Grubs (The Lion King)

Grubs are a species of invertebrates (also including larvae) from The Lion King franchise, first introduced in the 1994 Disney animated feature film The Lion King. They have been commonly featured in many media inspired by The Lion King - specifically in media connected to Timon and Pumbaa and serve as a source of diet for the two.
==Background==
Grubs in The Lion King franchise consist of many types of invertebrates in both adult and larval form - specifically arthropods, gastropods, and annelids. Several invertebrates referred to as "grubs" may contain hard shells, wings, or pincers. Most grubs are found in dark spaces, such as insides of logs or termite mounds depending on the area where they appear. In addition to the locations they are found within, they can be distinguished by spots, stripes, or even color. Unlike most animals in the Lion King franchise that show sentience, most grubs do not appear to be sentient and are often used as a source of food for other animals that eat grubs such as meerkats or warthogs.
===Origins===
The term "grub" originates from the term used for insect larvae, which is the second part of the life cycle of typical beetles prior to the pupa form. However, in the Lion King franchise, the term "grub" is used to refer to not just larvae but also various types of adult terrestrial invertebrates encountered throughout the franchise such as arthropods (insects, arachnids, or myriapods), annelids, and gastropods (such as snails).
==Appearances==
===The Lion King===
Leafcutter ants are first seen during the musical number, "Circle of Life" where they are seen carrying leaves on their mouths while they are scurrying on their way to attend the birth of Simba and below the ants are zebras on their way to attend the birth of Simba. Later in the film when Mufasa is teaching Simba about the Circle of Life, he mentions the animals all lions must respect from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope. As Mufasa approaches Zazu and engages into a conversation with him, Simba sees a grasshopper leaping by to which he tries to pounce on it and as Simba is learning how to pounce, Mufasa teaches him how to pounce on Zazu (in "The Morning Report" sequence included only in the Special Edition version, the grasshopper scene was omitted and was instead replaced by Simba trying to pounce on a gopher constantly appearing, though beetles are mentioned just before Simba pounces on him).
Later during the "Hakuna Matata" sequence where Simba learns to adapt his new life with Timon and Pumbaa, Simba asks them to know if they have food that lions eat (specifically meat), to which Timon explains to him that if he wants to live with them, he must eat the food which Timon and Pumbaa eat - specifically grubs. As the three approach a log, they find various grubs swarming inside, to which Simba asks Timon to know which food is that. Timon replies to him that the food he is eating is a grub, much to Simba's disgust. As Timon eats the larva he is holding, he tells him that larva he ate is delicious, followed by Pumbaa slurping up a worm, telling him that eating grubs is a satisfying meal. Timon then approaches a termite mound where he grabs a beetle, which he describes that eating grubs is delicious and filled with a pleasant crunch, just before completely consuming the grub he is holding. Pumbaa, with various grubs on his mouth, tells Simba that he will learn to eat grubs, and as Timon holds a leaf to stack many grubs, he finds a blue bug which he describes it as a cream-filled grub and later eats it. After telling Simba about how important it is too try new foods that he has never eaten before, Timon offers Simba to try a grub. Simba curiously grabs an orange grub, deciding to give it a try. All of a sudden, Simba consumes the grub and tells Timon that he likes it, just as he happily thanks Simba for trying new foods, just before transitioning into an adult lion. Later that night while observing the stars, Timon and Pumbaa see them and think the small dots seen in the sky remind them of fireflies; Simba replies to them that the stars remind him of what his late father Mufasa told him about the Great Kings of the Past.
Later while Timon and Pumbaa are happily strolling across the jungle with no lions around them, Pumbaa suddenly finds a blue rhinoceros beetle which he is about to eat. As Pumbaa attempts to eat the beetle, the plan to eat it was unsuccessful, as an adult lioness revealed to be none other than Nala appears only for Simba to realize that the lioness is Nala, much to Timon and Pumbaa's sadness. No grubs make further appearances throughout the remainder of the film.
===The Lion King II: Simba's Pride===
Kiara chases a butterfly while exploring the world around her to which as she chases it, Simba tells her to avoid chasing a butterfly, as it could lead her far away from Pride Rock (more often, the Outlands). Later when Timon and Pumbaa are tasked to watch for Kiara, the two become distracted as they approach a log full of grubs to which Kiara disgustedly reacts to them. As Pumbaa eats a grub, he reacts to it in disgust, telling him that he dislikes eating slimy grubs while Timon suddenly eats the crunchy grub, which he reacts to it in joy. As Timon and Pumbaa are arguing about which grub is tasty or not, Kiara suddenly sneaks off into the Outlands without getting noticed by the two. In the Outlands, termite mounds have also been featured around the barren landscape with the Outsiders inhabiting this faraway land. Nuka approaches Vitani who is looking for Kovu and while discussing with Nuka, he suddenly feels termites all over him while still talking to her about Zira who later approaches her son about the dangers of the Pridelander lions.
