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| Gopher | |
|---|---|
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| First appearance | Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) |
| Created by | Walt Disney John Lounsbery |
| Voiced by | Howard Morris (1966–1977) Michael Gough (1988–present) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Gopher |
| Gender | Male |
Gopher is a fictionalanthropomorphicgopher character who first appeared in the 1966Disneyanimated filmWinnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.[1] He has a habit of whistling out hissibilant consonants, one of various traits he has in common with the beaver inLady and the Tramp, by whom he may have been inspired.
Gopher was the only character in the original shorts that was an original character and not based on a character from theA.A. Milne books,[1] a fact he notes in his first appearance when he says "I'm not in the book, you know?!" Instead, he was initially developed by Disney as a replacement forPiglet, although it was ultimately decided to keep Piglet involved in the stories as well as use Gopher. Apparently, the proposed character of Gopher was thought to have a more "folksy, all-American, grass-roots image" than Piglet. While American audiences loved the character, British audiences were less pleased.[citation needed]
Like mostWinnie-the-Pooh characters, Gopher is named after his own species.
Gopher is also known for his unique voice characterization. He tends to whistle his consonants, particularly his S's. This is lampshaded in his debut; when Pooh mimics Gopher while asking for honey, Gopher tells Pooh he should do something about the speech impediment he himself has, before handing him the honey.
Gopher has a fairly brash, bolshie personality, with a tendency totalk in circles. Though presenting himself as a helpful handyman, he often rambles, dodges questions, and gives bad advice which usually leads to misunderstandings resulting in others becoming annoyed and refusing his service or vice versa. He is rarely seen outside of his burrow so not much is known about him socially. He is also quite easily offended, repeatedly storming off to his burrow and comedically falling down his mine shafts in these instances. Though short-tempered, he is shown to be a very skilled, hard worker, especially in his mine shafts (tunnels) and spends most of his time tediously working on them. He is also genuinely resourceful at times and shown to have a surprisingly tender and thoughtful side, such as when he remembers how his Grandpappy's forgotten lifelong dream of building an above-ground-underground city, and takes this project upon himself to please his Grandpappy. Despite his low social life, when Gopher does make an appearance he is constantly running at the mouth; with his trademark speech impediment of whistling out hissibilant consonants.
While he never made appearances in any episodes ofWelcome to Pooh Corner, Gopher was fleshed out a bit further in the television seriesThe New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He is portrayed as generally hard-working, especially in his tunnels (which he inevitably falls into at least once). He does not appear in the original booksWinnie-the-Pooh andThe House at Pooh Corner byA. A. Milne (a fact that is regularly pointed out inWinnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, when hebreaks the fourth wall by saying he's "not in the book, y'know", also trying to say that he would not be in a phone book). Gopher's voice was originally done byHoward Morris, who later departed from the role and was replaced byMichael Gough for all subsequent productions.
Gopher's other appearances inWinnie the Pooh-related media include the television specialsA Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving,Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You, andBoo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh, the direct-to-video filmA Very Merry Pooh Year, and the direct-to-video specialWinnie the Pooh: 123's.
He also made minor appearances in the television seriesHouse of Mouse, the video gameKingdom Hearts II, andPooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (in archive footage fromBoo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh). This was Gopher's last appearance in any form of media until the release ofKingdom Hearts III in January 2019, after nearly thirteen years of absence.[2] Four years later, he was also added as a playable character in the video gameDisney Magic Kingdoms.[3]
Like otherWalt Disney Animation Studios characters, he has a cameo appearance in the 2023 short filmOnce Upon a Studio.[4]
Walt Disney Animation Studios film characters | |
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| Introduced in 1930s–1940s | |
| Introduced in 1950s–1960s | |
| Introduced in 1970s–1980s | |
| Introduced in 1990s–2000s | |
| Introduced in 2010s–2020s | |
| Related | |
