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Greg Heffley

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Gregory "Greg" Heffley is a fictional character in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, serving as the antiheroic main protagonist and unreliable narrator of the books, online series, and multimedia franchise. He was created by Jeff Kinney, and portrayed by Zachary Gordon and Jason Drucker in the first three films and the fourth film, respectively.[10][11]

Greg Heffley
Diary of a Wimpy Kid character
First appearanceDiary of a Wimpy Kid (2007 book)[a]
Created byJeff Kinney
Designed byJeff Kinney
Portrayed byZachary Gordon (2010–2012)
Nathaniel Marten (2010, cameo as an adult in a flash-forward)
Dylan Bell (2010, cameo as a kindergartener in a flashback)
Jason Drucker (2017)
Patrick Scott McDermott/Huxley Westemeier (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical)[2][3][4][5][6]
Voiced byL.J. Bennet (singing voice for live action 2010 film)
Brady Noon (CGI film series, 2021–2022)[7][8][9]
Wesley Kimmel (CGI film series, 2023–present)
In-universe information
Full nameGregory Heffley
NicknameGreg
GenderMale
OccupationStudent
FamilyFrank Heffley (father)
Susan Heffley (mother)
Manny Heffley (younger brother)
Rodrick Heffley (older brother)
Gramma (maternal grandmother)
Grampa (maternal grandfather; possibly deceased)
Home12 Surrey Street, Plainview
NationalityAmerican

Characteristics and role

Greg was originally conceptualized in early 1998, after creator Jeff Kinney struggled to become a newspaper cartoonist.[12] In all of his appearances, Greg is portrayed as a self-righteous narcissist, who has little-to-no moral compass, is only looking out for himself, and has an obsession with becoming rich and famous. He steals, lies, cheats, and is a bully to the few less popular than him at Westmore Middle School.[13] Greg is obsessed with his social status, but is bullied by the bigger students at his school and his older teenage brother, Rodrick. He often mistreats his best and only friend, Rowley, for being wimpy and socially inept, despite Rowley having a happy family and life. Greg receives bad grades in school, is addicted to video games, especially the fictional Twisted Wizard, and loves junk food. Despite these negative traits, he does show humanity, sensitivity, and care for those he loves.[14][15][16]

Because of these qualities, internet users began to question if Greg was a sociopath. Jeff Kinney stated:[17]

Greg is recording his life at a time when he shouldn't be recording. It's right when he's not a fully formed person, and I think that people that give Greg a label are sort of missing the joke. Right off the bat, Greg says, "One day when I'm rich and famous, I won't have time to answer people's stupid questions." Whatever that is – I'm not sure how you label that – it's misguided. It's a little bit cocksure. But I don't think it's anything worse than that.

Kinney, on separate occasions, has also clarified that Greg is supposed to represent an average and normal selfish middle schooler.[18] Kinney never intended to write books for children, which is why Greg is a complicated and flawed character.[19] Kinney has also denied the sociopath theories stating he always saw Greg as an "accurate kid" and people who give him that distinction are "missing the joke".[20][21]

Film appearances

Main article: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film series)

In the original trilogy of the film series adaptations, Greg was portrayed by actor Zachary Gordon.[10] In the film adaptation of The Long Haul however, Greg was instead portrayed by Jason Drucker.[11] After the film series was given a reboot during the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Greg was voiced by Brady Noon in the animated adaptation of the first book and its sequel.[22] He was voiced by Wesley Kimmel in the third animated film.[23]

Reception

 
Greg in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Due to Greg's narcissistic and selfish traits, some parents began to question if Greg was a negative influence on kids.[24][18] In 2008, Aish called the character "totally diabolical" and that parents should avoid the series at all costs.[25] In Texas in October 2018, Greg's bad morals and pessimistic world view challenged the book to be banned.[26] Tidy Books wrote that Greg never learned from his lessons and rarely gets punished or gives sincere apologies, and that the writing is too subtle for kids to realize that he is doing the wrong thing and is an unreliable narrator.[27]

His film counterpart was given similar reception as Rotten Tomatoes has said that Greg is an "unlikable protagonist".[28] Margaret Pomeranz disliked the character of Greg Heffley, saying "I really thought he was unpleasant. I did not want to spend time with him. I couldn't wait for the end of this film."[29] However, reception to the character improved since the first film and in her review of the Dog Days film, Abby West of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "though often self-centered and conniving, Greg remains a likeable kid".[30]

Notes

  1. ^ This was a predecessor to the original book, published on Funbrain.[1]

References

  1. ^ Kramer, Katie (October 31, 2015). "'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' goes from cartoonist to author". CNBC. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  2. ^ "Theater review: New version of 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical' from Children's Theatre is relentlessly entertaining". Twin Cities. May 1, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  3. ^ Cristi, A. A. "Cast and Creative Team Announced For DIARY OF A WIMPY KID The Musical". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  4. ^ "What Excites the Cast of 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical' | Children's Theatre Company". childrenstheatre.org. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Dunkelberger, Rob (May 23, 2022). "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical at The Children's Theatre Company". The Stages of MN. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Tribune, Rohan Preston Star. "'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' gets on its feet again". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  7. ^ Cejer, Autumn (December 4, 2021). "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2021 Cast Guide: What The Actors Look Like". ScreenRant. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  8. ^ Monaghan, Jeremiah (December 3, 2021). "Brady Noon on Bringing Greg Heffley to Life in 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' - Exclusive Interview". DiscussingFilm. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Halls, Kiara (December 9, 2021). "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Star Explains His Take on Greg Heffley". CBR. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days - In Theaters August 3". diaryofawimpykidmovie.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul: 20th Century Studios Family". 20th Century Studios. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  12. ^ "Jeff Kinney on how Greg Heffley happened". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Freudenthal, Thor (March 19, 2010). Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Motion picture).
  14. ^ Beukeboom, Kathryn (September 14, 2021). "Becoming a wimpy man". The Strand. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  15. ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Character List". SparkNotes. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  16. ^ "I write about situations most kids can relate to, says author Jeff Kinney". Hindustan Times. January 7, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  17. ^ Colangelo, B. J. (December 7, 2021). "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid's Creator Says Greg Isn't A Sociopath, He's Just A 12-Year-Old". SlashFilm.com. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Whitehouse, Beth. "Talking with wimpy kid author Jeff Kinney - U.S. News - News". Catholic Online. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  19. ^ "Jeff Kinney on how Greg Heffley happened". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  20. ^ "Is Greg Heffley a Sociopath? Diary of a Wimpy Kid Creatives Weigh in". Screen Rant. May 10, 2023.
  21. ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid's Creator Says Greg Isn't a Sociopath, He's Just a 12-Year-Old". December 7, 2021.
  22. ^ Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Official Trailer - IGN Video, October 19, 2021, archived from the original on May 15, 2022, retrieved October 19, 2021
  23. ^ "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever Cast". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  24. ^ "Some Parents Wary Of 'Wimpy Kid' Series". NPR.org. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  25. ^ Tzvi (October 28, 2009). "Diary of a Wimpy Writer". aish.com. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  26. ^ Dellinger, Hannah; Serrano, Alejandro (March 17, 2022). "Texas has seen a surge in requests to pull books from schools. Here are Houston's numbers so far". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  27. ^ "Should you be reading to children, even if book characters are bad ?". Official Tidy Books UK Store. January 10, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  28. ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
  29. ^ David Stratton, Margaret Pomeranz (September 29, 2010). "29 September 2010". At the Movies. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 September 2010.
  30. ^ West, Abby (August 10, 2012). "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
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