A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Wiki:

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a 2019 American drama film directed by Marielle Heller and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, inspired by the 1998 article "Can You Say ... Hero?" by Tom Junod, published in Esquire. The film stars Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Cooper. It depicts Lloyd Vogel (Rhys), a journalist for Esquire who is assigned to profile beloved television icon Fred Rogers (Hanks).

Quick facts: Directed by, Produced by …

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Theatrical release poster

Directed byMarielle HellerProduced by

Youree Henley

Peter Saraf

Marc Turtletaub

Leah Holzer

Written by

Micah Fitzerman-Blue

Noah Harpster

Based on"Can You Say... Hero?"

by Tom JunodStarring

Tom Hanks

Matthew Rhys

Susan Kelechi Watson

Chris Cooper

Music byNate HellerCinematographyJody Lee LipesEdited byAnne McCabe

Production

company

TriStar Pictures

Tencent Pictures

Big Beach

Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing

Release date

September 7, 2019 (TIFF)

November 22, 2019 (United States)

Running time

107 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$25 millionBox office$13.5 million

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The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 22, 2019, by Sony Pictures Releasing. It received positive reviews from critics and has grossed $13 million.

Plot

Lloyd Vogel, an Esquire journalist who recently won a national award for his writing, attends his sister Lorraine's wedding with his wife Andrea and newborn son Gavin. During the reception, he starts a fistfight with his father Jerry when Jerry taunts him over his family. The next day, Lloyd's editor Ellen assigns him to interview Fred Rogers for a 400-word article about heroes, and after a phone call with Rogers, Lloyd travels to the WQED studio in Pittsburgh to interview him. During the interview, Rogers is dismissive of his fame and displays concern for Lloyd's nose injury, learning of his grudge against Jerry after several questions he directs to Lloyd. Meanwhile, Jerry apologizes to Lloyd for the fight, but Lloyd rebuffs Jerry's attempt at reconciliation.

Determined to find that Rogers' nice attitude is just an act, Lloyd watches several of Rogers' talks and episodes from his show, but cannot find anything. When Rogers visits New York City, Lloyd visits him in his hotel for another interview. During the interview, Rogers dodges Lloyd's questions and reminisces upon raising his two sons, provoking Lloyd into leaving. Lloyd returns home to find Andrea making dinner for Jerry and his girlfriend Dorothy; Lloyd berates Jerry for cheating on his mother Lila while she was dying of cancer and orders him to leave, but Jerry suffers a heart attack and is transported to a hospital. Andrea attempts to convince Lloyd to stay in the hospital overnight with Jerry and Dorothy, but Lloyd refuses and follows Rogers to his Pittsburgh studio, where he collapses on the set of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe out of exhaustion. Lloyd dreams about his repressed childhood trauma; in his dream, he stumbles into an episode of Rogers' show about hospitals, finds himself wearing rabbit ears and shrunk down to the size of Daniel Striped Tiger and King Friday XIII while Rogers and Andrea tower over him, and visits a dying Lila, who urges him to release his anger.

Rogers and his crew surround the unconscious Lloyd, and he and his wife Joanne bring Lloyd to their home. After Lloyd awakens, he and Rogers visit a restaurant, where Rogers asks Lloyd to spend one minute thinking of the people who "loved him into being" and encourages him to forgive Jerry. Lloyd apologizes to Andrea for leaving her and Gavin at the hospital and visits Jerry and Dorothy at their home. He learns from Dorothy that Jerry is dying of a prolonged illness, the real reason for Jerry's attempts to reconnect with Lloyd. Lloyd forgives Jerry, promises to be a better father to Gavin, and writes an article about Rogers' impact on his life to complete his assignment from Ellen. Lorraine, her husband Todd, and Rogers visit Jerry, and Rogers asks Jerry to pray for him before he departs. Jerry dies shortly after Rogers' visit and Lloyd's 10,000 word article, titled "Can You Say ... Hero?", is published as Esquire's cover story in its latest issue.

