The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa is an American animated buddy comedy television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It was based on Disney Animation's 1994 film The Lion King, centering on Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog as they continue to live by their problem-free philosophy hakuna matata. Compared to most other The Lion King media, the tone of the series is more slapstick comedy-oriented.
Ernie Sabella reprised his role as Pumbaa for the show's entire run, while Nathan Lane reprised his role as Timon in ten episodes, the last of which being "Paraguay Parable".
The show ran for three seasons, with the first two as part of the syndicated The Disney Afternoon block, CBS, and the third season on Toon Disney. It aired from September 8, 1995, to September 24, 1999. It is the first Lion King-related media to feature on-screen appearances by humans. It is also the first of two television series to be based on the film, the second being The Lion Guard (2016–2019).
Bobs Gannaway and Tony Craig, who would later work on shows like 101 Dalmatians: The Series, House of Mouse, and Lilo & Stitch: The Series, served as the show's executive producers for the first two seasons. As of Season 3, the series was produced by Chris Bartleman and Blair Peters, with Tedd and Patsy Cameron-Anasti (who have previously worked on DuckTales and The Little Mermaid TV series) serving as the executive producers.
Premise
The show stars Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog, both characters from The Lion King. Taking place after the events of the movie, Timon and Pumbaa continue to live according to the hakuna matata lifestyle, as they venture beyond the Pride Lands and go on adventures. From the jungles of Africa to other places around the world: Europe, Asia, and Americas, the duo is shown being on various quests and misadventures, either in search for food, fun, napping spots, valuables, and as well as escape from danger such as predators, encountering various new allies and enemies throughout their journey. Whereas the show focuses on Timon and Pumbaa, Simba makes appearances in some episodes, often accompanying Timon and Pumbaa. Additionally, two episodes are focused on Zazu, and four episodes center respectively on Rafiki and the hyena trio Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, named Rafiki Fables and The Laughing Hyenas.
Episodes
Characters
Main
- Timon (voiced in early episodes by Nathan Lane, reprising his role from The Lion King, Quinton Flynn in Season 1 and Kevin Schon in Seasons 2–3) is one of the show's two main protagonists. Schon later provided Timon's voice in The Lion Guard.
- Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella) is one of the show's two main protagonists. Sabella reprises his role from The Lion King.
The Lion King alumni
The following additional characters from The Lion King appear in this series:
- Simba (voiced by Cam Clarke) was the protagonist of the original The Lion King film and best friend of Timon and Pumbaa and the son of the late Mufasa. He is the current king of the Pridelands after overthrowing his uncle Scar as revenge for Mufasa's brutal demise Simba witnessed as a cub. In the series, he occasionally is the voice of reason around Timon and Pumbaa's antics. Clarke later provided Simba's singing voice in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.
- Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillaume) is a wise mandrill who gives good advice. Guillaume reprises his role from The Lion King.
- Zazu (voiced by Edward Hibbert) is a pompous hornbill who works as Simba's majordomo as well as jungle administrator. Edward Hibbert later provided Zazu's voice in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1½.
- Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed (voiced by Tress MacNeille, Rob Paulsen, and Jim Cummings respectively) are three buffoonish hyenas who are the late Scar's former henchmen and are usually spending their time looking for food, though their attempts to get it tend to backfire. Cummings reprises his role of Ed from The Lion King, with Paulsen and MacNeille replacing Cheech Marin and Whoopi Goldberg as Banzai and Shenzi, respectively.
- Gopher (voiced by Ernie Sabella) is Zazu's chief lieutenant. He was portrayed by Jim Cummings in The Lion King.
Supporting
- Speedy (voiced by Corey Burton imitating Bing Crosby) is a laid-back blue snail who can talk and sing. Timon and Pumbaa originally planned to eat him, but ended up becoming friends with him instead. They often find themselves rushing to have to save Speedy from dangerous situations.
- Fred (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) is a maniacal meerkat who is an old friend of Timon. He loves to laugh and play around, as well as pulling practical jokes. He often uses Timon and Pumbaa as his victims, although they don't find his jokes very funny.
- Boss Beaver (voiced by Brad Garrett) is a stereotypical beaver whose life philosophy is the exact opposite of Hakuna Matata. He values hard work and is sometimes too harsh on his employees. He also emphasizes the importance of safe work conditions.
- Irwin (voiced by Charlie Adler) is a dimwitted, accident-prone penguin whose bad luck seems to be terribly contagious. Timon and Pumbaa became his friends after they were stranded in Antarctica and Irwin had two extra tickets to a cruise ship. They will try to avoid him at all costs.
Antagonists
- Quint (voiced by Corey Burton) is Timon and Pumbaa's human archenemy and the main antagonist of the series. He is a man of many disguises and his role varies from episode to episode, from mildly bothersome antagonist to full villain.
- Toucan Dan (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a criminal toucan, wanted by the police. He is known for being a sly con-artist and always manages to trick Timon and Pumbaa (or, as seen in his debut episode, only Timon) into helping him in his schemes and cons.
