| Roo | |
|---|---|
| Winnie-the-Pooh character | |
 Roo in theDisneyanimated version | |
| First appearance | Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) |
| Created by | A. A. Milne |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Kangaroo joey |
| Gender | Male |
| Family | Kanga (mother) |
| Nationality | English |
Roo is a fictional character created in 1926 byA. A. Milne and first featured in the bookWinnie-the-Pooh. He is a youngkangaroo (known as ajoey) and his mother isKanga. Like most other Pooh characters, Roo is based on a stuffed toy animal that belonged to Milne's son,Christopher Robin Milne. However, he was lost in the 1930s in an apple orchard somewhere in Sussex.[1][2][3]
Roo participates in the adventures of ateddy bear called Winnie-the-Pooh and his friendsPiglet, a small toy pig;Eeyore, a toy donkey;Owl, a live owl;Rabbit, a live rabbit; andChristopher Robin, a human boy. Roo is introduced in the chapter entitled "In Which Kanga and Baby Roo Come to the Forest and Piglet has a Bath." Roo's friendTigger does not appear until the sequel,The House at Pooh Corner. He would subsequently appear in various cartoons and other adaptations.
Roo is a young kangaroo, or joey. His mother is called Kanga.The New York Times has noted that inquiring about the fate of Roo's father is one of many questions that could be asked, such as "Where are Pooh's pants?"[4]
Because of his young age, Roo is a very small animal, the smallest in the story (other than Rabbit's friends and relations, and Alexander Beetle), although he must be very close in size toPiglet since Kanga is unable to tell the difference when Piglet jumps into her pouch instead of Roo. (InErnest H. Shepard's illustrations, Roo appears to be very slightly smaller than Piglet.) He is also apparently small enough to fall down mouse holes while practicing jumps, and too small to reach the first rail of thePoohsticks bridge.
Like most of the characters in Winnie-the Pooh, Roo was based on one ofChristopher Robin Milne's stuffed toys. The illustrations show Roo with brown fur and an upturned tail.
Roo and Kanga come to the Forest "in the usual way" in Chapter VII ofWinnie–the–Pooh. He also appears in Chapter VIII, is mentioned in Chapter IX, and appears again in Chapter X of that book. InThe House at Pooh Corner, Roo appears in chapters II, IV, VI, VII, IX, and X, and is mentioned in a few others. Some of the adventures that Roo experiences include being "kidnapped" byRabbit, accompanying the "expotition"[5] to the North Pole (and getting an impromptu swimming lesson), attendingChristopher Robin's party for Pooh, getting stuck in a tree withTigger, and playing Poohsticks.
Unlike many of the other characters in the Pooh books, Roo does not have a known favorite food, although his mother makes himwatercress sandwiches on occasion. He dislikes theextract of malt that his mother gives him as "strengthening medicine" after meals, though he will reluctantly take it.
Some of Roo's friends include Tigger, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet,Eeyore,Rabbit,Owl, and Christopher Robin.
Roo appears in theShirley Temple's Storybook episode, played by Louis Jean Norman.
Roo is planned to appear in the 2026 filmWinnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3.[6]
Roo also appears in the Disney cartoon versions of theWinnie the Pooh stories.
In the cartoons, Roo is the smallest of the regularly appearing characters. He has brown fur and wears a light blue shirt. He often expresses thoughts and feelings that make him seem wiser than his years. In fact, on occasion Roo seems even wiser than many of the older characters.
He states that he's got a mother (Kanga) when he tries to comfort Tigger inThe Tigger Movie. He appeared inPiglet's Big Movie and his own direct-to-video movie,Springtime with Roo.
Roo becomes good friends withLumpy the Heffalump inPooh's Heffalump Movie.
Roo appeared as one of the guests inHouse of Mouse andMickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse.
Roo made his first live action appearance in the 2018 filmChristopher Robin, voiced by Sara Sheen.[7]
Atongue-in-cheek psychological study of Roo was published in the year 2000,[8][9] by pediatricians atDalhousie University inHalifax,Nova Scotia, in theCanadian Medical Association Journal during its end of year issue in April; which publishes lighter more parody-style content.[8] This Canadian team was following the trend of analyzing famous art works, to point out that even wonderful people can have disorders.[10]Reuters reported as follows about the Canadian study:
The researchers said they are especially worried about baby Roo, who is growing up in a single-parent household and whose closest friend, Tigger, is not a good role model. "We predict we will someday see a delinquent, jaded, adolescent Roo hanging out late at night at the top of the forest, the ground littered with broken bottles of extract of malt and the butts of smoked thistle," the article said.[10]