Cast

Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers:

The creator and host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. To prepare for his role, Hanks visited the Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania for research in the Fred Rogers Archives and also watched the 2018 documentary film Won't You Be My Neighbor?. At the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, Hanks recalled watching "hundreds of hours" of footage of Rogers on set and behind the scenes in order to get into character. Director Marielle Heller noted that Rogers "doesn't have the dynamic nature you need for a protagonist for a movie" and considered him "the antagonist [...] who comes into someone's life and flips it upside down through his philosophy and the way he lived his life".

Matthew Rhys as Lloyd Vogel:

A jaded journalist who is assigned to profile Rogers for the magazine Esquire. Lloyd is based loosely on journalist Tom Junod, whose encounter with Rogers was adapted into the film. Heller described Lloyd as the viewer's "entry point into Fred's teachings" and expressed hope that Lloyd's character development and growth as a new father would compel viewers to reflect upon themselves.

Susan Kelechi Watson as Andrea Vogel:

A public attorney, Lloyd's wife, and a fan of Rogers' show. Watson, herself a fan of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, described her character as a "career woman" who faces unique challenges of patience and adaptation as the mother of a newborn.

Chris Cooper as Jerry Vogel:

Lloyd's estranged father and a philanderer who cheated on his wife Lila and abandoned Lloyd and Lorraine when they were children. In a press interview for the film, Cooper described his character as "multidimensional" and compared filming a scene with Hanks to seeing the "eyes of God".

Additional cast members include Enrico Colantoni as Bill Isler, the President & CEO of Family Communications; Maryann Plunkett as Joanne Rogers, Fred's wife; Tammy Blanchard as Lorraine, Lloyd's sister and Todd's wife; Wendy Makkena as Dorothy, Jerry's girlfriend; Carmen Cusack as Margy, a producer of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood; Jessica Hecht as Lila Vogel, Lloyd's mother and Jerry's ex-wife; Noah Harpster as Todd, Lorraine's husband and Lloyd's brother-in-law; Maddie Corman as Betty Aberlin, an actress starring as Lady Aberlin on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood; Christine Lahti as Ellen, Lloyd's editor; and Jordan, Naomi, and Zoey Harsh as Gavin Vogel, Lloyd's son.

Notable cameos in the film include Rogers' wife Joanne, Mr. McFeely actor David Newell, Family Communications head Bill Isler, and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood producer Margy Whitmer, who appear as customers in a restaurant that Rogers and Lloyd meet in; Fred Rogers makes an uncredited appearance in archive footage of his show during the ending credits, singing the song "You've Got To Do It".

Production

On January 29, 2018, it was announced that Sony's TriStar Pictures had bought the worldwide distribution rights to the film You Are My Friend, a biographical film based on a 1998 Esquire magazine article about television personality Fred Rogers, who would be played by Tom Hanks. The film's script by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster appeared among the 2013 Black List of best unproduced screenplays and it would be directed by Marielle Heller, while producers would be Big Beach's Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf along with Youree Henley.

In July 2018, Matthew Rhys joined the cast of the film to play the journalist Tom Junod, with production set to start in September 2018. In August 2018, Chris Cooper was added to the cast to play Junod's father, and in September, Susan Kelechi Watson was added. In October 2018, Enrico Colantoni, Maryann Plunkett, Tammy Blanchard, Wendy Makkena, Sakina Jaffrey, Carmen Cusack, Harpster and Maddie Corman joined the cast of the film. In 2018, Nate Heller was chosen to score the film.

Principal photography on the film began on September 10, 2018 in Pittsburgh, with several sets converted into New York City. Filming also took place in Fred Rogers Studio at WQED (TV) where the late television host recorded Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill. The crew consulted with original crew members from Rogers' television series and also brought in the same broadcast cameras and monitors used in the original production. The film received tax credits of approximately $9.5 million against a production budget of $45 million for filming in Pittsburgh. Production wrapped on November 9, 2018.

On October 12, 2018, sound mixer James Emswiller had a heart attack and fell from a second-story balcony. He was taken to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Mercy, where he was pronounced dead.

On December 27, 2018, it was announced the film had been officially titled A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

Marketing

The trailer for the film was released on July 22, 2019.

Release

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019. The film was originally going to be released on October 18, 2019, by Sony Pictures Releasing, but in May 2018 was pushed back a month to November 22, 2019.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was released alongside Frozen 2 and 21 Bridges, and was projected to gross around $15 million from 3,231 in its opening weekend. The film made $4.5 million on its first day, including $900,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $13.1 million, finishing third at the box office.

