Editing Eeyore

{{Short description|Character from Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh-books}}
{{For|the Slipknot song|Slipknot (album)}}
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{{more citations needed|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Eeyore
| series = [[Winnie-the-Pooh]]
| first = ''[[Winnie-the-Pooh (book)|Winnie-the-Pooh]]'' (1926)
| creator = [[A. A. Milne]]
| species = [[Donkey]]
| gender = [[Male]]
| image = Winnie-the-Pooh 166-1.png
| caption = Illustration by Ernest Howard Shepard from ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' (1926), by A. A. Milne.
}}

'''Eeyore''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Eeyore.ogg|ˈ|iː|ɔr}} {{respell|EE|or}}) is a fictional character in the ''[[Winnie-the-Pooh]]'' books by [[A. A. Milne]]. He is an old, grey [[Stuffed animal|stuffed]] [[donkey]] and friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh. Eeyore is generally characterised as [[pessimism|pessimistic]], [[depression (mood)|depressed]], and [[anhedonia|anhedonic]].

==A. A. Milne books<span class="anchor" id="In the books"></span>==
Eeyore appears in chapters 4, 6, 7, and 10 of ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and is mentioned in a few others. He also appears in every chapter of ''The House at Pooh Corner'' except chapter 7. His name is an [[onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]] representation of the [[braying]] sound made by a normal donkey, usually represented as "hee haw" in [[American English]]: the spelling with an "r" is explained by the fact that Milne and most of his intended audience spoke a [[Rhoticity in English|non-rhotic]] variety of English in which the "r" in "Eeyore" is not pronounced as /r/.<ref>Pyles, Thomas. ''The Origins and Development of the English Language.'' 2nd Edition. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; New York. (1971).</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2008/10/some-onomatopoeia.html |title=some onomatopoeia |website=Separated by a Common Language |first=Lynne |last=Murphy |date=November 1, 2008 |access-date=May 27, 2019 |archive-date=May 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527102239/https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2008/10/some-onomatopoeia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Physically, Eeyore is described as an "old grey donkey". In [[Ernest H. Shepard|Ernest H. Shepard's]] illustrations, he appears to be about chin-high to [[Pooh]] and about hip-high to [[Christopher Robin]]. He has a long, [[Pin the Tail on the Donkey|detachable tail]] with a pink bow on the end, of which he is very fond, but which he is also prone to losing ([[Owl (Winnie the Pooh)|Owl]] once mistakes it for a bell-pull). Christopher Robin is able to reattach the tail with a [[drawing pin]].

In ''[[The House at Pooh Corner]]'', Eeyore's level of literacy is unclear. When Christopher Robin shows him the letter "A", Eeyore does not understand its meaning, knowing only that "it means learning", something he desperately wants to be seen as having, but he angrily destroys the letter after finding that Rabbit (who is quite literate) knows about it already. Nevertheless, he spells his own name "eoR" when signing the "rissolution" (resolution) that the animals give Christopher Robin as a farewell present in the final chapter. Eeyore also wrote the awkwardly-rhymed poem called "POEM", which appeared on the "rissolution", making him the only character in the Winnie-the-Pooh books other than Pooh himself who attempts to write poetry (a fact that Eeyore himself notes). When Pooh humbly declares that Eeyore's poetry is better than his own, "really believing it to be true", Eeyore vainly replies that "it was meant to be".

Eeyore has a poor opinion of most of the other animals in the Forest, describing them as having "No brain at all, some of them", "only grey fluff that's blown into their heads by mistake" (from chapter 1 of ''The House at Pooh Corner''). Eeyore's favorite food is [[thistles]]. He lives in the southeast corner of the [[Hundred Acre Wood]], in an area labeled "Eeyore's Gloomy Place: Rather Boggy and Sad" on the map in the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' book. He has a stick house therein called The House at Pooh Corner. Pooh and Piglet built it for him after accidentally mistaking the original house that Eeyore built for a pile of sticks. On Eeyore's birthday, he is given an empty honey jar from Pooh for keeping things in, a popped red balloon from Piglet to keep in the pot, and a note from Owl.

Eeyore is also surprisingly good at the game [[Poohsticks]], winning more times than anyone else when it is played in the sixth chapter.

==Adaptations==
===Disney adaptations===
{{Infobox character
| series = [[Winnie the Pooh (franchise)|Disney's Winnie the Pooh]]
| name = Eeyore
| image = Eeyore (Disney character).png
| caption = Eeyore as depicted by [[Disney]]
| first = ''[[Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree]]'' (1966)
| creator = [[A.A. Milne]]
| voice = [[Ralph Wright]] (1966–1983)<br/>[[Thurl Ravenscroft]] ([[Disneyland Records|record release]])<br/>[[Ron Feinberg]] (1981)<br/>[[Ron Gans]] (1983–1986)<br/>[[Peter Cullen]] (1988–present)<br/>[[Brad Garrett]] (''[[Disney's Animated Storybook: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree]]'', ''[[Ready to Read with Pooh]]'', ''[[Christopher Robin (film)|Christopher Robin]]'', ''[[Ralph Breaks the Internet]]'')<br/>[[Gregg Berger]] (video games; 1998–2006, 2011, [[The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (attraction)|ride]], ''[[Seasons of Giving]]'')<br/>[[Bud Luckey]] ([[Winnie the Pooh (2011 film)|2011 film]])<br/>[[Jim Meskimen]] (''[[Once Upon a Studio]]'')<br/>Dylan Alvarado (''Playdate with Winnie the Pooh'') <br/>[[Chris Edgerly]] (''[[May the 12th Be with You]]'')
| species = [[Donkey]]
| gender = [[Male]]
}}
Eeyore appears in the ''Winnie the Pooh'' [[cartoons]] produced by [[The Walt Disney Company]]. He is somewhat less caustic and sarcastic in the Disney version than in Milne's original stories. Though often a supporting character, ''[[Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore]]'' focuses on him. He is physically one of the stronger animals and is often treated as a [[pack animal]] whenever a plot calls for one. His house is regularly knocked down, but he always rebuilds it. He usually expects misfortune to happen to him, accepts it when it does and rarely even tries to prevent it. His catchphrases are "Thanks for noticin' me" and "Ohhh-kayyy". His pessimistic outlook was also shown in an encounter with Piglet, who cheerfully bade him "Good morning!" Eeyore responded, "Well, I suppose it is...for some."

