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DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LAST STRAW

“One Last Chance”

Family Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

None Light Moderate Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID:  THE LAST STRAW is an animated comedy streaming on Disney+. Greg Heffley is an awkward middle school boy. Greg has lots to learn and seems to be doing everything wrong. His father, Frank, who has a strained relationship with Greg, is growing increasingly frustrated. Frank finally threatens to enroll Greg in a military boarding school. Eventually, Greg might only have one more chance to connect with his dad and save his future. 

 DIARY OF A WIMPY KID:  THE LAST STRAW is funny and heartwarming, with great animation and excellent voice characterizations. It has a strong moral message focusing on family dynamics. This conflict is played out specifically in Greg’s rocky relationship with his dad. Eventually, the father learns to express love even when his son isn’tperforming the way he thinks he should. Greg learns his father wants to be closer to him and have a better, healthy relationship. That said, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID:  THE LAST STRAW has some lying, slapstick comedy, name-calling, and embarrassing moments. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older pre-teen children. 

Content:

(BB, C, L, V, N, M): 

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

  Strong moral, pro-family worldview with a positive character arc between a father and a son, the father must learn how to relate and gain the trust of his son, his son must learn the same, and they do so by doing more things together, plus movie promotes friendship and teamwork, and the family is seen going to church;

Foul Language:

  The words “Stupid,” “Oh my gosh,” “Curse you,” “butts,” “toots,” and “twerp” are used at least once throughout the movie, there are two OMG profanities, a chocolate stain is mistaken for something else, and boys are heard burping loudly;

Violence:

  Light scenes of comical violence litter the movie with chidlren throwing things at each other, a raccoon gets speared with a metal tent pole, a canoe tips over, snow blower goes crazy in a front yard, character falls backward, and a Christmas wreath falls onto his head, and man falls into a river;

Sex:

  No sex;

Nudity:

  Upper male nudity is seen briefly, a boy is seen in his boxers, boy’s pants falls down revealing his underwear, a few women are seen with crop tops at the gym, and the movie makes a point of highlighting the characters’ rear ends when they’re displayed prominently under tight pants;

Alcohol Use:

  No alcohol use;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

  No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

  The skull symbol is seen on multiple occasions, yelling is heard, children are sometimes rude to one another, and a boy lies and deceives his parents, but the deception is ultimately brought to light and rebuked. 

More Detail:

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID:  THE LAST STRAW is an animated comedy streaming on Disney+. It follows the story of Greg Heffley, an awkward middle school boy who’s about to get in a whole lot of trouble. Greg is by no means a talented boy. He’s ignorant of many things, as shown clearly at the beginning by his inability to use a key to open the family’s front door. Greg seems to make a mess of everything, and when he decides to start his own snow shoveling business with his friend, Rowley, it ends in utter disaster. 

 Unprepared to deal with Greg, Greg’s father, Frank, decides it might be best to send him off to Spag Union, a military boarding school. When Greg finds out what his father has in mind, he’s terrified and must come up with a way to change his mind. 

 Greg’s friend, Rowley, is part of a club called the Woodchippers, similar to Boy Scouts, that trains boys to be responsible and learn different skills. Greg jumps on the idea. He pitches it to his dad, who, with a little nudge from Greg’s mom, agrees with the idea. 

  Greg sets his mind to do everything and anything to earn the top badge in the club, which was required if he wanted to stay at home and not be enrolled at the military academy. However, when he starts cutting corners and deceiving his parents to get his father’s signature for different Woodchipper skills, things get complicated. Greg’s father is just beginning to believe he’s connecting with his son. However, that all starts crumbling when Frank discovers the lies Greg told him. 

 Enraged, Frank enrolls Greg in the military academy, sealing Greg’s fate. However, Greg might have one more chance to connect with his father dad and save his future. The Woodchippers do an annual camping trip, and Greg and Frank are signed up to go. Greg has lost hope, but things might turn in his favor as the journey unfolds. 

 DIARY OF A WIMPY KID:  THE LAST STRAW pairs clear and engaging animation with fantastically voiced characters. The movie displays this from the beginning to the end. The storyline, based on the book, has comedic elements throughout. From the dialogue to the way the characters look, it all has a comical aspect. The screenplay is written by the author of the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID books, Jeff Kinney, who also produced the movie. At different points throughout the movie, it jumps to the black-and-white, sketchbook-style animation of the actual books, which further engages viewers and fans. 

 DIARY OF A WIMPY KID:  THE LAST STRAW has a strong moral worldview focusing on family dynamics. The movie specifically plays this out in the relationship between Greg and his father. Greg’s father sees himself as an incompetent parent who can’t raise his son correctly, and Greg sees himself as always letting his family, and especially his dad, down in every situation. Their story arc slowly shifts over the course of the movie as they figure out their relationship and get to know one another on a deeper level. 

 For example, the father learns how to be patient and be more understanding of his son instead of flying off the handle. He also learns to express love even when his son isn’t performing the way he thinks he should or the way he wants him to behave. Greg learns that his dad truly wants to be close to him and have a good relationship. 

 That said, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID:  THE LAST STRAW has some name-calling. Also, the title character tries to deceive his parents, but everything’s brought to light, and the deception is rebuked. The movie also has some comical slapstick violence. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older pre-teenage children.