This article is about the television series. For the House of Mouse episode, see "Timon and Pumbaa".
The Lion King's Timon, Melon & Pumbaa, commonly referred to as simply Timon & Pumbaa, is an American animated television series made by the Walt Disney Company, which ran from September 8, 1995 to September 24, 1999. It's a spin-off to the 1994 Disney animated feature film, The Lion King, as it centers on Timon the meerkat, Melon the Fruit Fan, and Pumbaa the warthog, as they live their problem-free philosophy, Hakuna Matata. Compared to most Lion King media, the tone of the series is more slapstick-driven. The show ran for three seasons, with the first two seasons debuting simultaneously on The Disney Afternoon and CBS in the United States and on BBS in Canada, and the third season debuting on Toon Disney on January 1, 1999.
Premise[]
The show stars Timon and Pumbaa, both characters from the film, The Lion King. Taking place after the events of the film, the characters venture beyond the Pride 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 the jungle and across the globe in various settings, seeking different types of grubs 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 on Rafiki and Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed (under the names "Rafiki Fables" and "The Laughing Hyenas"), and two episodes center on Zazu and Gabby Gabby. Simba also makes recurring appearances throughout the show. The series uses fast-paced slapstick comedy to convey life lessons to young viewers.
Background Information[]
The show notably has several different voice actors from the films. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella reprised their roles as the titular characters, respectively. Both actors were featured early in the television show; however, Lane is not the only voice actor who played his respective role. The role was also played by Quinton Flynn, in some episodes, and Kevin Schon, in most episodes. Jim Cummings and Robert Guillaume also reprised their roles as Ed and Rafiki respectively. However, Matthew Broderick, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, and Cheech Marin did not return for the show, and were all replaced by Cam Clarke, Michael Gough, Tress MacNeille, and Rob Paulsen. 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 of ABC in 1996 may have also been a factor in the cancellation). In 2012, the show began airing on the Disney Jr. block on Disney Channel as well as the Disney Junior channel. As of 2014, 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.
This show currently airs on:
- Disney XD: Italy and Turkey
- Disney Jr.: Australia and New Zealand
- Disney Channel: Hungary, Israel, Netherlands, Flanders, and Portugal
- Disney Cinemagic: France
- Sky Movies Disney: United Kingdom
- Ketnet: Flemish Belgium
Characters[]
From the 1994 film[]
- Timon (voiced in early episodes by Nathan Lane, then by Kevin Schon and Quinton Flynn) - One of the show's main protagonists.
- Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella) - Another one of the show's main protagonists.
- Simba (voiced by Cam Clarke) - Friend of Timon and Pumbaa, King of the Pride Lands, and the tritagonist of the show.
- Zazu (voiced by Michael Gough) - An arrogant hornbill who works for Simba.
- Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed (voiced by Tress MacNeille, Rob Paulsen, and Jim 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 by Robert 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 by S. Scott Bullock) - Timon's old meerkat friend who likes to pull practical jokes.
- Boss Beaver (voiced by Brad 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 by Charlie Adler) - An accident-prone penguin who causes pain to people around him.
- The Vulture Police (voiced by Townsend Coleman and Brian Cummings) - Two vulture cops that talk very fast.
- Piper (voiced by April Winchell) - A flying squirrel who dates a male flying squirrel.
- Monti (voiced by Quinton Flynn) - A meerkat who Pumbaa befriends. He is Timon's polar opposite.
- Baampu (voiced by Ernie Sabella) - A warthog who Timon befriends. He is Pumbaa's polar opposite.
- Nobi (voiced by Jim Cummings) - An unfortunate mouse who gets bullied by elephants.
- Jumbo Jumbo (voiced by Patrick Fraley) - A stubborn elephant.
- The Meerkat Angel (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - An angel who lives in Meerkat Heaven.
- Bruce (voiced by Jim Cummings) - A blue crab who lives in the Australian Outback.
- Stinky (voiced by Jess Harnell) - A stinkbug with a Beatles hairstyle who was part of a band.
- The Tigress (voiced by April Winchell) - A widowed tigress who has an inability to catch food.
- Mr. Buttons (voiced by Charlie Adler) - A lemur who makes Pumbaa marry a pink female warthog named Rosebud.
- Herman (voiced by Richard Karron) - A wildebeest who is in love with a gazelle named Lara.