This is Daniel Cook at the Hundred Acre Wood

This is Daniel Cook at the Hundred Acre Wood was supposed to be Season 2 Episode 1 of This is Daniel Cook which would premiere on January 18 2005 (AKA National Winnie the Pooh Day) The story is a crossover featuring characters from the Winnie the Pooh franchise, including Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, and Christopher Robin.

Crossovers
The decision to tackle the issue of Crossovers was a weighty one for Marblemedia Kids, and the idea had a long gestation period. As early as 2005, co-creator Sean Cook  announced that he was attempting to examine the issue:"“Winnie the Pooh Books and Animation have been important to Daniel when he was a Baby, so i thought Daniel would go into the Hundred Acre Wood. There is also a Tip to the Sherman Brothers, who evoke Old School Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin is the Original Human traveling to try new things.[1]”"Other crew and cast members expressed mixed feelings on the topic, however, even before the script was written. In fact, in 2004, co-creator Blair Powers initially vetoed it. Powers was concerned with tackling more complex social matters, but also wanted to primarily emphasize issues affecting lower socio-economic groups, returning to the show's original target audience of inner city and financially disadvantaged families. She opposed the idea, claiming that "Universe Sharing is a middle-class thing," instead preferring a story illustrating a single-parent family, with the child born out of wedlock with an absent father.[2]

Main Plot
The episode begins when Daniel spots Winnie the Pooh floating through the air, unable to get down. As he sets out to rescue him, the wind magically transports him to The Hundred Acre Wood where he meets the rest of Pooh's friends. Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore join Daniel in the search for Pooh, in hopes of finding him in time for his favorite event of the year, The Honey Festival.

When they finally spot Pooh and try to bring him down, a tree branch rips his tummy and Daniel must transport him to the Hospital for emergency surgery. A worried Christopher Robin arrives and bonds with Daniel over their shared ability to try new things, and is soon reunited with a healthy Pooh. Meanwhile, Piglet enlists the help to throw Pooh his very own Honey Festival to make up for the one he missed.

Cast Edit

 * Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger
 * Travis Oates as Piglet
 * Peter Cullen as Eeyore
 * Oliver Bell as Christopher Robin
 * Daniel Cook

Quotes
Daniel: You're right. And he looks kinda familiar! Hi, I'm Daniel Cook. Winnie the Pooh: Oh! Why hello there! I'm Pooh!Daniel: (Gasp) You mean Winnie the Pooh? Winnie the Pooh: I do because uh... that's who i am you see! Daniel: The Winnie the Pooh?

Winnie the Pooh: Oh, up here? Well, yes. Today is the Honey Festival, my favorite day of the year. Oh, balloons are wonderful for catching honey. They certainly are. I decided to fly like a bee to get some yummily honey for my rumbly tummy. (Stomach growls) Oh! My tummy likes this story. But, you see, it's such a blustery day. I blew away in the wind without even a smeckerel of honey, and now here I am, floating away, all because of sticky, yummy honey.

Daniel: Well, we're hoping there's at least one bear in there.

Tigger: Hello! I'm Tigger. T-I-double-G-ER

Piglet: Where's Pooh

Daniel: We Tried to find Pooh.

Eeyore: Did you find Pooh? Tigger: Not Exactly! Eeyore: It figures. Daniel: Hi Eeyore, my name is Daniel Cook. I travel all around the world to try new things Eeyore: A traveler What would they think of next?

Piglet: Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Oh, they sure do.

Daniel: (about Winnie the Pooh) We're going to find him. Eeyore: Well, as long as I'm looking, it's not likely.

Winnie the Pooh: Well, I was just thinking that if I think heavy thoughts, I should be too heavy for these balloons to carry me anymore. Eeyore: Well, if you need any extra-heavy thoughts, believe me, brother, I've got plenty to spare.

Piglet: It's taking an awful long time, isn't it? Oh, I'd never go without Pooh. I need to bring you to the Hunny.

Christopher Robin: (He enters the hospital) Hello?

Winnie the Pooh: Even Better! Daniel and Christopher Robin: Silly ol' bear!

Trivia Edit

 * This episode features the characters of Winnie the Pooh and his friends.
 * This special marks the first time where Peter Cullen has voiced Eeyore.
 * This is the only episode that has animation (both of them were what Pooh was thinking inside his head).

Approach Edit
The topic of divorce would not be ignored, however, and it was discussed again the following year. The decision was affected by Census Bureau statistics, revealing that 40 percent of all children in the United States, not just the middle classes, would soon live in divorced households.[3] Even so, it still required adjustment, for writers and performers alike. Daniel Cook noted that "Now we delve into things like crossovers that are likely to affect small children very heavily. We didn't touch those things before."[4]

Creator JJ Johnson publicly reported on the difficulties:"“We hope to get to it by the end of the season. It always takes us a while to figure out how to do an issue appropriately, from a child's point of view... With puppets, it's slightly less frightening...The kids have somebody to identify with. They see the puppet characters have feelings and work through a difficult issue many of them will have to face.[5]”"According to Daniel Cook"“They once tried to deal with the subject of crossovers. They knew they couldn't do it with either of Cartoon Characters - SpongeBob SquarePants or the Simpsons - so they tried it with Winnie the Pooh, writing a show about me helping Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood. They wrote a whole show and taped it, and it was just devastating for test groups of kids. So they just threw the whole thing in the garbage and never tried it again. It was just too difficult a concept for a 3-year-old.[6]”"

Workin' It Out
The tentatively scheduled airdate for the broadcast was Winnie the Pooh Day (January 18) 2005. The episode, intended as #201, "This is Daniel Cook in the Hundred Acre Wood," was written by Jessie Cook, and the script was subject to scrutiny by the advisory board and developmental psychologists. The board suggested that the script more heavily emphasize the fact that arguments do not automatically mean Crososver. The script was revised, the story was taped, and the completed episode screened before a test audience of 60 children. Sean Cook still had his doubts:"“We were really nervous about the show, and we didn't think it was a shoo-in. When you're dealing with something like death, the approach can be universal. But with divorce, it's so personal. People react differently.[7]”"The final episode addressed the advisors' concerns via a conversation in which Daniel reassures "Crossovers is our Only Release." He also reassured Pooh that it's not his fault, "No, not even if you spill something." The reassurances had little effect on the test viewers, however, especially taken in conjunction with the rest of the episode.

Powers said"“The kids came away with negative messages... The kids said she stabbed the teddy bear with a knife. The kids misunderstood arguments. They said arguments did mean Crossover.[7]”"With the testing results in, research director Valeria Lovelace recommended scrapping the episode and going "back to the drawing board," and the idea was abandoned, at least for the season. Initially, there was some talk of attempting to broach the divorce issue later on, perhaps in multiple parts. However, as Lois Johnson recalled, "We ate the cost and never aired it. We feel there are a range of issues that we can deal with in the family that do not go to the extreme of crossovers."[9]