Many months later after Kovu and Kiara grow up into young adults, Kovu instructs Kiara how to pounce like him and encounters Timon eating some grubs. Kiara, however, approaches Timon to know what he is doing here just as the meerkat finds weaverbirds snacking on worms and as Timon attempts to frighten them away, one of them pecks Timon on the nose while trying to eat grubs just before Kiara and Kovu have fun with Timon and Pumbaa rushing through the birds. Butterflies later appear in the "Upendi" musical sequence where Rafiki tosses a passionfruit on a field of butterflies which start flying in flocks and later during the "Love Will Find a Way" musical sequence where Kiara observes a pair of butterflies in love together while trying to look for Kovu who was exiled from Pride Rock so she can reunite with him to which as the two reunite with each other, the butterflies pass by them again. No grubs make further appearances after that.
===The Lion King 1½===
Butterflies have been featured during the "That's All I Need" musical sequence followed by Timon himself covered in a pile of grubs just before slurping them while continuing to sing his own song. Timon suddenly dances on the grubs while another larva crawls on a ledge in the background only for the sequence to fade to Timon finding Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed surrounding him. When Timon and Pumbaa find a perfect home located in a jungle, the two of them feast on grub delicacies having fun with each other in the jungle. Later during a karaoke sequence of "Hakuna Matata", a ladybug was used for the karaoke sequence to which while singing, Pumbaa suddenly chews on the ladybug, causing Timon to interrupt the movie for a bit just before the two resume the movie sequence, bringing the grub back on screen to which Timon suddenly knocks the ladybug off the screen while the two continue singing. Furthermore, Simba engages in a snail-eating contest with Timon to know who consumes the snails the most, to which Pumbaa warns Timon that this is a bad idea to which during the competition, Timon attempts to eat the last snail. However, the snail's shell turns by itself to face Timon and the last snail suddenly hallucinates into Pumbaa who warns him that the snail contest was a bad idea, much to Timon's shock just as he faints on what the hallucination said to him just before the last snail leaves, resulting in Simba to win the snail-eating contest.
During the musical number "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", Timon tells Pumbaa that he will use a a spider to break up the relationship between Simba and Nala. As the spider attempts to strike them (also passing a female spider), the male spider suddenly stops and falls in love with her just as the spiders make a large web with hearts, much to Timon's failed plan. Later, Timon finds a beehive and attempts to send a swarm of bees to attack the couple only for the swarm to chase Timon, causing the plan to fail again. Timon and Pumbaa later use a vine to trip over Simba and Nala only for the lions to tumble down a hill safely, launching Timon and Pumbaa into a tree to send in butterflies flying and surrounding the two lions also causing the plan to fail again. Later after Scar and his hyenas are defeated in a mighty battle in Pride Rock and Simba becomes the new king of Pride Rock, meerkats celebrate Timon's heroism where a line of meerkats holding butterflies reveals Timon with a hat of grubs on his head, just as he spins to deliver the grubs to the meerkats just as Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba celebrate in the jungle altogether while two meerkats using a large grub as a beach ball can be seen in the background just before the scene loops to Timon's mother at the theater telling her son Timon to rewind the movie so everyone can watch.
===Timon & Pumbaa===
Various species of grubs are featured in the TV series. It is shown in the series that grubs are preyed by other animals than Timon and Pumbaa, such as anteaters, eagles, and woodpeckers. There are some grubs that Timon and Pumbaa are willing to relent eating and decide to befriend, especially those that have sentience and even the ability to speak (such as Speedy the Snail, Stinky from "Rocky Mountain Lie", and the bumblebee from "Bumble in the Jungle"). There are also certain species of grubs that Timon and Pumbaa would not eat mostly due to their notorious natures, such as stinkbugs. Because Timon and Pumbaa are bug eaters, grubs are frequently seen throughout the series, with several episodes where they have a major focus (such as any episode featuring Speedy the Snail, an anteater tricking Timon and Pumbaa into having a competition to see who can catch the most grubs on one's own in "Paraguay Parable", Timon and Pumbaa helping a lost termite king find his way home in "Going Uruguay", Timon and Pumbaa being hired to catch two troublesome cockroaches in a hotel in "Roach Hotel, Timon and Pumbaa trying to catch a bookworm in "Library Brouhaha", Timon and Pumbaa rescuing butterflies from a butterfly collector in "Catch Me if You Kenya", or Timon and Pumbaa being captured by large bees in "To Be Bee or Not to Be Bee"). 
