The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa

The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa (also known as simply Timon & Pumbaa) is an American animated spin-off television series inspired by The Lion King that aired from September 8, 1995 – September 24, 1999 and was produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It aired on Fridays and later Mondays on the syndicated block The Disney Afternoon, with new episodes airing on Saturday mornings on CBS. Accessed 22 August 2019. Accessed 22 August 2019. The series later reran on Disney Channel, Toon Disney, and Disney Junior.
The show features Timon and Pumbaa as the main characters, as they venture beyond the African plains in search of wild, wacky adventures, continuing to live by the phrase Hakuna Matata. Rafiki, Zazu, and the hyena trio are also given their own segments occasionally. The series uses fast-paced slapstick comedy in order to convey life lessons to young viewers.
==Premise==
The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa follows Timon and Pumbaa as they continue to live according to the Hakuna Matata lifestyle, having (mis)adventures in the Pride Lands, their jungle home, and across the globe in various settings, such as Canada, the United States, France, and Spain.
==Characters==
===Original Lion King characters===
===Supporting characters===
 
===Villains and antagonists===
==Episodes==
Season	Episodes	Episodes	Originally aired 	Originally aired
Season	Full 	Segments	Season premiere 	Season finale
1 	25 	53 	September 8, 1995	December 29, 1995
2 	21 	40 	September 2, 1996	November 25, 1996
3 	39 	78 	January 1, 1999 	September 24, 1999
The episodes are usually split into two 11-minute segments. "Once Upon a Timon" and "Home is Where the Hog Is" are the only half-hour episodes of the series, being considered two-part specials. Occasionally, a music video is featured after the second segment of an episode during the first season, making said episode consist of three segments. The music video segments include "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", "Yummy Yummy Yummy", and "Stand By Me".
In the Fall of 1995, 13 episodes aired on Friday afternoons on the syndicated Disney Afternoon block while 12 more episodes aired on Saturday mornings on CBS. In the Fall of 1996, 13 new episodes aired on The Disney Afternoon on Mondays with 8 more airing on CBS.
===Season 1 (1995)===
===Season 2 (1996)===
===Season 3 (1999)===
After Season 2, the show was originally cancelled due to Disney purchasing ABC. However, in 1998, Disney ordered a 39-episode third season due to overseas demand. For this season, the show had a new set of writers and directors and was produced by the Canadian animation studio Studio B Productions for Walt Disney Television Animation. The episodes now open with the same title card artwork that is used in "Catch Me if You Kenya" and the Timon & Pumbaa logo that usually appeared at the frame is gone. These episodes premiered in the United States on the now-defunct Toon Disney in 1999.
==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. Accessed 24 January 1995. Accessed 24 January 1995. 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.
For the first two seasons, Roberts Gannaway and Tony Craig served as the show's executive producers. As of Season 3, the series was produced by Chris Bartleman and Blair Peters, with Tedd Anasti and Patsy Cameron serving as the executive producers. Gannaway stated that he and Craig wanted to expand on Timon and Pumbaa's personalities as a comedy team to keep the series fresh and to keep the show interesting, they decided to not have Timon and Pumbaa be locked into the Serengeti, but allow them to explore the world and meet different kinds of animals. Accessed September 1998. 
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. 
As was common for Disney animated shows at the time, the animation production was done by a consortium of overseas animation studios, including Walt Disney Television Animation (Australia) Pty. Limited, Toon City, Wang Film Productions, Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd., Sunmin Image Pictures Co., Sunwoo Animation, Koko Enterprises, Toonz Animation, Jaime Diaz Productions, Shanghai Morning Sun Animation and Studio B Productions.
Upon its premiere, Timon & Pumbaa was accompanied with a marketing campaign, which included tie-ins with Burger King, KFC, and SpaghettiOs.
===Broadcast===
The first two seasons of the show aired simultaneously on The Disney Afternoon and CBS, whereas the third and final season aired on Toon Disney. Reruns of the series aired on Disney Channel from 1997 to 2000 and later from 2006 to 2008. Reruns were shown on Toon Disney up until the channel's demise on February 8, 2009. As a result, the show went off the air for three years.
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.
On January 21, 2017, Timon & Pumbaa was one of the shows presented to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Disney Channel France.
====International broadcasts====
*Middle East - Jeem TV and Ajyal TV
*Japan - Cartoon Network Japan and Disney Channel
*Australia and New Zealand - Boomerang and Disney XD
*Korea - Disney Channel Korea and KBS1
*India - Disney Channel 
*Indonesia - MNCTV and SpaceToon
*Finland - MTV3, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network
*United Kingdom & Ireland - Disney XD, Disney Junior, CITV and Disney Channel
*Italy - Toon Disney and Disney Junior
*Germany - Disney Channel and Kabel eins
*France - Toon Disney and Disney XD
==Home media==
===VHS releases===
====US releases====
Six VHS cassettes containing 18 episodes of the series were released in the United States under the name Timon & Pumbaa's Wild Adventures.
