A 3D animated film centered on chasing fame in the humble stomping grounds of middle school. Unfortunately,it fails to capture even any diversity. In short, Greg Heffley’s hometown of “Plainsville” is as plain as can be.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid’s 2021 film is a reboot released on Disney+  based on Jeff Kinney’s creations. It’s set in an animated universe within the franchise, bringing the characters to life in 3D form. Favorite cartoon characters such as Greg Heffley, Rowley Jefferson, and Rodrick Heffley return in this exciting feature film. The movie also contains new voice actors, as many of the predecessors from the 2010 live-action version have outgrown their roles.

This article will discuss why this animated movie received mixed reviews as well as unfavorable criticism from fans of the original 2010 film.

Originality

The storyline of the reboot film is similar to the plot of the 2010 live-action movie but received negative criticism from fans of the beloved 2007 book and the more positively reviewed 2010 film. Further, we see that there is no representation of ethnic and racial diversity throughout the entire film, as all the central characters, including Greg and Rowley, are white. In addition, there is unequal gender representation among the characters as the majority of the characters are male. Angie Steadman and Patty Farrell, the only female characters present throughout the franchise, do not appear in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid reboot film either.

In several scenes, viewers can see other middle school students in their animated forms. Some students, such as Holly Hills, have mixed racial and ethnic backgrounds but only make brief cameo appearances. Compared to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2010 film, supporting characters such as Chirag Gupta only have minor roles, thus reducing the quality of the movie, especially in terms of inclusivity.

Jeff Kinney stated he is currently working on the development of animated films for his new books within the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. If that’s the case, one essential element that will make the animated reboot more enjoyable is to include diversity among the students at Greg’s middle school. If he makes an earnest effort to accomplish that, then children from all backgrounds can gain insight about how to handle the pressures of social dynamics during the adventure of adolescence.