Fred the Meerkat

Fred is Timon's practical-joking meerkat friend from the Timon & Pumbaa TV series.
==Background==
Fred lived within or close by the jungle. He was a member of the meerkat colony, for whom he served as a castle guard and later, a back gate guard. He was best friends with Timon, who called the two "a zany pair." Fred pulled many practical jokes on Timon, such as the squirting flower, handshake buzzer, and whoopee cushion, and the duo did many activities together, including "bowling for buzzards." Fred was particularly fond of Timon's hyena jokes.
===Personality===
Fred is a natural born joker. He loves to laugh and play around, as well as pulling practical jokes. He often uses Timon and Pumbaa as his victims, but they don't find his jokes and pranks quite as funny.
There is one occasion, however, where Fred makes Timon lie down on a tree with sleeping howler monkeys on it and tries to make Pumbaa knock the tree so that the monkeys would fall on Timon. This proves that some of his practical jokes can go a bit too far.
Much like Timon, Fred also has a laidback personality and doesn't seem to take work too seriously, as shown when he leaves his guard post to get a snack when the Duke leaves the colony for the day, as well as napping on his job, which makes him unaware of the cobra's invasion until he encounters the predator. He is also shown to be encouraging and caring for Timon's feelings, as shown when he finds the Duke going away for the day Timon's chance to speak with Tatiana, knowing that he has a massive crush on her.
===Physical appearance===
Fred has the ordinary meerkat appearance. He's small, slim, and long-limbed. He has tan fur, a cream chest, brown paws, brown stripes, and an unusually dark red nose. Overall, his appearance is very similar to that of Timon's, aside from his nose and a patch of sandy hair on his head. Sometimes his eyes has a small pupil and a large one.
==Role in the series==
==="Tanzania Zany"===
Timon tells Pumbaa that Fred is coming to visit them in the jungle and tells he tells the warthog that he loves pulling practical jokes and that he loves hyena jokes. After Timon tells Pumbaa his latest hyena jokes, Fred shows up. He tricks Timon by making him believe that he has reformed and when he makes his friend shake his hand, Timon gets shocked by the hand buzzer.
Pumbaa starts telling Fred the latest hyena jokes Timon told him. Fred, however, thinks it was Pumbaa who made up the jokes, which makes Timon angry and try to get the warthog to leave. Fred tells Timon that Pumbaa doesn't have to leave and suggests that the three do some activities together. But Fred seems to hang out more with Pumbaa than his old friend. After realizing that he made Timon feel left out, Fred suggests that his old friend sits at a tree. He then tells Pumbaa that the tree Timon is at has sleeping howler monkeys and he's about to make the warthog knock the tree so the monkeys fall on Timon. Pumbaa refuses to do the prank because that's not what friends do to each other.
While Pumbaa goes to find bugs for Timon like he promised, Fred convinces Timon into pulling a humiliating practical joke on Pumbaa. While Timon is doing so, Pumbaa tells him that he wouldn't be friends with someone pulling a humiliating practical joke on him, making Timon feel guilty.
Timon and Pumbaa get to a big hole filled with leaves, which is a trap. When Timon whispers something to Pumbaa, the warthog knocks the tree Fred is standing on and the meerkat falls into the hole. Pumbaa has a feeling that he and Timon have gone too far and get in the hole to see if Fred's alright. Fred uses a ladder to climb back up and laughs at Timon and Pumbaa. The duo climb up and Timon kicks Fred back into the hole and he and Pumbaa are about to go flamingo fishing.
==="Mombasa-In-Law"===
This episode is where Fred impersonates Timon's Mother as an April Fool's prank on Timon and Pumbaa. He sends Timon a fake telegram saying that his mother is coming for a visit. After Timon reads the telegram, he builds a new house, purchases a briefcase that looks like he has a good job, and makes Pumbaa pretend to be his wife, since his mother expects him to become a "responsible contributing member of the meerkat society."
When Ma arrives, Timon shows her everything and tries to make her leave, but she returns and sits on the couch. After Timon shows his mother everything "his wife" can do, Ma doesn't think "Patty's" good enough for Timon to live with, so she decides to move in. She then tells Timon that she will not leave unless she meets a rich old movie star.
Timon makes Pumbaa pretend to be a rich old movie star who has romantic feelings for Ma and asks her to marry him. But Ma first wants to meet "Patty's" entire family and then she'll never bother Timon again. So Timon makes Pumbaa disguise as Patty's entire family. When Pumbaa becomes tired, he tells Ma that he's actually Timon's friend.
After Ma makes Timon tell her the truth, she reveals that she is actually Fred and that it's April Fool's Day. So Timon and Pumbaa put Fred in a rocket and send him to the moon.
==="Once Upon a Timon"===
Rafiki tells Zazu the story of how Timon became an outcast from his meerkat colony, of which Fred was in charge of guarding of the castle. When the Duke Meerkat leaves the colony for the day, Fred sneaks away to get a snack and tells Timon that it's now his chance to go on a date with Princess Tatiana, who has had Timon's eye for some time. Timon tells him that it's not possible since he has to guard the back gate and that he can get banished for leaving his post. But Fred tells him that he won't get banished if he doesn't get caught.
After what Fred told him, Timon uses a mop as a dummy to guard his post. After Timon leaves the back gate unattended, a cobra shows up and attacks the colony. When it approaches the castle, Fred was napping and assumes it was just a visitor until he looks up and screams in terror. After the cobra kidnaps Tatiana, Fred shows all the other meerkats (not including Timon) the princess' tiara covered in red paint resembling blood, making everyone think she's dead.
Everyone sees that Timon left his post and they go to Timon's house. After Timon gets away from the guards, he runs into the duke, who banishes him from the colony. As Timon leaves, he sees Fred guarding the back gate, indicating he had been demoted for failing to protect the castle. He gives Timon a sympathetic look before assuming a guarding stance.
==="Mind Over Matterhorn"===
Fred impersonates a Billy Goat guard in this episode. When Timon and Pumbaa get to a Matterhorn while on their way to Paris, France, they run into the "goat," who asks them for papers. Timon and Pumbaa, however, don't have the right papers to pass him, so they try various ways to pass the Billy Goat, all which end in failure.
Timon then gets an idea and he convinces the Billy Goat that a dollar can be a right paper. When Billy Goat is about to let them through, he makes the duo do a dance of "cha-cha-cha." While Timon and Pumbaa do so, they realize that they got tricked and see that the goat is Fred in disguise.
After Fred tells Timon and Pumbaa that they're on TV, Timon and Pumbaa reveal that they're actually a couple of goats in disguise and they use Fred as a volleyball.
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*In The Lion King 1½, there is a meerkat who looks strikingly similar to Fred in both appearance (minus the red nose and buck teeth) and personality. He says, "Dig!" at the end of the song "Digga Tunnah".
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:Disney characters
Category:Males
Category:Meerkats
Category:Neutral characters
Category:Adults
Category:African characters
Category:TV Animation characters
Category:Timon & Pumbaa characters
Category:Animated characters
Category:The Disney Afternoon characters
Category:Characters who break the Fourth Wall