The character Grayson is a big character in the second act of the book but is not present in the movie
Nearly a decade before this movie's release, Walt Disney Pictures was slated to release this film into theaters. Elijah Wood was also attached to star as the titular character.
Jerry Spinelli, who wrote the novel upon which this movie was based, was not impressed with this film adaptation. While he praised the film's performances, he revealed in a 2018 interview, "The movie stunk. It was so bad, that's why you can't buy it".