Gopher

Gopher, sometimes known as Samuel J. Gopher, is a live animal character that was subsequently given a plush toy. He is the only main character that was created outside of A. A. Milne's original books. While he has since appeared in some of the books, these books are not written by A. A. Milne as he did not encounter any Gophers. Despite eventually being mentioned in A. A. Milne's Biography, This character was much more inspired from Mister Busy who appeared in Lady And The Tramp. In an attempt to bring accuracy to The Hundred Acre Wood setting, as well as the fact he was inspired from a beaver, they decided to bring a beaver character for the My Friends Tigger & Pooh adaptation, which many people speculate is Mister Busy or at least related. Beaver is no where near as prominent as Gopher, since Beaver builds just dams. Gopher appeared as a possible substitute for Piglet, eliminating the Pooh & Piglet friendship arc in the process. Gopher appeared twice, the second time with Piglet, the latter letting Owl live in his house. Gopher's second appearance also brought the first appearance of Tigger as well. In both of his appearances, Gopher fell down his tunnels. They brought him back to be an associate of Rabbit and Owl in New Adventures after being missing for 20 years. By this time, he had expanded his network of tunnels all over The Hundred Acre Wood and beyond, bringing technological innovations while keeping it underground, and out of sight. The tunnels are much larger, can be toured by any character, and falls in much more often, and much more severely. Gopher's tunnels even have rail tracks. Since subsequent adaptations of Winnie The Pooh are either meant for sheltered preschoolers or strange middle schoolers, Gopher ended up being missing yet again for another 20 years. However, he did appear in Goof Troop, House Of Mouse, and enjoys numerous appearances in Video Games, including Kingdom Hearts. Since several of these video games are also meant for preschoolers, Gopher proves that he can be a gentle character. However, in Adventures and particularly New Adventures, which have a Looney Tunes atmosphere to them, Gopher does have the tendency to utilize explosives as a solution to any problem, including a unanimous vote to blast Rabbit out of an impenetrable fortress instead of just digging him out. He also can construct any thing so long as he has detailed specifications. If not, he might goof, such as when he built a tall wall instead of a long one in order to stop a runaway Winnie. He also was asked to protect Winnie's house from Thieves by cladding Winnie's house with red bricks. Not unlike Rabbit's Fortress, there were no doors nor windows, and they had not yet dug a tunnel under his house. Rabbit and Gopher are natural enemies since Gophers end up digging up gardens, and did so in the No Rabbit's A Fortress episode unprovoked. Even so, Rabbit and Gopher end up working together whether Rabbit likes it or not. Other times Gopher teams up with Owl, being these three characters are live animals thus it is easier for them to learn new skills. Gopher is also a natural Miner, which means every house has a basement (and Gopher has access to all their homes) because they are connected to each other via the tunnels. He has the largest amount of modern equipment spanning a battery powered helmet, and power assisted tools. Gopher is noticeably muscular, and has the ability to speak several languages. His personality is generally no nonsense than Winnie, Tigger, and Eeyore put together. Gopher also has several relatives visit which can be as eccentric as Owl's. Usually one of the bravest and most determined and dedicated characters, he becomes almost as unhinged as Rabbit whenever he has to face his fears.