===House of Mouse===
Grubs are sporadically featured in House of Mouse, usually as Timon and Pumbaa's favorite food.
In the episode "Not So Goofy", a few grubs which were served to Timon and Pumbaa originally came from the Beast's itchy back which Goofy scratched it for him.
===The Lion Guard===
Various species of grubs have appeared in many episodes in the TV series based on The Lion King franchise. In the series, grubs are not only preyed on by Timon and Pumbaa, but are also preyed on by other types of animals that eat grubs (such as honey badgers, aardwolves, or aardvarks). In addition to having grubs being served as source of diet for animals that eat grubs as well as grubs themselves having background roles, certain episodes in the series focus on grubs the most (such as Bunga fetching Timon and Pumbaa some Utamu grubs in "The Search for Utamu", a termite infestation in "Too Many Termites", a poisonous scorpion affiliated with Scar in "The Scorpion's Sting", or snails belonging to local hostile mongooses in "Marsh of Mystery"). The roles of the grubs can vary depending on which episode they appear, especially when they appear in episodes named after them.
===The Lion King (2019)===
Grubs have also appeared in the 2019 reimagining of the classic film. In the film, leafcutter ants are seen on their way to attend the birth of Simba during the musical number "Circle of Life" and below the ants are zebras on their way to attend the birth of Simba. Later at night, Rafiki calmly sits at his tree quietly observing fireflies as well as other grubs on the tree. He then grabs a caterpillar and two more beetles to make a painting of Simba on a tree to help him remember the moment he had with Simba during his presentation just before night turns into day. The next day when Mufasa is lecturing Simba about understanding the importance of the Circle of Life, a spider can be seen crawling on its web just as Mufasa mentions the crawling ant as well while lecturing his son about the Circle of Life. Zazu mentions bees while doing the morning report just before Simba pounces on him during a pouncing lesson. After Mufasa orders Simba to stay in Pride Rock as he is about to take care of the hyenas, Simba encounters a rhinoceros beetle and attempts to pounce on it, chasing it across Pride Rock only to find his uncle Scar who tells him to return to his family's den just before Simba tells him about his desire of being king of Pride Rock.
The next day at the gorge when Scar teaches Simba to practice his roaring skills, Simba suddenly encounters a chameleon eating a dragonfly to which he roars at it, scaring off the chameleon, only to cause a wildebeest stampede, thanks to Scar tricking him to cause the stampede. Later after Mufasa was killed during the wildebeest stampede and Simba is rescued by Timon and Pumbaa in a very intense desert, the two take him to their jungle home where they encounter various animals feasting on grubs. When Timon arrives at the spot where the jungle neighbors are at, Pumbaa smash opens a log to find various grubs dwelling there, to which Pumbaa, Timon, a bushbaby, an elephant shrew, a bat-eared fox, a guinea fowl, and two dik-diks begin snacking on grubs just as Timon tells Simba that this is the great life. He then shows a caterpillar which he offers to Simba. After consuming the caterpillar, Simba feels satisfied of trying a grub for the first time. The next day when Simba is adapting his new life in the jungle, he attempts to catch two butterflies not noticing a topi nearby, to which the animals decide not to play with Simba due to him being an adult lion. As the topi leaves, the three approach a termite mound where the jungle animals are interacting with the mound. Timon and Pumbaa tell Simba to make a plan for the duo to which Simba tells them that he wants to do nothing, inadvertently pounding his paws onto the mound causing it to topple and unleash swarms of termites for Timon, Pumbaa, the guinea fowl, the elephant shrew, the bat-eared fox, the bushbaby, and two dik-diks to finally find grubs to eat the termites they found as they happily feast on the termites. Later that night, Timon and Pumbaa observe the stars which remind them of fireflies to which Simba explains to them that they remind him of the Great Kings of the Past which his late father Mufasa told him just as Simba grieves over his late father.
