Story

Themes

Bullying; life transitions; relationships; individuality versus ‘fitting in’

Violence

This movie contains some violence, some of which could be imitated by children. For example:

• There are cartoon scenes of a bully punching Greg.
• Rodrick pushes Greg and puts him in a headlock.
• School bullies knock books out of a younger student’s hands.
• School bullies take another student’s bag and hold it over his head.
• In a PE class at school, the teacher divides the class into two. One team is full of strapping, muscular boys, and the other has the smaller, shorter boys. They play a game called Gladiators. This involves the boys chasing each other, with lots of grabbing, pushing and tackling.
• Characters threaten each other with violence – ‘I’m going to kill you’, ‘I’m going to beat you up’.
• During a wrestling class, there is a montage of ‘professional’ wrestling. Then the students do their moves, which include head locks, pushing and so on.
• After having foam sprayed at them, Greg and Rowley are chased by older bullies in a truck. Greg and Rowley retaliate by holding a whipper snipper and air blower to ‘protect’ themselves. The older bullies tell them they ‘will rip off their arms and punch them in the face with their own fists’.
• Greg and Rowley play a game in which Rowley rides his bike and Greg tries to hit him with a football. Greg hits Rowley, causing him to fall off his bike and break his arm.
• Greg throws fruit at Patti at the school play. She throws fruit back and then runs and lunges at him.
• A mob of students urge Greg and Rowley to fight.

Sexual references

This movie contains some sexual references. For example:

• Greg’s older brother has a motorbike magazine with a picture of a woman dressed in a bikini. She is draped over a motorbike. His mother discusses this with him and the attitude to women it represents.
• Greg overhears girls say that another student has a ‘cute butt’. But he doesn’t know what that means.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

None of concern

Nudity and sexual activity

This movie contains some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

• There are no doors on the boys’ toilets, so we see boys going to the toilet. Nothing explicit is shown.
• Rodrick tries to scare Greg while Greg is going to the toilet. Greg wees on Rodrick.
• A bikini-clad girl in a magazine shows a lot of cleavage.

Product placement

None of concern

Coarse language

This movie contains some coarse language and put-downs.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is an entertaining and discussion-provoking look at children trying to survive the social minefield of high school. The movie is likely to appeal to children who have recently made, or are soon to make, the transition from primary to high school.

The main message from this movie is to be yourself. Rowley remains true to who he is, despite Greg trying to change him to fit in with the crowd. Rowley’s warmth and sincerity shine through. These qualities help him to become popular with his peers without him pretending to be someone else. Greg, on the other hand, tries desperately to fit in and be popular without success. He ends up almost losing his friend.

Values in this movie that you might want to reinforce with your children include:

• loyalty and friendship
• self-confidence and self-esteem
• individuality
• willingness to try new things.

This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues such as bullying and its physical and emotional consequences. Lying is another issue you could discuss.