El diario de Greg: ¡Navidad sin salida!

Going into this movie, my expectations were understandably low after the garbage that was released the previous two years. However this definitely crushed those expectations. This movie is no doubt the best animated one so far, and a pretty solid Christmas movie.

"Cabin Fever" is probably my favorite book in Jeff Kinney's series, so I was pretty happy when a movie was announced. Obviously I was still cautious due to how bad the first one and Rodrick Rules were, but this was pretty good. It has a very strong Christmas vibe which I wasn't expecting, the voice acting improved ten-fold, and it was overall really entertaining.

I also appreciate how much Greg Heffley grows as a character throughout this. He starts off still somewhat mean and selfish, but by the end he ends up as a selfless, kind-hearted teenager. The characters in this movie are just very well written all around, and somehow even Manny is pretty tolerable and actually said something that let out a weak laugh from me. I also throughly enjoyed watching the sequence where the snowstorm trapped everyone inside, as that was a huge highlight of the book and this movie portrayed it pretty dang well. The movie also portrays very wonderful messages about spending time with family, telling the truth, being on your best behavior, and enjoying the holiday season.

Obviously there are still some cons, because these movies will probably never be a 10/10 let alone a 9/10. First off, this movie has a lot more annoyingly cringe dialogue compared to the other animated movies, particularly with Susan. I've never liked Susan in the animated movies because of her annoying voice and her overly-cheery personality. Rowley is also not the greatest in this one, but definitely better than the first two movies. Second, the beginning is the weakest part and drags on about 25 minutes too long.

Overall, this movie really really surprised me since Disney has released some real stinkers this year and the first two animated Wimpy Kid movies were less than mediocre. The Christmas spirit is strong, there's a ton of character development, and is a great movie in general. 8/10, would recommend to Wimpy Kid fans and Christmas lovers alike.

Maybe I was right, I do see a bit of potential for the animated movies. I'll admit I did sound too soft on the animated version of Roderick Rules. Thinking about it, yeah it was pretty bad. But this has given some hopes again. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever is an okay Christmas movie that does base on that book well with a good message of cherishing your family despite the hard times and a bit of redemptions for the characters, even Greg at the end (I hope it stays cannon and doesn't pull Cera's father from Land Before Time). But what keeps this from being the best Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie is that the animation hasn't really upgraded much and rather wants to tradition being cheap. This convinces me that releasing Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies ever year instead of two-three years would mean they don't take enough time. The same would go to the running time where the movie wouldn't have enough to extend details for the plot to make it fun. All we ever see is the Heffley family panicking throughout the entire snowstorm, that's it. I think it will be worth watching for Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans during Christmas time. I wouldn't consider this a great film, but at least a little bit of a miracle from last time.

I have read most of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney and enjoy reading them, but I did not like the four live action movies from 20th Century Fox; I have enjoyed the first two animated films from Disney based on the two books, which is why I prefer the animated adaptations over the live-action ones. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever (2023) is as enjoyable and entertaining as the earlier two movies, with a nice Christmas look and feel to it and well-done animation; also, it has things you will recognize from the book it is based on, only if you have read the book though.

The voice acting is well done, and the characters are likable; Greg Heffley goes from having a selfish personality by doing whatever it takes to get a new video game console for Christmas, to learning how to help people and spending time with family, even though his family is weird. Greg's friend who helps him on the tough situation is Rowley Jefferson who gets dragged into the problem of accidentally breaking a snowplow and works with Greg to get rid of the evidence; the whole time he wants to do traditional Christmas things, but because Greg is his friend, he tries to help. Also, there are things involving Greg's family being snowed in at home, and Greg avoiding a creepy looking elf doll mostly because he was told it is Santa's little helper.

The animation is pretty, and the character designs are exact to the drawings in the books; the movie was had funny moments, and nice moments involving Greg Heffley learning more about what Christmas is about or just doing good things for people and for his family. I recognized a lot of moments in the movie that are from the book, because I have read the book, and the way they are executed is well done and accurate to the book; the only way you will notice certain things in the movie is if you have read the book, but I think you can enjoy the movie without needing to.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever (2023) is an enjoyable and entertaining Christmas movie that people who have read the book will like, and people who have not read the book will like; likable characters, funny scenes, nice looking animation, and a nice Christmas look and feel. If you like the books and the earlier two movies, then you will like this; if you have not read the books, this is a nice, animated Christmas movie to check out.

Honestly Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas gets closer to spoiling the magic. Lots of people give and receive gifts on Christmas Day in multiple ways, from parents and from Santa. My ardent Santa loving, Diary of a Wimpy Kid fan children did not notice or say anything about this movie, other than they enjoyed it. We've watched it twice and I had no idea people were upset. It's not the greatest movie I've ever seen, but it was fun while having a good general message about doing the right thing in the end. Don't worry too much about the "spoiler." Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans will enjoy this movie, and the family will laugh. That's a win.

The best DOAWK film in my opinion. Who would have predicted that?

'Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever' is actually a good movie, I am surprised that that is the case. It offers solid festive vibes alongside some improved humour and a heartfelt message, one that is portrayed in a really nice manner. There is also a great pace to events onscreen, not a surprise given the 60 minute run time, I guess.

The ending almost derails when the Heffley family threaten to go rogue, though thankfully the film quickly regains traction to end pleasantly. Lisa Ann Walter does a nice job voicing her Gabby character. All in all, a pleasant addition to the franchise. Heck, it's the best film (low bar, admittedly) from the series, which is unexpected but welcome!