Critical response

The film has received critical acclaim. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 197 reviews, with an average rating of 8.12/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Much like the beloved TV personality that inspired it, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood offers a powerfully affecting message about acceptance and understanding." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film an average 4 out of 5 stars, with 66% saying they would definitely recommend it.

See also

Won't You Be My Neighbor?, a documentary about Fred Rogers

References

More information: Tap to expand …

External links

Official website

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood on IMDb

"Can You Say ... Hero?", Esquire Magazine, November 1998

BLACK HAWK DOWN

BLACK HAWK DOWN
黑鷹計畫
H:電影名，鷹常見，記得英文又有幾人?HA WORK，哈，工作像老鷹。
鷹

eagle, hawk, falcon

老鷹

eagle, hawk

鷙

bird of prey, hawk, glede, flesh bird
鷹的區別
https://m.moneydj.com/f1a.aspx?a=49719cbf-129a-4ef1-a677-e1e41f46ea83
大中小
最大是eagle、中型是hawk、最小是falcon。
vulture、Kite、harrier，分別為禿鷹、鳶、鷂。美洲禿鷹叫做condor。
Wiki:
Hawks are a group of medium-sized diurnal birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Hawks are widely distributed and vary greatly in size.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Confessions of a Shopaholic
購物狂的異想世界
H:20191121W4在HBO的familly台看影片故查之。
供詞

confession

承認

recognition, admission, acknowledgment, approval, acceptance, confession

招供

confession
購物狂
shopaholic woman

敗家女https://dusongtze.pixnet.net/blog/post/17507075
動詞加aholic
有狂熱的感覺。
https://tw.englisher.info/2017/02/07/alcoholic-chocoholic-shopaholic-workaholic/

加holic或aholic四字狂
「沉迷於某個情況」、「有某種嗜好」的人，通常可以用「holic」 作為字尾來表示。
Alcoholic 酗酒者，Chocoholic 巧克力愛好者，Shopaholic 購物狂
，Workaholic 工作狂
。

E20191110W7

The mastery of opportunity 20191110W7

 Super 7-11 has a gift voucher 500. Last Thursday, I told S1 to buy snacks and come back to everyone to eat. As a result, I didn’t buy it on Friday. I didn’t buy it on Saturday. I went to the eight pots on Sunday, and went to buy it. I bought rice, oil, daily necessities, and bought less.  The premise of snacks.  I personally went out to the family to spend 400 yuan gift certificate card, another 47 yuan brought back bread 100 yuan 100 yuan, science face 1, biscuit 35X1, crisp cake 1 and instant noodles 18X2 and almond fruit 2 bags 139 yuan, full of return!

機會的掌握20191110W7

超商7-11有禮券500，上星期四告知S1買零食回來大家吃，結果星期五未買，星期六也没買，星期日到八鍋，順道去買，淨買米、油，日常用品，少掉買零食的前提。本日親自出馬，到全家花400元的禮券卡，另47元帶回麵包4個100元、科學麵1、餅乾35X1、酥打餅1及泡麵18X2與杏仁果2包139元，滿載而歸！

海潮之聲

海潮之聲
H:20191110W7在08:40至10:15在Fox Movies上演。
海潮之聲
Wiki:
Ocean Waves, also known as I Can Hear the Sea (Japanese: 海がきこえる Hepburn: Umi ga Kikoeru), is a 1993 Japanese anime television film directed by Tomomi Mochizuki and written by Kaori Nakamura based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Saeko Himuro. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten and the Nippon Television Network. Ocean Waves first aired on May 5, 1993 on Nippon TV.



