Everyone’s favorite wimpy kid returned to the cinematic world on Dec. 3 with the release of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” exclusively on Disney+. The film succeeds four previous “Wimpy Kid” films released from 2010 to 2017. However, this is the first animated entry in the franchise and remakes the first “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” film from 2010, as both are based on the original book by Jeff Kinney. The story follows Greg Heffley as he enters middle school and learns how to be a good friend to his best friend, Rowley Jefferson.

The animation in the film is a mixed bag, as some of it works, but other parts are quite weak. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” utilizes two different animation styles, as the scenes in the beginning and end utilize a two-dimensional style, while the rest of the film is shot in three-dimensional animation. The two-dimensional shots look as though they come right off the page of the books and manage to capture the simple art style that helped make the books so popular. On the other hand, the three-dimensional scenes look much worse and make the film feel as though it was cheaply produced.

In particular, the characters in the film look extremely inorganic and fail to convey genuine human emotions. The design of the characters is kept faithful to the drawings from the books, but they just do not work in three-dimensional animation. The characters look more like Nintendo Miis than real people, which takes the viewer right out of the film. One of the worst parts of the design is the mouths, as characters’ mouths often shift between the left and right sides of their faces while they are talking, which both make no sense and look awkward. The only character that looks passable is Manny Heffley, Greg’s 3-year-old brother, as he is actually pretty cute. On the whole, the animation is a weak point of the film, although it does have some redeeming qualities.

The voice acting in the film is also inconsistent. The film opted to use an entirely unknown cast, probably due to budget constraints, which usually leads to subpar acting, but the voices are fairly solid. The majority of characters in the film are preteens, and the young actors tasked with voicing them do a good enough job to be believable as middle schoolers. The weakest voices are Greg’s family, as his mom and dad both just do not sound right. Specifically, Greg’s mom has some weird line delivery that could have benefitted from an extra take or two. The voice acting is average in totality, but easily could have been much worse given the unproven cast.

One of the most surprising aspects of the film is its runtime, as it clocks in at just under an hour. It is rare for a feature film to not even reach the one-hour mark, as all the previous “Wimpy Kid” films have been over an hour and a half. The timing does not hold the film back too much, as it does not feel too rushed until the end. The ending happens incredibly abruptly and could have used a few more scenes to beef up the resolution to Greg’s character arc. Greg’s family also suffers from the runtime, as they each only get a few scenes and none of them have any substantial character growth. The runtime is also a strength because the film does not waste the audience’s time and manages to tell a concise, yet mostly full story in one hour.

The humor in the film is average, as although it is geared toward a younger audience, there are some jokes that even adults can appreciate. One of the funniest parts in the film is a gag involving Greg’s older brother wearing AirPods to drown out his mother’s voice. Most of the jokes in the film land and would probably work well with kids in the age range of 6 to 8 years old. There are some moments where the audience cannot help but laugh at the film for its ridiculous choices, mostly with regard to the animation. The humor works well for the most part and is suitable for the target audience.

The biggest drawback of the film is its relevance. There does not seem to be any reason for this film to exist, except to expand the library of Disney+ with more original content. The film feels incredibly inconsequential because there is a much better version of the same story already on Disney+, as 2010’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is superior to this version in almost every way, from the visuals to the acting to the humor. The film tries to build on the original by adding cell phones and knock-off AirPods, but these elements add nothing to the overarching plot and feel unnecessary. The 2021 version of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” fails to add anything new to the “Wimpy Kid” universe as it just retells a story that has already been done without making substantial additions.

Overall, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is a harmless but forgettable film that struggles to find a reason for its existence. The main problem of the film is that it fails to do anything well, as the voice acting, runtime and humor are all adequate, and the film is brought down even further by the three-dimensional animation style and its lack of relevance. It would be hard to recommend this film to anyone, especially given that there is a better version of the exact same story also on Disney+.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars