outing, it’s certainly one of the weakest adaptations to date and lacks the charm of both Kinney’s work and the first three film adaptations.
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
Fox’s first adaptation of Jeff Kinney’s popular book series is an endearing first chapter in a solid trilogy of family films. The casting is spot-on, with the Heffley family being particularly amusing. Zachary Gordon makes for a compelling protagonist as Greg Heffley, and Devon Bostick’s turn as Greg’s older brother, Rodrick, is every bit as great as the internet memes have made him out to be. It may be the weakest of its respective trilogy, but Diary of a Wimpy Kid is still a very solid family film with plenty of great gags and a wonderful message about friendship at its core. Fox had a winner on their hands with this one, and they only continued to refine the formula they established here with its superior sequels.
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)
The third and final entry in Fox’s original Diary of a Wimpy Kid trilogy, Dog Days is an effective summer film. There’s such a cheerful warmth to this entire film, capturing the essence of summer beautifully. The father-son dynamic between Greg and Frank feels very genuine, and the antics Greg gets into are both funny and relatable in many respects. The summer movie season is rarely packed with films that actually revolve around the summer season, but Dog Days embraces the charm of summer and the childhood nostalgia that comes along with it. It’s a fitting send-off for the trilogy’s cast and characters. Rodrick’s rendition of Justin Bieber’s “Baby” alone makes this the penultimately best film in the franchise.
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)
Rodrick Rules is, by far, the best Diary of a Wimpy Kid film adaptation to date. It’s a hilarious film filled with outrageous antics, but also a surprisingly authentic look at brotherhood and sibling bonds that give the film a strong, beating heart to accompany the movie’s more larger-than-life shenanigans. Bostick and Gordon have amazing chemistry as Rodrick and Greg, and they really make the film what it is. The family dynamic is really what gives all three of the original trilogy of adaptations that extra layer of warmth and reality, and this is the one where it’s felt the most. Rodrick Rules is hilarious, charming, and heartfelt all at once, as it’s the most well-rounded Diary of a Wimpy Kid film to date. It seems unlikely to be unseated any time soon.