This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2008)

Quick facts: Genre, Written by …

Ocean Waves

Japanese DVD cover

海がきこえる
(Umi ga Kikoeru)GenreComedy Romance, Slice of LifeNovelWritten bySaeko HimuroIllustrated byKatsuya KondōPublished byTokuma ShotenPublished1990Anime television filmDirected byTomomi MochizukiProduced byNozomu Takahashi
Toshio Suzuki
Seiji OkudaWritten byKaori NakamuraMusic byShigeru NagataStudioStudio GhibliLicensed by

AUS

Madman Entertainment

NA

GKIDS

UK

Optimum Releasing

Original networkNippon TVReleasedMay 5, 1993Runtime72 minutesNovelI Can Hear the Sea II: Because There Is LoveWritten bySaeko HimuroIllustrated byKatsuya KondōPublished byTokuma ShotenPublished1995 Anime and manga portal

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The film is set in the city of Kōchi, on the Japanese island of Shikoku. It concerns a love triangle that develops between two good friends and a new girl who transfers to their high school from Tokyo.
Ocean Waves was an attempt by Studio Ghibli to allow their younger staff members to make a film reasonably cheaply. However, it ended up going both over budget and over schedule.
In December 2016, GKIDS announced that the film would be remastered for a limited theatrical release, beginning on December 28, 2016, with a home video release in Spring 2017.

Plot



This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (February 2013)

At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite. Later, as his flight to Kōchi Prefecture takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life. The story is told in flashback.
In Kōchi, two years prior, Taku receives a call from his friend, Yutaka Matsuno, asking to meet at their high school. He finds Yutaka at a window, watching an attractive female transfer student whom Yutaka was asked to show around. The boys discuss their upcoming school trip to Hawaii. At the school gates, Taku is introduced to the new girl, Rikako Muto. She thanks Yutaka for providing directions to a bookstore. Taku teases Yutaka about his infatuation.
Rikako is academically gifted and good at sports, but also arrogant. Taku believes she is unhappy about leaving Tokyo. His mother learns from gossip that a divorce brought Rikako's mother to Kōchi. In a phone conversation with Yutaka, he discovers that Rikako is living away from the family house.
The school year ends, heralding the Hawaii trip. Taku, suffering from an upset stomach, is stopped in the hotel lobby by Rikako. She explains that she has lost her money and asks to borrow some. As Taku has a part-time job, he lends her ¥60,000. Promising to repay him, she warns not to tell anyone. As she departs, Taku sees a stern Yutaka and feels compelled to explain. Later, Rikako admonishes him for telling Yutaka about the money, saying that he also loaned her ¥20,000.
Back in Kōchi, the third year begins with Rikako making a friend, Yumi Kohama. Rikako hasn't returned Taku's money and he wonders if she has forgotten. Out of the blue, a distressed Yumi calls Taku, explaining that Rikako had tricked her into coming to the airport on the pretence of a concert trip, only to discover that their real destination is Tokyo, tickets paid for with Taku's money. He races to the airport, sending Yumi home, saying that he will accompany Rikako.
Upon arrival, it appears that Rikako has not forewarned her father, interrupting his planned trip with a girlfriend. Her father thanks Taku, repays the loan and arranges a room at the Hyatt Regency hotel. Later, Rikako explains that when her parents were fighting, she'd always sided with her father, but had now discovered he wasn't on her side. Comforting her, Taku offers his bed and attempts to sleep in the bathtub. The next morning, Rikako seems back to her normal self and kicks Taku out so that she can change clothes to meet a friend for lunch. Taku wanders around the city. After catching up on sleep at the hotel, Taku receives a call from Rikako asking to be rescued from former boyfriend, Okada, who is not as she remembered him.
Returning home, Rikako ignores Taku, but doesn't hide from others that they spent a night together. Taku discovers this from Yutaka, who had earlier confronted Rikako to confess his feelings toward her, but had been rebuffed. Taku confronts Rikako in class for hurting his best friend, calling her "The worst!". She responds by slapping him and he slaps her in return.
The autumn school cultural festival arrives and Rikako, who has been avoiding Yosakoi dance rehearsals, becomes more distant from the other girls, many of whom openly dislike her. Confronting her behind the school, Rikako stands firm as one girl, believing that Rikako was flirting with her boyfriend, attempts to strike her but is held back. Taku, who has seen all, approaches Rikako and comments that he is impressed with the way she handled herself. She slaps him but runs away with regret. Yutaka confronts a somewhat stunned Taku, who tries to explain. Yutaka punches him to the ground calling him an idiot before walking away. None of the three talk to each other for the rest of the year.
In the present, Taku's plane lands and he is offered a lift home by Yutaka, who explains he punched him because he'd realized Taku had held back his feelings for his sake. At a class reunion, former student president Shimizu mentions she had met Rikako earlier. She explains that as Rikako was attending Kochi University, she had flown to Tokyo for her school break, missing the reunion. Taku realizes that Rikako was the woman he'd seen at the station. Walking home, Yumi tells Taku that she too had met Rikako, explaining she couldn't make it to the reunion and that she wanted to meet someone, but wouldn't say who... just that he slept in bathtubs.
In Tokyo, Taku again sees Rikako across the platforms, but this time runs to find her. As the train pulls away, he finds Rikako and realises that he had always been in love with her.

