Disney added Gopher to the Winnie-the-Pooh cast; he does not appear in A. A. Milne’s original books.
Gopher first appeared in Disney’s 1966 featurette Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. The character is a fast-talking, work-focused gopher who lives underground and frequently announces himself with the phrase “I’m not in the book, you know!” That line openly acknowledges his status as a Disney creation.
Most of the familiar residents in Disney’s early Pooh productions came from Milne’s books, including Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga and Roo. Gopher was introduced to give the animated world an additional comic character and a creature associated with digging and tunnels. He was not adapted from one of Christopher Robin Milne’s toys.
The character is sometimes mistaken for a book character because he has appeared in many later Disney productions and merchandise. His absence from the original stories is an important distinction between Milne’s literary cast and Disney’s expanded franchise.