| Season 1, Episode 18a, Overall 26 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Production Information | |
| Director |
Karl Geurs Terence Harrison (Animation Director) |
| Writer |
Mark Zaslove (story) Stephen Sustarsic (story and teleplay) Bruce Talkington (teleplay) |
| Prod code | 118a |
| Airdate | January 14, 1989 |
| Episode Chronology | |
| Previous | The Rats Who Came to Dinner |
| Next | Owl Feathers |
My Hero is the first segment of the eighteenth episode of the first season of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It originally aired on January 14, 1989.
Synopsis[]
When Piglet saves Tigger by accident, Tigger thinks of Piglet as his hero and becomes his life slave. Eventually, it becomes more bad than it is good, so Piglet must remove his life debt.
Plot[]
It is windy out in the Hundred Acre Wood and Piglet is being carried by the wind while holding a huge kite. As it takes him into a tree, pulling all of its leaves off the branches, skipping over a river, and then Piglet ends up caught on a tree branch when the kite's string wraps around it. While hanging from the branch Piglet calls for help when he hears someone else call for, at first he thinks it was an echo of his own cries when he spots Tigger in an even more dangerous situation, drowning in a puddle. Piglet manages to save him rather by accident (where the kite was pulling on the branch like a spring, then catapulting Piglet when the kite's string snaps, and into the puddle, splashing all the water out) as Tigger is grateful for Piglet's accidental heroism. Just as everybody comes running over, (having heard the cries for help) to see what's the matter, where they believe Tigger saved Piglet, but Tigger corrects them by saying Piglet saved him, as everyone is surprised to know what happened. A happy Tigger expresses his gratitude by offering to be Piglet’s personal servant for the rest of his life, which he insists on doing in spite of Piglet’s refusal. The next morning, it didn’t go very good when Piglet woke up. First, Tigger got him food on the bed, then the red carpet treatment, cleaned Piglet’s house, and washed and hung Piglet’s shirts (ultimately including the one Piglet was wearing and Piglet himself). But the more he tries to help, the more troubles he causes for Piglet. Piglet then races to Pooh's house an attempt to hide from Tigger, but then upon hearing a knock at the door, he hides in Pooh’s red shirt. Then answering the door, it turns out to be Tigger, who begins searching for Piglet. As Pooh tells Tigger he hasn't seen him, while laughing as Piglet hiding in his shirt is tickling him. Annoyed with Pooh laughing, Tigger leaves to go find Piglet. Once he's gone, Piglet comes out from Pooh's shirt and thanks him, saying he saved his life. As a confused Pooh asks if this means Tigger's gonna be his servant or Piglet will. Piglet then attempts to explain, but this makes Piglet realizes that he needs to find a way to get his own life saved by Tigger, so that the life debt will be gone. However, this causes trouble for everyone else in the Hundred Acre Wood, who end up saving each other thanks to Piglet's attempts to get Tigger to save him; i.e.; Eeyore saving Pooh, Rabbit saving Gopher, Owl saving Eeyore. However, when all is said and done and the confusion ended, Tigger remains Piglet's servant. They then decide to celebrate everyone saving each other, but Piglet hasn't arrived yet, where Tigger explains that Piglet told him he was bringing a surprise. Leading Eeyore to suggest that the surprise is, he's not coming. Tigger, annoyed by this suggestion decides to go and search for Piglet. It is then revealed that Piglet's surprise is actually a really large cake with honey, however, while he's carrying it the cake accidentally bumps into a beehive hanging from a tree, as the honey catches onto a baby bee, who tries to eat the honey on top. When Piglet shoos the bee away, by blowing it off the cake and onto a flower, the baby bee gets upset, leading it to cry, in turn angers the entire hive. Tigger arrives just in time and grabs Piglet as they both run away from the swarm of bees. Where Tigger then takes them on a shortcut he knows, which turns out to be a pathway that ends abruptly at a cliff Tigger proclaiming: "This is a shorter cut than I thought." Before both go falling, just be missed by the swarm of bees and land into a pond down below. Piglet proclaims Tigger saved his life, as everybody comes in and congratulates Tigger before saying because he saved Piglet, Tigger is no longer Piglet's servant, much to Piglet's relief. But when Tigger suggests he can still be Piglet's servant, Piglet runs away in terror, while Tigger wonders what his problem is, as Tigger knows good help is hard to find.
Characters[]
Locations[]
Interval Title Card[]
Cast[]
| Voice actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Jim Cummings | Winnie the Pooh and Tigger |
| John Fiedler | Piglet |
| Paul Winchell | Tigger |
| Ken Sansom | Rabbit |
| Peter Cullen | Eeyore |
| Michael Gough | Gopher |
| Hal Smith | Owl |
| Frank Welker | Bees |
Trivia[]
- This episode was released on DVD as a Bonus Episode on the “Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You” Special Edition. Episode with Lin Larsen Storyboard Designer.
- First Episode of Story and Teleplay Writer Stephen Sustarsic.
- The "masked" bees try to sting Piglet.
- In the remastered version as seen on Disney+, the close-up of Tigger and Piglet sliding across the floor is mirrored.
- Paul Winchell does the whole dialogue of Tigger.
- When Tigger says "He's practically in tears", this is done by Jim Cummings instead of Paul Winchell.
- This is the second episode where Piglet goes blown all through the Hundred Acre Wood by the wind, this time with a kite. The first episode being Gone with the Wind, where Piglet was blown around with an umbrella.
- When Tigger is washing Piglet's shirts, he sings a jazzy version of "This Little Piggy", as "This Piglet shirt". But after accidentally washing and hanging Piglet himself up to dry, he notices, "Well, whaddaya know? Fresh out of Piglet shirts!" This is a reference to Tweety's "This Little Piggy" routine in the Looney Tunes cartoons (a routine Tweety also performed in Who Framed Roger Rabbit).
Gallery[]
VHS Releases[]
- Pooh Bear's Big Surprise (U.K. and Australian Releases)
- The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Volume 9: Everything's Coming Up Roses
- Clever Little Piglet