The next day, a tuft of Simba's mane floats on a river as a dragonfly flies on it, followed by a bee-eater bringing the mane to its nest followed by its mate removing it where it lands in a branch that gets eaten by a giraffe; later, after passing through the giraffe's system, a dung beetle rolls his dung ball across the desert with the tuft of Simba's mane on it to which his dung ball is suddenly smashed into bits rolling downhill (though the beetle reformed his dung ball) just as a wind current grabs the mane and later into one of the leafcutter ants carrying the mane which brings it to Rafiki who knows that Simba is alive. During the musical number "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", the bushbaby catches a butterfly and eats it and joins in an aardvark, a bat-eared fox, an elephant shrew, and two impalas with Timon and Pumbaa singing only to be scared off by Nala as an adult lioness. Later, butterflies are seen during the "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" sequence when Simba and Nala fall in love. At the end of the film, the dung beetle appears during the reprise of Circle of Life where he attends the presentation of Simba and Nala's newborn cub, along with Timon, Pumbaa, and the rest of the jungle neighbors.
==Other appearances==
===Virtual Safari===
In the Virtual Safari game included on Disc 2 in the Special Edition releases of The Lion King, grubs have been featured in two routes whether by boat or by jeep. If the player chooses the boat tour, a very rare Bobson's firefly appears in front of Timon and Pumbaa to which Pumbaa suddenly consumes it just as the boat continues strolling across the jungle quietly (with Timon and Pumbaa declaring the species extinct but delicious respectively). In the jeep tour if the player chooses left in the fast food area after escaping from a very angry rhino at a rhino crossing, Timon and Pumbaa suddenly order various grub-related products (such as maggot burgers, nachos with dung beetles, leaf-wrapped locusts and stink bug combos with termites, caterpillar fries [can be upgraded to centipedes and millipedes], lice cream cones, and weevils on sticks) which an attendant delivers the grubs in a bowl for Timon and Pumbaa to snack on.
In The Lion King 1½ version of Virtual Safari included on Disc 2 of the original edition, grubs can be seen when the wildebeest vehicle enters a room decorated with grub props when Timon, Pumbaa, Ma, and Uncle Max enter the ride for the first time. Grubs are also seen on one of the Timon cardboard cutouts when the player chooses left on the first Rafiki section in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" parody section. Animatronic grubs later appear during the parody of "It's a Small World" sequence where Uncle Max complains that he will never get the tune out of his head due to the grubs constantly singing. The vehicle suddenly becomes stuck which Pumbaa pushes the red button on the vehicle to accelerate the vehicle, causing the four to land into the savanna and out of the building.
==Video game appearances==
===The Lion King===
Grubs appear as collectible items in many versions of The Lion King video game. they appear as stationary in most levels where the player can collect them along the way. Grubs treated as items include Plain Beetle, Patterned Beetle, African Red Bug, and Blue BeetleThe Lion King SNES Manual (Page 7) which can positively affect Simba throughout the game and also serve as useful items for Timon or Pumbaa to collect in bonus levels. Other grubs that are harmful to the player include Flies, Spiders, Dragonflies, and Bombardier BeetlesThe Lion King SNES Manual (Page 7) which automatically end the player's gameplay in bonus levels Bug Toss and Bug Hunt respectively and the aforementioned four have a negative effect towards Simba.
Rhinoceros beetles (referred to as "bombardier beetles"The Lion King SNES Manual (Page 9) in the manual, despite their appearance) also appear as enemies in most versions, particularly found in the first level of the game. Jumping on or rolling over this beetle causes it to flutter in the air for a few seconds before exploding for a few seconds. The explosion caused by the rhinoceros beetle causes Simba to take extra damage, so the player must keep a distance from the beetle to avoid getting damage.
Spiders also appear in the "Hakuna Matata" level where they serve as enemies found on certain platforms. They scurry in an agile speed and can jump into another platform, making them a minor threat for Simba in the level. Unlike most enemies, spiders cannot be temporarily stunned by Simba's roar and can only be defeated by jumping on them.
===Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games===
Grubs appear in many mini-games in most versions of Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games, appearing as beings that the player can interact with.
In "Sling Shooter", grubs are one of the targets required to clear many levels having a wide variety of movements or seen standing stationary. Grubs that appear within the game can include purple squirming caterpillars, ants carrying fruits, opera-singing beetles, swarms of bees, or fruit flies soaring past the waterfall scenery. Some of these grubs are easy to hit due to their slow movements or stationary poses while others move fast, making them a bit more difficult to hit.
While no actual grubs appear in "Jungle Pinball", highlighting all the letters by spelling out "GRUB" causes the player to earn extra points.
