Pooh's Adventures of Association in the Wild

Written by
 Directed by

**Pooh's Adventures of Association in the Wild** is the thirteenth episode of the series. It is based on *The Fox and the Hound.*

## Synopsis

Freddy Fox's happy life in Mount Buffalo and his planned trip to Carrot Valley are disrupted when his parents are devoured by a crocodile, and although his brother Richie survives, their grandparents have Freddy abandon Richie, and then leave Freddy at Woebegone Woods. There, he meets Pooh Bear, penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico & Private, and a bulldog named Spike. Their friendship sparks the jealousy of their neighbors, Elmer the Elephant, Rocky the Tortoise & Gorilla Gus. Can a fox and bulldog ever truly be friends?

## Plot

Freddy is a young fox who lives with his parents, grandparents and brother Richie on Mount Buffalo. (*In The Big Rock Candy Mountains*) One day, they plan to move to Carrot Valley, before that happens, Freddy's parents are killed by a hungry crocodile from the river, Richie is merely chased into the distance, and the grandparents decide to leave Freddy at a foster home in Woebegone Woods, in order for him to "act foxily."  When they're gone, Freddy longs to be out in the world.  (*Out There*)  Just then, Pooh Bear and friends arrive in the woods, with the four penguin commados, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico & Private.

In a nearby cabin, a young bulldog named Spike is fencing with parents, when he meets Pooh, the penguins & Freddy.  This eventually gets the attention of Spike's neighbors, Elmer the Elephant, Rocky the Tortoise, and Gorilla Gus.  A stronger of the three, Gus is jealous that Freddy's friendship with Spike would surpass his own.  Freddy then decides to make amends with the ape by attending his Chinese New Year, for it would be the Year of the Ape then. In the meantime, Freddy & Spike play together, with Pooh, the Penguins & Spike's parents as witnesses. (Best of Friends)  While being tucked in that night, Spike shows Freddy a horseshoe to use against predators, because it's usually a luck charm.

The next day, Pooh cleans up the town, "according to the play," and the penguins have Rico cough up some supplies to fix the transmission on their car. Freddy tries to tell Spike the truth about where he really lives, but not yet, because the party was going on. (Fun Fun Fun)  Eventually, Gus finds out about Carrot Valley, and offers to send Freddy there.  The fox agrees, because he would recover Richie at Mount Buffalo first.  Spike is heartbroken, but Freddy has his mind made up, takes a horseshoe with him, and leaves Woebegone Woods.  Gus is relieved to have his friendship with Spike back, but the dog stills cares for Freddy.  Eeyore adds that they should've told Freddy how they felt about him when they had the chance.

A moment later, the fox grandparents return, looking for Freddy.  Gus then confesses that he sent Freddy to Carrot Valley out of jealousy.  The panicking grandparents figure out that Freddy could be looking for Richie on Mount Buffalo, or worse, find himself at the crocodile's fangs!  The other animals know the truth finally, and they mount an expedition to find Freddy, after seeing how much they miss their new friend, especially Spike. Skipper reports a "Captain's Log" about rescuing Freddy, and how Private probably wouldn't survive.

Far away, Freddy hikes through the country, until he reaches his cave at Mount Buffalo.  He looks everywhere for Richie, only to end up with his grandparents and friends.  The grandparents reprimand Freddy for leaving Woebegone, but he rebuts that he "didn't belong in that world, with Richie in Carrot Valley."  Spike tries to renew their friendship, but Freddy  forlornly adds that things are different between them.  Suddenly, the crocodile emerges, and a fight ensues.  Skipper uses Rico as a machine gun, and Freddy conks the croc with his horseshoe.  The predator chases them to the summit, until Richie appears, ready to avenge his parents.  The crocodile leaps for him, but Freddy pushes the croc away and they fall over a cliff. Freddy lands on a rock, but the croc is sliding towards a storm-swollen river. Freddy makes it up, but the crocodile is unable to let go of his hate and falls to his death.

When everyone is safe and sound, Freddy is invited by his family to live in Carrot Valley, which was indeed originally his wish, but he decides rather to belong with Spike.  He even takes the dog with him to the valley.  Once there, the foxes, the Wobegone inhabitants, Pooh & the penguins rejoice, as Freddy & Spike are together at last.

## Trivia

### Story Behind the Story

I used to have hiked a lot of times in a what I call the Three Dog Loop, a loop around Cow Creek, just behind Glen Haven, with some dog companions. This enchanting surrounding reminded me of *The Fox and the Hound.* However, instead of that story's setting, I made my version into something similar to *James and the Giant Peach.* Due to these settings, Freddy learned to accept living with Spike for who he is, not his species. As for Woebegone Woods, I named it after Lake Woebegone from *Prairie Home Companion.*

### Pooh's side

The Penguins of Madagascar have been big time friends.

### Early Concept

The movie was originally written to have the song *Best of Friends* as Freddy & Spike's friendship song. It was later declared that the movie be changed to focus on the song *If You Have A Dog As Your Friend*, because it made no sense to waste such a grand dog story on otherwise unimportant music.

### Connection

This story is inspired by *The Fox and the Hound,* whose 30th anniversary was in 2011, the same year of *Magascar Live.*

## Cast

Jim Cummings as Winnie the PoohJohn Fiedler as PigletPaul Winchell as TiggerKen Samson as RabbitPeter Cullen as EeyoreTim Hoskins as Christopher RobinTom McGrath as SkipperJeff Bennett as KowalskiJohn DiMaggio as RicoChristopher Knights as PrivateLeonardo DiCaprio as FreddyFrankie Muniz as SpikeFrank Welker as the CrocodileMichael-Leon Wooley as ElmerTimothy Spall as RockyMichael Clarke Duncan as Gorilla GusKelsey Grammar as Grandpa FoxJenifer Lewis as Grandma FoxKevin Spacey as Mr. PugKate Winslet as Mrs. PugTerrence Howard as Mr. FoxOprah Winfrey as Mrs. FoxAshton Kutcher as Richie

### Songs:

* The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh theme
* In The Big Rock Candy Mountains
* Out There
* If You Have A Dog As Your Friend
* Happy
* End Title Song: Precious Wings by Tatyana Ali
* Exit Music: Walk to Work by Randy Newman