Diario di una schiappa a Natale - Si salvi chi può!

Honestly it's a banger movie, the animation was well done, the voice acting was great, it was funny but also had a really wholesome and touching ending. Unfortunate for people that it "ruined Santa" for their kids I guess, but I find that a stupid reason to rate anything 1 star. Give it a watch, it's a really solid Christmas movie and will be joining my yearly rotation. To me this was a very classically styled Christmas story; a character stars out selfish, and then does a good deed due to the magic of Christmas.

In general I prefer the animated adaptations to the live ones, so if you've put off watching this because you disliked the live action ones, I urge you to watch it! It really communicated the art style and storyline way better than a live action movie would have, the parts where there's animation in the book's style is probably my favourite artistic choice.

Again, I really encourage people to give this movie a try, it's new but it has a very classic storyline.

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.

So originally, I wasn't planning on writing a review on this since I didn't really have much to say but looking back, there is quite a bit I'd like to say about this film and it somehow managed to exceed my expectations. So, what do I think of this film? Well, surprisingly, I ended up really enjoying it. I thought it was just going to be like the other films and just be okay, but no, it was actually pretty good. Let's discuss it.

So first off, let's talk about the animation. These models still take time getting used to, but they feel slightly better in this film in terms of the facial expressions. They still aren't as expressive as other stylized animated films out there, but it looks fine in my opinion. Everything else looks good though, the lighting and shading looks better and there's a cool shots thrown here and there.

Next off, the story. So the story is pretty similar to the books as to be expected, with some minor changes, like how in the book, Greg gets in trouble for hanging posters on the school wall, with the dye ending up getting into the wall, and in the movie, Greg ends up destroying a snowplow, but there are also some pretty big changes. The film takes on a more campy-Holliday special vibe where it basically becomes a "Spend time with your family, presents are about giving not receiving" type of mumbo jumbo, but it's still fun to watch even though it might not have the same cynical nature of the books.

Next up, the characters. First off Greg. Greg is still portrayed as a lot more likeable in this, nothing more to say. He is still a bit mean to Rowley, but not nearly as bad as book Greg. I don't really mind this change compared to most people, especially since in the original cabin fever book Greg's jerk-ish nature was also toned down compared to other books. Next up Rodrick. Rodrick is still fun to watch in this. He is a lot more funnier moments in this compared to his appearance in the other movies, and I like how they kept his character growth from Rodrick Rules where he's still there for his brother when things get really down for him, but he's still going to mess with him whenever he gets the chance. Next up is Hank, who I feel like has reverted a bit back to his live action movie personality with how crazy and overreactive he gets to certain things, like how he is constantly monitoring his family during the snow storm, which was funny and I really enjoyed watching. I don't really have much to say about Susan and Manny, they haven't really changed much since the other 2 films.

In conclusion, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever is a fun little christmas movie. It's a solid adaptation with the books with barely any major changes, the characters feel more fun to watch, and the animation even got a bit of an upgrade. Overall, I'd give this film a 6.5/10. Thanks for reading!

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.

Just a PSA about the new Diary of a wimpy kid movie on disney plus. It destroys Santa! Apparently the kid finds presents hidden in the hotpress and then receives the same ones on Christmas day. It very obviously done. It's rated 6+ so it can't be blocked at all. Online says it needs to be 12+. It happens very early on in the movie.

Lots of upset online about it

At minute 23 Greg makes a discovery in the linen closet .. this discovery could ruin Christmas for a lot of children.

Disney+ should remove this show before the magic of Christmas is lost.

Hopefully word will spread about the spoiler to the adults before it reaches the school playgrounds.