Timon and Pumbaa

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Timon and Pumbaa
The Lion King characters
Timon (left) and Pumbaa (right)
First appearance	The Lion King (1994)
Created by	Irene Mecchi Jonathan Roberts Linda Woolverton
Portrayed by	Timon: Max Casella (Musical) Pumbaa: Tom Alan Robbins (Musical)
Voiced by	Timon: The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure, Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable, Once Upon a Studio ) Timon and Pumbaa's Virtual Safari, The Lion Guard ) Jim Cummings (manly form in the Timon & Pumbaa episode "Isle of Manhood") Quinton Flynn (Timon & Pumbaa, The Lion King: Activity Center) Bruce Lanoil (Kingdom Hearts II, Disney Th!nk Fast, Wild About Safety shorts) Billy Eichner (2019 film & Mufasa: The Lion King) Pumbaa: Ernie Sabella (all appearances except where noted) Kevin Schon (in the Timon & Pumbaa episode "Beast of Eden") Jim Cummings (older in the Timon & Pumbaa episode "Amazon Quiver") Leslie Hedger (Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure) Seth Rogen (2019 film, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers & Mufasa: The Lion King)
In-universe information
Full name	Timon Berkowitz and Pumbaa Smith Simba and Bunga (adoptive sons) Nala (adoptive daughter-in-law) Kopa (adoptive grandson; in the books) Kiara (adoptive granddaughter) Kion (adoptive grandson) Kovu (adoptive grandson-in-law) Rani (adoptive granddaughter-in-law) Ma (mother; Timon) Max (uncle; Timon) Boaris (uncle; Pumbaa) Ernie (uncle; Pumbaa)

Timon and Pumbaa are an animated meerkat and warthog duo introduced in Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King and its franchise. Timon was played through his many appearances by Nathan Lane (in all three films and early episodes of the show), Max Casella (the original actor in Broadway musical), Kevin Schon (in certain episodes of the show), Quinton Flynn (in certain episodes of the show), Bruce Lanoil in the Wild About Safety shorts and Kingdom Hearts II, while Pumbaa is voiced by Ernie Sabella (in all of his traditionally animated speaking appearances), and was portrayed by Tom Alan Robbins in the original cast of the Broadway musical. In the CGI remake, the characters are portrayed by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, respectively.^[2] Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella first came to audition for the roles of the hyenas, but when the producers saw how well they worked together, they decided to cast them as Timon and Pumbaa.

As with many

Timon is an insouciant and fast-talking meerkat who is known for claiming Pumbaa's ideas as his own. Pumbaa is a warthog with flatulence problems but is also a brave warrior, charging into battle like a battering ram, and taking great offense if anyone who's not his friend calls him a pig, at which point he exclaims "They call me Mister pig!"—a reference to Sidney Poitier's line "They call me Mister Tibbs!" from the 1967 film In the Heat of the Night and then screams as he charges. Unlike real meerkats, Timon can walk on his hind legs, while in real life, meerkats walk on all four legs and can only stand on their hind ones.

Development

Conception

During production of The Lion King, Timon and Pumbaa were portrayed as children who grew up with Simba in the Pride Lands and fled with him to the jungle. Timon and Pumbaa's roles were later changed to make them "strangers and fellow outcasts" so that Simba would have someone to take him under their wing.^[4]

Timon and Pumbaa originally sang a song titled "Warthog Rhapsody", but it was ultimately replaced by "Hakuna Matata" as the filmmakers wanted to move the plot along and have Simba being shown turning his back on responsibilities.^[4] The "Hakuna Matata" musical sequence originally had a verse explaining Timon's backstory. In this version, Timon was an oddball amongst other meerkats from his former colony as he refused to work, which ultimately led to his exile. That scene was deleted as the filmmakers felt that it was not working, thus changing the scene to focus on Pumbaa's background instead.^[5]

According to George Scribner, Pumbaa was originally conceived as an elephant by Lion King screenwriter Linda Woolverton, but Scribner recommended that he be a warthog instead.^[6]

Voice

Originally, Nathan Lane auditioned for the role of

Tony Bancroft and Michael Surrey were given the assignment to animate Timon and Pumbaa, having previously animated Aladdin and Iago from Aladdin (1992) and Cogsworth and Lumière from Beauty and the Beast (1991). Surrey commented that since a warthog would eat a meerkat in real life, they have taken quite a few liberties in making them friends. As he watched Nathan Lane at the recording session, he was able to embody his distinct eyebrows and facial expressions into the character of Timon. Bancroft added that he would typically start the animation in most scenes because Pumbaa is "almost like a moving stage for Timon", noting that Timon is usually on Pumbaa's head or his nose or climbing all over him. Before he did any actual drawing, he talked the scene over to Surrey to make sure that what he was doing would work with what Surrey had in mind for Timon.^[9]