*Hangin' with Baby - January 30, 1996
*Grub's On - January 30, 1996
*True Guts - January 30, 1996
*Don't Get Mad, Get Happy - May 8, 1996
*Live & Learn! - May 8, 1996
*Quit Buggin' Me - May 8, 1996
====European and Australian releases====
Three VHS cassettes containing 21 episodes of the series were released in Europe and Australia. The first of these releases includes a newly-animated wraparound in which Pumbaa gets struck by lightning and develops amnesia and Timon tries to get his friend to recall the events from selected episodes of the series (and occasionally, the original film).
*Around the World with Timon & Pumbaa - September 12, 1996 / June 7, 2004 (re-release)
*Dining Out with Timon & Pumbaa - August 15, 1997 / March 14, 2005 (re-release)
*On Holiday with Timon & Pumbaa - August 15, 1997 / March 14, 2005 (re-release)
===DVD releases===
Three DVDs containing 21 episodes of the series were released in Europe, Australia, and Japan. Additionally, a triple set containing episodes from said DVDs was released in Australia.
*Around the World with Timon & Pumbaa - June 7, 2004
*Dining Out with Timon & Pumbaa - March 14, 2005
*On Holiday with Timon & Pumbaa - March 14, 2005
*Triple Pack - June 6, 2012
===Video on demand===
====United States====
As of November 12, 2019, the series has been made available in its entirety on Disney+, in remastered HD format. Accessed 12 November 2019.
In 2015, the episode "Don't Be Elfish/Lights, Camera, Traction" was presented on Disney Channel on Demand and WatchDisneyChannel.com, as part of Disney Channel Fa-la-la-lidays.
====International====
The first two seasons of the show were made available on the DisneyLife streaming service in the United Kingdom.
The entire series is currently available for purchase on Amazon Instant Video in Germany.
==Awards and nominations==
Award	
Outcome	
Daytime Emmy Awards	
Daytime Emmy Awards	
Daytime Emmy Awards
1996 – Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program – Nathan Lane (for playing "Timon")	
Won	
1996 - Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program - Ernie Sabella (for playing "Pumbaa")	
Nominated	
1996 - Outstanding Sound Mixing – Special Class - Michael Jiron, Dan Hiland, Melissa Ellis, Jim Hodson, Allen L. Stone, Bill Koepnick, Joseph D. Citarella, and Deb Adair	
Nominated	
1997 – Outstanding Sound Mixing – Special Class – Deb Adair, Jim Hodson, Melissa Ellis, Michael Beiriger, Dan Hiland, Joseph D. Citarella, Allen L. Stone, and Michael Jiron	
Won	
1997 – Outstanding Individual in Animation – Kexx Singleton (for "Beethoven's Whiff")	
Won	
1997 - Outstanding Music Direction and Composition - Stephen James Taylor	
Nominated	
Annie Awards	
Annie Awards	
Annie Awards
1997 - Best Individual Achievement: Directing in a TV Production - Roberts Gannaway and Tony Craig (for "Beethoven's Whiff / Bumble in the Jungle / Mind Over Matterhorn")	
Nominated	
1997 - Best Individual Achievement: Storyboarding in a TV Production - Bob Logan (for "Bumble in the Jungle")	
Nominated	
1997 - Best Individual Achievement: Production Design in a TV Production - Mike Moon (for "Bumble in the Jungle")	
Nominated	
1997 - Best Individual Achievement: Production Design in a TV Production - Kexx Singleton (for "Beethoven's Whiff")	
Nominated	
1997 - Best Individual Achievement: Production Design in a TV Production - Sy Thomas (for "Bumble in the Jungle")	
Nominated	
1997 - Best Individual Achievement: Character Animation - Bob Baxter (for "Beethoven's Whiff")	
Nominated	
Humanitas Prize	
Humanitas Prize	
Humanitas Prize
1997 - Children's Animation Category - Roberts Gannaway (for "Once Upon a Timon")	
Nominated	
Golden Reel Awards	
Golden Reel Awards	
Golden Reel Awards
2000 - Best Sound Editing - Television Animated Series - Sound - Jennifer Martens, Charles Rychwalski, Eric Hertsguaard, Rick Hammel, Kenneth Young, and David Lynch (for "War Hogs / The Big No Sleep")	
Nominated	
2000 - Best Sound Editing - Television Animation - Music - Fil Brown and Liz Lachman (for "Hot Air Buffoons")	
Nominated	
2000 - Best Sound Editing - Television Animation - Music - Brian F. Mars and Liz Lachman (for "Steel Hog / Dealer's Choice Cut")	
Nominated	
==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 and production secretary, Ford Riley, not only went on to develop the latter, but 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 crew (including executive producers Tony Craig and Roberts Gannaway) went on to work on House of Mouse and Leroy & Stitch. The Timon and Pumbaa-centric episodes of the former and the duo's cameo in the latter most likely served as tributes to the show.
