Story
Themes
Father and son relationships
Violence
This movie has limited violence and some accidental harm. For example:
Sexual references
This movie has some mild sexual references. For example, Rodrick tries to get the attention of a female lifeguard by pretending to drown. An older man pulls him out of the pool instead and starts giving him CPR. Rodrick is crying and distressed afterwards.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
None of concern
Nudity and sexual activity
This movie has some partial and implied nudity. For example:
- The beginning of the movie has a scene in a male shower room. It shows several old men naked from the waist up, with some glimpses of the men’s bottoms from behind.
- When Greg jumps into the pool from the high platform, his shorts accidentally get caught and he falls into the pool naked. This isn’t shown. He stays there until the very end of the day, because he’s worried about people seeing him without any clothes.
Product placement
An Apple laptop is shown in this movie.
Coarse language
This movie has some mild coarse language and crude humour.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is the latest movie based on the popular book series. It’s aimed at upper primary and young teenage children, who are likely to enjoy it.
It’s a story about growing up and learning about the consequences of your actions. At the beginning of the summer, Greg just wants to stay inside and play video games. But he learns that there is more to life – that relationships are crucial, and that you should strive for the things that you want.
Values in this movie that you might want to reinforce with your children include:
- being honest and not lying to friends and family
- understanding that everyone makes mistakes – it’s how you deal with them that really matters
- forgiving the people you love
- taking chances and taking the initiative in going after the things you want in life.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues such as the:
- consequences of lying to other people, especially the people you care about
- importance of admitting to wrongdoing and mistakes, no matter how hard this is.