The game "Burper" involves the player as Pumbaa use his belch ability to hit falling objects with grubs being one of them. Beetles can occasionally appear walking from both sides of the screen which the player must use Pumbaa's tail to swat them, while beetles the land on the ground causes them to walk on the ground and the player must also do the same thing to earn points. Other grubs can also include dragonflies that fly from one side to another or spiders dangling down and up, making them unique enemies in the mini-game.
In "Hippo Hop" where the player must help Timon get to the other side of the jungle, he can collect grubs along the way, which occasionally appear on such platforms like hippos, turtles, or logs, causing him to earn extra points.
Grubs have a prominent role in a mini-game named after them, "Bug Drop" in the PC version of the game. During gameplay, the player must defeat their opponent by having the left side of the stump be filled with grubs, which can be cleared away when at least four of the same color align with each other.
===The Lion King 1½===
Grubs prominently appear in the Game Boy Advance version of The Lion King 1½. Collectible grubs known as Level Bugs, Full Life Bugs, and Shield BugsThe Lion King 1½ Game Boy Advance Manual (Page 15) appear throughout many levels and often appear as items the player can collect along the way. Each normal level has forty collectible grubs, where collecting at least twenty-five of them causing the player's health point to be restored. Collecting all forty bugs causes the player to unlock a piece of a chapter's bonus level puzzle (also required for a full game completion). Collecting full life bugs causes the player to completely restore their health while shield bugs temporarily give either Timon or Pumbaa (depending on which one collected it), adding an extra defense for them from enemies or obstacles.
In addition to these collectible grubs, spiders also appear as enemies in certain levels during gameplay. Chronologically, they are introduced in "Timon Bonus Level 1" while the regular level "Oh no, Hyenas!" formally introduces spiders. Spiders slowly crawl on vines and can harm the player if they touch them. As Timon cannot attack spiders through normal methods, Pumbaa can defeat spiders using his belch attack to clear them away for Timon to climb on vines.
The "Team Bonus Level" includes a swarm of bees that chase Timon and Pumbaa across the landscape similar to the Wildebeests from the "Stampede!" level, Nala in the level of the same name, or hyenas running after them in chase levels. Throughout the level, the playing must avoid touching the swarm or they will lose health upon contact, unlike the wildebeests or Nala which cause instant loss if the player touches them.
===Disney Universe===
Grubs appear as collectible items in every level of the Lion King hub. The player can collect them along the way. Collecting all grubs results in players unlocking extra content (required for a full game completion).
==Disney Parks==
===The Lion King Celebration===
Three remote-controlled grubs consisting of a scorpion, a rhinoceros beetle, and a stag beetle, were featured in the former parade which premiered from 1994 to 1997 where they were seen following the Pumbaa float.
===Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable===
In the former Epcot attraction after Timon and Pumbaa understand about the importance of taking care of the Earth, Timon grabbed some grubs for Pumbaa's lunch, only for Simba to tell him to guess again. Timon told Pumbaa to follow what Simba told them: making a world a better place, which caused Timon to bring in Pumbaa to charge into the dam and destroy it to provide water for all the savanna animals just as Simba happily noticed the duo's heroic deeds in providing water for the animals, followed by Simba roaring in triumph.
===It's a Small World===
In the Africa section of It's a Small World, a worm has been featured on Pumbaa's mouth located in the Hong Kong Disneyland, post-2009 Disneyland, and post-2018 Tokyo Disneyland versions of It's a Small World. Additionally, the Hong Kong and Tokyo versions of the attraction show Timon holding two piles of grubs, which was not present in the post-2009 Disneyland version.
==Trivia==
*Grubs have been sporadically featured in many media inspired by the Lion King franchise, mostly in media commonly associated with Timon and Pumbaa.
*Grubs became the main subject of a discontinued cereal by Kellogg's known as "Mud & Bugs", where the cereal consisted of chocolate-coated cereal as well as marshmallows in the shape of bugs (which curiously matched the cereal's theme) which was introduced in 2003, almost a decade after the original Lion King film was released.Info about Mud & Bugs cereal. Kellogg's additionally released limited edition themed after "Mud & Bugs" but contained bug-shaped sprinkles instead of bug-shaped marshmallows - although the product itself mostly contained a chocolate filling.
*The spider that Timon and Pumbaa use in The Lion King 1½ during the "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" sequence has a striking resemblance to Pepito from The Bug Hunt.
*The "Circle of Life" scene features leafcutter ants on their way to attend the birth of Simba. In real life, leafcutter ants not native to Africa and are instead restricted to South America. It is unknown how the leafcutter ants ended up in the film.
**This scene also appears in the 2019 remake.
==References==
==External links==
*Grubs on Lion King Wiki.
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