Kids break rules, face consequences in animated adaptation.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a little
Characters run into things, fall down, are thrown out of a house, have things fall on them, and make vomiting noises. Rodrick teases and insults his younger brother, gives him noogies, locks him in the basement, and threatens him. The parents drive crazily to get home quickly, going off-road and vaulting over a ravine. Greg is chased by security guards and elderly women.
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The film ties into a book series and other spin-off films.
Sex, Romance & Nudity
very little
Greg's parents go away for the weekend to celebrate their anniversary. The lead singer of Rodrick's band says he's "got the mom vote -- not to brag." Greg is chased in his underwear by a group of elderly women accusing him of being a "peeping Tom."
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Family comes first. Relationships in childhood are carried over into adulthood. Bad behavior has consequences. Rodrick says "nerd stuff" like apostrophes will "get you beat up at school." He calls cheating merely "gaming the system." Rodrick is a poor student. "Life's not fair."
Positive Role Models
a little
Rodrick isn't nice to Greg and has a pattern of lying and cheating to get what he wants, but he knows when he's gone too far, like reading and sharing parts of Greg's diary. He shows disrespect by throwing a raucous party in his parents' home while they're away. Greg takes some lessons from Rodrick in skirting rules and taking revenge. When he suffers negative consequences for these actions, he seems to learn his lesson. The brothers' parents and grandfather try to support their relationship. The parents also mete out fair consequences for bad behavior. Greg worries Rowley will embarrass him by acting his age around older boys.
Educational Value
very little
The film is one of many based on a book series and could open up conversations about book-to-film adaptations.
Diverse Representations
very little
The Heffley family is White. They live in an anonymous suburb. There are some racially diverse animated characters in the background of scenes.
Parents need to know that Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is an animated movie inspired by Jeff Kinney's mega-popular book series (and the follow-up to 2021's Diary of a Wimpy Kid). There's teasing, potty humor, mild taunts ("dummy," "stupid," and "nerd"), and misbehavior from teens and tweens. Rodrick (voiced by Hunter Dillon) and Greg (Brady Noon) throw a party while their parents are out of town. Characters fall down, run into things, and drive wildly, but nobody gets injured. Rodrick is generally not nice to little brother Greg, and he teaches him how to lie and cheat. The brothers get caught regularly and face consequences for their actions. Their parents and grandfather try to support their relationship while teaching them life lessons about honesty, duty, and the importance of family. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
I was disappointed that the lessons around the majority of the movie was spent demonstrating bad behavior vs. building a relationship between brothers. While “brotherly love” isn’t always civil, I think the movie dips into some now-antiquated troupes of what a sibling relationship can or should be like. Worst of all, my own son seemed to walk away with more ideas about how to navigate around us, deceive us, and manipulate us as parents. Overall, the positive messages about family relationships were undermined by the focus on the negative mindsets and tired presumptions about how kids behave as teenagers and siblings.
Greg (voiced by Brady Noon) and Rodrick (Hunter Dillon) are left home alone for the weekend by their parents (Erica Cerra and Chris Diamantopoulos) in DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES. Rodrick immediately begins planning for a blow-out party with all his friends. Greg is sure his parents would disapprove, but he warms to the chance to be on a team with his brother on something. Of course, as soon as the party starts, Rodrick turns on him and locks him and best friend Rowley (voiced by Ethan Williams Childress) in the basement. The next morning, the parents announce they're coming home early, and Rodrick needs Greg's help to clean up. Greg bargains his help for better treatment from his big brother. And so, the boys begin a back-and-forth of favors and threats to keep the party a secret.
With basic sketches for characters, this series installment remains faithful to the popular original comic in style and substance, but it's missing some of its heart. Sure, Greg and Rodrick admit they'll always be there for each other at the end of the shenanigans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. And sweet Grandpa Heffley (voiced by Ed Asner, to whose memory the film is dedicated) proudly tells his son he's raising good boys. But Rodrick is extra naughty and disrespectful, and Greg takes a nod or two from him before they get caught. And in the end, they still skirt some parental rules in the name of brotherly solidarity.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how this film version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules compares with the book and the earlier film version.
What are the pros and cons of animated versus live-action adaptations of this book series?
Do you think the punishments the mom gives the boys are fair for their actions? Why or why not?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
