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Kanga is a character from the Winnie the Pooh franchise. Like most of the Pooh characters, Kanga is a stuffed animal come to life. She is a female kangaroo (the only female character in the series, with the exception of Christopher Robin's and Lumpy's mothers), and she comes the nearest of all the Pooh characters to serving the role of a parent, often adopting a disapproving or overly cautious demeanor, especially towards her own child Roo. She was voiced by Barbara Luddy in the film, Patricia Parris in the animated series, and currently by Kath Soucie in the later series.
Background
Personality
Kanga is the sweet, beautiful, and caring mother of Roo. However, she also acts as a motherly figure to the other Hundred Acre Wood characters, giving advice and help to those in need. She is notable in a way, as she is the one of the few characters that Tigger doesn't bounce. Instead, he treats her extremely respectfully, often referring to her as Mrs. Kanga.
Design
Kanga is an anthropomorphized adult female kangaroo with light brown fur covering most of her body, except for her belly, pouch, and the insides of her ears, which are pink. She has large feet that lack toes and comparatively smaller arms. The only distinct digits on her hands are her thumbs. She also has a somewhat short tail. Kanga's ears are quite large and her neck is rather long. She has beady, black eyes and a black nose.
Appearances
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
In The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Kanga appears in all the stories.
In Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Kanga is shown with Roo at Christopher Robin's house and inspecting Eeyore's tail after it is reattached. She later on brings Roo to give Pooh some flowers when Pooh is trapped in Rabbit's door. Later on, she comes with Christopher Robin and Eeyore to help remove him, when Pooh has grown thin enough.
In Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day Kanga is one of the people who comes to see the damage to Owl's home, which was blown over by the strong winds. During the flood, Kanga, Roo, and Tigger are able to reach safety at Christopher Robin's home by using an umbrella as a boat. After the flood, Kanga attends the hero party that is held in honor of Pooh and Piglet.
In Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!, Kanga appears in the second half of the segment. One winter day, she allows Roo to go out and play with Tigger. Kanga later comes to their aid when Tigger discovers his fear of heights. Roo is able to jump to safety, with Kanga encouraging him to not fall too fast. When Tigger is brought down, Rabbit attempts to hold Tigger to a promise to never bounce. Kanga remarks on Tigger's sadness, and everyone eventually agrees to allow Tigger to continue bouncing. Kanga is then seen bouncing alongside everyone else.
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
In the TV series, Kanga is only a recurring character, and was voiced by Patricia Parris, the same actress who voiced Christopher Robin's mother. She appears in a total 8 out of 83 episodes.
In the episode, "Babysitter Blues" Kanga leaves Christopher Robin, Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger in charge of Roo. When she returns and finds out that Tigger and Roo are missing during a game of Hide and Seek, she becomes awfully worried about Roo but is relieved when Roo and Tigger come out of hiding from under the bed.
In the episode, "The Old Switcheroo," Tigger tries to hide Roo from Kanga so she won't give him a bath. Kanga manages to find Roo but on the way home, Pooh manages to distract Kanga while Tigger grabs Roo and puts Piglet in Kanga's pouch. When Kanga gets home she accidentally mistakes Piglet for Roo and gives him a bubble bath. When Piglet tries to tell her he's Piglet, Kanga simply says that he is Roo doing a good job imitating Piglet's voice. Then Pooh appears and corrects Kanga and takes Piglet home. Then, Tigger and Roo come home from playing in the mud and but get stuck to gum and ask Kanga to get them unstuck. Kanga says that the only way that she can get them unstuck is by giving them a bath. Afterward, Tigger and Roo learn that baths are not as bad as they thought.
The Tigger Movie
Kanga in The Tigger Movie
In The Tigger Movie, Kanga is first seen sweeping her front porch when Tigger bounces up and asks her to bounce with him, but she says she can't because she has too much work to do. Later on Kanga is seen along with Roo, Rabbit, Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore trying to remove a boulder off of Eeyore's house with Rabbit's Rock Remover and when Kanga suggests that they could use another helping hand Tigger bounces up and bounces onto the boulder causing both it and eveyone else except for Tigger and Roo to roll into the mud and when Kanga reaches into her pouch she finds a fish in it. After this Tigger asks the gang to bounce with him to which Kanga and the others tell him that they can't bounce with him because they're not Tiggers like he is. Later on that night Roo tells Kanga that he wishes Tigger could be his big brother and be a member of their family to which Kanga tells Roo that Tigger is one of their family and will always be if they continue to care for him. The next day Kanga, Roo, Eeyore, Pooh, Piglet, and Owl all gather at Owl's house to write Tigger a letter from his family and they all come up with their own ideas of what to say in the letter including Kanga who suggests that it should say Dress Warmly.
