Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film) facts for kids

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 2010 American live-action/animated comedy film directed by Thor Freudenthal and based on Jeff Kinney's 2007 book of the same name. The film stars Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron. Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn, and Chloë Grace Moretz also have prominent roles. It is the first installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series, and was followed by three sequels, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017).

The film was theatrically released on March 19, 2010, in the United States by 20th Century Fox. The film received mixed reviews from critics and earned $75.7 million on a $15 million budget. It was the only film in the series to be directed by Freudenthal, who was replaced by David Bowers for the rest of the installments.

Plot

11-year-old Greg Heffley is apprehensive about beginning middle school. On the first day, he quickly discovers the ups and downs, such as the missing stall doors in the boys' bathroom and the difficulties of obtaining a seat during lunch. During P.E. class, Greg and his best friend Rowley Jefferson escape from a game of Gladiator and learn from their friend, Chirag Gupta, about a moldy piece of cheese on the basketball court that makes anyone who touches it an outcast and that the only way to get rid of what is known as “the Cheese Touch” is to pass it on to someone else. They also meet Angie, a seventh-grader who isolates herself from the other students to "survive". Greg states his intention of becoming the most popular student in school.

The next day, Greg signs up for wrestling but suffers back-to-back humiliating losses against eccentric outcast Fregley and elementary school arch-enemy Patty Farrell. On Halloween, while Greg and Rowley are out trick-or-treating, a group of teenage boys drive by in a pickup truck and spray a fire extinguisher at them. When Greg threatens to call the police, the teenagers chase them to Greg’s grandmother's house, but the latter two escape them after Greg accidentally damages the truck.

The boys join the Safety Patrol to become popular, and they try out for a contest that offers a student a chance to become the new cartoonist for the school paper. Greg accidentally breaks Rowley's arm, prompting other students to take pity on Rowley, thus making him popular. Greg's envy towards him only increases when Rowley wins the cartoonist contest. During a Safety Patrol assignment, Greg substitutes for Rowley and walks kindergartners down a neighborhood street, but panics when he encounters a truck identical to the teenagers' from Halloween and hides the kids in a construction zone. After being spotted by a neighbor who mistakes him for Rowley, he abandons the kindergarteners and flees. To his bewilderment, Rowley is suspended from Safety Patrol, but Greg eventually confesses the truth to him, offering it as a joke. Distraught at Greg's consistent mistreatment of him, Rowley ends their friendship. Greg is eventually dismissed from Safety Patrol while Rowley is reinstated as team captain and finds a new best friend in their classmate Collin.

Greg decides to pursue popularity without Rowley by joining the school's production of The Wizard of Oz. At tryouts, Greg is offered the role of Dorothy due to his soprano voice. He declines the role, and Patty threatens the teacher into casting her instead. Greg agrees to play as a tree after learning that the trees get to throw apples at Dorothy, but this scene is cut from the play and replaced with a musical number, much to his dismay. During the performance, Greg refuses to sing when he notices his older brother Rodrick mockingly videotaping him. This prompts Patty to angrily berate him onstage, and Greg begins throwing apples at her, causing the performance to end in chaos. Later on, Greg reluctantly attends the school’s mother-son dance. His mother Susan encourages Greg to try to reconcile with Rowley, but he is rejected. He can only dejectedly watch as Rowley and his mother win the crowd over with a dance routine to "Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys.

One day at recess, Rowley and Greg loudly confront each other, and a circle of students encourage them to fight; however, neither of them are good at fighting. The teenage boys from Halloween arrive at the scene and force Rowley to eat part of the Cheese. They flee the scene when the school's P.E. teacher Coach Malone arrives, but when the other kids notice that the Cheese has been eaten, Greg takes the blame for Rowley, mending their friendship.

At the end of the school year, Greg and Rowley make the yearbook Class Favorites page as "Cutest Friends”.

Cast

• Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley.
• Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson, Greg's childish best friend.
• Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley, Greg's older brother.
• Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley, Greg's father.
• Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley, Greg's mother.
• Chloë Grace Moretz as Angie Steadman, a seventh-grader at Greg's school who is a reporter for the school paper. She is a brand new character not found in the original book.
• Karan Brar as Chirag Gupta, a friend of Greg's.
• Grayson Russell as Fregley, a weird classmate of Greg's.
• Laine MacNeil as Patty Farrell, Greg's arch-enemy.
• Alex Ferris as Collin Lee, Rowley's substitute best friend during his fight with Greg.
• Andrew McNee as Coach Malone, Greg's gym teacher.
• Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Greg's little brother.
• Belita Moreno as Mrs. Norton, Greg's acting teacher.
• Alf Humphreys as Mr. Jefferson, Rowley's father who dislikes Greg.
• Kaye Capron as Mrs. Jefferson, Rowley's mother.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on CD by La La Land Records with the score composed by Theodore Shapiro, containing 34 tracks.

Distribution

Tie-in book

A tie-in book, written by Kinney, called The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary, was published on March 16, 2010, by Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams Books). It includes film stills, storyboards, preliminary concept drawings and also behind-the-scenes information to humorously chronicle the making of the film. It also includes some new illustrations.

Sequels

Three sequels were released in 2011, 2012 and 2017 respectively. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was released on March 25, 2011. It was based on the second book in the series, Rodrick Rules. Zachary Gordon reprised his role in the film. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days was released on August 3, 2012, and is based on The Last Straw and Dog Days, including scenes from both books. An animated short film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown, was released along with the DVD of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. A film based on The Long Haul was released in May 2017 featuring a new cast starring Jason Drucker, Alicia Silverstone, and Tom Everett Scott.