The third installment in the animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid film franchise debuted today on Disney+, based on the sixth book in the bestselling book series by Jeff Kinney. I had the honor of speaking with author Jeff Kinney, who once again adapts his own story to the screen, in addition to serving as a producer. We talk about why Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever was the right choice for this third film, how his screenwriting has evolved, and what could be next for the series. (Scroll to the bottom to watch the interview)
Benji: What inspired you to go the Christmas holiday route for this iteration?
Jeff Kinney: I think it was just time. Disney really wanted to do a holiday movie, and even though it wasn't the third book in the series to be adapted, it felt like the right time to tell a really different type of story. And, of course, these types of things tend to do well around the holidays. So it was a risk and a gamble, but hopefully, it'll pay off.
Benji: It’s a lot of fun, and it has a lot of heart, as many holiday movies do. Were you inspired by any other holiday classics that were influential to you growing up?
Jeff Kinney: I think, in a way, we were trying to invert those holiday classics because a lot of the time those holiday classics are pretty treacle-y, and they have a gooey center. I really wanted to tell a story that had a little bit more of an edge to it. And Greg is basically a fugitive for most of this movie. He's on the run. He's not being honest. He's just trying to protect the chances that he'll get this gift. It was fun to tell a different type of story. So even though we follow some of the beats of a regular holiday movie, it was fun to do something a little different too.
Benji: You have the unique honor of being able to adapt your own work for the animation medium. What have you learned over the course of these three films about how to adapt your stories for the screen?
Jeff Kinney: I've learned a lot. There's a whole language in filmmaking that took me a while to learn. I started reading those Save the Cat! Books around book nine. That would've been about eight or nine years ago. And I didn't start getting good at it until about two or three years ago. So it's fun to learn a new method of writing. And screenwriting has really had a positive effect on my book writing as well.
Benji: What's the next Diary of Wimpy Kid story you'd like to tell on the screen, whether it's an adaptation or an original story?
Jeff Kinney: I'd love to do a summer story for sure because I think that Greg's always been in the school year in my Disney+ movies so far. I think it would be great to do Dog Days eventually. I think it would be great to do a father-son story, which really focuses on Greg's relationship with his father. And then I'd love to do a road trip story as well. So hopefully, we'll get to make all of those types of movies.
Benji: With this one, you have the honor of having the Disney100 castle intro before the film. You're contributing to that animation legacy with your own take. What does it mean to be on a platform like Disney+ where family films are at the heart of everything the Disney brand represents?
Jeff Kinney: It's a huge honor. Of course, Disney's been the fabric of most of our lives in some way, in a positive way. And they're known for making quality productions. I think we've done something special here because our stories are small, but there's a place for those stories on Disney, too. Not every story is Frozen, or Up, or those types of big, epic stories. So it's nice to have small stories that reflect our lives back to us as well.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever is now streaming on Disney+.
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