Characters

Main characters

Taku Morisaki (杜崎 拓 Morisaki Taku)Voiced by: Nobuo TobitaMain protagonist. Taku, needing money for the school's trip to Hawaii, took his restaurant busboy job to offset the expense, at the cost of falling grades and his teachers' disapproval. Principled and trusting, Taku often gets himself into trouble.Yutaka Matsuno (松野 豊 Matsuno Yutaka)Voiced by: Toshihiko SekiTaku's friend and rival for Rikako's affections. Yutaka is a standout student and a class leader. Yutaka and Taku became friends when they jointly campaigned against the cancellation of their junior high school trip due to the school's low test scores.Rikako Muto (武藤 里伽子 Muto Rikako)Voiced by: Yōko SakamotoTaku and Yutaka's love interest. From Tokyo, Rikako now lives alone in Kochi after her parents’ divorce, and resents the town. Though sensitive and intelligent, she can be antisocial, and it becomes clear that her family life is troubled.

Supporting characters

Yumi Kohama (小浜 裕実 Kohama Yumi)Voiced by: Kae ArakiRikako's closest friend in Kōchi.Akiko Shimizu (清水 明子 Shimizu Akiko)Voiced by: Yuri AmanoFemale student-body president.Okada (岡田)Voiced by: Jun'ichi KanemaruRikako's ex-boyfriend. While in Tokyo, Rikako heads to a restaurant in the hotel to meet with Okada. Over the course of the meal she discovers that he is not the type of person she once thought he was. He has also started dating Rikako's best friend. During the meal, Rikako telephones Taku to ask him to rescue her from the situation. When Taku met him, he thought Okada was really handsome.Tadashi Yamao (山尾 直 Yamao Tadashi)Voiced by: Hikaru MidorikawaTaku's large friend, who has a crush on Yumi. He confesses this love to everyone at the class reunion prior to Yumi's arrival, before collapsing into unconsciousness due to excess alcohol consumption.Taku's MotherVoiced by: Ai SatōRikako's FatherVoiced by: Kinryū ArimotoPrincipalVoiced by: Takeshi Watabe (He also acted as a Kōchi dialect instructor for cast)

Production

The film is based on Himuro's novel which was first serialized, with illustrations by Katsuya Kondō, starting from the February 1990 issue of Animage magazine. The monthly instalments were collected in a hard cover book published in February 1993. Kondō served as the character designer and animation director for the adaptation. Production of Ocean Waves was controlled by Studio Ghibli, but much of the animation was produced with the assistance of J.C.Staff, Madhouse Studios, and Oh! Production, who had worked with Ghibli on past projects. This film is the first Ghibli anime directed by someone other than Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata. Tomomi Mochizuki, who was 34 years old at the time, was brought in to direct. The film was an attempt to make anime solely by the young staff members, mostly in their 20s and 30s. Their motto was to produce "quickly, cheaply and with quality", but ultimately it went over budget and over schedule  and Mochizuki claimed he developed Peptic ulcer because of stress.

