“ | TV is just a bunch of fakers. This is real life. You can't beat it. | ” |
— Grandpa's opinion about TV shown in the live-action Rodrick Rules film |
Grandpa Heffley (known as Grampa Heffley in the online book) is the paternal grandfather of Greg, Rodrick, and Manny Heffley. He is also the father of Frank, Joe, and Gary Heffley, the father-in-law of Susan Heffley and the widower of Nana Heffley.
History[]
Rodrick Rules[]
Greg is happy that he is Grandpa's favorite.[2]
Grandpa offers to let Greg and Rodrick stay at his retirement community, Leisure Towers; the experience was terrible for Greg.
Dog Days[]
Years before the events of the book, Grandpa takes Greg to the Slipslide Water Park and tells him to meet back in three hours while he goes and read his book. Because Greg misread the signs, he didn't go on any of the slides, a confused Grandpa comes back to see him standing next to a height requirement sign.[3]
Greg didn't have the time to feel sad about his fish's death because he had to get in the car to Grandpa's for brunch. After Frank tells Greg about Nutty, he finally confessed to Frank at brunch that he ran over the dog, enraging Frank and causing him to get kicked out and left the bill to him.[4]
One of the photos in Susan's album shows Grandpa with Frank and his grandsons.[5]
The Ugly Truth[]
He appears at his son Gary's wedding, and the family reunion and even babysits/takes care of Rodrick and Greg as their Gramma was on a cruise. But he uses the manual Susan made last time he did this 8-9 years earlier.
Cabin Fever[]
He appears only in a photo, but he makes a younger appearance when his son, Frank told him about his bully, Billy Staples he came to Billy's house along with his wife, telling Mr. Staples about Billy's actions.
Hard Luck[]
Greg mentioned that Grandpa had a girlfriend because, at Leisure Towers, a lot of women lined up at Grandpa's door trying to win him over with casseroles and baked goods. The reason for this was that the women at Leisure Towers vastly outnumbered men.[6] He later dated a widow named Darlene, who stayed together with him until he eventually left Leisure Towers, when they broke up.
Old School[]
He left the nursing home after they raised the rent and moved in with Greg's family. He stole Greg's room when Susan told him he could sleep wherever he wanted and began driving Frank insane. Greg tries to help him get over his breakup with Darlene by teaching him about online dating, but Grandpa's lack of technological knowledge accidentally gets him in several relationships with several old ladies. When the Heffleys left to visit Rodrick at his job, he invited a bunch of single women over to party. Grandpa tries to make an excuse, but Frank doesn't buy it and puts Grandpa in a time out (apparently, it was awkward to punish your own father). Frank then has his sons watch over Grandpa, so he doesn't do anything stupid again.
Double Down[]
He makes two cameos on pages 5 and 76. Later when the pig eats Greg's candy corn, Greg thought Grandpa would know what to do but he was on a date with Mrs. Fredericks. Greg says that Grandpa used to lie that the ice cream truck driver was a clown who spanked children he caught roaming outside so he wouldn't beg Grandpa for money.
Online[]
Grampa tells the story of Greg's confusion at the waterpark during the family's Thanksgiving reunion which Greg says he always tells it whenever the family gets together. The story, repeated several times due to Rodrick's influence, always gives him and even Manny an excuse to tease Greg. At the same reunion, he gets caught smoking by Ann after dinner.[7]
The story where Grampa confesses the truth about Nutty to Frank took place during his birthday. Frank kicks him out with his untouched cake and without a coat.[8]
In contrast to the book, Greg only eats his watercress salad because of Ann.[9]
Trivia[]
- Based on estimates made from illustrations of him, Grandpa Heffley is most likely between 4' 11" (149.86 cm) and 5' 1" (154.94 cm) tall. However, this is only conjecture, as his height has never been definitively stated within the series.
- Greg is his favorite grandson.
- According to Greg's family tree in the extended version of The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book, Grandpa's parents are Remus and Lulu, and Gammie is the mother of Greg's maternal grandfather, on Susan's side. However, when she later appeared in the Ugly Truth, Gammie was instead said to be on Frank's side of the family, meaning she is either Grandpa or Nana's mother.
- It's unknown if he's still living with Greg's family, because he hasn't been seen or mentioned in any of the books since Double Down. Assuming that he's still alive, it's possible that he was able to move into a cheaper retirement home, as it was briefly mentioned in Old School that, after he moved out of Leisure Towers (which had increased its rent), the family was looking for a place with a cheaper rent for Grandpa Heffley to live in.
- In Cabin Fever, his younger appearance is slightly different than the one in Dog Days, where he runs over Frank's dog Nutty.
- He does not wear glasses in the movie.
- He dislikes watching television because he said how TV is a bunch of fakers.
- It is pretty much unknown what his actual name is.
Personality[]
Grandpa is a peculiar and unpredictable character, occasionally displaying signs of senility and ignorance. Despite his quirks, he means well and exudes a jovial and kind demeanor, a stark contrast to his eldest son, Frank. At his retirement home, he exclusively tunes his TV to the CCTV channel, much to the annoyance of Greg, as he misses out on regular television shows.
His culinary creation, watercress salad, consisting of uncooked salad with vinegar and green beans, is a source of disgust for Greg and Rodrick. However, Grandpa remains unfazed by their opinions. He enjoys a game called Gutbusters and frequently persuades Greg and Rodrick to join him. Greg often emerges victorious, thanks to Grandpa's appreciation of nonsensical jokes, while Rodrick falls short by deliberately filling his mouth with milk during Greg's turn, resulting in laughter.
In "The Ugly Truth," it is revealed that Grandpa occasionally sneaks in some smoking when no one is watching, but after Greg possibly reports it, he refrains from smoking publicly. In "Old School", an amusing incident occurs when he mistakenly invites all the women from his dating site to watch a movie, trying to cover it up but failing to convince Frank. Also in "The Ugly Truth" he treats Greg like a little kid as he is using a manual Susan made for him when Rodrick and Greg were little, not realizing Greg has grown and shouldn't be treated the same as 8-9 years ago.
Interestingly, despite his eccentricities, Grandpa holds his grandsons to high standards of maturity, expressing annoyance when they or Frank make mistakes, as he perceives them as poor examples to follow.
Appearance[]
Grandpa is always seen with his glasses, but he takes them off when sleeping. He also wears dentures, has a large nose, is short and overweight, wears old fashioned clothes and suspenders. He is almost bald with only some hair. He is also some sort of jolly at a few points.
Appearances[]
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (online) (as Pappy Heffley)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (film)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (film)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (film) (cameo in an animated scene)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down
- Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal (indirectly mentioned)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
- The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
- The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary
- Wimpy Wonderland
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022 film)
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ It is is never specified whether Gammie is Grandpa’s mother or Nana’s, but if she is Grandpa’s mother, he is presumably no older than 77 as of The Ugly Truth, since Gammie is said to be 95 there. Furthermore, since Greg is 12 and around 30 years younger than Frank, as he has stated on many occasions, he is almost certainly no younger than 60.
- ↑ Diary of a Wimpy Kid (online), page 442
- ↑ Dog Days, pages 107-108
- ↑ Dog Days, pages 115-117
- ↑ Dog Days, page 216
- ↑ Diary of a Wimpy Kid (online), page 601
- ↑ Diary of a Wimpy Kid (online), pages 384-388
- ↑ Diary of a Wimpy Kid (online), pages 463-466
- ↑ Diary of a Wimpy Kid (online), page 602