Gopher (Winnie the Pooh)

Gopher is a character from Disney's Winnie the Pooh series. Gopher's voice was originally done by Howard Morris. Michael Gough takes over the role after Morris retired.

Development
Gopher was the only character in the original shorts that was not based on someone from the A.A. Milne books. 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.

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 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 constants.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Gopher first appears in the featurette, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. When Owl discovers that Pooh has become stuck in Rabbit's door, he asks Gopher, who is a self-proclaimed expert in excavation, to assist in removing Pooh. Gopher introduces himself, explaining that he "is not in the book." Gopher notes that the project is dangerous, and could take a few days. He offers to use dynamite but is refused, and so Gopher leaves.

Later on that night, Gopher reappears, intent on eating his midnight snack. Gopher notes that he goes home for lunch, and produces his lunch box. He reveals that the contents include squash, and honey. Pooh asks Gopher for a taste of the honey, to which Gopher agrees. But before Pooh can help himself, Rabbit interferes and confiscates the honey. Gopher goes angry, and leaves in a huff, resulting in him falling down his own hole. As he leaves, he notes that Pooh can get in touch with him if Pooh still wants his services.

In Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Gopher makes a minor appearance at the beginning. He notes to Pooh that it is "Winds-Day", inspiring Pooh to go and wish all his friends a Happy Winds-Day.

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The TV series fleshes out Gopher's character. He is shown to be a bit of a workaholic, and is obsessed with dynamite. His various conflicts often Rabbit, as Gopher's various plans often take place underneath Rabbit's garden. In one episode, Gopher is forced to move in with Rabbit temporarily after a fish migration takes over his tunnels.

The episode "To Dream the Impossible Scheme" introduced Gopher's Grandpappy, who, unlike Gopher, prefers to dream about things rather than do them.

Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too
Gopher once again makes a minor appearance. In the special, Gopher helps Rabbit, Tigger, and Eeyore in choosing a Christmas Tree. He does so reluctantly, as he apparently hibernates during the winter.

Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie
Gopher makes a minor appearance, only appearing in the "Boo to You" sequence. To date, this is Gopher's last appearance in the Winnie the Pooh media line.

House of Mouse
Gopher has sometimes made cameo appearances as one of the guests at the club. He helps Mickey by stopping Goofy ruining Max's date in the episode Max's Embarrassing Date.

Kingdom Hearts II
Gopher is a resident of the 100 Acre Wood and a friend of Pooh. Though the 100 Acre Wood appears in previous games, Gopher does not appear until Kingdom Hearts II. (This makes him one of only two Pooh characters in Kingdom Hearts II that does not appear in the first Kingdom Hearts game, the other being Kanga.)

Gopher has a minor role in the 100 Acre Wood's storyline. He appears three times, the first at Piglet's House warning Pooh of "Windsday" (as he did in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day). His second appearance is at the Spooky Cave helping Sora search for Pooh. His final appearance is at Starry Hill saying goodbye to Sora.

He is also part of the Hunny Slider mini game, serving as a buffer between Pooh and various obstacles.

Disney Parks
Gopher was seen at Disneyland Paris from April 12, 1992 until October 6, 1997. He reappeared in Paris on August 11, 2010.