House of Mouse
Kanga was occasionally seen in House of Mouse. In the series' pilot, Pete was exposed to being a cartoon thief and during a chase with Mickey Mouse, Pete attempts to hide in Kanga's pouch.
Piglet's Big Movie
When Piglet goes missing, Pooh and friends use his scrapbook to find him and learn more about Piglet. In one of his memories, Kanga and Roo have recently moved in and Tigger and Rabbit believe them to be predators and are afraid of them. Piglet accidentally switch places with Roo. Kanga then acts as if she thinks Piglet is Roo and uses this to show she's a sweet person. After Piglet calms down, she reveals she knew and everything is settled. Later Christopher Robin and Pooh begin an expedition to find the North Pole and Kanga joins the friends.
Kingdom Hearts II
When she first appears, she hears from Piglet that Pooh has forgotten everything about his friends and makes a medicine in attempt to restore his memory, but Tigger takes it, thinking it is a present to him. Though they get it back, Pooh never drank the medicine and he somehow regained his memory of Tigger after Tigger felt bad about Pooh not remembering him, saying it wouldn't be worth bouncing if Pooh forgot about him.
Kanga appears three times in the Hundred Acre Wood storyline, the first being at her house along with Roo and Tigger. She gives Pooh some medicine in hopes of him regaining his former self. Her second appearance is at the Spooky Cave helping Sora search for Pooh. She is last seen at Starry Hill saying goodbye to Sora.
Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Kanga is a supporting character in the film and is first seen at the beginning with Roo wondering what the mysterious noise is. She learns later that night that it was a Heffalump and calms Roo's anger after he was denied a position in the Heffalump expedition Later on, she goes into the forbidden Heffalump Hallow to search for the missing Roo and meets and befriends two Heffalumps. Kanga is last seen with Roo and their friends enjoying time with their new Heffalump friends.
My Friends Tigger & Pooh
Kanga is a recurring character in the series often making minor cameos. She can often be found in crowd scenes paired with Mama Heffalump.
Winnie the Pooh
Kanga is first seen with Roo during the song A Very Important Thing to Do. She is later seen at the meeting centering Eeyore's lost tail. When a reward is meant to be issued, Kanga suggests a warm hug. She is also the third to give Eeyore a tail. She gives him a scarf but it eventually unravels. Kanga is seen at Owl's house later on and learns about the Backson. She joins the hunt to capture the creature and gets herself trapped in the Backson pit. In a scene when Owl is talking, she puts on earmuffs that she made and decides to sleep. She is then waken up by Roo when they were freed by Pooh's thinking and Kanga and the others celebrate the return of Christopher Robin who actually just went to school for the day.
Disney Parks
Kanga and Roo in a Disney Park appearance.
Kanga is a rare walkaround character in the parks, though she can be found on various occasions.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attractions around the world, appearing in the opening scenes trying to keep Roo from blowing away during the Windsday.
Pooh's Hunny Hunt
Kanga makes a minor appearance in the technological show in Tokyo Disneyland.
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Parade
In the popular holiday parade in Walt Disney World, Kanga can be seen with Roo in her pouch and wears a scarf and earmuffs.
Winnie the Pooh and Friends Too
In the stage musical at Disneyland Paris, Kanga and Roo joins Pooh and the others in adventures in the Hundred Acre Woods.
Mickey's Boo To You Too Parade
Kanga can be seen in the parade with Roo in her pouch during Halloween time.
Trivia
- Her name, Kanga and her son's name Roo, when put together they make kangaroo.
- Though her current voice actor, Kath Soucie, is part of the Kingdom Hearts II cast, voicing Sally and Shock of the Halloween Town world, for some reason, she doesn't voice Kanga there.