==Trivia==
* The show consists of 85 episodes. This makes Timon & Pumbaa one of the few Disney animated series at the time to last for more than 65 episodes.
* The two half-hour episodes, "Once Upon a Timon" and "Home is Where the Hog Is", explain Timon and Pumbaa's origins and how they came to be wandering loners. The former, however, was contradicted by The Lion King 1½, which may indicate that said episode and 1½ exist in two separate timelines.
* The series is the first (and so far only) Lion King-related media where humans make physical appearances.
** It is also the first Lion King-related media to feature locations outside of the Serengeti, the second being The Lion Guard.
* Not counting Mufasa and Scar, Nala is the only major character from the original film to not return in the series.
* Timon & Pumbaa gets referenced in some 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 also referenced in the House of Mouse episode "King Larry Swings in".
* Timon is occasionally described by some characters as a "rat thing" throughout the show. This was Nathan Lane's own description of Timon. Accessed 1996. 
* Despite the fact that the series takes place after the first film, it does contain a few inconsistencies with said film, though many of them may have explanations:
** Timon and Pumbaa are shown to live in the jungle, despite the original film (taking place before the series) showing them in the Pride Lands after Scar's death. However, it's possible that they just make frequent visits in the Pride Lands (at least until Kiara's presentation), which is showcased in the series. This is also because, according to several official media, Timon and Pumbaa left the Pride Lands to have their own wacky adventures.
** The episodes "Congo on Like This" and "Shake Your Djibouti" show Simba residing in the jungle with the duo as well, even though in the first film, he is now the king of Pride Rock living in the Pride Lands. However, it is likely that either these two episodes take place during Simba's exile in the jungle, (thus making them whole episode flashbacks as well as midquels to the original film) or Simba merely visits the duo from time to time, which is also implied at the end of the subsequent third film, although the character information page on the book adaptation of "Congo on Like This" implies that it's the former case for at least that episode. 
** In "Never Everglades", Timon argues that they should not raise a kid of a different species, yet they have already raised a child outside of their own kind. Although, this may be because Timon and Pumbaa took Simba in as a new friend and additional member of their Hakuna Matata lifestyle as they believed he was an outcast just like them, whereas Pumbaa Jr. was hatched in an egg Pumbaa believes he laid, thus making them believe they are "mother" and son.
** In "Zazu's Off-by-One Day" and Around the World with Timon & Pumbaa, Scar makes small, non-speaking cameos despite being killed in the original film. While the latter was likely intentional due to Timon trying to restore Pumbaa's memories, the former remains a mystery (although it is possible that it's his dead body but unlikely considering the hyenas ripped him apart).
** The rest of Shenzi's clan are absent in the series. It's quite possible the clan disbanded after Scar died in the film, leaving only the trio. 
==Media==
Timon & Pumbaa Opening 1|The opening sequence for the Season 1 episodes that aired on the syndicated Disney Afternoon block
Timon and Pumbaa Intro|The opening sequence for the Season 2 episodes that aired on the syndicated Disney Afternoon block
CC 12 - Timon and Pumbaa Opening HD|The opening sequence for the Season 1 and 2 episodes that aired on CBS
Timon & Pumbaa Intro|The opening sequence for Season 3
Timon and Pumbaa promo 1995|A 1995 premiere promo for The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
Timon and Pumbaa promo 1995-2|A 1995 premiere promo for The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
Timon & Pumbaa Fun Fridays promo|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa Fun Fridays promo (featuring Bill Nye)
Timon & Pumbaa Promo- Today's Special (1995)|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa CBS promo
Timon & Pumbaa Promo- Dinner (1995)|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa CBS promo
Disney Channel promo - The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa (1997)|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa 1997 Disney Channel promo
Disney Channel promo - The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa (1997, second promo)|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa 1997 Disney Channel promo
Toon Disney Timon and Pumbaa- Don’t Be a Mook Promo (1998)|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa 1998 Toon Disney promo
Timon and Pumbaa Promo "What is Hakuna Matata?" (Toon Disney) (2004)|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa 2004 Toon Disney promo
Timone and Pumba Trailer Official Disney Junior Africa|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa Disney Junior Africa promo
Toon Disney Pumbaa Bowl VI This Sunday! (January 2004)|Pumbaa Bowl VI promo
Toon Disney Promo|A Toon Disney promo featuring The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
Toon Disney The Great Toon Weekend Getaway (2006-2008)|A Toon Disney promo featuring The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
Toon Disney 2x Toons Weekend Promo (2004)|A Toon Disney promo featuring The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
Timon and Pumbaa bumpers (RARE)|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa bumpers
Toon Disney Bumper- Timon & Pumbaa (1998)|The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa 1998 Toon Disney bumper
==References==
Category:Television shows
Category:Real world