Since it’s first publication, Diary of a Wimpy Kid has been a bestselling series and instant hit, continuing to resonate with young audiences to this day. The doodle-inspired series follows Greg Heffley, an average middle schooler who always seems to stumble into absurd yet relatable disasters. Debuting December 5th on Disney+, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw is the latest animated adaptation of Jeff Kinney’s books and marks the fourth film in the animated lineup.

Today, we had the pleasure of interviewing screenwriter and original author Jeff Kinney. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Haylie Baker: With this being the fourth animated film, how does it feel to see how far the series has come?

Jeff Kinney: It’s really exciting, actually, because I think we’ve gotten a little bit better at telling these stories. We’ve gotten better at the animation, the stylings, the textures, the lighting. I think we’re improving in that it’s exciting to be in a state of improvement. I hope that this story really resonates with kids and with families.

HB: That’s awesome. Greg is famously flawed, but still incredibly relatable. How do you strike that balance for both kids and adults? 

JK: It’s actually a little hard to strike that balance because you want this character that is full of imperfections, imperfections that maybe we had as kids. But you also need to be able to root for Greg as a protagonist. That’s not always easy to do, and sometimes I hit the mark, and sometimes I don’t. But in this film, I think that you’re rooting for Greg, because you see that he’s really aching to connect with his father. And his father’s a very flawed character as well. I feel like this story is relatable and people will be able to see their own family dynamics play out in this story. 

HB: Yeah, for sure. And on the relationship with his dad, that’s a very central part of The Last Straw, what message did you most want to communicate about father and son dynamics in the story?

JK: There is a real gap in age and a perspective that’s very real. But I think that most kids and most parents want to connect with one another, they want to find common ground, and that’s what this movie is all about. Finding that common ground that unites us, that makes Christmas and Thanksgiving fun. I crafted something here that can create a connection between parents and their children.

HB: Yeah, I can totally see that with the film. Having gone from books to live action and now animation, how do you keep the humor feeling fresh and relevant for today’s audience?

JK: I think that childhood is a really big universe and there are always new corners of childhood to explore. I’m always looking for that thing. For example, my latest book Party Pooper. It’s about Greg’s birthday, and I’ve never done a big book where the birthday party was the central idea. There are always these new areas that I haven’t explored yet, and hopefully I’ll never run out of ideas. 

HB: That makes sense. The simple doodle inspired art style is iconic. What went into translating that look from the books into a fully realized 3D style for the films? 

JK: All credit goes to the team of animators who did this at Bardell in Canada. They were able to take those really simple drawings I put together and then create these flushed out characters that are really interesting to look at on the screen. They’re unique because the characters have a graphic element to them that’s a little bit different than your Pixar style or something like that. But I think it works. It’s fun to see that style translate into three dimensions.

HB: Yeah, it works very well. An entire generation has grown up with your books, and now with the film adaptations, what’s it like seeing both longtime fans and brand new ones continue to connect with the world you’ve created?  

JK: It’s very rewarding. Every so often, I get to see the full breadth of my readership, and I’ve gotten to recently. I went to Peru and 8 to 9 year old kids showed up for my signing sessions, but so did 25 and 26 year old young adults. I got to see the whole span of the readership, and that was very motivating for me. I don’t feel like I’m getting older, but maybe that kind of proves that I am, and it motivates me because I see it. There’s always another generation that needs good books to read.

HB: That’s awesome. Has your approach to storytelling changed since you first wrote the original Last Straw book?

JK: Yeah, a lot. When I wrote those early books, I was only really concerned with writing good jokes. I wasn’t too concerned with the storyline, which was kind of an afterthought. It took me a long time to become a good storyteller. I don’t think I really understood the mechanics of storytelling until about book 9, which was 11 years ago, and I don’t think I actually got good at it until book 12. So you know, I’m still trying to master this thing called storytelling. And hopefully I get a little better each year.

HB: Well, clearly, it’s been working out! How involved are you in the storyboarding and visual decision making behind the animated films?

JK: Well, I wrote the screenplay. In the screenplay I try to describe the scenes. But a lot of times the storyboard artist will take it further and they’ll add a lot of jokes. An example that I have is a scene where Greg and his dad are talking in the gym. It’s just a conversation, but the storyboard artist, the animators decided to make it really funny by having Frank, Greg’s dad, do all these ridiculous stretches. It’s something that I wouldn’t have thought of, but it took that skill set to add humor to the scene, which I think it’s really additive.

HB: Yeah, it’s very awesome that with animation you can do jokes you normally can’t do on paper.

JK: It’s true. You can really stretch, really bend reality in a way that’s hard to do even with live action.

HB: Mhm. If you had unlimited resources or time, is there anything you would have liked to expand on or experiment with in this film?

JK: I’m really happy with the way it turned out. I like that we’re making these little films that feel kind of like gems. I don’t really want to make a two hour film. I like making these short films that are easy to digest, and I’d like to make lots of them so that a kid who sees one and likes it can keep watching.