Reception

The website Animé Café gave the film 4/5 stars, noting this to be "A graceful and mature offering from Ghibli's younger generation".
Otaku USA gave the film a mediocre review.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 88%, based on 16 critical reviews, with an average score of 6/10. On another aggregator Metacritic, it has a score of 73 out of 100, based on four critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Distribution

Disney originally had the rights of distribution of Ocean Waves in United States. but they never released the film onto any Home Media platform. In 2016, GKIDS announced that they are going to release Ocean Waves in North American theaters starting on December 28 of that year and expanding during early 2017. In 2008, distribution company Wild Bunch announced that it had licensed the film to a number of European releasing companies, including Optimum. It was released in the UK under the title Ocean Waves on January 25, 2010 shortly before the planned theatrical release of Ponyo, as part of the Studio Ghibli Collection. As with the film Only Yesterday (until 2016), it was released with subtitles only.
In Spain the film is distributed by Aurum and was released on DVD in November 2008. The DVD includes Japanese and Spanish audio tracks and Spanish subtitles. It was titled as Puedo escuchar el mar (in English translation I Can Hear the Sea).
In Australia the film is distributed by Madman Entertainment as a subtitle-only DVD. A Blu-ray edition was released on 16/01/2019.
A Blu-ray remastered version was released on July 17, 2015 in Japan by Walt Disney Studios Japan.
In December 2016, GKIDS announced that the film will be remastered for a limited theatrical release, beginning in December 28, 2016, with a home video release in Spring 2017.

See also

List of animated feature films

Whisper of the Heart and From Up on Poppy Hill — Ghibli films about Japanese teenagers' lives

Only Yesterday and My Neighbors the Yamadas — Ghibli films about Japanese local customs

References

More information: Tap to expand …

External links

Ocean Waves (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

Ocean Waves on IMDb

Ocean Waves at The Big Cartoon DataBase

Ocean Waves at AllMovie

Ocean Waves at Box Office Mojo

Ocean Waves at Metacritic

Ocean Waves at Rotten Tomatoes

Ocean Waves at Nausicaa.net

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
H:20191105W2在HBO Familly上演稱遜咖冒險王。
Wiki:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is a 2012 American comedy film directed by David Bowers from a screenplay by Wallace Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes. It stars Zachary Gordon and Steve Zahn. Robert Capron, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Peyton List, Grayson Russell, and Karan Brar also have prominent roles. It is the third installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series, and is a combination of elements from the third and fourth books in the series, but draws mostly from the fourth book. The film was released on August 3, 2012 by 20th Century Fox. and earned $77.10 million on a $22 million budget.

Quick facts: Directed by, Produced by …

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Theatrical release poster

Directed byDavid BowersProduced byNina Jacobson
Brad SimpsonScreenplay byWallace Wolodarsky
Maya ForbesBased onDiary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
by Jeff KinneyStarring

Zachary Gordon

Robert Capron

Devon Bostick

Rachael Harris

Steve Zahn

Music byEdward ShearmurCinematographyAnthony B. RichmondEdited byTroy Takaki

Production
company

Color Force

Distributed by20th Century Fox

Release date

August 3, 2012

Running time

94 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$22 millionBox office$77.1 million

Close

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is also the last film in the series to feature the original cast members, as many of the cast (such as Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron and Devon Bostick) outgrew their roles and new actors were cast for the subsequent films in the series, starting with Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, which was released five years later.