Music

Timon and Pumbaa sing the musical number "Hakuna Matata" (written by

Timon and Pumbaa also sing the beginning and end parts of the musical number "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", written by Elton John and Tim Rice. It was planned that the song was to be sung only by Timon and Pumbaa, but when the story reel was screened for John, he disliked the comical nature of the concept as he declared that the song was meant to follow "Disney's tradition of great love songs", and that it could "express the lions' feelings for each other far better than dialogue could". As a result, Rice wrote another draft of the song in which Timon and Pumbaa opened, while Simba, Nala, and the choir sang in the middle. This version of the song ended up being the finalized version, although John remained partial to the original lyrics.^[11][4]

Appearances

The Lion King

Timon and Pumbaa are played by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella. Timon was animated and created by Michael Surrey. They made their first appearances in the 1994 film when they chased away the vultures that swarmed around young Simba, who had collapsed from heat exhaustion. Timon and Pumbaa then took the comatose lion cub back to a small pool, where they splashed water on him to wake him up. After Simba is awakened by the two, they introduce themselves and welcome Simba to stay with them and follow their hakuna matata philosophy. At first, Simba is unsure about Timon and Pumbaa's lifestyle, but it is explained to him in the song "Hakuna Matata".

Many years later, while out on a musical walk with Timon, Pumbaa is distracted by a bug, which he follows into the jungle. The bug leads him right to a hungry lioness prowling around, who then tries to hunt down Pumbaa. She chases the warthog until Simba springs into action, and the two lions engage in conflict. When the lioness pins Simba, he recognizes her as Nala, his childhood playmate. They are happy to be together, but Timon is jealous after they leave for a night of romance. He and Pumbaa start singing the song "

The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa

Timon and Pumbaa starred in their own spin-off television series. The duo continues to live by their problem-free philosophy Hakuna Matata, having many adventures in their jungle home, as well as across the globe, such as the United States, Spain, and France. In this series, Timon and Pumbaa are given full names: Timon's is revealed to be "Timon Leslie Berkowitz" and Pumbaa's is revealed to be "Pumbaa Smith".

Being bug eaters, Timon and Pumbaa are often shown hunting for grubs of various species. There are, however, certain grubs that Timon and Pumbaa are willing to relent eating and decide to befriend, mostly those that have sentience and even the ability to speak, such as Speedy the snail. There are also certain species of bugs that they would not eat due to their notorious natures, such as stinkbugs. Timon and Pumbaa are also occasionally seen spreading their Hakuna Matata lifestyle to others, although they learn that such lifestyle does not work for everyone, such as humans and bees, as shown in the episodes "Swiss Missed" and "To Be Bee or Not to Be Bee" respectively. The series also highlights and expands on Timon and Pumbaa's friendship, showing their liking and occasional conflict with each other and them celebrating their own holiday called "Bestest Best Friend Day", which was established by Pumbaa to show how much he values their friendship.

It is revealed in the series that before Timon met Pumbaa, he had a best friend named Fred, who is a meerkat who loves to laugh and play around as well as pulling practical jokes. The episode "Isle of Manhood" also reveals Timon taking a manhood test in order to become a full-fledged meerkat. Timon also tends to get involved in "get-rich-quick" schemes throughout the series.

As usual, Pumbaa proves to be the brains of the duo, but Timon thinks that he is. It is shown in the series that Pumbaa is very popular among the jungle and usually gains the chance to live the glamorous life, but gives it up for Timon. Pumbaa's notorious odor also annoys Timon on some occasions, as shown in the episode "Scent of the South" where he berates Pumbaa for smelling bad, leading Pumbaa to seek help from a skunk expert to remove his odor. In the episode "Russia Hour", Pumbaa is shown to have an uncle named Boaris, who is very famous in Russia due to his ballet dancing skills. Pumbaa is also shown to have a deceased uncle named Ernie in "Sense & Senegambia". In another episode "New Guinea Pig", it is shown that Pumbaa's tusks can get in his way of doing some activities or passing through some things. As a result, Pumbaa starts to get tired of them and considers trading them to the three natives. The warthog later realizes how useful his tusks are and learns from Timon that they are an important part of what makes him who he is. It is also revealed that years before the episode "Madagascar About You", an arranged marriage has been set up for Pumbaa before he was even born.

The episode "Once Upon a Timon" reveals (one of the two versions of) Timon's origin and how he first met Pumbaa, where it is shown that Timon was a member of a colony of meerkats who each had a specific duty. The episode "Home is Where the Hog is" reveals that Pumbaa was a member of a sounder of warthogs who banished him due to his foul smell, and as a result, Pumbaa spent his life as a loner until he met and befriended Timon.

