Ten Things You May Not Know About Piglet

1. Piglet made his first appearance in A.A. Milne’s book Winnie- the-Pooh, published in 1926. Like his friend Pooh, that makes him older than Mickey Mouse. Oddly though, Piglet did not appear in the first Disney Pooh featurette, Winnie the Pooh and The Honey Tree . His place was taken by Gopher, who was felt to be more appealing to American audiences. Fans of Winnie the Pooh protested, however, and Piglet was right back at Pooh’s side for the next film, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.

2. While Piglet is well known for his bright pink jumper, that wasn’t how he originally appeared. The earliest color images of Piglet, drawn by Ernest H. Shepard, showed him wearing a more subdued green jumper.

3. Despite being described as a Very Small Animal, Piglet can be very brave at times. He can also be a bit jealous, as demonstrated in the introduction to Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh. As Milne tells the story of how Winnie the Pooh got his name, Piglet squeaks in protest, wondering why the entire introduction is about Pooh. Even though Milne, as the narrator, tells Piglet that the book is in fact all about him in order to placate him, Piglet doesn’t make his first proper appearance until Chapter Three when he and Pooh go Woozle hunting.

4. Like Winnie the Pooh, the character of Piglet was based on a stuffed toy owned by the real Christopher Robin. Today, you can see the toy on display in the New York Public Library (and no, he does not have his famous pink jumper).

5. For the majority of his Disney appearances, Piglet was voiced by John Fiedler. Fiedler also did voice work for a number of other Disney animated features, including The Fox and the Hound (as the porcupine), Robin Hood (The Sexton), The Emperor’s New Groove (the old man thrown out the window), and The Rescuers
(Deacon Owl). Fiedler passed away in 2005, the day after Paul Winchell, who provided the voice of Tigger, passed away.

6. As mentioned earlier, Piglet has been described as a Very Small Animal. But how small is he? According to Milne, “Piglet is so small that he slips into a pocket.” This comes in very handy when you take him to school with you, “where it is very comforting to feel him when you are not quite sure whether twice seven is twelve or twenty-two.” Because of this, Piglet is just a bit smarter than Pooh, although Winnie doesn’t seem to mind.

7. In 2003, Piglet starred in his own film, Piglet’s Big Movie . The film was notable in that it included several flashback sequences that were the first adaptations of original Milne stories since 1983’s featurette Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore.

8. Little is known about Piglet’s family other than that, according to him, he has a great grandfather named Trespassers William. Piglet knows this because there is a partial sign in front of his home that reads “Trespassers W.” Of course, many homes have signs that say “Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted,” but this is the Hundred Acre Wood, and Piglet wouldn’t know of such things.

9. The residents of the Hundred Acre Wood have some unusual choices for their favorite foods, though Pooh’s fondness for honey does make sense. While Tigger likes extract of malt, Piglet’s snack of choice is acorns.

10. If you visit Disneyland Paris and come across Piglet, you’ll likely get a signature that reads Porcinet, which is Piglet’s name in French.