Story
Middle-schooler Greg Heffley (voiced by Brady Noon) is trying his best to get along with his older brother, Rodrick (voiced by Hunter Dillon), who is way too cool for school.
When Greg and Rodrick’s parents go away for the weekend and leave the boys alone, Rodrick decides to throw a huge party at their house. He locks Greg and his friend Rowley (voice of Ethan William Childress) in the basement. Greg threatens to tell their parents about the party unless Rodrick starts treating him better and teaching him how to lie and cheat.
With the party still a secret, Greg and Rodrick visit their grandfather at the retirement home, where Greg finds himself in the women’s toilets. After being caught in the toilets with his pants down and accused of being a ‘peeping tom’, Greg is chased around the retirement home by security guards and old ladies.
When Greg and Rodrick’s parents arrive home, they discover evidence of the party the previous weekend and ground both Greg and Rodrick. For revenge on Greg, Rodrick sends out photos of Greg’s diary to the whole school, detailing the incident at the retirement home. Luckily, these photos are misinterpreted, and Greg comes out sounding like a hero.
Rodrick is still grounded and can’t play with his band Loded Diper in the talent contest, so the band approaches Greg to step in for his brother. This final conflict leads the brothers to reassess their relationship and they promise to always be friends.
Themes
Conflict; sibling rivalry; crude humour
Violence
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules has some mild cartoon violence. For example:
- Greg and Rodrick play fight. Rodrick hits Greg with drumsticks.
- Greg and Rodrick throw a character out the door, and he flies up before crashing on the ground.
- Greg twice plays a violent video game.
- Characters run into things, fall down and drive recklessly.
- Rodrick locks Greg and Rowley in the basement.
Sexual references
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Rodrick is seen wearing only underwear.
- Greg is chased wearing only underwear.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
There’s no use of substances in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.
Nudity and sexual activity
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules has some sexual references. For example:
- Rodrick keeps money in his underwear.
- Greg goes into the women’s toilets and is accused of being a ‘peeping tom’. He’s chased around while chased wearing only underwear.
- The lead singer of Rodrick’s band says he’s ‘got the mum vote – not to brag’.
Product placement
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules has no product placement, although it’s tied to the book series of the same name and other movies in the franchise.
Coarse language
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules has some coarse language, name-calling and crude humour. For example:
- Rodrick calls Greg a ‘nerd’ and a ‘dummy’.
- The band is called Loded Diper (pronounced loaded diaper).
- There are references to ‘booty’ during a Loded Diper song.
- Characters use words like ‘heck’, ‘stupid’ and ‘I swear’.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is an animated comic action adventure, based on the novels and movies of the same name.
This movie is suitable for a family audience, although you should note that it presents a mostly negative relationship between the brothers. It also has mild violence and crude humour, so we recommend parental guidance for children aged 6-7 years.
The main messages from this movie are about:
- conflict and conflict resolution
- the consequences of breaking rules
- the ups and downs of sibling relationships.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include responsibility, teamwork and friendship.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like:
- violence and how it can be funny in a movie but dangerous and hurtful in real life
- positive sibling relationships and why it’s important to be nice to your siblings
- rules and how breaking rules has consequences, like being grounded
- lies and manipulation and what can happen when you behave this way.