Owl (Winnie the Pooh)
Encyclopedia
Owl is a fictional character
in A. A. Milne
's Winnie-the-Pooh
books and in Disney's Winnie the Pooh cartoons. Owl's character is based on the archetype
of the "wise old owl
", although in the books, the quality of Owl's "wisdom" is sometimes questionable.
, and all the other inhabitants of the Forest. He is always happy to offer his opinions, advice and anecdotes — whether or not they are actually wanted. Owl also enjoys telling stories about his relatives, including his Aunt Claire who laid a seagull's egg by mistake whilst visiting her opera-singing cousin, his Uncle Clyde who didn't give a hoot for tradition (and apparently served as the inspiration for The Owl and the Pussycat
) and his Uncle Robert who once survived a very blusterous day (his Disney counterpart has been known to go on like this for hours, such as "Owl talked from page 41 to page 62!").
Owl can spell his name ("Wol") and the word "Tuesday" (so that you know it isn't Wednesday), but his spelling goes all to pieces over delicate words like measles and buttered toast. He can also read, although only if no-one is looking over his shoulder. However he has very poor reading comprehension skills, which on occasion have led to the animals thinking that something had happened to Christopher Robin (Like going to "Skull" when Christopher really went to "school", and being kidnapped by a "Backson" when really Christopher would be "back soon")
In the Winnie-the-Pooh
book, Owl lives in a tree known as The Chestnuts, located in the middle of the Hundred Acre Wood
and described as an "old world residence of great charm" which is grand enough to have both a door-knocker and a bell-pull. That house is blown down by a storm in the eighth chapter of The House at Pooh Corner
. Eeyore
eventually discovers what he believes is the perfect new house for Owl, apparently without noticing that it is actually Piglet's
house. Nonetheless, Piglet offers the house to Owl, and he presumably moves in. Owl made a sign indicating that he planned to call his new house "The Wolery".
Unlike most of the original cast of the books, the illustrations of Owl look more like a live animal than a stuffed one. This idea is also supported by Rabbit's
comment to him, "You and I have brains. The others have fluff." In Ernest H. Shepard's illustrations, Owl appears to be about a head shorter than Pooh, and a little below hip-height to Christopher Robin. He is sometimes but not always drawn wearing reading glasses. When the illustrations show him writing, he holds the pen in his talons, not with his wing.
Owl appears in chapters IV, VI, VIII, IX, and X of Winnie-the-Pooh. He also appears in chapters V, VIII, IX, and X of The House at Pooh Corner, and is mentioned in several other chapters.
. After his death, Andre Stojka
replaced him as the voice of Owl. Craig Ferguson
will provide the voice for Owl in the 2011 film.
In the Disney
cartoon, Owl speaks with an English accent
.
Owl appeared in the movies:
ish and Sussex dialect
word for Owl, which Milne would have been familiar with, living on a farm at Hartfield
at the time he was writing Winnie-the-Pooh.
The W3C Web Ontology Language has the acronym OWL rather than WOL. This is sometimes, but incorrectly, assumed to be a reference to Owl's misspelling.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
's Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
books and in Disney's Winnie the Pooh cartoons. Owl's character is based on the archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
of the "wise old owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
", although in the books, the quality of Owl's "wisdom" is sometimes questionable.
Profile
Owl is a good friend of Winnie the Pooh, Christopher RobinChristopher Robin
Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, appearing in his popular books of poetry and stories about Winnie-the-Pooh. He has subsequently appeared in Disney cartoons....
, and all the other inhabitants of the Forest. He is always happy to offer his opinions, advice and anecdotes — whether or not they are actually wanted. Owl also enjoys telling stories about his relatives, including his Aunt Claire who laid a seagull's egg by mistake whilst visiting her opera-singing cousin, his Uncle Clyde who didn't give a hoot for tradition (and apparently served as the inspiration for The Owl and the Pussycat
The Owl and the Pussycat
"The Owl and the Pussycat" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1871.- Background :Lear wrote the poem for a three-year-old girl, Janet Symonds, the daughter of Lear's friend poet John Addington Symonds and his wife Catherine Symonds...
) and his Uncle Robert who once survived a very blusterous day (his Disney counterpart has been known to go on like this for hours, such as "Owl talked from page 41 to page 62!").
Owl can spell his name ("Wol") and the word "Tuesday" (so that you know it isn't Wednesday), but his spelling goes all to pieces over delicate words like measles and buttered toast. He can also read, although only if no-one is looking over his shoulder. However he has very poor reading comprehension skills, which on occasion have led to the animals thinking that something had happened to Christopher Robin (Like going to "Skull" when Christopher really went to "school", and being kidnapped by a "Backson" when really Christopher would be "back soon")
In the Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
book, Owl lives in a tree known as The Chestnuts, located in the middle of the Hundred Acre Wood
Hundred Acre Wood
The Hundred Acre Wood is the fictional land inhabited by Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends in the Winnie-the-Pooh series of children's stories by author A. A. Milne...
and described as an "old world residence of great charm" which is grand enough to have both a door-knocker and a bell-pull. That house is blown down by a storm in the eighth chapter of The House at Pooh Corner
The House at Pooh Corner
The House at Pooh Corner is the second volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A. A. Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard. It is notable for the introduction of the character Tigger, who went on to become a prominent figure in the Disney Winnie the Pooh franchise.- Plot :The title...