- Cheetata and Cheetato (voiced by Rob Paulsen and Jim Cummings respectively) are a pair of sophisticated cheetahs who hunt for their prey, enemies of Timon and Pumbaa and of Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Although hard to tell apart, aside from their voices, Cheetata appears to be more eager and aggressive while Cheetato seems more likely to think things through and is the most conniving.
- Mr. Bear (voiced by Jim Cummings) is a large brown bear with a very short temperament who Timon and Pumbaa often run into. He can be quite menacing and dangerous, but at least one episode shows that deep inside he is a nice guy.
- The Three Natives (voiced by Jeff Bennett) are a trio of natives who are really university students. Their "chief" is also a university student, and usually precedes what he says with "Bungala bungala!"
- Little Jimmy (voiced by Joe Alaskey) is a cute yet dangerous bluebird who is a criminal mastermind. He also has two voices: a cute, innocent voice to pass himself off as a hatchling and a gruff voice to prove his true maturity.
History
Production
On January 24, 1995, it was announced that a Lion King television series starring Timon and Pumbaa was set to premiere during the fall, as part of The Disney Afternoon. Gary Krisel, who was then president of Walt Disney Television Animation, found Timon and Pumbaa to be the best new comedy team to come on the scene for a long time and that they had the potential to be just as classic as Abbott and Costello, Hope and Crosby, Martin and Lewis, and Nichols and May. According to one of the show's writers Kevin Campbell, at the beginning of the series, he and Gannaway made a giant list of puns using country names to open the doors on how many places they could go. After figuring out which funny animal or obstacle situation Timon and Pumbaa would face, they used a "Which Animals Live Where" atlas reference book to find where in the world an episode could take place and check a list of country puns they could pick.
On March 23, 2012, the show returned to television when Disney Junior was launched as its own channel. However, only selected episodes were shown and some episodes were abruptly edited (presumably due to scenes being deemed inappropriate for preschoolers). As of 2014, the show was removed from the channel. In Russia, however, the show continued to air until the channel closed in 2022.
Marketing
Upon its premiere in the United States, the show was accompanied with a marketing campaign, which include promotional tie-ins with Burger King (the same promotional partner for the original theatrical and home video releases of The Lion King), KFC and Campbell's through its Franco-American brand's SpaghettiOs.
Music
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Notes
|-
| "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
| Music video
|-
| "Yummy Yummy Yummy"
| Music video
|-
| "Stand by Me"
| Music video
|-
| "Alone Together"
| From the episode "Once Upon a Timon"
|-
| "Beethoven's Whiff"
| Musical episode
|-
|-
| "Bumble in the Jungle"
| Musical episode
|}
Home media
VHS releases
North American releases
Six VHS cassettes containing 18 episodes were released in the United States and Canada under the name Timon & Pumbaa's Wild Adventures. Also in the same two North American countries, a double-feature LaserDisc contains the series' first two volumes, Hangin' with Baby and Grub's On.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! VHS name
! Season(s)
! Episode count
! Release date
! Episodes include
! Stock number
|-
| Hangin' With Baby
| rowspan=6|1
| rowspan=6|3
| rowspan=3|January 30, 1996
|
- "Never Everglades"
- "To Kilimanjaro Bird"
- "Rafiki Fables: Good Mousekeeping"
| 6705
|-
| Grub's On
|
- "Saskatchewan Catch"
- "French Fried"
- "The Laughing Hyenas: Big Top Breakfast"
| 6706
|-
| True Guts
|
- "The Pain in Spain"
- "How to Beat the High Costa Rica"
- "The Laughing Hyenas: Cooked Goose"
| 6709
|-
| Don't Get Mad, Get Happy
| rowspan=3|May 8, 1996
|
- "Yosemite Remedy"
- "Kenya Be My Friend?"
- "Rafiki Fables: The Sky Is Calling"
| 6711
|-
| Live & Learn!
|
- "The Law of the Jungle"
- "Uganda Be an Elephant"
- "Be More Pacific"
| 7646
|-
| Quit Buggin' Me
|
- "Frantic Atlantic"
- "Swiss Missed"
- "Going Uruguay"
| 7647
|}
International releases
Three titles containing 21 episodes were released in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East, South Africa, and South America each containing six episodes and a music video. These three titles were released on VHS, LaserDisc, Video CD and DVD. The first release, Around the World with Timon And Pumbaa, features an original story told through bridging sequences in which, after Pumbaa develops amnesia from a lightning strike, Timon tries to restore his friend's memory through the episodes featured on that video.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!VHS name !!Episode titles !!Release date
|-
| Around the World with Timon & Pumbaa || style="text-align:center;"|"Boara Boara"<br>"Yukon Con"<br>"Saskatchewan Catch"<br>"Stand by Me" (music video episode)<br>"Brazil Nuts"<br>"Truth or Zaire"<br>"Never Everglades" || September 12, 1996<br>Re-released: June 7, 2004
|-
| Dining Out with Timon & Pumbaa || style="text-align:center;"|"French Fried"<br>"Russia Hour"<br>"Swiss Missed"<br>"To Kilimanjaro Bird"<br>"Don't Break the China"<br>"Rocky Mountain Lie"<br>"Yummy Yummy Yummy" (music video episode) || August 15, 1997<br>Re-released: March 14, 2005
|-
| On Holiday with Timon & Pumbaa || style="text-align:center;"|"Kenya Be My Friend?"<br>"South Sea Sick"<br>"Uganda Be an Elephant"<br>"The Pain in Spain"<br>"How to Beat the High Costa Rica"<br>"You Ghana Join the Club"<br>"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (music video episode) || August 15, 1997<br>Re-released: March 14, 2005
|}
Video on demand
United States
The series was made available in its entirety on Disney+ since its November 12, 2019 launch, in remastered high definition.
