Wintertime Is Grand Fun For Kanga and Roo Too

Kanga and Roo are transplants to the Hundred Acre Wood, having arrived from Australia, where the weather is warm enough that implements such as scarves and knit caps are rarely needed. But they seem to have adjusted quickly to their new habitat, at least according to the 1993 ornament that features Mama and joey in the midst of a lengthy winter hike.

Kanga stands tall and confident in this ornament. She’s about four inches tall, and she measures about three inches from the tip of her tail to the front of her right foot, which is stepping ahead. In each hand, Kanga clutches a long, knobbly brown stick, much like the sticks employed by Winnie the Pooh as ski poles in his ornament. While Pooh is going downhill, Kanga is headed cross-country, a considerably safer activity for someone with a child in tow.

Roo peeks out of Kanga’s pouch, his blue shirt plainly visible, along with his shiny black nose and eyes and the pink interior of his mouth. These match his mother’s fairly well, except that her eyes have lashes and white pinpricks. I think the spots turned out a little larger than intended; they fill her eyes almost to the point of overwhelming the black. Still, it’s a good likeness, and the creamy, light chocolaty shade of brown used for the fur is perfect.

Kanga and Roo also have matching ears with pale pink interiors, and Kanga’s midsection above her pouch is the same shade of pink. She wears a yellow scarf and a blue hat with a white pom-pom, and atop the hat is the gold-colored loop for the ornament hook. Like most of the rest of the figures in this series, she looks energetic as she swings her arms in time to her footsteps. Of course, one has to imagine that motion; Kanga doesn’t actually move, nor can Roo be detached from his mother. They are a package deal.

This ornament is a bit on the tall side, but it usually hangs off the branch with no trouble, sometimes tilting just a bit. Similarly, it stands flat on a table or similar surface, but it isn’t too hard to make it topple, as I did while writing this review. Under normal circumstances, however, this is a sturdy ornament, and the paint on mine is just as vibrant as it was 15 years ago.

These are two characters who tend to be underrepresented in Pooh paraphernalia, particularly Kanga. If you’re a real fan of the whole gang, getting ahold of this ornament will ensure that your collection includes the Australian contingent, and the only major female character in the Hundred-Acre Wood. Don’t let this dynamic duo stay in the shadows, keeping their distance from the rest of the Pooh pals; hang them on the tree for all to see.