Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

“	Prepare to go where no Wimpy Kid has gone before!	”
	— The Last Straw Trailer tagline

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Directed by	Matt Danner
Written by	Jeff Kinney
Based on	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Produced by	Jeff Kinney
Music by	John Paesano Adam Hochstatter
Studio	Walt Disney Pictures Bardel Entertainment
Distributed by	Disney+
Release date	December 5, 2025
Running time	1:17:00
Country	United States
Language	English
Rating	PG
Preceded by	Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever (2023 film) (chronologically) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper (release order)
Followed by	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway (2026 film) (chronologically) Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories 2 (release order)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw is the fourth animated film based on the third installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series, and released on December 5, 2025.

Matt Danner (who previously directed Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again for Disney+) directed the film, taking over from Luke Cormican.

Cast

Main

• Aaron D. Harris as Greg Heffley
• Jude Zarzaur as Rowley Jefferson
• Chris Diamantopoulos as Frank Heffley
• Erica Cerra as Susan Heffley
• Hunter Dillon as Rodrick Heffley
• Gracen Newton as Manny Heffley
• William Stanford Davis as Troopmaster Barrett
• Bashir Salahuddin as Mr. Warren
• Kyrie Neriah Kennedy as Weston

Recurring

• Lila Bahng as Patty Farrell
• Jabari Banks as Lenwood Heath
• Ellis Myers as Fregley
• Punam Patel as Mrs. Winsky
• Jill Basey as Mrs. Canfield
• Talon Warburton as Narrator (of Spag Union video)
• Abhiram Gulati as Chirag Gupta

Synopsis

When laid-back Greg finds himself at odds with his dad’s outsized expectations, pressure builds to turn his act around. After a series of hilarious near-disasters, Greg’s dad presents him with an ultimatum that just might challenge Greg’s wimpy ways for good.

Plot

The film opens with Greg Heffley opening his green book and writing about how his dad bothers him during baths, weather, and church. By the end of the intro, the Heffleys get ready to go to church. Meanwhile, Greg is taking too long in the bath, so his family ends up rushing him. He eventually gets out but he forgot his coat, so he had to use a key to unlock the door, something he fumbles at, which in turn results in him destroying the Christmas decorations.

Frank rushes the famly to church, angering most people on the road. He rushes to find the nearest parking spot, which is intercepted by the Warrens. Greg then proceeds to talk about how the Warrens are always one-upping his family. Eventually Frank finds a parking spot, far away from the church. The family sprints over there, before attention gets drawn to the chocolate stain on Gregs pants. Rodrick then makes this the new Loded Diper album cover. After some bickering with his family, Greg eventually agrees to wear his mothers sweater like a kilt. When they actually get into church, Gregs kilt gets jammed in the door, causing him to stumble, embarrassing himself in front of the congregation. The Heffleys then leave the church.

3 days later, Susan walks in on Frank playing with his “accurate, one-sixteenth scaled miniature Revolutionary War figurines.” Frank is pretty testy, due to the church incident. He then got nervous about not being the father Greg needed. Susan talks about the snow removal business Greg and Rowley started, and asked him to give the boys hot cocoa. Meanwhile, Greg and Rowley were looking for clients for their snow removal business, which they had no luck in doing so. Rowley then talks about going shopping with his dad for camping gear for the Icy Pines Campout, which Greg mercilessly roasts him for. Eventually, the boys find Mrs. Canfield, who is struggling to clear her driveway. They offer to mow her lawn, and when they do, Greg works Rowley like a slave, saying that since he’s management, he calls the shots, and decides Rowleys pay. Rowley is mad about this, and goes shopping with his dad, leaving Greg to do it on his own. But he loses control of the lawn mower, and wrecks Mrs. Canfields lawn, just when Frank pulls up with the hot cocoa. Frank and Greg try to fix the lawn mower, but they cant find the bolt. After a while, former delinquent Lenwood Heath offers to help clean. Whilst he is cleaning, he talks about prep school Spag Union and how it can shape anyone up. This interests Frank, much to Gregs worry.

Changes from the Book

• The story begins on Christmas Day, instead of New Year's Day, although the book does mention some elements on Christmas Day.
• The church incident takes place in Easter, but in the film, it takes place during Christmas.
• Just like the live-action film for Rodrick Rules, people notice the chocolate stain on Greg’s pants.
• In the book, Stan Warren mentions he has 3 children, but in the film, he only has one.
• Lenwood Heath has a different hairstyle in his appearance in the film unlike the book.
• The film features many elements from the first book, such as "The Wizard of Oz incident" and the Treasurer election, alongside the Safety Patrol plotline.
  • It also takes parts from Dog Days, with the inclusion of Mrs. Canfield and V.I.P Snow Removal.
• Mr. Winsky runs the job for the Safety Patrol, but in the film, he appears to have been gender-flipped and turned into Mrs. Winsky.
• Rowley also works for the Safety Patrol on the same day of the worm incident.
• Mr. Warren has a more major role.
• In the book, the soccer field is outside, and Patty Farrell is not on the team, but in the movie, she is on the team and the field is inside.
  • This might be a reference to the movie, where Patty Farrell joined the wrestling team, despite being a girl.
    • It is also said her mother is a lawyer, and she threatened to sue the school. However, it is currently unknown if that happened in the movie.

Gallery

See Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2025 film)/Gallery

Trivia

• This is the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid animated film to not be released in chronological year order, which is the second Diary of a Wimpy Kid film to not be released in chronological year order, following Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.
• The reason why The Last Straw was delayed as the third film adaption of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid animated film series was because the order sometimes deviates due to various production factors.
  • The reason why a 2024 release was unlikely was due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WAG actors and writers strikes which put a hold on any casting and writing being completed at the time, and potentially a renewal order needing to be put in place for future films to be produced.
• This was nearly the second animated film to have the 'Christmas' subtitle, the first being Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever, however the title Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: The Last Straw ultimately went unused.
• Both live-action and animated films series have become quadrilogies, however, a fifth animated film was confirmed, surpassing the number of movies that the live-action franchise has.
• This film is the first and only film to star Harris as Greg, due to him growing out of the role already.
• If you look closer at the scene where Mrs. Canfield watches TV, you can see she is watching Home Alone, which is also owned by Disney (as a result to Disney buying 20th Century Studios).

Goofs & Errors

TBA

Production

The Disney+ tie-in cover for the book.

On December 1, 2022, during the press junket for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rüles, Jeff confirmed that "yes, The Last Straw is in the works and I’m hoping to do lots and lots of [animated Wimpy Kid films] over time." However, due to Jeff and Disney coming to an agreement on doing a Christmas Special beforehand, The Last Straw was sidelined - and was further prevented from entering production by the SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Recording began sometime in 2024, and in November Matt Danner confirmed he would direct the movie. Following the announcement of the sequel on July 28, 2025, Matt Danner clarified that this film would be coming out "this Christmas". An official film rating document confirmed a PG rating on August 6, 2025 - with the addition of a 'Christmas' subtitle, which was ultimately removed from the title before the official announcement of the film at Destination D23 on August 30. The teaser poster was revealed (alongside the tie-in cover) on September 11 in a People magazine article.

During an online schools event (to promote Partypooper) on October 17th, Jeff premiered an exclusive look at an original 45-second cut of the trailer - which was then shown at every venue of The Partypooper Tour from the nineteenth to the twenty-eighth, accompanied with a new short clip. The Trailer was released on November 14, accompanied by a new poster.

The film released on December 5, 2025, and was accompanied by the release of the soundtrack by John Paesano and Adam Hochstatter.

Trailer