December 2nd, 2021 
Jackson Murphy 
Jeff Kinney is the author of the enormously popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Following four live-action films, Kinney and Disney are now in the animation business. A new CG animated feature adaptation of the first Wimpy Kid book premieres Friday on Disney+. Kinney discusses the new look for Greg, Rowley & Co. and much more.
Jackson Murphy: You have known the hand-drawn “Wimpy Kid” world for so long, but what did you imagine and want the CG world to be like?
Jeff Kinney: I wanted you to feel like the books had come to life. And that’s exactly what I think we’ve gotten out of this movie. It’s really cool to see this 2D character translate into 3D. And I wasn’t sure if it would work. It’s a little weird, always, to see something change — mediums like that. But we worked at it for a long time. We have a great animation company called Bardel out in Vancouver. They know what they’re doing and they really brought this world to life.
JM: I’ve seen the film. It is fun. Kids who love the books are really gonna enjoy it. And parents as well. Do you remember the first time you admired animation, Jeff?
JK: Oh, good question. I’m sure it was The Wonderful World of Disney. I’m sure I saw some quality stuff on a Sunday night. I think that’s when it played in my youth. I grew up on Carl Barks. I loved Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck comics. And even though they weren’t animated, the drawings really suggested animation.
JM: Obviously The Cheese Touch is bad, but what has The Disney Touch given “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”?
JK: (laughs) Credibility. (laughs) I gotta say, honestly, it’s really cool. The first time I ever saw “Disney” on top of the “Wimpy Kid” logo, it was really cool. And one of the decisions Disney made was to show the castle at the beginning of the movie. And that just puts this stamp on it that I didn’t see coming. I didn’t know how that would affect me emotionally, but it’s really cool to be embraced by The Mouse.
JM: I didn’t see it coming either! I was like, “Great! Yes, an official Disney movie for the open for the new Wimpy Kid.” You’re writing more books. You’re up to what, 16 in the core saga, is that right?
JK: Yeah, that’s right.
JM: Oh my gosh.
JK: And I’ve got three Rowley books and some ‘making of’ movie books too, so it’s somewhere around 22/23 books in all.
JM: That’s unbelievable. I got a friend of mine whose son is absolutely obsessed with all the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books. And what’s really interesting with this new movie is: you get to go back to the beginning — even though you’re 16 books into the core saga. Is that as interesting of a feeling as I feel like it is?
JK: Yeah, thank you. It’s a great feeling. My books… plot-wise, they’re a little bit shaky in the original books. I was much more interested in writing jokes than writing good stories. So to be able to go back and revisit that first story and tell it the right way is really exciting. It’s a real privilege.
JM: Do your family and friends feel that too, when they found out you were gonna have the opportunity to go back and now make this world animated?
Jeff Kinney (Left) and Jackson Murphy (right)
JK: Yeah! They’ve been excited by it. Of course my mom is so excited. She was one of those people who was always like, “You’re gonna be with Disney one day!” And I was like, “Sure Ma…” You know. (laughs) And now it’s come true, so that’s really cool.
JM: Wow! Your Mom had the foresight there. Look at that. I grew up on the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, and you won the Favorite Book Award so many times. How was that experience to know that kids are loving these books over and over and over again?
JK: That was really, really exciting to happen. What’s funny is: I won it six times and I was like, “Man.” I built these cases in my studio, and I built eight cases because I thought maybe I’d win two more times. So there’s two empty cases in my studio (laughs) because they eliminated the Favorite Book category. So I’m out of luck.
JM: They gotta bring back the Favorite Book category. Kids love books!
JK: I know. Tell me about it. I think they replaced it with Favorite Buttkicker, or something like that.
JM: I think that’s a popular one, too. Have you imagined Greg and Rowley and everybody as adults yet? Have you thought about, “What if I did a book where they really are adults?”
JK: I think we get little glimpses of what Greg would look like as an adult. He’s got a… mustache. I think Rowley loses his hair. But I think what’s really fun about a cartoon character is that they stay the same. They’re reliable. I’m sure a lot of your favorite cartoon characters are ones that have been around for decades. And in this really ever changing world, we need some things to stay the same.
JM: That’s very true. Yes, The Simpsons do not age. And that is a wonderful thing. We see them in the future sometimes, but the fact that they stay the same is great. Have you thought about a story involving these guys making a movie?
JK: Yeah, actually I did a book called “Double Down”, which is my 11th book, and in it they create a horror movie. And that would be fun to be able to film that one one day, where they film a movie within a movie.
JM: Okay. Yes, that would. I feel like now that you’re in the Disney world you could make that movie within a movie happen. And maybe even autobiographical of Greg and Rowley’s life as a movie. That would be really fun. You’ve already got the “Rodrick Rules” animated sequel confirmed.
JK: Yes.
JM: How many do you wanna go? Do you wanna go all 16 now as being animated?
JK: Sure. Hopefully I can last that long. I’m 50 now, so when you start to do the math I’m in trouble. But I would love to do lots of these because they’re lots of fun, and I think we’re telling good stories. And Disney’s really committed to telling quality stories. So it’s cool to be with Disney right now.
JM: I really like the line Greg’s mom says in this [movie], “All you really need to get by in this world is one good friend.” I remember Sylvester Stallone made a speech when he won an award for “Creed” and he said Rocky Balboa is the best friend he’s ever had. Jeff, how has Greg been an amazing friend to you throughout your life?
JK: Oh boy. I’ve been writing Greg Heffley since I was 28. Eventually he’s gonna have covered half of my life, so I feel like I can never get away from him, and I think that’s kind of a good thing for me.
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