The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, commonly referred to as simplyTimon & Pumbaa, is an American animated television series made bythe Walt Disney Company, which ran fromSeptember 8,1995 toSeptember 24,1999. It's a spin-off to the1994 Disney animated feature film,The Lion King, centering onTimon the meerkat andPumbaa the warthog, as they live their problem-free philosophy, Hakuna Matata. Compared to mostLion King media, the tone of the series is more slapstick-driven.
The show stars Timon and Pumbaa, both characters from the film,The Lion King. Taking place in an alternate continuity from the films, the characters venture beyond thePride Lands in search for wacky adventures, continuing to live by their problem-free philosophy Hakuna Matata. Timon and Pumbaa are normally seen having (mis)adventures in thejungle and across the globe in various settings, seeking different types ofgrubs as well as encountering new allies and enemies throughout their journey. Many episodes also highlight their friendship.
While the show focuses primarily on Timon and Pumbaa, four episodes center respectively onRafiki andShenzi, Banzai, and Ed (under the names "Rafiki Fables" and "The Laughing Hyenas"), and two episodes center onZazu.Simba also makes recurring appearances throughout the show. The series uses fast-paced slapstick comedy to convey life lessons to young viewers.
During the final season (1998), there was a change in writers and a new director, which seems to have led to the show being cancelled by Disney in 1998 (Disney's purchase ofABC in1996 may have also been a factor in the cancellation).
In 2012, the show began airing on theDisney Jr. block onDisney Channel as well as the Disney Junior channel. As of2014, reruns of the series were removed from the Disney Junior channel. However, only several select episodes are shown, and some episodes are also abruptly edited.
Pumbaa (voiced byErnie Sabella) - Another one of the show's main protagonists.
Simba (voiced byCam Clarke) - Friend of Timon and Pumbaa, King of thePride Lands, and the tritagonist of the show.
Zazu (voiced byMichael Gough) - An arrogant hornbill who works for Simba.
Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed (voiced byTress MacNeille,Rob Paulsen, andJim Cummings) - Three clumsy hyenas who pick on Timon and Pumbaa. They used to work for Scar and serve as one of the show's antagonists. They have their own episodes called "The Laughing Hyenas".
Rafiki (voiced byRobert Guillaume) - A wise baboon who gives good advice and is occasionally the butt of jokes. He has his own episodes called "Rafiki Fables".
Gopher (voiced by Jim Cummings) - A mole who is Zazu's assistant. He appears briefly in the movie and is expanded in the series.
Supporting characters[]
Speedy The Snail (voiced by Corey Burton) - A talking and singing snail that Timon and Pumbaa will never eat.
Fred (voiced byS. Scott Bullock) - Timon's old meerkat friend who likes to pull practical jokes.
Boss Beaver (voiced byBrad Garrett) - A loudmouth beaver who likes to make people work. He has two philosophies: Makuta Hamaka, which means "Work real hard," and Safety First.
Irwin (voiced byCharlie Adler) - An accident-prone penguin who causes pain to people around him.
Unlike theLion King movies, which are already out on DVD, this TV show has only appeared on VHS, and has for a time faded from existence shortly afterwards in terms of official airings. However, as of2019, the show has since been made available on theDisney+ streaming service.
The Lion King serves as the backdoor pilot for this show.
The series is the first and only instance in theLion King franchise where humans make onscreen appearances, as the films andThe Lion Guard do not depict or even mention humans, though they do have allusions to their existence.
Nala would be the only character fromThe Lion King to not make an appearance in the series.
Due to consistency issues,Timon had over three voice actors throughout the series.
