Georgie Denbrough

Georgie Denbrough
It character
Jackson Robert Scott as Georgie in It (2017)
First appearance	It (1986)
Last appearance	It Chapter Two (2019)
Created by	Stephen King
Portrayed by	1990 miniseries: Tony Dakota 2017 film and 2019 sequel: Jackson Robert Scott
In-universe information
Full name	George Elmer Denbrough
Family	Zach Denbrough (father) Sharon Denbrough (mother) Bill Denbrough (brother)
Home	Derry, Maine, United States

George Elmer Denbrough is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1986 horror novel It. Georgie is the younger brother of Bill Denbrough, and falls prey to Pennywise the Dancing Clown. He is used by Pennywise to taunt Bill throughout the novel. Georgie is portrayed by Tony Dakota in the 1990 miniseries adaptation and by Jackson Robert Scott in the 2017 re-adaptation and reprises his role in the 2019 sequel. Dakota also reprised his role for a short film titled Georgie which shows a "What If" scenario if Georgie had survived his encounter with Pennywise.^[1]

Fictional character biography[]

George Elmer "Georgie" Denbrough was born September 18, 1951 (1953 in the miniseries and 1981 in the film adaptation) to Zach and Sharon Denbrough, and is the younger brother of Bill Denbrough. Georgie has a very positive relationship with his brother, considering him to be his best friend.

Encounter with Pennywise[]

On one October night in 1957 (1960 in the miniseries and 1988 in the film series), Georgie makes a paper boat with his brother on a rainy day. Bill is too sick to accompany Georgie outside, so he helps him make the boat and sends him on his way. The boat ends up falling down a storm drain, much to Georgie's dismay. Georgie then encounters Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the storm drain, who offers him a balloon, and tells him about how "we all float down here" ("down here" meaning the sewers.) The Clown offers Georgie his boat back, but when Georgie attempts to reach out to it, Pennywise grabs Georgie's arm and bites it off, leaving Georgie to bleed to death in the rain as Pennywise chants "You'll float too" (In the film series, Georgie instead of being left bleeding to death, is dragged down the sewer by the monster, after his arm is dismembered by the latter as he desperately tries to cling to his life calling Bill's name as no one hears).^[2]

Being used by Pennywise[]

Not long after his death, Georgie's appearance would be utilized by Pennywise to taunt and provoke Bill. While this aspect of the novel is not represented in the miniseries, Georgie appears to Bill several times throughout the film series.^[3]

Adaptations[]

1990 miniseries[]

Georgie was portrayed by Tony Dakota in the 1990 miniseries adaptation. This iteration remains faithful to the source material, however, Georgie is killed by Pennywise off-screen.^[4]

Film series[]

Georgie was portrayed by Jackson Robert Scott in the 2017 re-adaptation of King's novel as well as its 2019 sequel. This adaptation of the character features the onscreen demise of Georgie, as well as showing more of Pennywise using Georgie to affect Bill psychologically. Behind the scenes of the film, the young actor stated that he was not afraid of Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, and in fact formed a bond with the actor. Scott's performance as Georgie was acclaimed by fans and critics.^[5][6][7][8]

Death and controversy[]

The violent nature of Georgie's death in It received a polarizing response from some critics. While most felt that the graphic nature of Georgie's death was necessary to show the danger of Pennywise, some viewers felt that Pennywise ripping a child's arm off and watching Georgie attempt to crawl away was seen by some as being "downright disturbing" and "too graphic".^[9][10][11]

Short film[]

Georgie is the main character of a 2019 short film titled Georgie directed by Ryan Grulich with Tony Dakota reprising his role. This short film shows an undead adult Georgie resurrected via drawing. This is the only adaptation to show Georgie as an adult.^{[12][13][14][15][16]}

Analysis[]

Throughout the novel and films, Pennywise uses the "ghost of Georgie" to play on Bill's survivor's guilt. This is further explored in It Chapter Two, where Bill blames himself for Georgie's death, exemplified in a scene in which the adult Bill returns to the storm drain where Georgie was murdered. The scene progresses into a flashback where Pennywise's disembodied voice taunts Bill for not being present with Georgie when he died. The adult Bill struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder due to Georgie's death, and attempts to prevent Pennywise from killing another young boy, to no avail.^[17][18][19] Georgie has also been seen as an interpretation of the way children are lured by predators, notably seen in Georgie's encounter with Pennywise at the storm drain.^[20]

In popular culture[]

The character of Georgie has become an iconic figure in the horror genre. The character's distinctive yellow raincoat with the paper boat the "S.S. Georgie" have become staples of the horror franchise. Georgie's icon status is unique considering the character is not a horror film villain such as Pennywise, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, or Michael Myers.

The character has also been referenced many times in different forms of media. He is mentioned numerous times by metalcore band Ice Nine Kills in their song "IT Is The End", which is inspired by the 2017 film adaptation of the novel. The song is from the album The Silver Scream, in which all the songs are inspired by horror films.^[21][22] The scene where Georgie meets Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries has become an internet meme depicting Pennywise attempting to coerce Georgie to come down to the sewers with different things.^[23] Georgie was also referenced in King's novel 11/22/63.^[24]

References[]