. Eeyore
Eeyore
Eeyore is a character in the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh....
eventually discovers what he believes is the perfect new house for Owl, apparently without noticing that it is actually Piglet's
Piglet (Winnie the Pooh)
Piglet is a fictional character from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books. Piglet is Winnie-the-Pooh's closest friend amongst all the toys/animals featured in the stories...
house. Nonetheless, Piglet offers the house to Owl, and he presumably moves in. Owl made a sign indicating that he planned to call his new house "The Wolery".
Unlike most of the original cast of the books, the illustrations of Owl look more like a live animal than a stuffed one. This idea is also supported by Rabbit's
Rabbit (Winnie the Pooh)
In the fictional world of the book series and cartoons Winnie-the-Pooh, Rabbit is a responsible rabbit who happens to be a good friend of Winnie-the-Pooh. He is always practical and keeps his friends on their toes, although they sometimes raise his ire unintentionally.-Role in the books:The first...
comment to him, "You and I have brains. The others have fluff." In Ernest H. Shepard's illustrations, Owl appears to be about a head shorter than Pooh, and a little below hip-height to Christopher Robin. He is sometimes but not always drawn wearing reading glasses. When the illustrations show him writing, he holds the pen in his talons, not with his wing.
Owl appears in chapters IV, VI, VIII, IX, and X of Winnie-the-Pooh. He also appears in chapters V, VIII, IX, and X of The House at Pooh Corner, and is mentioned in several other chapters.
Disney Cartoon version
The original voice of Owl in the Disney films was Hal SmithHal Smith (actor)
Harold John "Hal" Smith was an American character actor and voice actor. Smith is best known as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, and was the voice of many characters on various animated cartoon shorts...
. After his death, Andre Stojka
Andre Stojka
Andre Stojka is an American voice actor. He is best known for his role as Owl in Winnie-the-Pooh projects beginning with The New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, inheriting the role from Hal Smith. He was also the voice of the horse Starlite in all of the animated Rainbow Brite productions...
replaced him as the voice of Owl. Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson is a Scottish American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS...
will provide the voice for Owl in the 2011 film.
In the Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
cartoon, Owl speaks with an English accent
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation , also called the Queen's English, Oxford English or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms...
.
Owl appeared in the movies:
- Winnie the Pooh and the Honey TreeWinnie the Pooh and the Honey TreeWinnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree is a 1966 animated featurette released by The Walt Disney Company. Based on the first two chapters of the book Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne, it is the is the only Winnie the Pooh production released under the production of Walt Disney before his death later that...
(1966) - Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery DayWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery DayWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day is a 1968 animated featurette based on stories from the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. The featurette was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution on December 20, 1968 before The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit. This was...
(1968) - The Many Adventures of Winnie the PoohThe Many Adventures of Winnie the PoohThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is the 22nd full-length animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on March 11, 1977....
(1977) - Winnie the Pooh and a Day for EeyoreWinnie the Pooh and a Day for EeyoreWinnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore is a Disney Winnie the Pooh animated featurette, based on two chapters from the books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, originally released theatrically on March 11, 1983, before the 1983 re-issue of The Sword in the Stone...
(1983) - Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher RobinPooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher RobinPooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin is a 1997 direct-to-video film from Walt Disney's The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh. The film follows Pooh and his friends on a journey to find and rescue their friend Christopher Robin from the "Skull"...
(1997) - Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of GivingWinnie the Pooh: Seasons of GivingSeasons of Giving is a direct-to-video Winnie the Pooh film released in 1999. It included A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving, and two episodes from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh...
(1999) - The Tigger MovieThe Tigger MovieThe Tigger Movie is a 2000 animated comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Jun Falkenstein. Part of the Winnie-the-Pooh series, this film features Pooh's friend Tigger in his search for his family tree and other Tiggers like himself...
(2000) - Piglet's Big MoviePiglet's Big MoviePiglet's Big Movie is a 2003 American animated film produced by DisneyToon Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 21, 2003. It is based upon the characters in the Winnie-the-Pooh books written by A. A. Milne...
(2003) - Winnie the PoohWinnie the Pooh (2011 film)Winnie the Pooh is a 2011 American animated musical children's family film inspired by the A. A. Milne stories of the same name. The film is a reboot of Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise and is the fifth theatrical Winnie the Pooh film released and the second from the Walt Disney Animation...
(2011)
Name
Wol is a KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
ish and Sussex dialect
Sussex dialect
The Sussex dialect is a dialect that was once widely spoken by those living in the historic county of Sussex in southern England. Much of the distinctive vocabulary of Sussex dialect has now died out...
word for Owl, which Milne would have been familiar with, living on a farm at Hartfield
Hartfield
Hartfield is a civil parish in East Sussex, England. Settlements within the parish include the village of Hartfield, Colemans Hatch, Hammerwood and Holtye, all lying on the northern edge of Ashdown Forest.-Geography:...
at the time he was writing Winnie-the-Pooh.
The W3C Web Ontology Language has the acronym OWL rather than WOL. This is sometimes, but incorrectly, assumed to be a reference to Owl's misspelling.