Plot

The Heffley family attends a pool party at the community pool, where the family meets Lenwood Heath, a former trouble-making friend of Rodrick who is now a model student after attending a prep school known as Spag Union. Greg's father Frank thinks about enrolling Greg there. Greg's summer vacation starts off badly: Frank bans video games in anger at Greg's laziness, and his mother Susan starts a book club for all the boys in the neighborhood, but she does not see their books as real literature causing the boys to never come back the next day. Frank is also getting jealous of the neighbor's athletic kids, and after his video game ban, Susan forces Frank and Greg to bond with each other, but their bonding activities end in disaster.
A few weeks later, Greg's best friend, Rowley Jefferson, takes Greg to the local country club, where his family are members of. Greg enjoys the lifestyle there and the fact that his crush, Holly Hills, teaches tennis there and he doesn't have to go to the book club. Greg returns home to learn that Frank signed him up for an unpaid summer internship at his work without his consent, and Greg lies about having a job at the country club. Frank and Susan are delighted and give him a starter cell phone, called a "Ladybug", which only allows him to call home or 911.
Later, Rowley invites Greg on a family trip to their beach house near the Boardwalk, but Greg finds the lifestyle banal and attempts to escape. He tries to e-mail Susan, but accidentally sends his email to everyone on Mr. Jefferson's contacts, including his work clients. After Mr. Jefferson sees that he has 949 emails, Greg tries to call home using his Ladybug phone, but the phone rejects the call. Greg accidentally calls 911. Just as Mr. Jefferson tries to question Greg, the police arrive. They almost arrest Rowley's father for absent-mindedly coming to the door with a bread knife, making the officers believe that he tried to hurt Greg. Greg is then sent home early, and Rowley doesn't allow Greg to tag along with him to the country club because of the beach house incident, but Greg sneaks in, meets up with Holly and her sister Heather and manages to get Rodrick's band Löded Diper a gig at Heather's Sweet 16 birthday party, much to Rodrick's delight.
Rowley and Greg quickly make up, but Rowley is unable to attend the club, forcing Greg to sneak in again. One day, when Greg goes to swim in the local pool, he decides to get on the high dive, only to be afraid. When a little girl forces him to jump off, only to lose his trunks. He is then forced to borrow a girl's swimsuit all the way to the gate, where he retrieves his trunks. One morning, Frank drops Greg off, only to be confronted by Rowley's father; Greg has built up a $260 fruit smoothie bill from his time at the country club. When Frank attempts to explain the situation, the manager informs him that the club does not employ minors, and Greg is exposed. As a result, when he receives a Spag Union disc in the mail, he fears he will be sent there.
Rodrick informs Greg that a "Wilderness Weekend" event could be a way to avoid Spag Union. Their troop proves weak compared to Frank's boss, Stan's, troop. After a Camp story, Greg continues to mess things up and Frank tells him that everyone messes up. After the boys overhear Stan and his troop insulting Frank, Greg attempts to set up a plan for revenge by using traps and finds out that Stan's troop has been using electric and other appliances including pre-cooked meals and portable TV's rather than actually camping. Stan arrives at the tent, Greg manages to escape while Stan accidentally throws his own tent into the campfire, and Greg admits he was responsible but his friends tell him that he did it to defend his honor. Frank, having lost his respect for Stan, then confronts him with the electronic conveniences (although he was jealous of Stan throughout the movie), and Stan runs into Greg's trap, leaving him humiliated.
Frank ends up revealing to Greg that he was never really all that into camping anyway, and decides not to send Greg to Spag Union, much to Greg's surprise and delight. As the father and son talk things over, Frank gives Greg advice on learning from your mistakes and taking responsibility for your actions, and the two of them ultimately realize that they're actually much more alike than they originally thought.
At Heather's Sweet 16 birthday party a few days later, Löded Diper performs a hard rock cover of "Baby" by Justin Bieber and Ludacris, in an attempt for Rodrick to win over Heather. However, Rodrick accidentally knocks over a huge ice bust of Heather, which results in her losing her temper and accidentally smashing a chocolate fountain with a microphone stand (while trying to hit Rodrick), splashing chocolate all over her and her friend Madison, and the party ends in disaster. Holly then implies that she likes Greg by holding his hand, and in the final scene, Greg, Holly, and Rowley all hang out together at the local pool. Greg admits that while his summer didn't go the way he expected, everything turned out all right.

Cast

Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley

Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley, Greg's father

Robert Capronas Rowley Jefferson, Greg's best friend

Devon Bostickas Rodrick Heffley, Greg's older brother

Rachael Harrisas Susan Heffley, Greg's mother

Peyton List as Holly Hills, Greg's love interest and eventual girlfriend

Grayson Russell as Fregley, one of Greg's weird classmates

Karan Brar as Chirag Gupta, one of Greg's friends

Laine MacNeilas Patty Farrell, Greg's worst enemy

Melissa Roxburgh as Heather Hills, Holly's older sister and Rodrick's love interest

Connor/Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Greg's younger brother

Alf Humphreysas Mr. Jefferson, Rowley's father who dislikes Greg

Bronwen Smith as Mrs. Jefferson, Rowley's mother

Terence Kellyas Grandpa Heffley, Frank's father and Greg, Rodrick and Manny's grandfather

Oliver the Dog as Sweetie Heffley, the Heffley's new dog and addition to the family