The entire series is currently available for purchase on Amazon Instant Video in Germany.
The series is available in its entirety on Disney+, where the streaming service is available.
Accolades
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Nominee(s)
!Result
|-
| rowspan="3" |1996
| rowspan="7" |Daytime Emmy Awards
|Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class
|<small>Melissa Ellis</small>
<small>Jim Hodson</small>
<small>Dan Hiland</small>
<small>Joseph D. Citarella</small>
<small>Bill Koepnick</small>
<small>Deb Adair</small>
<small>Allen L. Stone</small>
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program
|Nathan Lane
- For playing Timon
|
|-
|Ernie Sabella
- For playing Pumbaa
|
|-
| rowspan="11" |1997
|Outstanding Individual in Animation
|Kexx Singleton
- For the episode "Beethoven's Whiff"
|
|-
|Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class
|<small>Deb Adair</small>
<small>Jim Hodson</small>
<small>Melissa Ellis</small>
<small>Michael Beiriger</small>
<small>Dan Hiland</small>
<small>Joseph D. Citarella</small>
<small>Allen L. Stone</small>
<small>Michael Jiron</small>
|
|-
|Outstanding Music Direction and Composition
|Stephen James Taylor
|
|-
|Outstanding Sound Editing - Special Class
|<small>Bill Kean</small>
<small>Thomas A. Harris</small>
<small>Fil Brown</small>
<small>David Lynch</small>
<small>Robbi Smith</small>
<small>Brian F. Mars</small>
<small>Eric Hertsguaard</small>
<small>Kris Daly</small>
<small>Michael Warner</small>
<small>Phyllis Ginter</small>
<small>William Griggs</small>
<small>Jennifer Mertens</small>
|
|-
| rowspan="6" |Annie Awards
|Best Individual Achievement: Storyboarding in a TV Production
|Bob Logan
- For the episode "Bumble in the Jungle"
|
|-
|Best Individual Achievement: Directing in a TV Production
|Roberts Gannaway<br>Tony Craig
- For the episode "Bumble in the Jungle + Beethoven's Whiff / Mind Over Matterhorn"
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |Best Achievement in Production Design
|Mike Moon
- For the episode "Bumble in the Jungle"
|
|-
|Kexx Singleton
- For the episode "Beethoven's Whiff"
|
|-
|Sy Thomas Tex
- For the episode "Bumble in the Jungle"
|
|-
|Best Individual Achievement: Character Animation
|Bob Baxter
|
|-
|Humanitas Prize
|Children's Animation
|Roberts Gannaway
- For the episode "Once Upon a Timon"
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2000
| rowspan="3" |Golden Reel Awards - Motion Picture Sound Editors
|Best Sound Editing - Television Animated Series - Sound
|<small>Jennifer Mertens</small>
<small>Charles Rychwalski</small>
<small>Eric Hertsguaard</small>
<small>Rick Hammel</small>
<small>Kenneth Young</small>
<small>David Lynch</small>
- For the episode "War Hogs / The Big No Sleep"
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|Best Sound Editing - Television Animation - Music
|Fil Brown<br>Liz Lachman
- For the episode "Hot Air Buffoons"
|
|-
|Brian F. Mars<br>Liz Lachman
- For the episode "Steel Hog / Dealer's Choice Cut"
|
|}
Other media
Video games
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Game
! Publisher
! Platform
! Release date
|-
| Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games
| THQ (SNES)<br />Disney Interactive (PC)
| Super NES<br />Microsoft Windows
| November 1997 (SNES)<br />December 15, 1995 (Windows)
|}
Impact and legacy
Some of the show's crew returned for The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, The Lion King 1½, and The Lion Guard. Show writer Ford Riley went on to develop the latter, and has since been a series creator, writer and lyricist on many Disney properties. Kevin Schon, who voiced Timon in the series as of its second season, reprised his role as the character in The Lion Guard (as well as its pilot film), along with some other related media, such as House of Mouse. Edward Hibbert continued to voice Zazu in the two direct-to-video follow-ups to The Lion King.
Much of the show's staff members (including executive producers Tony Craig and Bobs Gannaway) went on to work on House of Mouse and Lilo & Stitch: The Series.
References in other media
- A scene from the episode "Uganda Be an Elephant" is shown in the 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie Stepsister from Planet Weird.
- The title card artwork for the two Zazu-centered episodes is referenced in the House of Mouse episode "King Larry Swings in".