Character Analysis
If Harry is the hero and Hermione is the brains, Ron is most definitely the heart of this movie. He's always there by Harry's side when he needs a friend. Talk about loyal.
And Ron gets to play a pretty big role because Harry's other pal, Hermione, is sidelined for a good chunk of the movie. Enter Ron Weasley: best friend extraordinaire. Ron is the one who saves Harry from the Dursleys with the flying car. Heck, he's the one who has the idea to fly the Ford Anglia to Hogwarts at all.
Ron is also terrified of spiders but he follows Harry and a bunch of arachnids into the Forbidden Forest.
HARRY POTTER: You heard what Hagrid said. "Follow the spiders." They're heading to the Dark Forest.
RON WEASLEY: Why spiders? Why couldn't it be "follow the butterflies"? Harry, I don't like this. Harry, I don't like this at all.
HARRY POTTER: Shush!
RON WEASLEY: Can we go back now?
HARRY POTTER: Come on.
Sure, we've got some pretty good friends, but we draw the line at talking to a giant man-eating spider for them.
We also get to meet Ron's family for the first time in this movie. Ron's got a bunch of brothers and a sister but he doesn't always seem to appreciate his big, happy family. And it really bothers him that the Weasleys get made fun of constantly for not being able to afford stuff.
Draco Malfoy is especially cruel:
RON WEASLEY: Those are Nimbus Two Thousand Ones. How did you get those?
MARCUS FLINT: A gift from Draco's father.
DRACO MALFOY: You see, Weasley, unlike some, my father can afford the best.
Seriously, can someone just sock this kid in the face?
Just look at when Ron's wand breaks. He actually tapes it together. The wand is essentially useless all year, but Ron never asks his parents to buy him a new one. Probably because he's worried he's going to get in trouble (his mom is already fuming about the flying car incident). But also because he realizes that his family can't afford another big purchase like an Ollivanders wand. It's best to just suffer with the broken wand and occasionally end up eating slugs. Gross.
In the end, Ron's broken wand ends up saving the day when it backfires on Gilderoy Lockhart. So maybe it's a good thing that Ron's family isn't rolling in the dough. Draco Malfoy would have had the best new wand money could buy…and gotten his memory obliviated.