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

It is unclear whether Timon and Pumbaa have taken up residence at Pride Rock, or just make frequent visits. They serve as aides to Simba and are often called upon to protect his adventurous daughter Kiara, replacing Zazu's role as babysitters. Despite being bumbling, Simba trusts them to look after Kiara and does not blame them when Kiara escapes as Kiara is known to do so.

A few years later when a now adolescent Kiara goes on her first hunt, they are hired to make sure she won't get hurt. Furious that Simba broke his promise to let her hunt alone, Kiara leaves the Pride Lands to hunt outside the boundary. Timon and Pumbaa also teach Kovu how to have fun after he forgets due to years of indoctrination in hatred. When Kovu's pride, the Outsiders, ambush Simba, Timon is on Simba's side instantly, not even wanting to hear Kovu's explanation. Afterwards, they discover that Kiara has left Pride Rock (having left to find Kovu) and reveal this to Simba, much to the latter's annoyance as he had forbidden Kiara to leave Pride Rock in order to stop her from seeing Kovu again. Timon and Pumbaa later assist Simba and his pride in the battle against Kovu's vengeful and bitter mother Zira, and the Outsiders, but get chased off and trapped by a group of Outsider lionesses, until Timon threatens to use Pumbaa's tail as a gun and use his gas on them causing them to flee in fear. When Simba tries to make peace with Zira after Kiara convinces him that both prides "were one", he uses the same advice Timon and Pumbaa gave him when he was a cub (put the past behind you) showing how much he had learned from his old friends.

Timon and Pumbaa then return to Pride Rock with the pride and witness Kiara marry Kovu.

The Lion King 1½

Timon and Pumbaa are the main characters in this follow-up, which reveals an alternative version of Timon's origin and how he first met Pumbaa. The two are also revealed to have passed by and caused some key events in the first film before their first appearance. Timon, his mother Ma, and Uncle Max were part of a group of meerkats who lived on the savannah, but he was unable to do any job to a good standard, and almost led to the meerkats being eaten by the hyenas

Timon and Pumbaa appear with several of the film's other characters in the Disney Junior series The Lion Guard, which centers around Simba & Nala's second-born cub, Kion. During the series, which is set within the time gap in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride,^[12] Timon and Pumbaa are adoptive uncles of a young honey badger named Bunga, who is one of the members of the Lion Guard. When Bunga was an infant, he encountered Timon and Pumbaa singing "Utamu". Instantly smitten, Bunga had begun following them around. Pumbaa wanted to keep Bunga, but Timon didn't want to raise anymore kids since he and Pumbaa have already done so with Simba, but the two friends see that the honey badger wants to be with them as well. Before he accepted Bunga, Timon instructed the honey badger to climb a tree and fetch them some Utamu grubs. When Bunga had succeeded and given the grubs to Timon, the meerkat had allowed him to stay, and the three have lived together ever since.

The Lion King (2019)

Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen played Timon and Pumbaa (in the first instance of the latter being voiced by somebody other than Sabella) respectively in the 2019 CGI remake.^[13] Director Jon Favreau encouraged Rogen and Eichner, who did their voice recordings together, to improvise a lot.^[14]

Eichner said that "It's such a great role that allows you to do so much. But I've learned that the bigger the project and the bigger the names that you're working with, the more you have to ignore it. If you get to the soundstage and you're thinking, 'Oh my God, what a full-circle moment! Nathan Lane did it originally! Beyoncé's in this!' then you're paralyzed creatively. You just have to put that out of your head in order to get the job done."^[15] Eichner also talked about having "what some may consider a gay sensibility" that he brought to the table when he voiced Timon.^[16]

Rogen said that "As an actor, I 100 percent don't think I'm right for every role—there are a lot of roles I don't think I'm right for even in movies I'm making—but Pumbaa was one I knew I could do well. Truthfully, I probably would have been a little insulted if [Favreau] didn't ask me to."^[15]

Among the movie's vocal performances, Eichner and Rogen received particular praise by critics,^{[17][18] [19][20]} with A.V. Club's A.A. Dowd proclaiming: "Ultimately, only Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, as slacker sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa, make much of an impression; their funny, possibly ad-libbed banter feels both fresh and true to the spirit of the characters—the perfect remake recipe."^[21]

Other appearances

Timon and Pumbaa made regular appearances in the animated television series House of Mouse (2001–2002) as guests and also appeared in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse. An occasional running gag in the show involved Timon trying to eat Jiminy Cricket, only to be stopped by Pumbaa.

The two have made cameos in other Disney films and TV series. In