Despite his depressive nature, Eeyore is capable of great compassion, whereas in the books he is more apathetic. Several episodes of ''[[The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]]'' exemplify this, including "Donkey for a Day", "Stripes", "Home is Where the Home is" and "Eeyi Eeyi Eeyore". Eeyore is usually one of the core group of animals, along with [[Winnie-the-Pooh|Pooh]], [[Piglet (Winnie-the-Pooh)|Piglet]], [[Rabbit (Winnie-the-Pooh)|Rabbit]] and [[Tigger]]. Of these five, he is the most reluctant to go along with their plans or adventures, but does not oppose them because he believes it to be futile to try.

In the adaptations, Eeyore has developed a close friendship with Tigger. Despite their opposite personalities, Eeyore's passive nature and Tigger's optimism and outgoingness help them to accept each other's flaws and understand each other better. Their closeness begins at the end of ''Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore'' and continues in later works such as ''[[The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]]'', ''[[A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving]]'' and the ''[[Winnie the Pooh (2011 film)|Winnie the Pooh]]'' film.

His tail was not always fixed to him by a [[Nail (fastener)|nail]], although Disney has chosen this as part of his permanent image. When Eeyore lost his tail, Owl found it and used it as a bell-pull beside his door before Pooh found it for Eeyore. [[Christopher Robin]] then pinned it back on. According to ''[[Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree]]'', this was possible because Eeyore is full of [[sawdust]]. In Disney merchandise, Eeyore sometimes has an uncharacteristic smile. In animation, Eeyore is coloured his natural grey, though he is coloured blue with a pink muzzle in merchandising. He appears at the [[Disney Parks, Experiences and Products|Walt Disney Parks and Resorts]] for meet and [[Greeting|greet]]s.

====Casting history====
Eeyore was voiced by [[Ralph Wright]] in the original featurettes, although [[Ron Feinberg]] filled in as his voice in the short film ''[[Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons]]''. [[Thurl Ravenscroft]] voiced him for Disneyland Records.<ref>Hollis, Tim; Ehrbar, Greg (2006). ''Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records''. p. 40. {{ISBN|978-1578068494}}.</ref> [[Ron Gans]] took over the role for ''[[Welcome to Pooh Corner]]'' and was succeeded by [[Peter Cullen]] in ''[[The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]]'' through ''[[My Friends Tigger and Pooh]]''. Although Cullen was still active when the film ''[[Winnie the Pooh (2011 film)|Winnie the Pooh]]'' was in production, Eeyore was voiced by [[Bud Luckey]] for the film. In reference to this, Cullen re-enacted a scene at [[BotCon]] to demonstrate a scene where his character [[Optimus Prime]] meets Eeyore; Cullen later returned to the role in the 2017 crossover with ''[[Doc McStuffins]]''. [[Gregg Berger]] voiced Eeyore in video games from ''My Interactive Pooh'' to ''[[Kinect: Disneyland Adventures]]'', plus [[The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (attraction)|''The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' dark ride]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Voice(s) of Eeyore |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Winnie-the-Pooh/Eeyore/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204231350/https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Winnie-the-Pooh/Eeyore/ |archive-date=2021-12-04 |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=Behind The Voice Actors}}</ref> [[Brad Garrett]] voices Eeyore in the 1990s video games ''[[Disney's Animated Storybook: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Brad-Garrett/|title=Brad Garrett|website=Behind the Voice Actors|access-date=2018-05-26|df=mdy-all|archive-date=2018-05-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526112711/http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Brad-Garrett/|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''[[Ready to Read with Pooh]]''. Garrett reprised the role for the 2018 live-action film ''[[Christopher Robin (film)|Christopher Robin]]'' and the animated film ''[[Ralph Breaks the Internet]]''. In the 2023 short ''[[Once Upon a Studio]]'', Eeyore was voiced by [[Jim Meskimen]]. In the 2024 ''[[The Simpsons]]'' [[Disney+]] short (''[[May the 12th Be with You]]'') [[Chris Edgerly]] voiced Eeyore.

===''Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey''===
In the beginning of the 2023 horror film ''[[Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey]]'', Eeyore was killed while the other animals were starving after Christopher Robin left for college. Eeyore's tail was used by Pooh to whip his victims. 

==See also==
* [[Eeyore's Birthday Party]] – annual festival held in Austin, Texas, in honour of the character

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Winnie-the-Pooh}}
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[[Category:Fictional donkeys]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic donkeys]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1926]]
[[Category:Male characters in literature]]
[[Category:Winnie-the-Pooh characters]]