Walt Disney Presents Winnie-The-Pooh Meets Gopher

by George Desantis (Author & Illustrator)

HARDCOVER

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Animals

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Gingaeru]

I've long wanted to read the original books by Milne. I've had "The House at Pooh Corner" on my shelf for years, but because it's a sequel and I want a matching edition of "Winnie-the-Pooh," I haven't touched it. I'll have to settle for these Little Golden Books for the moment.

This was evidently my sister's. It's a mystery as to why she scratched out the line, "And rabbit might say, 'What about lunch?'". She's always been a weirdo, but I know kid's brains process information differently, so maybe her low reading skill just couldn't grasp that line for some unknowable reason, and she decided it didn't belong there. The only other graffiti she left is the word "predicament" written next to where Rabbit uses the word. Which reminds me... Rabbit is male. For whatever reason, I just can't get that into my head (Disney's Rabbit always seemed female or androgynous to me).

The story is a lot more disturbing than I would expect. I am confused about Rabbit saying, "NO!" both when Pooh asks if he's home and if he's Rabbit, respectively. But on the next page, he's all: "Oh, what a pleasant surprise, care for some lunch?" No sarcasm can be gleaned from the text or the picture; it's bizarre.

Pooh gets stuck after just one meal. Now, Pooh is a teddy bear, right? You shove a potful of honey down a teddy bear and he's still going to squeeze through that hole... but not Pooh. Then his friends tell him to fast until he's thin enough to escape... Do these toys need food in order to "live"? The scene of Rabbit wringing out Pooh's arm is a bit unsettling.

I got a kick out of the fact that Rabbit was just sitting there sipping his tea while Pooh's backside casually protruded from the wall beside him. Just your average day; nothing out of the ordinary. (If my neighbor's lower half was a fixture in my living room, I couldn't sit there with a cup of tea.)

I don't understand why Gopher is in the title and on the cover; he's just an insignificant side character who passes by a couple of times.

[Rod Brown]

Yet another adaptation of Pooh getting stuck in Rabbit's door from the second half of the 1966 Walt Disney short film, "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree," which is itself an adaptation of A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh Chapter Two: "In Which Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets Into a Tight Place." But this one is remarkable for being one of the first, and based on its 1965 copyright and the fact that a couple of the characters do not look like their finalized versions in the movie it was apparently created from an earlier draft of the script and preliminary designs ahead of the film's completion.

Introducing himself as Samuel J. Gopher, this prototype looks cuter and more cheerful with his dirty-blonde dye-job and white belly stripe:



And check out this version of Piglet who looks like he's out of the the Hundred-Acre Wood jail on a work-release program:


An amusing artifact, to say the least.

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... )

[Michael P.]

This adaptation is based on the second Pooh story, "In which Pooh goes Visiting and gets into a Tight Place," to give what is substituted for a proper title in the original collection. My English friends tell me that they loathe the Disney Pooh because the character is Disneyfied and no longer English. I can sympathize, but as somebody who has spent too much time in the United States, especially but not solely including the months since Trump's inauguration, I find the Disney Pooh endearing. This telling is a fairly faithful simplification of the original story seen through Disney tinted glasses. I find it charming.

[R.G.]

Okay, I have this book, I love this book.... but I'm totally using this as a placeholder for a book I just finished, because there's no way I'm actually putting it on my Goodreads list. But I still want to count reading that other book and get the notch for my Goodreads challenge this year.

Also... that book was super long, so it would be a shame not to get the credit for it.

Finished it in 2 days. It's technically three books in one, and took me less than a day to finish each one. I actually enjoyed it.

[James Greening]

This is an average Little Golden Book, as when it comes to these kind of established characters, I rather just read the primary author's version. But, the illustrations are well-done and the story moves along in a humorous way.

[Andy Hickman]

Little Golden Books – Winnie the Pooh Meets Gopher
Nice to return to these first reads of mine.

[Kevin Giles]

Thorough enjoyed this book time and time again as it was read to me many years ago.

[Kylie Abecca]

While this was a cute story, I was very disappointed with the pictures, particularly the way little Piglet looked, as he is my favourite, it was sad to see him not looking right.

[Adam]

This is not the best Walt Disney little golden book, but it is a familiar Pooh story

[Sharon Dorival]

I love this character. 😀

[Drew]

Some people might say I'm too old for books like this one, but who cares? I don't believe people can really put an age limit on fun. Besides, it's Disney.

[Emily]

This story is a well known Pooh tale. Pooh goes to Rabbit's house to have a "little" snack. However, Pooh ate so much at Rabbit's that he gets stuck about halfway out through Rabbit's front door. Poor Pooh doesn't get to eat any honey for a long time in order to get thin so he can get out of Rabbit's door. This is one of my favorite Pooh books. They always bring back a lot of memories.

[C]

I love reading Pooh stories to Chloe that I remember from my own childhood. Thanks, LaRena, for all of the old Little Golden Books! They bring back great memories for me - hopefully they will for her one day as well.

[Lynn Davidson]

Winnie-the-Pooh was out of honey so he went to visit Rabbit, hoping for a meal. Rabbit offered him some honey, which Pooh ate and ate and ate. When it was time to leave, Pooh got stuck in the hole to Rabbit's house. All his friends tried to get him out. The last resort is funny.

[Karl]

Heh. Pooh gets stuck.

[Lauren]

In general I was never a big Winnie the Pooh fan. This book was okay but just not my cup of tea.

[Amanda]

Finally-readers find out how Gopher came into the Hundred Arce Woods! The bright, fun pictures and cute storyline are a natural fit into the Winnie the Pooh world. I love this book!

[Marilyn]

05.12.1997 Why is he happy to be stuck again?" Alissa asks.


01.26.1998 Great!

[Kenneth Flores]

Similar to "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree"!