Phil Hayes as Stan Warren, Frank's boss

Jeff Kinney as Mr. Hills, Holly and Heather's father

Dalila Bela as Taylor Pringle, a rude and unforgiving girl

Production

Principal photography began on August 8, 2011 in Vancouver and was completed on October 7, 2011. The location for the country club pool was Eagle Ridge Outdoor pool in Coquitlam, BC. Filming at Eagle Ridge Outdoor pool took place during the end of August 2011. The municipal outdoor pool scenes at the beginning and the end of the movie were filmed at Steveston Outdoor pool in Richmond, BC. Filming occurred at the Steveston Outdoor pool during the beginning of September 2011. The Chinese Bunkhouse at the Steveston Shipyards in Richmond, BC was the location of the Wilderness Explorers cabin for Troop 133. During filming, stars Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron, were seen riding the Corkscrew at Playland at Vancouver's fair, the PNE. Capron had to wear a wig for this movie, as his hair was shaved to play the role of Young Curly in The Three Stooges, as explained in The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary book. A poster was leaked in March 2012. A teaser trailer was attached to The Three Stooges. An advance screening for the film was held on July 31, 2012.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film has an approval rating of 51% based on 71 reviews and an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Overly familiar and a bit too reliant on slapstick, the sitcom-like Dog Days fails to improve upon previous installments and will likely appeal to few outside its target audience." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 54 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Abby West of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ and wrote "Though often self-centered and conniving, Greg remains a likable kid, and the movie entertains by pulling off over-the-top scenarios that set up digestible life lessons for youngsters." OregonLive.com praised Zachary Gordon's acting, writing, "[h]is easy likeability and general relatability are perhaps two of the biggest keys to Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days."
Matt Mueller of OnMilwaukee gave the movie a negative review, calling it "manic, forced, predictable, scatterbrained and often times unpleasant." Mueller criticized the movie's "overstuffed screenplay" for being "very attention-deficit, cramming in numerous wacky plot elements, most of them solely existing for predictable jokes that were met in my screening with interminable silence." He wrote that "[s]ome of the storylines could've made for decent movies on their own," particularly the one where Greg joins the Boy Scouts, but that they were only brought back "when the screenplay needs another forced comic set piece or ill-fated attempt at wringing unearned emotion." Mueller disliked Greg's behavior, writing "He's lazy and wildly selfish, taking advantage of his friend's unbridled kindness. His trip with Rowley's family ends with Greg insulting the entire clan and getting the dad arrested by the police. Later in the film, he runs up the family's bill sneaking into the country club. What part of this behavior is charming?" The review concludes with Mueller writing, "In Dog Days' lone earnest moment, Rowley astutely explains that his parents' disappointment is worse than their yelling. In that case, I'm not angry that a movie like this can take the joys of childhood and make them so joyless and unpleasant. I'm disappointed."

Accolades

More information: Year, Award …

Home media

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days was released on iTunes on December 4, 2012. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on December 18, 2012.
It was released on Redbox on January 15, 2013.
An animated short film set after the events of Dog Days, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Class Clown, was released on the home media release of Dog Days, with Zachary Gordon reprising his role as Greg Heffley, and audio of various other cast members from Dog Days covering the film.

Sequel
At the time of its release, Dog Days was described as the last live-action film in the franchise. In August 2012, while doing press for the film, Jeff Kinney, Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron each indicated that there were no plans for a fourth film, but did not dismiss the possibility entirely. Kinney replied to inquiries regarding the possibility of another sequel, stating, "At present, we don’t have a fourth film in development, but you never know!"
And when describing the likelihood of starring in another film in the series, Gordon explained, "[Dog Days] most likely will be the last movie. The main problem is [the cast] is getting older. You can't stop it. There's no way to temporarily stop us from changing and growing up. You know, that's the problem because the characters are supposed to be timeless." In March 2013, Zachary Gordon stated in a Spreecast live stream that there would not be a fourth live-action film. Jeff Kinney has indicated that instead of doing a live-action film of the sixth novel Cabin Fever, he would like to see it adapted into an animated film, stating in an interview, "I hope that it gets made into an animated movie. I'd really like to see it turn into an animated television special."
On July 29, 2016, it was announced that a new movie with a different cast based on the 9th book, The Long Haul, had begun production. The film was released on May 19, 2017.

References

More information: Tap to expand …

External links

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