Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is a children's novel by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney, based on the FunBrain.com version. It is the sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, followed by The Last Straw. The hardcover was released on February 1, 2008. Rodrick Rules was named New York Times bestseller among awards and praise. A live-action movie based on the book was released on March 25, 2011, and an animated film adaptation was released on Disney+ on December 2, 2022.
Plot
The book starts with Greg explaining how bad his summer vacations were with his brother Rodrick annoying him, who knows a secret that Greg is trying to keep. After Rodrick puts him in the back of his van and finds every speed bump in the town, he drops Greg off to school, but Greg finds out he still has the Cheese Touch from last year. He gets away with passing it on to a new kid. Later, it is clear that Greg and Rodrick are always broke, so Mom starts a "Mom Bucks" to get Greg and Rodrick to get along with each other. Rodrick, at first, mismanages the money on his Heavy Metal magazines, while Greg carefully and sensibly manages the cash. Rodrick has an upcoming science project, and that he would prefer to do it on 'Gravity', but clearly shows no effort, and asks his family members to do it for him.
Rodrick later pretends to have the 'flu, and after Mom and Dad leave the house, he calls every friend he knows, and has a party. A month later, Greg notices Rowley has play money identical to that of "Mom Bucks" and takes it home to put under his mattress. When Greg fails to do his history homework, he must borrow an assignment from Rodrick and pay him $20,000 in Mom Bucks. Unfortunately, Mom finds out about the stolen Mom Bucks when Rodrick tries to cash in the lot and she confiscates all of Greg's Mom Bucks, including his real ones.
After Thanksgiving, Rodrick's party is uncovered by a photo and he is grounded for a month. Greg is accused of being an 'accomplice' to Rodrick, and is banned from playing video games for two weeks, even though he had been locked in the basement the whole time and had nothing to do with the party. Rodrick then starts preparing for the talent show, despite his punishment (he wasn't allowed to leave the house and was specifically told not to go to the show). Dad then ends his punishment two weeks early because listening to Rodrick's band every single day was driving him totally bananas. After Greg hurts Rowley by putting a dumbbell in a pillow that Rowley kicks during a sleepover, Greg must perform in the talent show with a first-grader, Scotty Douglas, who Rowley was partners with. They don't qualify, but Rodrick's band does. Rodrick, eager to continue to the talent show, hands in his Gravity science project earlier, but then is forced to do it again, since his project lacked several requirements. Rodrick tries to tell the teacher clearly about it, but then the teacher claims that it was a fairly easy experiment and did not make clear sense.
Dad tries to persuade to Rodrick to give up the show, but Rodrick insists on doing it, so that he can send it to record label companies and bail out of school so he and Löded Diper can get noticed. During the talent show, Rodrick has his band's performance taped so he can send it to the record companies, but the video is rendered useless after it is found that Mom (who was taping the video) had talked the whole time and everything she said was heard on the tape. Rodrick accuses Greg and they get into a fight, but their parents send both to their rooms.
Later, Rodrick has spilled the beans on what happened over the summer. Greg says that at Leisure Towers, the retirement house where their grandfather lives, Rodrick took Greg’s diary and made a run for it, but tripped on a board game. Greg grabbed the diary, ran to the toilet, and tried to destroy it. Unfortunately, he found out he’s in the ladies bathroom and is pulled out. However, Greg ends up getting popular for what he did because the story had gotten extremely twisted from going to the women's bathroom in the retirement home to invading the girls' locker room in Crossland High School.
The story ends with Greg helping Rodrick with his science project for school called Do Plants Sneeze?, because he feels sorry for the video of Löded Diper at the talent show which has been an worldwide internet hit due to his mom dancing in it.
Reception
Rodrick Rules received positive reviews. Positive attention was given to the book for its effective portrayal of Greg Heffley, and for its humor. The books' strategy of using illustrations as a means of exposition was also praised.
Sequels
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is the second book in the seventeen-book series, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". The third, The Last Straw was released on January 13, 2009.
Film adaptations
Live-action film
Brad Simpson stated he anticipated a sequel movie if the first film was a success. "Our writing staff are writing a sequel right now, "Rodrick Rules," which would be based on the second book" ... "And, you know, we hope that the people to see a second movie, so that we are in position of going again right away and making another film. I certainly know that the fans would like to see all the books made into movies."
Fox 2000 greenlit the sequel and Zachary Gordon returned as Greg Heffley. Steve Zahn (Frank Heffley), Devon Bostick (Rodrick Heffley) and Rachael Harris (Susan Heffley) also returned. The film was directed by David Bowers and the screenplay was written by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. Principal photography began in Vancouver in August 2010. A few new characters appeared in the film, including Peyton List as Holly Hills. The film was released on March 25, 2011.
Animated film
On December 3, 2021, an animated film based on the first book was released on Disney+. On Disney+ Day 2021, Kinney revealed that the first sequel, based on Rodrick Rules, was released on December 2, 2022.
References
2008 American novels
Novels by Jeff Kinney
American novels adapted into films
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Amulet Books books
2008 children's books