Gopher is a fictional grey anthropomorphic gopher character who first appeared in the 1966 Disney animated film Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, introducing himself as Samuel J. Gopher. He has a habit of whistling out his sibilant consonants, one of various traits he has in common with the beaver in Lady and the Tramp, by whom he may have been inspired. While he never made appearances in any episodes of Welcome to Pooh Corner, Gopher was fleshed out a bit further in the television series The 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 books Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne until 1966 (a fact that is regularly pointed out in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, when he breaks 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 by Howard Morris, who retired from the role and was replaced by Michael Gough.
Gopher's most recent appearances were in A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving and Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You. He also made minor appearances in A Very Merry Pooh Year, House of Mouse and appeared in Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh, which was included as part of Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie. To date, this is Gopher's last appearance in the Winnie the Pooh media line.
Gopher was notably absent for the 2011 film, Winnie the Pooh.
Video Gopher (Winnie-the-Pooh)
Character
Creation
Gopher was the only character in the original shorts that was an original character and not based on a character from the A.A. Milne books, 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 for Piglet. 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 than pleased. Like most Winnie 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 his speech impediment.
Personality
Gopher has a very plain personality; he is rarely seen outside of his burrow so not much is known about him socially. He is generally a hard-worker, especially in his mine shafts (tunnels) and spends most of his time tediously working on them. Despite his low social life, Gopher is not a silent character, while talking to the other animals he has a habit of whistling out his sibilant consonants.
Maps Gopher (Winnie-the-Pooh)
Trivia
- The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh episode "Lights Out" revealed that Gopher has a fear of the dark, although he loses this fear at the end of the episode.
- Gopher is mentioned in the My Friends Tigger and Pooh episode "Tigger and Pooh and a Musical Too". After Beaver (a similar character that first appeared in "Lady and the Tramp") correctly guesses the password to Tigger's territory of the Hundred Acre Wood, Tigger turns to Pooh and says "I miss Gopher".
- In the new interactive queue of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride at Walt Disney World, Gopher can be seen popping in and out of Rabbit's garden.
- Gopher also has a spell card in the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game, "Gopher's Demolition Dynamite."
- Gopher makes a speaking cameo appearance in the Goof Troop' episode "Terminal Pete."
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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